CATEGORIES

WHEN'S THE BEST TIME FOR A CAFFEINE HIT?

Wakey-wakey! Find the sweet spot for a coffee shot and science says the benefits are grande

DEAD MAN’S FINGERS

Picture the scene. It's Halloween and you've gone for an ill-advised stroll through the graveyard on the edge of town.

What tipping point are climate scientists most worried about?

Collapsing ice sheets, loss of the Amazon rainforest, melting permafrost.……. Key parts of Earth's climate system are in trouble. Which could trigger disaster first?

PROFESSOR BRIAN COX

The biggest space missions yet are making their way to new parts of the Universe. In his new BBC Two series Solar System, Prof Brian Cox reveals what these explorations are discovering about life in our galactic neighbourhood. Noa Leach sat down with him to talk about the most exciting new missions, life in the Universe and his top behind-the-scenes moments of filming

KEEP YOUR HAIR ON

MORE THAN HALF OF MEN AND MILLIONS OF WOMEN ARE AFFECTED BY HAIR LOSS. IT CAUSES LOW SELF-ESTEEM IN SOME AND ANXIETY IN OTHERS. THANKFULLY, SCIENTISTS AROUND THE WORLD ARE GETTING TO THE ROOTS OF THE PROBLEM WITH PIONEERING NEW TREATMENTS

DAMAGE ASSESSMENT

Could we deflect an asteroid to stop it from hitting Earth? The success of NASA's DART mission suggests so, but only after ESA's soon-to-launch Hera mission has checked the results will we know if this approach to planetary defence is a viable possibility

SAVE THE SHARKS...SAVE THE OCEANS

RUTHLESS PREDATORS, MINDLESS KILLERS, MAN-EATERS... SHARKS HAVE A FEARSOME REPUTATION THAT BEARS LITTLE RELATION TO REALITY. THE TRUTH IS, THESE REMARKABLE CREATURES ARE STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE. BUT OUR WATERS WON'T BE ANY SAFER WITHOUT THEM. IN FACT, THE PLANET'S SEAS WILL BE IN EVEN GREATER JEOPARDY THAN THEY ALREADY ARE

COULD ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BE THE CURE FOR LONELINESS?

Rates of loneliness are increasing worldwide. But big-tech companies think they have the solution...

Olive mill wastewater: a health-boosting tonic hiding in the leftovers

A by-product of the olive oil production process is packed with compounds that lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk of developing cancer.

Lab-grown meat may be better for livestock, but not necessarily for the environment

The move to put alternative protein on our plates is gathering pace but there are still questions to answer

Unseen engineers have been secretly shaping life on Earth, says new research

Recently published studies suggest insects play a much larger role in seed dispersal than previously thought.

The botanists studying plants from the sky

Scientists are working with paramotorists to find rare flowers in the desert

Tiny bug sets record for the fastest backflips on Earth

The insect somersaults so quickly that it seems to disappear

New Ozempic-like pill cuts weight by 13 per cent

A new weight-loss drug's effects could rival the current injection-only medication.

Satellite collisions are a disaster waiting to happen, experts warn

With satellites old and new orbiting alongside each other, serious crashes are inevitable

How Light's 'Secret Code' Reveals the Story of the Cosmos- The starlight we can see tells us a lot about the Universe, but it's the parts we can't see that contain the biggest revelations

When you see photos from a modern telescope of a planet, nebula or distant galaxy, it's easy to be dazzled by the detail. But what astronomers get really excited about is a property of the light our eyes can't see: the spectrum. This secret code embedded in starlight can tell us not only what a celestial object is made of, but also the story of our cosmic past.Back in the 18th century, scientists discovered that each substance produced its own pattern of colours when it was burning. It turns out that each element, when heated, emits light at certain colours specific to that substance.

Major Stonehenge Discovery Deepens Mystery Around Ancient Monument - New findings suggest a key six-tonne stone came from over 450 miles north of the circle

Cue the conspiracy theories: new research reveals that one of Stonehenge's central and larger megaliths came neither from England, nor Wales, but from the far northeast of Scotland - and we don't know how it got there. Experts think the six-tonne altar stone must have been dragged or floated at least 750km (466 miles) south to complete the prehistoric monument.

Do We Finally Know How the Egyptian Pyramids Were Built? - A number of breakthrough studies are beginning to paint a picture of how these wonders of the world were built, but much of the story still remains a mystery...

A number of breakthrough studies are beginning to paint a picture of how these wonders of the world were built, but much of the story still remains a mystery...How the Egyptian pyramids were built has long been a mystery. Constructed as tombs for the pharaohs over 4,000 years ago, more than 100 of them remain. The largest one, the Great Pyramid of Giza, was originally 147m tall (482ft). It's made up of about 2.3 million stone blocks, each weighing between 2.5 and 15 tonnes, and would have had to be transported to the building site and lifted into place with techniques available at the time. To put this into context, it's akin to lifting a double-decker London bus to the top of St Pauls Cathedral a few million times.

An Artificial Heart Inspired by Plumbing - Mechanical circulation could revolutionise transplant design and reduce waiting lists

Mechanical circulation could revolutionise transplant design and reduce waiting lists. In July, this artificial heart was successfully implanted, for the first time, into a patient with end-stage heart failure. Built by The Texas Heart Institute (THI) and BiVACOR, the replacement organ has been dubbed the Total Artificial Heart (TAH). Although, being an implant rather than transplant, it's designed to temporarily support patients while they wait for a real heart transplant.

CHANGE THE (BODY) CLOCKS

Why the end of British Summer Time can be a wake-up call for our circadian health

ARE OCTOPUSES SENTIENT?

If you've watched the Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher or been lucky enough to encounter an octopus in the wild, you'll know there's something special about them.

THE MEXICAN MOLE LIZARD

Imagine what would happen if an earthworm, a lizard, a snake and a mole went on a night out, had too much too much tequila and let their guard down.

ECLIPSES ON DEMAND

Inside an unassuming building, behind a damp car park in Antwerp, Belgium, scientists are teaching two spacecraft to be dance partners for a performance that will take place in front of the Sun.

THE UNEXPECTED RETURN OF PNEUMATIC TUBES

Once a pioneering technology that revolutionised deliveries, pneumatic tubes had all but disappeared. Now they're back and enjoying a resurgence

LIVING FOSSILS

FOR SOME CREATURES ALIVE TODAY TIME HAS ALMOST STOOD STILL. MEET THE 'LIVING FOSSILS' THAT GIVE US A GLIMPSE INTO LIFE IN THE DISTANT PAST

Scientists want to build a giant 'bio-vault' on the Moon.Here's why...

Experts say the best place to preserve cells from Earth's most important species is not on this planet

THE PILLS TO END AGEING

No longer the stuff of science fiction, affordable treatments that could slow, stop or even reverse your ageing are, thanks to new breakthroughs, less than a decade away... You might even be taking some of them already

THE HUNGER GAME

Obesity is on the rise, but as we blame our unhealthy food-ridden environment and look to wonder drugs to get rid of unwanted fat, what role do our genetics play?

HOW THE UNIVERSE WILL END

A colossal supercollider now in the early stages of development may one day help us predict the ultimate fate of the Universe. With it, scientists will be trying to find a hidden instability built into the fabric of existence... an instability that could destroy everything

DARK ENERGY MIGHT BE ABOUT TO THROW A SPANNER IN THE WORKS

The most mysterious phenomenon in the Universe could be about to spring another surprise on us