Most of the time, we all walk around in a little bubble – a defence system that can spot a threat and neutralise it before it has a chance to harm us. That’s the wonder of the human immune system, and it’s only when we get ill that we become aware that it’s there at all. What if we could give the planet an immune system just like ours? A silent network of satellites and supercomputers quietly keeping track of anything that could cause the next pandemic; primed to sequence the culprit and capable of rolling out vaccines and treatments the second someone presses the right button. That’s the vision of global technology expert Dr David Bray, who believes that we need to build “an immune system for the planet”.
“I’m talking about a dynamic system that learns to respond to what’s present in our world,” Bray says. “If you think of our world as an organism and we are parts of that organism, then what do we need to do, much like the immune system of our bodies, to detect that there’s something going on that’s not healthy?”
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TAKE IT SLOW
Slow running is a fitness trend with some hard and fast science behind it
Physics, AI and music share a common thread. You just have to know where to look
Studying science can lead you in many directions and open doors to unexpected possibilities along the way
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When bloodthirsty bed bugs made headlines for infesting Paris Fashion Week in 2023, it shone a spotlight on a problem that's been making experts itch for decades: the arms race going on between bed bugs and humans
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We can unravel the role that bodyweight plays in disease, but we need a bigger, more diverse, sample of genetic material to do so
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Masks, social distancing, lockdowns... how effective was the UK's response to the COVID-19 pandemic?
One hormone could be the key that unlocks a cure for morning sickness
The nausea and vomiting that, in extreme cases, can endanger mothers and babies might soon be just a memory
THE WORLD'S WEIRDEST CREATURES
Under the sea and upon the land, some animals look - to us - pretty strange...
WHEN MIND AND MACHINE COLLIDE
First, Elon Musk wanted to make electric cars ubiquitous, then he wanted to make space exploration a private enterprise. Now, with Neuralink, his newest venture, Musk hopes to merge humans and artificial intelligence. Turns out, it might not be such a crazy idea...
COME OUT OF YOUR SHELL
Social anxiety is more than just being shy. It's a phobia born out of our evolutionary past. But that raises a puzzling question: why do so many of us fear human interaction when we're supposed to be the most sociable species on the planet?
SPACE ODDITIES
Take a tour of the weirdest spots in the universe, where the 'normal' rules don't apply. Places that squeeze time, blow bubbles and even rain glass... sideways
