CATEGORIES

NASA'S SOLAR PROBE 'TOUCHES' THE SUN

The Parker Solar Probe is part of the way through its seven-year mission to investigate the inner workings of our nearest star

THE ΒΙΟ BOTS

Bio-inspired robots that can fly like birds and creep like cockroaches are helping researchers to understand more about how animals move and behave

THE VOLCANO THAT SHOOK THE EARTH

The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano was a once-in-a-century geological event - and now the clock is ticking to study its effects...

ME YOU, AND INTIMACY TOO

When was the last time you were intimate with someone, emotionally, intellectually, or physically? Psychologist Dr Michelle Drouin says we are in an intimacy famine, and speaks to Amy Barrett about whether social media and smartphones are stripping us of one of our basic human needs

A Winning Formula

Beneath the rainforests of South America lives a fungi that consumes 50,000 leaves a day without ever coming to the surface. It relies on ants to bring it food in exchange for nutrients. Evolutionary biologist Dr Pepijn Kooij speaks to Amy Barrett about this special relationship...

An end to ageing?

Eternal youth is the stuff of religion and mythology, but what if we could just have a bit more of it? What if there was a pill that could slow down the ravages of time, so that you could feel younger for longer. It sounds like snake oil, but there's a growing body of research that's betting on making it a reality

How to Make Your Own Luck

Luck isn’t easy to measure or study, but those who have managed to do it discovered it’s not the work of fate – it’s a skill you can cultivate and improve. So, how do you go about it?

Skull From Ancient Human Ancestor Unearthed

The 250,000-year-old remains of a Homo naledi were found in the remote depths of the Rising Star cave system in Johannesburg

Combatting Virus Variants Before They Emerge

The technology could be used to create universal vaccines for COVID, malaria and more, its creators say

Beethoven's Unfinished 10th Symphony Completed by an AI

Computer scientists teamed up with historians, musicologists, and composers to teach artificial intelligence how to compose like Beethoven

Bearing With a Sore Head

What hurts in your skull - and why

Your Mysterious Brain

Science has mapped the surface of Mars and translated the code for life. By comparison, we know next to nothing about what's between our ears. Over the next few pages, we ask leading scientists to answer some of the most important questions about our brains...

Octopuses on Parade

With three hearts, blue blood, eight bendy arms, and intelligence that outsmarts other spineless animals, there's nothing quite like an octopus. Join us on a dive into their weird world...

The First Black Holes

Since just after the Big Bang, ancient black holes may have been shaping the universe as we know it. Now, scientists are tantalizingly close to glimpsing these mysterious objects for the first time

Only in Your Wildest Dreams

Even today, scientists don't know why we dream. But now, psychologists have found a way to communicate with lucid dreamers - people who can take control of their dreams – in the hope that they might help us explore what goes on with our brains at night

Elon Musk says settlers will likely die on Mars. He's right.

When Elon Musk said there’s a ‘good chance’ the first settlers on the Red Planet will die there, at an August 2020 conference, the outcome was easy to imagine. It’s a dangerous place, after all. But that obscures the ultimate goal of any colony: to have people comfortably die on Mars after a long life of work and play that, we hope, looks at least a little like life on Earth.

Why wetlands are vital for humans and nature: Part 1

Wetlands vary greatly in type, yet all are indispensable for purifying water and controlling its flow. They include mountain springs, midland marshes, flood plains, coastal lakes, mangrove swamps and estuaries.

MORE ME, NOW: IS NARCISSISM ON THE RISE?

Are we becoming more narcissistic? And is social media behind the seemingly growing ‘me crowd?

Regularly drinking coffee may help to protect your heart

Researchers at the Heart and Vascular Centre, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary, have found that drinking up to three cups of coffee a day may help protect your cardiovascular system.

LONELINESS: IS IT INEVITABLE IN A MODERN WORLD?

Young or old, rich or poor, many of us will experience a longing for social contact at some point in our lives. But loneliness doesn't have to be inevitable...

THE NET IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR FOLK WISDOM

Every culture on Earth, and even some groups of animals, have traditions and rituals for sharing knowledge vital for survival

The risk of developing a genetic disease drops off as we age

It's widely known that as we age, our immune systems become weaker and slower to respond to infection, leaving us at a greater risk of becoming ill. But when it comes to developing genetic diseases, the risk of us getting ill actually wanes with age, a study carried out at the University of Oxford has found.

Bizarre 'alien simulation' study shows how COVID panic-buying was a natural response

New research from the University of New South Wales has demonstrated how people react differently to change

What's it like to fly to the edge of space?

Dave Mackay, Virgin Galactic's chief pilot, reveals what it's like to ride a rocket ship to the stars...

Better out than in

The Mediterranean diet will increase flatulence, but it has benefits for you and the planet

A NEW AGE OF HUMANITY

From reality-enhancing implants to brain-controlled exoskeletons, breakthroughs in biotech have fuelled a new fusion of machinery and organic matter. We speak to the cyborgs who are helping humanity transcend its biological limits, one device at a time

Hungry All The Time? It Could Be In Your Blood…

Researchers working on the largest in-depth nutrition study in the world have found that some of us experience big dips in blood sugar levels after eating, and it makes us hungrier, sooner

Hope For Deaf People Struggling With Mask-Wearing During The Pandemic

See-through solution offers hope for deaf people struggling with mask-wearing during the pandemic

Locked And Loaded

A 100-year legacy has left people with things to protect – including themselves – feeling safer

Wider World Of Glow-In-The-Dark Life Forms

A few years ago, scientists believed only a tiny band of creatures could emit light. But a string of new discoveries has illuminated a wider world of glow-in-the-dark life forms