CATEGORIES

Electric Vehicles: What Can We Do With The Growing Number Of Dead Batteries?

What will happen to the batteries when the first generation of electric vehicles reach the end of their lifespans in around a decade? Are they bound for the scrapheap, or can they be salvaged?

How Do Astronauts Clean A Space Station?

Astronauts have to keep the space station clean to keep microbes under control

Q & A: We Solve Your Wildlife Mysteries

BOTANY Why are some plants hairy?

EYE OPENER

Incredible Images around the world

A GIANT LEAP FOR ANIMAL KIND

As we look to set up permanent bases on the Moon, Mars and beyond, we’ll need to bring other forms of life with us... but how will they cope with life in space?

INSTALLING A NEW AGE OF HUMANITY

FROM REALITY-ENHANCING IMPLANTS TO BRAIN-CONTROLLED EXOSKELETONS, BREAKTHROUGHS IN BIO-TECH HAVE FUELLED A NEW FUSION OF MACHINERY AND ORGANIC MATTER. HERE WE SPEAK TO THE CYBORGS WHO ARE HELPING HUMANITY TRANSCEND ITS BIOLOGICAL LIMITS, ONE DEVICE AT A TIME

EAT YOURSELF HAPPY

Increasing evidence suggests that a microbiome-friendly diet is good for your brain as well as your body

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

How a hand-holding charity stunt launched a social network, way back in the 1980s

BMI: IT'S FLAWED, SO WHY DO WE USE IT?

A report published by the Women and Equalities Committee says that the use of the Body Mass Index should be scrapped. Is there a better way to calculate if you’re a healthy weight?

A SCIENTIST'S GUIDE TO LIFE HOW TO HAVE THE ULTIMATE SHAVE

FED UP OF NICKS, CUTS AND RASHES? THIS MONTH, DR MARY SOMMERLAD FROM THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION OF DERMATOLOGISTS EXPLAINS HOW TO HAVE THE ULTIMATE SHAVE…

Through Hardship To The Stars

‘Per aspera ad astra’. This is the phrase adopted as a statement of intent by space agencies, both real and fictional, that originates in Virgil’s Aeneid. But exactly what kinds of hardship will the human body have to endure to colonise the cosmos? Prof Christopher E Mason has been studying astronauts’ reactions to life in space and reveals to Ian Taylor how we might adapt to overcome the challenges we face

Climate Change: Can The New Targets Get Us To Net Zero?

The UK government is aiming for an emissions cut of 78 per cent, compared with levels in 1990. They want to achieve this by 2035. Is this feasible?

10 Amazing Volcanoes In The Solar System

Explore these violent openings into the inner workings and origins of the planets and their moons

Is Our Sun Going Into Hibernation?

Each sunspot cycle has been getting less intense. Is our star falling asleep?

Can We Detect Wormholes?

They’re a staple of science fiction, but could they be real? New research suggests wormholes could be somewhere around us, and we could uncover them

LOOT BOXES: THE NEXT BIG BATTLEFRONT

Periodically, there have been moral panics about video games, with headlines claiming that “violent” and “addictive” titles are affecting impressionable players. At present, it is loot boxes’ turn to be put under the microscope. But should we be worried about video games, and are loot boxes a cause for concern?

THE AWESOME POWER OF SLEEP

Matthew is a professor of neuroscience and psychology and the director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the author of the international bestseller, Why WeSleep: The New Science Of SleepAnd Dreams, published by (£10.99, Penguin Random House).

POO: SHOULD WE BE PAYING MORE ATTENTION TO IT?

The trend for stool-gazing has health-conscious people staring into their toilet bowls. Before you don the rubber gloves, let’s flush out the truth from the pseudoscience

TIME TO SHINE

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

Bird Photographer 2021 finalists announced

Now in its sixth year, the Bird Photographer of the Year competition saw more than 22,000 entries from 73 different countries all competing for the £5,000 grand prize.

Hide And Seek In Cyberspace

A puzzle that remained unanswered for more than 14 years has now been solved, thanks to technological leaps in image searching

Covid-19: Why Is It So Difficult To Figure Out Which Animal It Came From?

Was it bats? Was it pangolins? Was it both? Was it something else? Finding the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is vital for fighting future epidemics

Why Do Some People Experience More Vaccine Side Effects Than Others?

Vaccines work by showing the body a microbial mugshot of a tiny perpetrator (such as a virus or bacterium) that is a threat to your body.

Should We Be Worried The Speed Of Earth's Rotation Is Changing?

We define a day as 86,400 seconds, or 24 hours – the time it takes for Earth to rotate once.

How Wildlife Vaccines Will Prevent The Next Human Pandemic

The coronavirus vaccines currently being injected into arms across the world are our escape route to normality. But keeping deadly viruses at bay and maintaining our freedoms in the future may require brand-new mass vaccination programmes that look very different to the ones currently taking place

THE WOMEN IN HISTORY WE DON'T TALK ABOUT

Beyond the exceptional talents of Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin and Ada Lovelace, it’d be easy to think that women didn’t used to participate in science. But as science historians Leila McNeill and Anna Reser reveal to Sara Rigby, women have contributed to our understanding of the world, stretching all the way back to antiquity

OBESITY: COULD A NEW APPETITE-CONTROLLING DRUG BE THE TREATMENT WE'VE BEEN CRAVING?

In a large trial, people injected with semaglutide lost significant amounts of weight. Could this drug help tackle the obesity epidemic?

RATS: ARE WE REALLY SEEING PLAGUES OF RODENTS IN OUR CITIES DURING THE PANDEMIC?

As if COVID-19 wasn’t stressful enough, some outlets have claimed that rodents are now taking over our empty offices and cities. But is this really the case?

KNOW YOUR HEART RATE

With a few simple calculations, you can easily figure out how healthy your heart is

ENDANGERED FERRET CLONED FROM SPECIMEN FROZEN FOR 30 YEARS

The healthy young kit may help to save the species from extinction