CATEGORIES

DID THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE JUST SPOT GALAXIES THAT SHOULDN'T EXIST?

Given the age of the Universe, the galaxies we've just been shown appear to be too old. So, what's gone wrong?

3 mins |

PLANT APOCALYPSE

The race is on to document and protect the world's plant and fungi species... and everything is at stake if we lose

4 mins |

THE BURNING 'RING OF FIRE' ECLIPSE.…..THAT WENT DOWN, DOWN, DOWN THE AMERICAS

The burning ring produced by the Sun and Moon crossing paths won't be seen again in the US until 2039

MYSTERIOUS AFTERGLOW POTENTIALLY CAUSED BY MASSIVE COLLISION OF PLANETS

Scientists have a probable cause for the unexplained brightness

A MAP OF THE BRAIN CELLS THAT MAKE US UNIQUE MARKS "A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN NEUROSCIENCE"

Benchmark study maps over 3,000 cell types in the human brain

SCIENTISTS PLAN TO MELT MOON DUST TO LAY LUNAR ROADS

Triangular paving stones’ could be made on the Moon using the Sun's rays and might solve the problems caused by Moon dust

ULTRA-BRIGHT LIGHT BREAKTHROUGH COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING

Creating an ultra-bright light in a small space is harder than it sounds... But scientists think it may be possible

How does the fitness app on my phone know how many steps I've taken, especially if it's in my bag?

Your phone uses GPS to track distance travelled. But try disabling it and you'll notice that fitness apps will still give you step counts.

Should you underestimate the power of the Force?

It's an energy that lets you control people's minds and.... make things float. So where do midi-chlorians fit in?

DEAR DOCTOR : WHY DO I CATASTROPHISE SO MUCH AND HOW DO I STOP?

Catastrophe-filled thoughts are common, especially for people prone to anxiety. You might find yourself imagining that your first day at a new job will be an excruciating disaster, that you'll flunk an upcoming exam, or that your flight to New York will crash. These thoughts are unpleasant, but they're essentially your mind working overtime to keep you safe. If you start to act on these catastrophic thoughts, trying to avoid any risk in your life, that's when this thinking style can start to become debilitating.

IS IT TRUE THAT WEARING HEADPHONES INCREASES EAR BACTERIA?

Your ears are already dark, moist and full of oils and dead skin - an all-you-can-eat buffet for many bacteria. Sealing off the entrance with headphones or earphones seems like it could only make that environment more inviting to these microbes.

A SCIENTIST'S GUIDE TO...PILLOWS

THE RIGHT SUPPORT CAN HELP RELIEVE BACK PAIN

WHAT IS BLUE LAVA?

Most people - if they've heard of it at all - are aware of 'blue lava' thanks to the otherworldly photographs of French photographer Olivier Grunewald. The images, which Grunewald captured at the Kawah Ijen volcano on the island of Java in Indonesia, seem to show rivers of electric-blue lava, incandescent against a black velvet night.

OBJECTS IN OPPOSITION WHEN: LATE AUGUST - EARLY SEPTEMBER 2023

Opposition describes an object being opposite the Sun in the sky. For some planets this can be a big deal, as the weeks around opposition offer us the best views of them. At opposition a planet is also visible all night long.

GREAT EARED NIGHTJAR

Lock up your goats, it's the great eared nightjar; a big-mouthed, teat-wrangling, milk-gobbler of a bird that will desiccate your bleaters and leave them blind.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I GET STRANDED ON SNAKE ISLAND?

Just off the coast of southern Brazil lies the island of Queimada Grande, known as 'Snake Island'. Covering just 43 hectares (106 acres), this rocky island is home to between 2,000 and 4,000 highly venomous golden lancehead vipers (Bothrops insularis), which can grow to 70cm (just over 2ft). The snakes were trapped there around 11,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age, when rising sea levels cut them off from the mainland.

A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN

Earth is blanketed by a swarm of human-made debris hurtling around at speeds of up to 8km per second - about five times the speed of a bullet. The UK's Earth & Space Sustainability Initiative hopes to catch these fast-moving projectiles and clean up the nasty, and potentially lethal, mess our cosmic littering habit has caused

7 mins |

THE POWER OF HABIT

Our lives are filled with habitual behaviours, both good and bad, but how do they form and how can we build better ones?

10 mins |

SAY AHHH

EVERY LIVING THING HAS TO EAT SOMEHOW... WHATEVER TYPE OF MOUTH IT MIGHT HAVE. AND THERE ARE SOME TRULY BIZARRE MOUTHS IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. SOME OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY EXAMPLES ARE ENOUGH TO LEAVE YOU SLACK-JAWED

6 mins |

Ideas we like...

Our pick of the month's smartest tech

Five of the best BBQs for the summer

There are hundreds of BBQs on the market, all boasting their own impressive features. But which is the best? The BBC Science Focus team picks their faves...

3 mins |