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Science

Essays and videos exploring physics, evolution, cosmology and other frontiers in science

Astronomy Biology Biotechnology Chemistry Complexity Computing and artificial intelligence Cosmology Deep time Earth science and climate Ecology and environmental sciences Engineering Evolution Genetics History of science Human evolution Human reproduction Illness and disease Mathematics Medicine Oceans and water Palaeontology Physics Quantum theory Space exploration

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Four girls sitting on a riverbank, sitting in two groups of two; three upright and one lying down, with backpacks and bags nearby.

essay

Neurodiversity

Autism’s missing women

Long believed to be particularly associated with males, new research is revolutionising our understanding of autism

Gina Rippon

A desert highway at dusk with cliffs and the moon visible and a rear-view mirror showing a road and sunset reflection behind.

essay

Physics

The stagnation of physics

Physicists today need to jettison the all-too-attractive myth that they are uncovering the hidden reality of our Universe

Adrien De Sutter

A cheetah cub playfully interacts with a brown dog on grass, with a toy in the background.

essay

Bioethics

Why the cat wags her tail

Here’s a puzzle: how could evolution favour such a costly, frivolous and fun activity as animal play?

Mathilde Tahar-Malaussena

A large, artificial ice structure in a mountainous landscape with clear blue sky in the background.

video

Engineering

Can monumental ‘ice stupas’ help remote Himalayan villages survive?

15 minutes

video

Cognition and intelligence

A father forgets his child’s name for the first time in this poetic reflection on memory

4 minutes

Painting of an angel in an orange glow flying with small birds across a night sky over a cityscape and bare trees.

essay

History of science

Legacy of the angels

When medieval scholars sought to understand the nature of angels, they unwittingly laid the foundations of modern physics

Rebekah Wallace

Photo of three children in winter jackets sitting on grassland near a stream with a plastic container between them.

video

Animals and humans

Join seabirds as they migrate, encountering human communities along the way

13 minutes

Dried ground leaves being poured from a scoop into a container indoors.

essay

Addiction

The kratom question

Millions are turning to an unregulated herbal extract to curb their opioid addiction. But do the risks outweigh the benefits?

Xi Chen

Black and white photo of man standing in front of a massive industrial tunnel with a Jeumont sign.

essay

Neuroscience

Why nothing matters

It took centuries for people to embrace the zero. Now it’s helping neuroscientists understand how the brain perceives absences

Benjy Barnett

Photo of two surgeons in blue scrubs and masks focused on a procedure, with one surgeon’s glasses reflecting the surgery.

essay

Medicine

When I lost my intuition

For years, I practised medicine with cool certainty, comfortable with life-and-death decisions. Then, one day, I couldn’t

Ronald W Dworkin

Microscope photo of a flea’s head showing detailed orange and black features against a black background.

video

Biology

‘Save the parasites’ may not be a popular rallying cry – but it could be a vital one

11 minutes

Photo of children playing in the desert in windy conditions, with sand swirling around them and smiles on their faces.

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Childhood and adolescence

Hegemony and childcare

Early childhood development interventions in the Global South is a huge industry built on highly questionable assumptions

Francesca Mezzenzana & Gabriel Scheidecker

A man speaking on stage with a headset microphone wearing glasses and a black sweater gesturing expressively with his hands.

video

Metaphysics

What do past, present and future mean to a philosopher of time?

55 minutes

Illustration of hands typing on a keyboard with handwritten notes and a man in a sequence of frames.

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Computing and artificial intelligence

Chatbots of the dead

We can now create compelling experiences of talking with our dead. Is this ghoulish, therapeutic or something else again?

Amy Kurzweil & Daniel Story

Abstract digital art of geometric patterns made with spheres, creating a sense of depth on a black background.

video

Computing and artificial intelligence

Why large language models are mysterious – even to their creators

8 minutes

Photo of fishermen in a circle on a lake using large nets at sunrise with a distant island and hills in the background.

essay

Human evolution

The commitment to collaborate

Though natural selection favours self-interest, humans are extraordinarily good at cooperating with one another. Why?

Saira Khan

A monochrome painting of a moonlit lake scene with a mountain silhouette and figures on a pier under a crescent moon.

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Deep time

The bookends of time

Nothing lasts forever: not humanity, not Earth, not the Universe. But finitude confers an indelible meaning to our lives

Thomas Moynihan

Photo of a modern bathroom with circular tiled walls and surfaces, two sinks, mirrors and red hand dryers reflected in the mirrors.

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Mathematics

Beyond causality

In order to bridge the yawning gulf between the humanities and the sciences we must turn to an unexpected field: mathematics

Gordon Gillespie

Black and white close-up photo of a lizard with its tongue extended, about to catch a worm. The background is dark and blurred.

video

Evolution

The many ways a lizard tongue sticks, grasps, pinches and plops – in slo-mo

6 minutes

Black-and-white photo of the Moon’s surface with craters, with a distant Earth visible on the horizon in space.

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Space exploration

How the Moon became a place

For most of history, the Moon was regarded as a mysterious and powerful object. Then scientists made it into a destination

Danny Robb

Medieval painting of a man in a cosmic circle with zodiac symbols surrounded by blue and red patterns.

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History of science

The birth of naturalism

The modern era is often seen as the triumph of science over supernaturalism. But what really happened is far more interesting

Peter Harrison

Aerial photo of a winding river through lush green rainforest with dramatic cloud formations in the sky above.

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Public health

Hearts and brains

Humans always end up with clogged arteries, right? That’s not what the lives of the Tsimane in the Amazon basin tell us

Ben Daitz

Black and white photograph of a cloudy sky with swirling lines resembling bird flight patterns.

video

Biology

Starlings swoosh like brushstrokes across the sky in this dazzling short

3 minutes

A brown wren standing on a rock with a blurred background.

essay

Biology

In praise of subspecies

To lump or to split? Deciding whether an animal is a species or subspecies profoundly influences our conservation priorities

Richard Smyth