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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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Photo of deep space with a pale blue dot in the distance against a dark background, featuring faint light streaks.

essay

Cosmology

Just a pale blue dot

When we see the Earth as ‘a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam’ what do we learn about human significance?

Tim Bayne

A dark building at night, the black building structure contrasting with a deep blue night sky, with many vertical rectangular windows, three windows are brightly lit.

essay

Philosophy of science

More-than-human science

When AI takes over the practice of science we will likely find the results strange and incomprehensible. Should we worry?

Brandon Boesch

Photo of dandelion seeds in flight against a blurred green forest background.

video

Meaning and the good life

Why Orwell urged his readers to celebrate the spring, cynics be damned

11 minutes

Photo of a person applying varnish to the interior planks of a wooden boat on a sunny day.

video

Making

On the Norwegian coast, a tree is transformed into a boat the old-fashioned way

6 minutes

Enhanced image of Ceres’ surface showing a bright crater and stars in space.

essay

Space exploration

Have they been here?

When we look for extraterrestrials, we often peer into the depths of space. But alien life might be closer than you think

Ravi Kopparapu & Jacob Haqq Misra

Photo of a wicker basket with two kittens and a squirrel inside against a decorative blue and white tiled wall.

video

Animals and humans

One man’s quest to save an orphaned squirrel, as narrated by David Attenborough

14 minutes

Photo of people walking outdoors carrying trays of plants, surrounded by bushes and greenery.

essay

Meaning and the good life

Welcome to the Chaoscene

The climate crisis is here. In order to thrive in these dangerous and precarious times, we must build resilient communities

Rupert Read

Abstract digital art with glowing spirals and spheres on a dark background.

video

Computing and artificial intelligence

A future in which ‘artificial scientists’ make discoveries may not be far away

9 minutes

Photo of a black and white moth with speckled wings against a dark background.

essay

Genetics

Beanbag genetics

Today a bitter dispute about the nature of biology is underway. A simple bag of beans may be what tips the balance

Zachary B Hancock

Abstract blue and white painting of a plant silhouette on a dark background.

video

Earth science and climate

Images carved into film form a haunting elegy for a disappearing slice of Earth

3 minutes

Black and white photo of oil workers handling equipment on a rig, with oil splashing out from the pipe they are holding.

essay

Gender

Does testosterone make men?

In probing whether there are basic sex differences in humans, a psychologist and a biologist agree to seriously disagree

Cordelia Fine & Carole Hooven

Microscopic image showing a close-up view of a butterfly’s proboscis covered with vibrant pink and orange structures.

video

Biology

Butterflies become unrecognisable landscapes when viewed under electron microscopes

4 minutes

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.

essay

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