Prosthetic hands are easier to control using unrelated muscles
Random-seeming hand gestures seem to help people control prosthetic hands better than ones that mimic their ordinary muscle movements
View ArticleNorthern white rhino could be saved from extinction using frozen skin
We have enough genetic material to bring back the northern white rhino, but doing so won’t be easy
View ArticlePeter Higgs, physicist who theorised the Higgs boson, has died aged 94
Nobel prizewinning theoretical physicist Peter Higgs has died aged 94. He proposed the particle that gives other particles mass – now named the Higgs boson and discovered by the Large Hadron Collider...
View ArticleOne of the biggest mysteries of cosmology may finally be solved
The expansion rate of the universe, measured by the Hubble constant, has been one of the most controversial numbers in cosmology for years, and we seem at last to be close to nailing it down
View ArticleAustralia’s Indigenous people were making pottery over 2000 years ago
An excavation on an island in the Coral Sea shows that Indigenous Australians were producing ceramics long before the arrival of Europeans
View ArticleOral vaccine prevents recurring UTIs for nine years
An oral vaccine in the form of a pineapple-flavoured spray prevented recurrent urinary tract infections in 53.9 per cent of clinical trial participants
View ArticlePhone batteries could last 50% longer if more 5G towers are built
Adding more masts could reduce the overall energy use of phone networks by two-thirds and boost handset battery life by 50 per cent
View ArticleMathematician wins Turing award for harnessing randomness
Avi Wigderson has won the 2023 Turing award for his work on understanding how randomness can shape and improve computer algorithms
View ArticleTreating gum disease may ward off an irregular heartbeat
Inflamed gum tissue may allow bacteria in the mouth to enter the bloodstream, which could affect the heart
View ArticleHow AI mathematicians might finally deliver human-level reasoning
Artificial intelligence is taking on some of the hardest problems in pure maths, arguably demonstrating sophisticated reasoning and creativity – and a big step forward for AI
View ArticleFractal pattern identified at molecular scale in nature for first time
An enzyme in a cyanobacterium can take the unusual form a triangle containing ever-smaller triangular gaps, making a fractal pattern
View ArticleBizarre crystal made only of electrons revealed in astonishing detail
To capture the clearest and most direct images of a “Wigner crystal”, a structure made entirely of electrons, researchers used a special kind of microscope and two pieces of graphene unusually free of...
View ArticlePost-surgery infections may mainly be caused by skin bacteria
The skin microbiome may be a bigger cause of post-operative wound infections than bacteria contaminating hospital equipment
View ArticleSome of our favourite songs make us sad, which may be why we like them
Our favourite sad songs seem to become less enjoyable when we try to take the emotion out of them
View ArticleWatch mini humanoid robots showing off their football skills
These soccer-playing robots can respond faster than ones trained in a standard way because they improved their skills via an artificial intelligence-based technique called deep reinforcement learning
View ArticlePlanets that look alike might be a sign of spacefaring aliens
We don’t know what alien life might look like, but if other civilisations can colonise multiple worlds, we might see planets that look unusually similar
View ArticleThe Immune Mind review: How mental and physical health combine
It's tough turning neuroimmunology into a gripping read, but Monty Lyman's excellent book provides a delightful overview of the connection between the brain, immune system and gut microbiome
View ArticleWhy nutrition needs to be on the educational agenda
Nutrition must be as essential as maths or science at our educational institutions to solve the US obesity crisis, says Aman Majmudar
View ArticleAir pollution can make insects mate with the wrong species
Ground-level ozone, a product of pollution from cars, degrades insect pheromones, and this can result in mismatched mating and sterile offspring
View ArticleDedicated experiments needed to understand why dogs wag their tails
Feedback finds that despite close investigation, more research is needed to "better quantify tail wagging in general"
View ArticleTesting drugs on mini-cancers in the lab may reveal best treatment
A small early-stage trial of the approach, which involves testing dozens of drug combinations on thousands of dishes of cells, may help people with cancer live for longer
View ArticleWe can't get to net zero without tackling inequality
Inequality is a major obstacle to sustainability. The super-rich are an environmental horror story that we can't ignore, says Graham Lawton
View ArticleHow Peter Higgs revealed the forces that hold the universe together
The physicist Peter Higgs quietly revolutionised quantum field theory, then lived long enough to see the discovery of the Higgs boson he theorised. Despite receiving a Nobel prize, he remained in some...
View ArticleQuantum 'supersolid' matter stirred using magnets
We can’t stir ordinary solids, but one research team now claims to have stirred an extraordinary quantum “supersolid”, generating tiny vortices
View ArticleAI can spot parasites in stool samples to help diagnose infections
About 1.5 billion people worldwide carry a risk of conditions including malnutrition because of parasitic infection, and AI could help identify those affected
View ArticleEmbryos pause development when nutrients are low — and now we know how
Embryos seem to have a sensor that picks up when nutrients are scarce, prompting them to pause their development until resources become more abundant again
View ArticleEverything Must Go review: A fascinating guide to the apocalypse
From the Book of Revelation to extinction fiction, we just love end times. A new guide by Dorian Lynskey is full of gems
View ArticleThe photographer who captured shots of nature daily for over a decade
Since 2012, Mary Jo Hoffman has taken one snap a day of the natural objects around her. She explains what lies behind two of them - and what the "art of noticing" has brought to her life
View ArticleAnnie Jacobsen: 'What if we had a nuclear war?’
Not long after the last world war, the historian William L. Shirer had this to say about the next world war. It “will be launched by suicidal little madmen pressing an electronic button. Such a war...
View ArticleRead an extract from Nuclear War: A scenario by Annie Jacobsen
In this terrifying extract from Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario, the author lays out what would happen in the first seconds after a nuclear missile hits the Pentagon
View ArticleA bacterium has evolved into a new cellular structure inside algae
A once-independent bacterium has evolved into an organelle that provides nitrogen to algal cells – an event so rare that there are only three other known cases
View ArticleWater purifier is powered by static electricity from your body
A 10-minute walk can build up enough static electricity to power a battery-free water purifier, which could be especially helpful during disasters or in regions that lack access to clean water and...
View ArticleUntangling the enigmatic origins of the human family’s newest species
Five years ago, a fossil found in the Philippines was determined to be from a new species of hominin called Homo luzonensis. Since then, we’ve learned a bit more about the newest member of the human...
View ArticleChatbots can persuade conspiracy theorists their view might be wrong
After a short conversation with an artificial intelligence, people’s belief in a conspiracy theory dropped by about 20 per cent
View ArticleArctic permafrost is now a net source of major greenhouse gases
An Arctic-wide survey has found that the permafrost region is emitting more carbon into the atmosphere than it absorbs, causing the planet to heat even further
View Article‘Peaceful’ male bonobos may actually be more aggressive than chimps
Bonobos have long been regarded as the peaceful ape, in sharp contrast with violent chimpanzees, but a study based on thousands of hours of observations suggests the real story is more nuanced
View ArticleSee inside an endangered California condor egg just before it hatches
The hatching of the 250th California condor chick at the San Diego Zoo marks a notable milestone for a species that narrowly evaded extinction
View ArticleAre panda sex lives being sabotaged by the wrong gut microbes?
Conservationists think tweaking pandas’ diets might shift their gut microbiomes in a way that could encourage them to mate
View ArticleTwo brilliant new novels from Adrian Tchaikovsky show his range
The prolific Adrian Tchaikovsky has two terrific sci-fi offerings out this year, one the story of a scientist turned prisoner shipped to a faraway planet, the other a light-hearted tale of robotic...
View ArticleThe multiverse could be much, much bigger than we ever imagined
A new way of interpreting the elusive mathematics of quantum mechanics could fundamentally change our understanding of reality
View ArticleAre you languishing in life? Here’s how to find your purpose again
If your life feels aimless and joyless, you may be languishing, says psychologist Corey Keyes — who reveals how it differs from depression and what you can do to flourish instead
View ArticleHow science can inspire 'peak experiences' that improve well-being
My column about the spiritual side of science has seen many of you sharing your own awe-inspiring experiences, says David Robson
View ArticleWhy AIs that tackle complex maths could be the next big breakthrough
Research-level mathematics might seem an unlikely proving ground for artificial intelligence, but recent developments suggest it offers a route to automated human-like reasoning
View ArticleDeadly upwellings of cold water pose threat to migratory sharks
Climate change is making extreme cold upwellings more common in certain regions of the world, and these events can be catastrophic for animals such as bull sharks
View ArticleParkinson's disease progression slowed by antibody infusions
Monthly infusions with the drug prasinezumab appeared to slow the progression of motor symptoms in people with advanced Parkinson's disease
View ArticleWe live in a cosmic void so empty that it breaks the laws of cosmology
Mounting evidence suggests our galaxy sits at the centre of an expanse of nothingness 2 billion light years wide. If so, we may have to rethink our understanding of the universe
View ArticleGeoscientists are using telecom 'dark fibres' to map Earth’s innards
The networks of fibre optic cables that criss-cross the planet could be used to better understand what’s happening inside it
View ArticleTiny nematode worms can grow enormous mouths and become cannibals
One species of nematode worm turns into a kin-devouring nightmare if it grows up in a crowded environment with a poor diet
View ArticleA surprisingly enormous black hole has been found in our galaxy
A black hole 33 times the mass of the sun is the largest stellar black hole ever spotted, and its strange companion star could help explain how it got so huge
View ArticleWatch a swarm of cyborg cockroaches controlled by computers
Remote-controlled cockroaches with computers mounted on their backs can move as a swarm towards a target location, and could be used for search missions
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