FROM THE EDITOR

Earth’s core is a scary place, when you

Reach for the stars

EAGLE NEBULA

Special delivery

Orbiting roughly 400km (250 miles) above Earth, astronauts

FEEDBACK

LETTERS MAY BE EDITED FOR PUBLICATION

DISCOVERIES

“The success of this first flight marks the

THE MYSTERY OF STALLING BLACK HOLES MAY FINALLY BE SOLVED

ASTROPHYSICS

BOLD NEW SPACE MISSION WILL INTERCEPT AN ASTEROID HEADING FOR EARTH

SPACE

WHAT POOPING FREQUENCY SAYS ABOUT YOUR HEALTH

HEALTH

‘DARK OXYGEN’ HIDDEN ON OCEAN FLOOR COULD RESHAPE EVOLUTION

OCEANOGRAPHY

SECOND MYSTERIOUS FORCE KILLED POMPEII DISASTER SURVIVORS, STUDY FINDS

NATURE

SOMETHING STRANGE IS HAPPENING TO EARTH’S CORE. SCIENTISTS MIGHT FINALLY KNOW WHY

GEOLOGY

HERE’S HOW NARCISSISTS’ PERSONALITIES CHANGE AS THEY AGE

NEUROSCIENCE

SEWAGE IN THE UK'S WATERWAYS: THE FACTS

INFOGRAPHIC

HIPPOS CAN RUN SO FAST THEY ‘FLY’

NATURE

EUROPE REGAINS INDEPENDENT ACCESS TO SPACE WITH ESA’S NEW ARIANE 6 ROCKET

SPACE

WHY BAD NEWS BEATS GOOD

COMMENT

ARE SIGNS OF SHARED FEELINGS IN FROGS EVIDENCE OF EMPATHY?

COMMENT

TOURISM IS A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD, ESPECIALLY IN PRISTINE PLACES LIKE THE ANTARCTIC

COMMENT

Lion’s mane mushrooms: a fungi with phenomenal health benefits or just a fad? A doctor explains

REVIEW

How night owls can thrive in a lark’s world

For some of us, starting the day at the crack of dawn is difficult, if not impossible. But it doesn’t have to be. There are ways to work with your chronotype to boost your get-up-and-go

THIS CREEPY ROBOT FACE IS MADE FROM LIVING HUMAN SKIN CELLS

PREPARE YOURSELF FOR TOMORROW

THE BEST TOOLS AND GADGETS TO MAKE OUTDOOR COOKING EASY

Hosting a good barbecue can be hard. If you don’t want to spend the whole time shuffling charcoal around your barbecue and trying to save your friends from burnt food, these might be the devices you’re looking for

IDEAS WE LIKE…

Our pick of the month’s smartest tech

Can anything be done to stop the ‘big sink’?

THE BIG QUESTION

WHAT’S THE MOST SECRET WEAPON WE KNOW ABOUT?

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

HOW DOES OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM DISTINGUISH BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD BACTERIA?

Our immune system has evolved to recognise molecular

HOW DEEP CAN A PENGUIN DIVE?

The deepest-diving penguins are emperor penguins, who also

THE OCEAN SUNFISH

An ocean sunfish looks like a giant

HOW CAN I GET OVER MY FEAR OF REJECTION?

Whether it’s a relative, romantic partner, potential date,

WHEN’S THE BEST TIME TO SALT A STEAK?

There’s no definitive answer to the question

WHAT IS THE STRONGEST MATERIAL IN THE UNIVERSE?

By the ‘strength’ of a material, we usually

CAN YOU REALLY ABSORB PLASTIC AND CHEMICALS THROUGH YOUR SKIN?

It’s worrying to read studies that show just

HOW TO SEE A RARE LUNAR OCCULTATION

WHEN: 21 AUGUST 2024

MYTHBUSTER

DO WE ALL HAVE A ‘LIZARD BRAIN’?

HOW DO WHALES SING UNDER THE SEA?

When the terrestrial ancestors of whales took

WHAT IS A COLLAPSED NARCISSIST?

Narcissists are grandiose, entitled people who seem convinced

HOW CLOSE ARE WE TO MASS-PRODUCING HUMANOID ROBOTS?

JOHN AWBERY, VIA EMAIL GETTY IMAGES X3

CROSSWORD

PENCILS AT THE READY!

ECLIPSES ON DEMAND

Why ESA is choreographing spacecraft to block out the Sun

SAVE YOUR SKIN

BETTER LIVING THROUGH SCIENCE

SEEING IN THE DARK

For the animals living in the darkest depths of the ocean, sight remains a key sense for spotting predators and prey. But the extraordinary eyes they’ve evolved to see in the inky blackness of the twilight zone are nothing like eyes as we know them

ALL THE BETTER FOR SEEING

IT’S NOT JUST SHRIMP-LIKE CRUSTACEANS THAT HAVE EVOLVED EXTRAORDINARY WAYS OF SEEING IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE’S DARK DEPTHS…

8 SECRETS TO A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP

We would all like more sleep, but we haven’t all got the luxury of early nights or endless lie-ins. Luckily, the secret to sleeping longer isn’t spending more time in bed, it’s falling asleep faster. Here are eight ways to make it easier to drop off

INSIDE THE MIND OF A DARK EMPATH

The classic idea of the compassionless psychopath is outdated. Research is revealing how people with dark personality traits can also have high levels of empathy. But could this make them more dangerous?

DEEP HEAT

GEOTHERMAL HEAT IS BEING HARNESSED TO HELP PLANTS AT THE EDEN PROJECT GROW. ADVANCED NEW TECHNOLOGY COULD TURN IT INTO A RENEWABLE SOURCE OF CLEAN, GREEN ENERGY FOR EVERYONE