Mysterious ‘Viking disease’ linked to Neanderthal DNA

WELCOME

Technology news has been buzzing with stories of

Bubble hunting

© Getty Beneath flocking gulls, these humpback whales

Snapping skyscrapers

© Alamy Margaret Bourke-White was an American photojournalist

Fungal handshake

© Alamy This is a scanning electron microscope

Peering behind bars

© ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee and

Perseverance rover finds organic molecules on Mars

N ASA’s Perseverance rover has found a diverse

Swirls of liquid iron may be trapped inside Earth’s core

Earth’s solid inner core may not be solid

SCIENTISTS DISCOVER A HUGE HOT BLOB ON THE MOON

Recent observations of the Moon’s far side revealed

Roman mausoleum discovered in the rubble of a London building site

Excavations revealed elaborate mosaics at the centre of

SCIENTISTS DISCOVER WHERE THE MICROPLASTICS HUMANS INHALE END UP

Researchers estimate that humans inhale a credit card’s

Scientists make the world’s first genetically modified snakes

Introducing the world’s first genetically modified snake ©

Spider kills prey with gruesome tactic

Fuzzy, long-legged spiders may attack their prey with

WORLD’S DEEPEST CANYON IS HOME TO ASIA’S TALLEST TREE

An aerial view showing the giant cypress measuring

Oldest active black hole in the universe discovered

A zoomed-in Webb image taken for the

THE ORION SPACECRAFT GETS A HEAT SHIELD FOR ITS MOON MISSION

NASA is making headway in its preparations for

Human impact on Earth’s tilt concerns scientists

Water pumped from aquifers between 1993 and 2010

WISH LIST

WILDLIFE WATCHING GADGETS

Who built the Great Sphinx?

Michael Beattie Most Egyptologists think that the Great Sphinx was built by King Khafre, the builder of the second of the pyramids at Giza, who ruled from around 2558 to 2532 BCE. Some believe the Great Sphinx started out as a statue of a lion, with Khafre’s features added later. This combination of man and beast represents the pharaoh’s super-human power: the sphinx suggested that the king was a god on Earth. It may also have been intended to serve as a guardian of the king’s pyramid.

THE LIBRARY

The latest book releases for curious minds

MAKE A CD GREENHOUSE

Recycle transparent CD cases and watch seeds produce roots and shoots

INBOX Speak your mind

The vision of someone with visual snow is

FAST FACTS

Amazing trivia that will blow your mind

RISE OF THE AI CHATBOTS

How breakthroughs in artificial intelligence are making everyday chatbots smarter than ever

5 JOBS THAT AI COULD REPLACE

1 TECHNOLOGY Workers like coders and computer programmers

HARDWARE FOR AI

Artificial intelligence makes use of a range of sophisticated modern hardware

COULD AI EVER BE TRULY CONSCIOUS?

Tom McClelland is a lecturer in the department of history and philosophy of science at Cambridge University. He ponders the deeper questions about AI

CHATBOT AI BY NUMBERS

HOW BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS WORK

Our bodies need blood to deliver oxygen and nutrients and remove waste. How do we receive more when we run dangerously low?

LAB-GROWN MEAT EXPLAINED

Would you eat chicken or beef that’s been grown in a laboratory?

HOW HARDNESS IS MEASURED

This scale helps scientists identify and categorise minerals

DIY POWER

Discover the science and technology behind the power tools in your toolbox

MOTORBIKE EVOLUTION

From simple early designs to today’s speedy sporting tech, these two-wheeled vehicles have stepped up a gear

HOW A CONSTRUCTION CRANE WORKS

Incredible engineering allows these lofty lifters to hoist hefty materials into the air with ease

DIGGING THE CHANNEL TUNNEL

How one of the world’s longest undersea passages came to be

HOW LIFE EVOLVES

Discover the biological pathways through time that led to the plants and animals of today

HOW STORM SUPERCELLS FORM

What turns an ordinary storm into a whirling maelstrom?

ANATOMY OF A SUPERVOLCANO

Under the surface of Yellowstone National Park lurks a supervolcano that scientists now know to be twice the size they first thought – should we be worried?

HOW OYSTERS MAKE PEARLS

Meet the jewellerymaking molluscs that turn irritating specks of dirt into stunning stones

HOW ANIMATION WAS INVENTED

Before cinema, moving images were created using clever visual illusions

THE ORIGINS OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

Why did much of the world switch from the imperial to the metric system?

AMAZING FUTURE SPACE ROBOTS

Discover the versatile space machines that can roll, fly, float and swim, from junk recyclers to station companions

FINDING MOON ROCKS

Why astronauts brought lunar rubble back to Earth

HOW DOES E-INK WORK?

This technology allows e-readers like Kindles to look and read like the pages of a book