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Feathered caterpillar

This is the caterpillar stage of the common

Cat’s tongue

This is the surface of a domestic cat’s

Shaping Mount Mayon

Mount Mayon is located on Luzon, the Philippines,

Carbon star

A carbon star is a luminous type of

Ferris-wheel-sized chunk of the Moon is orbiting suspiciously close to Earth

GLOBAL EYE Showcasing the incredible world we live

EARTH’S LOWER ATMOSPHERE IS EXPANDING

The lowest part of Earth’s atmosphere has been

Triassic skulls unearthed in Greenland reveal ‘cold bone’ dinosaur

A huge dinosaur that roamed Greenland 214 million

‘Balding’ black holes prove Einstein right again on general relativity

This visualisation of a black hole shows its

PATIENT’S IMMUNE SYS TEM CURES HIV

An artist’s illustration of the HIV virus In

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is 40 times deeper than the Mariana Trench

O n Jupiter, a storm’s been brewing for

Diamond hauled from deep inside Earth holds neverbefore-seen mineral

W ithin a diamond hauled from deep beneath

DRUG TO TREAT GENE TIC CAUSE OF DWARFISM APPROVED

Voxzogo is being developed by BioMarin Pharmaceutical The

Polar bear parts are being smuggled around the world

P eople have smuggled hundreds of bear body

Astronomers discover a ‘barrier’ around the centre of the Milky Way

An artist’s illustration of the Milky Way’s centre,

Earliest evidence of mercury poisoning in humans found in 5,000-year-old bones

High levels of mercury were likely caused by

FISH RUB UP AGAINS T GREAT WHITE SHARKS

Fish bravely use sharks’ rough skin to clean

USING A GIANT L ASER

Despite the laser’s enormous size, all the real

NIF AND SPACE RESEARCH

The immense heat and light of the Sun

NIF IN SPACE EXPERIMENTS

We speak to Jena Meinecke, who used the laser to study cosmic magnetic fields

BRAINDUMP

Amazing answers to your curious questions

THE LIBRARY

The latest book releases for curious minds

DEF Y GRAVIT Y WITH FORKS

What keeps this contraption suspended on a toothpick?

INBOX

Speak your mind

FAST FACTS

Amazing trivia that will blow your mind

THE WORLD ’S BIGGEST LASER

Why America’s National Ignition Facility is recreating the conditions that exist inside stars

HOW THE GIANT L ASER WORKS

The ultimate purpose of NIF is to focus

SEEING SOUNDS AND SMELLING COLOURS

How does synesthesia combine the senses?

GOLD: THE RICH ELEMENT

How this versatile, unique metal forms, and how it’s extracted and used today

WHAT IS CHEMOTHERAPY?

Discover how powerful drugs can be used to destroy cancer cells

EXTREME DESERT RACING

The vehicles and technology behind the Dakar Rally, the toughest cross-country race in the world

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The Volkswagen Race Touareg achieved three consecutive wins at the Dakar Rally

COOLING WITH SPACE TECHNOLOGY

Controlling the temperature of vehicles and drivers is

AUTONOMOUS FREIGHT

The world’s first all-electric crewless cargo ship

HOW ANCIENT L ANGUAGES ARE DECIPHERED

It took more than 20 years to translate the Rosetta Stone

WHAT WAS THE BAT TLE OF THE AL AMO?

The outcome of this two-week battle between Mexican and Texian forces proved pivotal in the Texas Revolution

WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE?

This imaginary line separates time, running from the North Pole to the South Pole

BIGGEST NATURAL DISASTERS

Eight times that nature caused widespread chaos and destruction

HOW BRITAIN BECAME AN ISL AND

The real Brexit started more than 8,000 years ago

HOW CUCKOOS TRICK OTHER BIRDS

Discover the cunning parenting of the cuckoo

WHAT IS QUANTUM COMPUTING?

How the ability to be in two places at once is heralding a new era of ultra-powerful computers

DAWN OF A NEW ERA

Where quantum computers could really come into their

HOW HEAT PUMPS WORK

These machines use cold outdoor air to heat homes

HOW DOES A COFFEE MACHINE WORK?

Take a look inside the Nespresso CitiZ coffee maker

WATER ON MARS

Orbiters and rovers have found evidence of a watery past on the Red Planet. But why is this evidence so important?

NASA’S SPACE ARCHAEOLOGIST

A mission is being sent to explore ancient asteroids that orbit alongside Jupiter. Here’s everything you need to know about Lucy