THE LIBRARY

WELCOME

Issue 183

Unusual arachnid

© Getty This is a whip spider, also

Cackling in the cosmos

© NASA/STScI Digitized Sky Survey/Noel Carboni There’s a

Chinese ghost town

© Getty Situated in the suburbs of Shenyang,

Belly of a bladderwort

© Alamy Unlike earth-rooted plants, bladderwort gets its

We might have Stonehenge’s Altar Stone origins all wrong

GLOBAL EYE Showcasing the incredible world we live

2,200-YEAR-OLD CHILD’S SHOE DISCOVERED IN AUSTRIAN MINE

The leather shoe had a piece of flax

Dinosaur-killing asteroid allowed flowers to thrive

The giant asteroid that snuffed out the dinosaurs

Haunting images reveal an enormous crater near the lunar south pole

A new mosaic of Shackleton crater as seen

ANCIENT, INCORRECT VERSION OF THE ‘PRAYER OF DAVID’ DISCOVERED

A 1,500-year-old text recording a section of Psalm

Genes have been extracted from an extinct Tasmanian tiger

A Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) in

SCIENTISTS FIND ANEW VIRUS IN A DEEP PART OF THE PACIFIC

The new virus has been identified as a

James Webb Space Telescope finds a potential signature of life

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed homemade

New malaria vaccine is vital for millions

Female Anopheles mosquitoes carry malaria disease © Getty/

Mysterious bamboo regeneration baffles scientists

A shoot of henon bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra var.

A gigantic blob of dark matter may be warping our galaxy

Did you know? The Milky Way contains between

FIRST-EVER SPACE LIT TERING FINE ISSUED

The United States government has handed out its

WISH LIST

The latest CIRCUS GIFTS AND GADGETS

BRAINDUMP

Amazing answers to your curious questions

HOW TO…

Practical projects to try at home

INBOX

Speak your mind

FAST FACTS

Amazing trivia that will blow your mind

MONSTER MYTHS BUSTED

Folklore tells us that terrifying creatures such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster lurk on the outskirts of civilisation. But can science explain the harrowing historic encounters humans have had with them?

WHY ANIMALS SHED

What prompts some creatures to regularly lose their old outer layers and replace them with fresh new skin?

ANATOMY OF A COMPOST HEAP

How the natural process of composting converts your leftovers into valuable fertiliser

HOW DOLPHINS SPEAK

These chatty marine mammals have multiple methods of communication

SWEETIE SCIENCE

Find out why you have a sweet tooth, how different candies are perfected and how sugar affects your body

HOW FIREWORKS WORK

Discover the science behind the glitter and sparkle of these pyrotechnics

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN ASTRONAUT

Here’s a typical 24 hours on the International Space Station

SPACE JUNK UNCOVERED

Over 60 years of spaceflight has cluttered Earth’s orbit with debris. How do we track this material, and can we bring it safely back down?

INSIDE MEDIEVAL HOMES

Step inside the grand designs of the Middle Ages and discover what life was like

HOW BIG BEN WAS BUILT

It’s one of the most famous sights in London’s skyline, but how and when was this clock constructed?

INSIDE A LUXURY HYDROFOIL YACHT

Discover how this all-electric watercraft sails above the surface

SELF-POWERED PAVEMENTS

With the implementation of piezoelectric systems, the movement of traffic and pedestrians could light the way

6G FASTER, SMARTER,BETTER

Experts are already laying the groundwork for 6G, but what is this new type of network?

EVOLUTION OF NETWORKS

The 6G network is just the latest in a series of networking advances

CHALLENGES AHEAD

As with any other great advance in technology,

HOW 6G WILL WORK

The new network will feature a range of technology working in concert

BUILDING AQUAKE-PROOF BRIDGE

Constructing a bridge that can withstand an earthquake is as simple as building a seesaw and swing over a playground puddle