Stock-Asso/Shutterstock Plants look so different from animals, that it’s easy for many people to think of them as alien and separate from us. Most people appreciate how pretty flowers and trees look and know photosynthesis is essential to life. But our mental and physical connection to plantlife runs deeper thanContinue Reading
Virgin Orbit filed for bankruptcy in April 2023. T. Schneider/Shutterstock The UK’s space sector has shown a remarkable dynamism in the past few years. According to the latest official figures, the sector’s revenue grew about 5.1% in 2021, outpacing the global space industry. This is even more impressive considering theContinue Reading
Stone obelisks stand tall in Aksum, Ethiopia. This city was once the capital of a kingdom spanning northeast Africa and the Arabian peninsula. Shutterstock / Artist Pre-colonial African history is alive with tales of civilisations rising and falling and of different cultures intermingling across the continent. We have now shedContinue Reading
Author provided April 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the death of mathematician and philosopher John Venn. You may well be familiar with Venn diagrams – the ubiquitous pictures of typically two or three intersecting circles, illustrating the relationships between two or three collections of things. For example, during theContinue Reading
A new book explores the far-reaching impact of germs and viruses on human society.Continue Reading
Particle physics has failed to find some of the evidence physicists were hoping for. D-Visions/Shutterstock Finding a theory of everything – explaining all the forces and particles in the universe – is arguably the holy grail of physics. While each of its main theories works extraordinarily well, they clash alsoContinue Reading
Woollen clothing has been around for as long as humans have been wearing clothes and sheep have been domesticated. Indeed, our distant ancestors used sheep for three things: food, clothing and shelter – wool makes good insulation and helps to keep in the warmth. The UK is still one ofContinue Reading
Sorry astronomers, but with a little patience, a basic DSLR, and some photo-editing wizardry, anyone can capture images worthy of the James Webb Telescope.Continue Reading
From left to right: Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman (seated), Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen make up the Artemis II crew. Nasa If all goes to plan, sometime in November 2024, NASA’s newly announced Artemis II crew – Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen – willContinue Reading
Eldest daughters often take on the lion's share of domestic responsibilities. Pexels/nishant aneja Have you heard of “eldest daughter syndrome”? It’s the emotional burden eldest daughters tend to take on (and are encouraged to take on) in many families from a young age. From caring for younger siblings, helping outContinue Reading
