It takes a lot of self control not to peek Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock When asked if they peeked at a toy, 40% of children falsely confessed to peeking, even though they did not do so, in a recent study of lying in toddlers. When so many children made up falsehoods with noContinue Reading
SUKJAI PHOTO/Shutterstock Why doesn’t the rainbow have colours like black, brown and grey in it? – Ivy, aged four, Kent, UK Many of us have seen rainbows in the sky once the sun starts shining again after a spell of rain. For us to see a rainbow, the conditions needContinue Reading
Can this dragonfly feel pain? Stefan Csontos/Shutterstock At least a trillion insects are killed annually for food and animal feed. Routine slaughter methods include extreme heat and cold, often preceded by starvation. By comparison, “only” around 79 billion mammals and bird livestock are slaughtered every year. Scholars have long recognisedContinue Reading
Hyllus semicupreus jumping spider common human/Shutterstock Spider scientists are an optimistic crowd. Perhaps it’s just that we see things from a different angle to arachnophobes. If you don’t believe me, look up Theridion grallator. Researchers from my field call this Hawaiian species the happy-face spider because of the smile-like curvesContinue Reading
NIF's target chamber, where a powerful laser is used to start nuclear fusion reactions Photo by Jason Laurea/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), CC BY-NC-SA Nuclear fusion holds huge promise as a source of clean, abundant energy that could power the world. Now, fusion researchers at a national laboratory in theContinue Reading
Laser energy being converted into X-rays inside a box, which compress a fuel capsule until it implodes. LLNL Researchers in the US have finally fulfilled an objective that was set decades ago: the achievement of “ignition” – getting more energy out than you put in – using nuclear fusion. TheContinue Reading
Heat the room you'll spend the most time in. Nikodash/Shutterstock As temperatures drop over the winter period and the cost of energy rises across the UK and Europe, how to spend less money on gas and electricity is on everyone’s minds. The UK energy regulator Ofgem reports that an averageContinue Reading
Milky Way over sand dunes in Cervantes, Australia. Nik Coli/Shutterstock The European Space Agency (Esa) recently announced a new mission of its science programme: a small telescope orbiting the Earth dubbed Arrakhis. But although its name is inspired by the sci-fi novel Dune, it will not be looking for sandwormsContinue Reading
Ever wondered why people can't agree on what foods taste good? Shift Drive/Shutterstock In the last 40 years obesity has been constantly rising. This has happened despite the popularity of all kind of diets ranging from low carb, paleo or even ice cream based. Many scientists believe this is becauseContinue Reading
Rubber ducky isopod woodlouse. This rare isopod species are located in caves in Thailand. skippy666/Shutterstock Lots of adults dislike woodlice. Some are physically revolted by them. But this distaste is cultural rather than innate since most small children are well-disposed towards woodlice and happy to handle them. Some people evenContinue Reading
