Newscom/Alamy Stock Photo In the 1960s, when traditional cinder athletics tracks were replaced by spongy, synthetic surfaces, endurance running experienced a revolution. Long distance runners began clocking far faster times on the synthetic tracks, smashing multiple world records in the process. Today, another revolution is afoot: the development of theContinue Reading
Prostock-studio/Shutterstock Everyone’s familiar with the sensation of being trapped in a conversation for too long – be that over the garden fence or by the office water cooler. On the other end of the spectrum, we’ve also experienced conversations that seem to end prematurely, leaving us dissatisfied and maybe evenContinue Reading
Inside a tokamak fusion reactor. Shutterstock/dani3315 Nuclear fusion is the process that powers the Sun and all other stars. During fusion, the nuclei of two atoms are brought close enough together that they fuse together, releasing huge amounts of energy. Replicating this process on Earth has the potential to deliverContinue Reading
Tatiana Shepeleva/Shutterstock It was recently revealed that in 2017 Microsoft patented a chatbot which, if built, would digitally resurrect the dead. Using AI and machine learning, the proposed chatbot would bring our digital persona back to life for our family and friends to talk to. When pressed on the technology,Continue Reading
Finally some good news! bbernard/Shutterstock It’s easy to feel guilty when you’re lazing around in front of the TV in your pyjamas, eating ice cream straight out of the tub. But it’s not an unusual activity in lockdown. The extended nature of the pandemic has turned attention to the impactContinue Reading
Quality of sleep is important. Shutterstock/New Africa As the pandemic spread in 2020 and nations entered lockdown, many people noticed their sleep patterns changing. On social media celebrities started recording bedtime stories to help people fall asleep, while on Twitter #cantsleep was trending regularly. A year into the pandemic, sleepContinue Reading
The brains of humans are subtly different from those of Neanderthals. Petr Student/Shutterstock How we humans became what we are today is a question that scientists have been trying to answer for a long time. How did we evolve such advanced cognitive abilities, giving rise to complex language, poetry andContinue Reading
Cave bears are now extinct. Shutterstock/Liliya Butenko Cave bears were giant plant eating bears that roamed Europe and northern Asia, and went extinct around 25 thousand years ago. They hibernated in caves during the winter. This was a dangerous time, as those which had failed to fatten up enough duringContinue Reading
Illustration of the lunar gateway. Nasa Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan blasted off from the Taurus-Littrow valley on the Moon in their lunar module Challenger on December 14 1972. Five days later, they splashed down safely in the Pacific, closing the Apollo 17 mission and becoming the last humans toContinue Reading
Boredom can be good and bad. Shutterstock/fizkes Many of us have probably felt bored at some point in the past year. Restrictions on social gatherings, travel and plenty of other activities may have been necessary to control the pandemic, but have left lots of us with little to do. OnContinue Reading
