NASA JSC The Moon was for a long time considered to be bone dry, with analyses of returned lunar samples from the Apollo missions showing only trace amounts of water. These traces were in fact believed to be due to contamination on Earth. But over the past two decades, re-analysesContinue Reading
As you drive down the road leading to Jodrell Bank Observatory, a sign asks visitors to turn off their mobile phones, stating that the Lovell telescope is so powerful it could detect a phone signal on Mars. Radio telescopes are designed to be incredibly sensitive. To quote the legendary astronomerContinue Reading
giuseppelombardo/Shutterstock After a fairly relaxed summer, more and more places are bringing back tighter restrictions in response to rising COVID-19 cases, with some even returning to full or near-full lockdowns. We all know that social distancing makes sense: the fewer people we meet (and the further away from them weContinue Reading
Artist's conception of the Milky Way galaxy, which should contain dark matter haloes. Nick Risinger/NASA The search for dark matter – an unknown and invisible substance thought to make up the vast majority of matter in the universe – is at a crossroads. Although it was proposed nearly 70 yearsContinue Reading
Hybrid parrots in Costa Rica. Ondrej Prosicky/Shutterstock How did some animals form wings to fly? – Year Five class, London, UK Perhaps the first thing you notice when you see a bird is its amazing ability to fly. Modern birds fly using their “arms”, which have feathers and very strongContinue Reading
Artist's concept of the OSIRIS REx spacecraft collecting material from Bennu. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Relief showed clearly on the faces of the team of NASA scientists and engineers as they were told: “Touchdown is complete”. Then applause a few seconds later for “back away burn complete”. The most hazardousContinue Reading
Artist's concept of the OSIRIS REx spacecraft collecting material from Bennu. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Relief showed clearly on the faces of the team of NASA scientists and engineers as they were told: “Touchdown is complete”. Then applause a few seconds later for “back away burn complete”. The most hazardousContinue Reading
Checking in. Danny Lawson/PA Wire/PA Images During the first wave of COVID-19, researchers at Oxford University built a computer model that suggested if 56% of the the UK downloaded and used a contact-tracing app (alongside other control measures) it could end the epidemic in the country. With the English appContinue Reading
Nata Bene/Shutterstock During the first pandemic lockdowns at the start of 2020, social media was flooded with pictures of homemade banana bread as people turned to baking in lieu of socialising. Now with many places reintroducing or anticipating further restrictions as COVID-19 case numbers rise again, there’s a good chanceContinue Reading
aapsky/Shutterstock What will the future of public transport look like? The major projects being planned today, such as the UK’s HS2 high-speed rail network, aren’t fundamentally different to what’s been built over the last 30 years. Maglev trains are largely confined to niche projects in China. Hyperloop remains an unprovenContinue Reading
