A Reboot of the Maxwell’s Demon Thought Experiment—in Real Life
Physicists just reconstructed a 19th-century paradox that seems to violate the second law of thermodynamics (but really doesn’t).Continue Reading
2022-10-14
Why you should train your cat – and how to do it
Valeri Potapova/Shutterstock The pandemic fuelled a rise in first-time pet owners and people adopting puppies and kittens. While even inexperienced owners expect a new puppy will need some training, people rarely think the same applies to kittens. But just like dogs, cats need support to adjust to living alongside us.Continue Reading
2022-10-08
It’s Time to Treat Housing Insecurity as a Health Risk
A new study shows that cancer patients in precarious living situations are twice as likely to die from their illness, underscoring the harms of unstable housing.Continue Reading
2022-10-07
Do we have free will – and do we want it? Thomas the Tank Engine offers clues
George Sheldon/Shutterstock Are we free or are our actions determined by the laws of physics? And how much free will do we actually want? These questions have troubled philosophers for millennia – and there are still no perfect answers. But it turns out that a character from a children’s TVContinue Reading
2022-10-07
Nobel prize: physicists share prize for insights into the spooky world of quantum mechanics
Members of the Nobel Committee for Physics announce the winners of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics (L-R on the screen) Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeilinger TT News Agency / Alamy Stock Photo The 2022 Nobel prize for physics has been awarded to a trio of scientistsContinue Reading
2022-10-05
A fossil baby helped scientists explain how mammals thrived after the dinosaur extinction – new research
An artist's impression of the _Pantolambda bathmodon_ H Sharpe, Author provided Sixty-two million years ago, a mother gave birth to a baby. Overcoming the shock of birth in a matter of minutes, the baby began to explore the world around it. The baby started to suckle from its mother, aContinue Reading
2022-09-16
The World Has Reached Peak Attenborough
The British documentarian is a national treasure. But soaring strings and stunning drone shots feel frozen in an earlier era of climate activism.Continue Reading
2022-09-16
Teaching ‘Selfish’ Wind Turbines to Share Can Boost Productivity
A software update can help turbines become less disruptive to their neighbors and distribute the wind more efficiently.Continue Reading
2022-09-15
Should we really believe scientific facts will last forever when history is full of revolutions in thinking?
Phrenology has long since been overturned, but it was once very popular among scientists. Holly Anne Cromer/Shutterstock Astronomers once believed the Sun revolved around the Earth. In the 19th century, scientists thought the shape of a person’s skull could reveal their mental strengths or weaknesses. And in the 20th century,Continue Reading
2022-09-15
Curious Kids: what is exotic matter, and could we use it to make wormholes?
Rost9/Shutterstock What is exotic matter, and could we use it to make wormholes? – Julia, aged 14, London Matter is “stuff”. It is anything that is made up of particles that take up space. Everything we can feel and see on Earth is matter, and it’s usually in one ofContinue Reading
2022-09-13