Sberbank Technopark in Russia by Zaha Hadid Architects. Zaha Hadid Architects When giant blobs began appearing on city skylines around the world in the late 1980s and 1990s, it marked not an alien invasion but the impact of computers on the practice of building design. Thanks to computer-aided design (CAD),Continue Reading
Pluto, with its basin Sputnik Planitia on the right. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Alex Parker Pluto, along with many other dwarf planets in the outer solar system, is often thought of as dark, icy and barren – with a surface temperature of just −230°C. But now aContinue Reading
The death of Caesar. Vincenzo Camuccini/Wikipedia Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March (March 15) in 44BC and a bloody civil war followed. This brought down the Roman republic and replaced it with a monarchy led by Caesar’s nephew Octavian, who in 27BC became the emperor Augustus. AContinue Reading
Eliud Kipchoge last year became the first athlete to run a marathon in under two hours after much training and careful preparation. Regardless of whether you’re aiming for a new world record or you just want to achieve a respectable time for your age, if you’re training for a marathonContinue Reading
The UK’s coronavirus contact-tracing app has been kicked into the long grass, with the government now saying it isn’t a priority and may not be ready until winter. The app – which has so far cost nearly £12 million – was supposed to be a key part of plans toContinue Reading
Our sense of self depends on understanding how others think about the world. Barney Moss/Flickt, CC BY-SA We are highly sensitive to people around us. As infants, we observe our parents and teachers, and from them we learn how to walk, talk, read – and use smartphones. There seems toContinue Reading
Inside an illicit meth lab. Darwin Brandis/Shutterstock Ever been in love? You’ll know the rush. That’s chemistry at work. Our brain produces molecules such as 2-phenylethylamine, the mood enhancer also found in chocolate. But eating chocolate won’t make you fall in love – enzymes in your liver break it downContinue Reading
Shutterstock/GaudiLab Most of us have experienced unwanted calls at home. This is in spite of efforts by regulators, including the Information Commissioner’s Office and Ofcom, whose most recent report shows that around half of the UK population still receive nuisance calls. Many of these unsolicited calls annoy us because theyContinue Reading
GoodStudio/Shutterstock This article contains examples of racist, Islamophobic and threatening language Twitter has finally permanently removed right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins from its platform for violating its “hateful conduct” policy. Many would ask why it took so long for Twitter to ban someone with such a long record of offensive comments.Continue Reading
People Image Studio Many people suspect they’ve been infected with COVID-19 by now, despite the fact that only 0.5% of the UK’s population has actually been diagnosed with it. Similar numbers have been reported in other countries. Exactly how many people have actually had it, however, is unclear. There isContinue Reading
