Males are bigger than females, right? Generally, this is true of humans – imagine the extremes of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and singer Kylie Minogue. It is also true of other familiar mammals including pets, such as cats and dogs, and livestock such as sheep and cows. But a newContinue Reading
The 2024 Academy Awards recognised several amazing acting performances, including Cillian Murphy’s portrayal of the physicist Robert Oppenheimer, which won him the award for Best Actor. But what is it that drives such peak performances? When an actor fully embodies the character to the extent that it creates an immersive,Continue Reading
It has been ten years since Malaysian airlines flight MH370, carrying 239 passengers and crew on board, disappeared less than one hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on 8 March 2014. It has become one of the great unsolved mysteries of modern times and is a puzzle that hasContinue Reading
Animals in polar regions are at particular risk. Andrew Mobbs/Shutterstock Many experts believe we may soon face a mass extinction event, with a high proportion of Earth’s species dying out. Projections indicate the climate will continue to change for centuries to come, and this is a significant threat to biodiversityContinue Reading
NASA Humans have long dreamed of setting foot on the Moon and other planetary bodies such as Mars. Since the 1960s, space travellers have donned suits designed to protect them from the vacuum of space and stepped out into the unknown. However, the Polaris Dawn mission, which is to includeContinue Reading
bennphoto / Shutterstock Global warming caused by increased concentrations of greenhouse gases is already affecting our lives. Scorching summers, more intense heatwaves, longer drought periods, more extended floods, and wilder wildfires are consequences linked to this warming. One less obvious consequence of global warming is also getting growing attention fromContinue Reading
IM Imagery / Shutterstock A global race to build powerful computer chips that are essential for the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools could have a major impact on global politics and security. The US is currently leading the race in the design of these chips, also known asContinue Reading
I'm Friday / Shutterstock Disinformation, sharing false information to deceive and mislead others, can take many forms. From edited “deepfake” videos made on smartphones to vast foreign-led information operations, politics and elections show how varied disinformation can be. Hailed as “the year of elections”, with the majority of the world’sContinue Reading
A deal was signed between San Diego Zoo and China’s Wildlife Conservation Association in February 2024 that paved the way for Chinese giant pandas to return to the US by the end of the summer. But this is far more than just a deal between two zoos. It suggests aContinue Reading
Unlike humans, many animals still have tails. vblinov/Shutterstock Put the word “evolution” into Google images and the results are largely variations on one theme: Ralph Zallinger’s illustration, March of Progress. Running left to right, we see a chimp-like knuckle walker gradually becoming taller and standing erect. Implicit in such imagesContinue Reading
