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Science

Essays and videos exploring physics, evolution, cosmology and other frontiers in science

Astronomy Biology Biotechnology Chemistry Complexity Computing and artificial intelligence Cosmology Deep time Earth science and climate Ecology and environmental sciences Engineering Evolution Genetics History of science Human evolution Human reproduction Illness and disease Mathematics Medicine Oceans and water Palaeontology Physics Quantum theory Space exploration

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Engraving of a classroom with children sewing, some highlighted in red, teachers stand at the front with windows above.

video

Illness and disease

Humanity eradicated smallpox 45 years ago. It’s a story worth remembering

25 minutes

A murmuration of starlings forming a large, swirling shape in the early evening sky above silhouetted trees.

essay

Neuroscience

The entangled brain

The brain is much less like a machine than it is like the murmurations of a flock of starlings or an orchestral symphony

Luiz Pessoa

A silhouetted figure sitting on a chair behind frosted glass partitions in a waiting room with overhead lights.

essay

Illness and disease

Permission to be ill

It took months for my functional neurological disorder to finally be diagnosed. It’s a condition that must be recognised

Kevin Aho

Satellite image showing swirling ocean currents in vivid colours off the east coast of the US.

video

Oceans and water

A stunning visualisation explores the intricate circulatory system of our oceans

5 minutes

A man looking up from the driver’s seat of a yellow vehicle with an open window and side mirror visible.

essay

Philosophy of language

Extraterrestrial tongues

Imagining how aliens might communicate prepares us for first contact and illuminates the nature of our own languages

Nikhil Mahant

A satirical painting of a giant man being fed with spoons by tiny attendants.

essay

Information and communication

Methodical banality

Like today’s large language models, 16th-century humanists had techniques to automate writing – to the detriment of novelty

Hannah Katznelson

3D digital graphic of geometric shapes—cube, spheres and orbits—in space with a starry background.

video

History of science

Ideas ‘of pure genius’ – how astronomers have measured the Universe across history

29 minutes

Abstract colourful illustration showing various sections of a face and a black cat with lines and geometric shapes, from the perspective of someone peeing into a box.

essay

Physics

The cat that wouldn’t die

The weird paradox of Schrödinger’s cat has found a lasting popularity. What does it mean for the future of quantum physics?

Jim Baggott

Photo of deep space with a pale blue dot in the distance against a dark background, featuring faint light streaks.

essay

Cosmology

Just a pale blue dot

When we see the Earth as ‘a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam’ what do we learn about human significance?

Tim Bayne

A dark building at night, the black building structure contrasting with a deep blue night sky, with many vertical rectangular windows, three windows are brightly lit.

essay

Philosophy of science

More-than-human science

When AI takes over the practice of science we will likely find the results strange and incomprehensible. Should we worry?

Brandon Boesch

Photo of dandelion seeds in flight against a blurred green forest background.

video

Meaning and the good life

Why Orwell urged his readers to celebrate the spring, cynics be damned

11 minutes

Photo of a person applying varnish to the interior planks of a wooden boat on a sunny day.

video

Making

On the Norwegian coast, a tree is transformed into a boat the old-fashioned way

6 minutes

Enhanced image of Ceres’ surface showing a bright crater and stars in space.

essay

Space exploration

Have they been here?

When we look for extraterrestrials, we often peer into the depths of space. But alien life might be closer than you think

Ravi Kopparapu & Jacob Haqq Misra

Photo of a wicker basket with two kittens and a squirrel inside against a decorative blue and white tiled wall.

video

Animals and humans

One man’s quest to save an orphaned squirrel, as narrated by David Attenborough

14 minutes

Photo of people walking outdoors carrying trays of plants, surrounded by bushes and greenery.

essay

Meaning and the good life

Welcome to the Chaoscene

The climate crisis is here. In order to thrive in these dangerous and precarious times, we must build resilient communities

Rupert Read

Abstract digital art with glowing spirals and spheres on a dark background.

video

Computing and artificial intelligence

A future in which ‘artificial scientists’ make discoveries may not be far away

9 minutes

Photo of a black and white moth with speckled wings against a dark background.

essay

Genetics

Beanbag genetics

Today a bitter dispute about the nature of biology is underway. A simple bag of beans may be what tips the balance

Zachary B Hancock

Abstract blue and white painting of a plant silhouette on a dark background.

video

Earth science and climate

Images carved into film form a haunting elegy for a disappearing slice of Earth

3 minutes

Black and white photo of oil workers handling equipment on a rig, with oil splashing out from the pipe they are holding.

essay

Gender

Does testosterone make men?

In probing whether there are basic sex differences in humans, a psychologist and a biologist agree to seriously disagree

Cordelia Fine & Carole Hooven

Microscopic image showing a close-up view of a butterfly’s proboscis covered with vibrant pink and orange structures.

video

Biology

Butterflies become unrecognisable landscapes when viewed under electron microscopes

4 minutes

Four girls sitting on a riverbank, sitting in two groups of two; three upright and one lying down, with backpacks and bags nearby.

essay

Neurodiversity

Autism’s missing women

Long believed to be particularly associated with males, new research is revolutionising our understanding of autism

Gina Rippon

A desert highway at dusk with cliffs and the moon visible and a rear-view mirror showing a road and sunset reflection behind.

essay

Physics

The stagnation of physics

Physicists today need to jettison the all-too-attractive myth that they are uncovering the hidden reality of our Universe

Adrien De Sutter

A cheetah cub playfully interacts with a brown dog on grass, with a toy in the background.

essay

Bioethics

Why the cat wags her tail

Here’s a puzzle: how could evolution favour such a costly, frivolous and fun activity as animal play?

Mathilde Tahar-Malaussena

A large, artificial ice structure in a mountainous landscape with clear blue sky in the background.

video

Engineering

Can monumental ‘ice stupas’ help remote Himalayan villages survive?

15 minutes