Philosophy Science Psychology Society Culture

DonateNewsletter

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

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

Microscope photo of a flea’s head showing detailed orange and black features against a black background.

video

Biology

‘Save the parasites’ may not be a popular rallying cry – but it could be a vital one

11 minutes

Black and white close-up photo of a lizard with its tongue extended, about to catch a worm. The background is dark and blurred.

video

Evolution

The many ways a lizard tongue sticks, grasps, pinches and plops – in slo-mo

6 minutes

Black and white photograph of a cloudy sky with swirling lines resembling bird flight patterns.

video

Biology

Starlings swoosh like brushstrokes across the sky in this dazzling short

3 minutes

A brown wren standing on a rock with a blurred background.

essay

Biology

In praise of subspecies

To lump or to split? Deciding whether an animal is a species or subspecies profoundly influences our conservation priorities

Richard Smyth

Line drawing of a frog from a below perspective, with circles of various sizes indicating ripples.

video

Ecology and environmental sciences

The tree frog die-off that sparked a global mystery – and revealed a dark truth

15 minutes

A small animal curled up asleep on brown moss against a black background illuminated by a spotlight.

essay

Biology

Could humans hibernate?

Hibernation allows many animals to time-travel from difficult times to plenty. Could humans learn how to do it too?

Vladyslav Vyazovskiy

A sea turtle swimming underwater in clear turquoise water with sunlight shimmering on the surface.

essay

Philosophy of science

Elusive but everywhere

A new theory argues that unseen ‘fields’ guide all goal-directed things in the Universe, from falling rocks to voyaging turtles

Daniel W McShea & Gunnar O Babcock

Aerial view of a coastal area at dusk with multiple streaks of red light travelling over water and land, illuminating the landscape.

video

Ecology and environmental sciences

GPS tracking reveals stunning insights into the patterns of migratory birds

6 minutes

Photo of two grey birds on a rock by water, one standing and the other appearing to crash land into the rock, neck bent with wings raised; green reeds in background.

essay

Philosophy of science

Life makes mistakes

Hens try to hatch golf balls, whales get beached. Getting things wrong seems to play a fundamental role in life on Earth

David S Oderberg

3D rendering of a green, abstract, textured structure resembling dense tangled fibres on a black background.

video

Neuroscience

This intricate map of a fruit fly brain could signal a revolution in neuroscience

2 minutes

Close-up photo of butterfly wing scales in shades of orange, pink, white and black arranged in a mosaic-like pattern.

video

Biology

Brilliant dots of colour form exquisite patterns in this close-up of butterfly wings

3 minutes

A kingfisher underwater catching a fish amid rising bubbles.

essay

Complexity

Problem-solving matter

Life is starting to look a lot less like an outcome of chemistry and physics, and more like a computational process

David C Krakauer & Chris Kempes

Illustration of a dodo bird with grey feathers, brown beak, and stubby wings, standing on a grassy, sandy ground.

video

Evolution

How – and how not – to think about the role randomness plays in evolution

60 minutes

Silhouette of baobab trees against a vibrant orange sunset with the sun peeking through the branches of the largest tree.

essay

Biology

Seeing plants anew

The stunningly complex behaviour of plants has led to a new way of thinking about our world: plant philosophy

Stella Sandford

Close-up of a hand gracefully resting on a naked woman’s torso, soft lighting accentuating the skin’s smooth texture against a dark background.

essay

Sex and sexuality

Sexual sensation

What makes touch on some parts of the body erotic but not others? Cutting-edge biologists are arriving at new answers

David J Linden

Close-up of a white sea star larvae against a black background.

video

Biology

A spectacular, close-up look at the starfish with a ‘hands-on’ approach to parenting

5 minutes

Two beetles with translucent wings flying against a pink background.

video

Biology

Beetles take flight at 6,000 frames per second in this perspective-shifting short

9 minutes

Abstract art depicting DNA sequencing, with vertical bands of vibrant colours including yellow, red, blue and green, blending into each other with a glossy, reflective texture.

essay

Genetics

We are not machines

Welcome to the new post-genomic biology: a transformative era in need of fresh metaphors to understand how life works

Philip Ball

Microscopic view of various microorganisms and particles in a blue liquid, showing a large oval-shaped microorganism amidst smaller particles.

video

Biology

An elegy for a dying microbe explores what we really mean by ‘death’

9 minutes

Bright yellow bird building a nest with grass on a branch surrounded by green leaves.

video

Engineering

For one of nature’s great builders, finding a mate means weaving the perfect nest

4 minutes

X-ray image of a single flower with visible petals, stem, and internal structures on a black background.

essay

Philosophy of mind

Do plants have minds?

In the 1840s, the iconoclastic scientist Gustav Fechner made an inspired case for taking seriously the interior lives of plants

Rachael Petersen

Close-up image of a hand holding a pile of vibrant red powder, possibly a spice or pigment, displaying a textured and granular surface. The background is blurred, ensuring the focus remains on the red powder and the hand.

video

Biology

How the world’s richest reds are derived from an innocuous Mexican insect

5 minutes

Two embryos, colourised in shades of pink, orange, and purple, against a black background. The embryos have distinguishable head, body, and tail regions.

essay

Biology

Building embryos

For 3,000 years, humans have struggled to understand the embryo. Now there is a revolution underway

John Wallingford