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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

Five differently coloured triangular wax crayon bars standing upright on a white surface.

video

Art

Watch as Japan’s surplus trees are transformed into forest-tinted crayons

4 minutes

A person with a prosthetic leg stands in a room filled with plastic-wrapped prosthetics and limbs, showcasing orthopaedic supplies.

video

Technology and the self

A filmmaker finds a tactile beauty in the creation of her prosthetic leg

11 minutes

Painting of a riverside scene with a large windmill, boats on the water, and three women standing on the bank next to a dock, under cloudy sky.

essay

History of technology

Learning to love monsters

Windmills were once just machines on the land but now seem delightfully bucolic. Could wind turbines win us over too?

Stephen Case

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

Close-up images of a display pixel grid, a black and white foam pattern, and a colourful honeycomb structure.

video

Engineering

A close-up look at electronic paper reveals its exquisite patterns – and limitations

9 minutes

Four blue, irregularly shaped objects with black squiggly lines attached, displayed in a sequence against grey and white backgrounds.

video

Physics

Is it possible to design a shape to roll along any fixed path?

4 minutes

A grid of six uniquely styled number “8” designs in various colours and textures, each in different backgrounds: black, orange, blue, green, black, and grey.

video

Design and fashion

The mundane becomes mesmerising in this deep dive into segmented displays

14 minutes

A person in a red jumpsuit playing the trumpet, causing flames along a metal tube to create visible sound waves.

video

Physics

A song of ice, fire and jelly – exploring the physics and history of the trumpet

9 minutes

Person with tattooed arms wearing a spiked, leather arm brace connected with cables and finger straps, a piece of custom technology.

video

Music

Electronic gloves and even potted plants make music in a playground for sound innovation

6 minutes

Illustrations of various spoons with different handles and designs, arranged on white cards laid out in a fan pattern.

video

Design and fashion

Household items are reborn in a ‘visual symphony of everyday objects’

11 minutes

Hands squeezing dyed yarn over a container of dark liquid, with dye dripping from the yarn.

video

Design and fashion

From sheep to sea – an ode to the iconic sweater that warms Cornish sailors

4 minutes

A black and white image of a starburst galaxy with bright, radiating light and scattered points of light representing stars against a dark background.

video

Astronomy

Raw solar-storm footage is the punk-rock antidote to sleek James Webb imagery

6 minutes

Three people constructing a traditional bamboo hut in a the highlands of Ethiopia, surrounded by trees.

video

Architecture

How the Dorze in Ethiopia make ‘beehive’ houses from bamboo that last a lifetime

35 minutes

Close-up of a person using a utility knife to cut a material adorned with intricate white symbols, with a measuring tape on top.

video

Technology and the self

‘Perfection is for the gods,’ and this sculptor gets to a thousandth of an inch of it

14 minutes

Diagram showing airflow and drag around a robotic figure riding a winged creature, visualising aerodynamic principles.

video

Biology

It’s a massive, winged Cretaceous beast – could a human ride one?

9 minutes

Fog horn tower on a rocky cliffside overlooking the sea under an overcast sky.

video

History of technology

Behold as a mechanical foghorn in Shetland awakes from its year-long slumber

2 minutes

Hands holding red and blue magnetic rings with one ring levitating above the other, demonstrating magnetic repulsion.

video

Physics

In this 1975 lecture, the maglev train’s inventor deconstructs his ingenious design

19 minutes

Close-up of a hand gripping the handlebar of a motorbike, with part of its red tank visible.

video

Design and fashion

Gear up for a stylish celebration of vintage motorcycle design

6 minutes

Spacecraft hovering over rocky asteroid surface with a starry night sky backdrop.

essay

Space exploration

Riches in space

Asteroids could pay for so much space exploration. We just need to mine those valuable resources – and duck a direct hit

Martin Elvis

Close-up of a person’s glasses showing the reflection of a rocket launch on a screen, with blue and grey colours dominant.

video

Making

How sky-high dreams launched one man’s audacious life in homemade rocketry

5 minutes

$Three origami figures in front of geometric light patterns on a black background, featuring a flower, a crane, and a rooster.$

video

Engineering

Why are NASA engineers borrowing techniques from origami artists?

5 minutes

A dense forest with tall trees covered in moss, lush green foliage and ferns on the forest floor.

essay

Ecology and environmental sciences

Nature’s playbook

From termite queens to the carbon cycle, nature knows how to avoid network collapse. Human designers should pay heed

Ruth DeFries

Abstract artwork with numerous brown rectangles arranged in a seemingly infinite pattern on a white background.

video

Engineering

Simple objects make for epic art installations of sound and movement

20 minutes

A deserted city street flanked by tall buildings, leading to a large historic building in the background under a clear sky.

essay

Complexity

Uncertain times

The pandemic is an unprecedented opportunity – seeing human society as a complex system opens a better future for us all

Jessica Flack & Melanie Mitchell