essay
Neurodiversity
Rethinking adult ADHD
The diagnostic category of adult ADHD is becoming more inclusive. That’s not the same as it being overdiagnosed
Margaret Sibley
video
History of science
How we came to know the size of the Universe – and what mysteries remain
26 minutes
essay
History of science
Injury and inhibition
The misunderstood story of Phineas Gage shows that we need a new way of understanding the experiences of brain injury survivors
Ben Platts-Mills
essay
Stories and literature
Merveilleux-scientifique
With brain swaps and death rays, a little-known French sci-fi genre explored science’s dark possibilities a century ago
Fleur Hopkins-Loféron
essay
History of science
Incredible testimonies
In the 1980s, thousands of Americans began to suspect they may have been abducted by aliens. What happened?
Greg Eghigian
video
Art
Defying classification, fantastical artworks reframe the racism of Carl Linnaeus
8 minutes
essay
Philosophy of science
Why philosophy of physics?
Some physicists reject philosophy as a distraction from ‘real’ science but it is in fact both useful and beautiful
James Read
essay
History of science
A nasogenital tale
A bizarre theory (and a gory surgery) in fin-de-siècle Vienna help us get a grip on how science and medicine actually work
Urte Laukaityte
essay
History of science
The light beyond sight
Only a tiny sliver of the Universe’s light can be seen by human eyes. But today we’re catching glimpses of the invisible
Corey S Powell
video
History of science
Meet the Quaker pacifist who shattered British science’s highest glass ceilings
14 minutes
video
History of science
Ideas ‘of pure genius’ – how astronomers have measured the Universe across history
29 minutes
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
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
essay
Neurodiversity
Autism’s missing women
Long believed to be particularly associated with males, new research is revolutionising our understanding of autism
Gina Rippon
essay
History of science
Legacy of the angels
When medieval scholars sought to understand the nature of angels, they unwittingly laid the foundations of modern physics
Rebekah Wallace
essay
Childhood and adolescence
Hegemony and childcare
Early childhood development interventions in the Global South is a huge industry built on highly questionable assumptions
Francesca Mezzenzana & Gabriel Scheidecker
essay
Deep time
The bookends of time
Nothing lasts forever: not humanity, not Earth, not the Universe. But finitude confers an indelible meaning to our lives
Thomas Moynihan
essay
Mathematics
Beyond causality
In order to bridge the yawning gulf between the humanities and the sciences we must turn to an unexpected field: mathematics
Gordon Gillespie
essay
Space exploration
How the Moon became a place
For most of history, the Moon was regarded as a mysterious and powerful object. Then scientists made it into a destination
Danny Robb
essay
History of science
The birth of naturalism
The modern era is often seen as the triumph of science over supernaturalism. But what really happened is far more interesting
Peter Harrison
essay
Chemistry
Chemical laws
Often dismissed as the poor cousin of the sciences, chemistry has revealed natural laws that illuminate our Universe
Vanessa A Seifert
essay
Cosmology
Exploding the Big Bang
It was thought that science could tell us about the origins of the Universe. Today that great endeavour is in serious doubt
Daniel Linford
essay
Human evolution
The eugenicist of UNESCO
Why did Julian S Huxley, first director of the UN agency, think eugenics held the key to a more evolved, harmonious world?
Stefan Bernhardt-Radu
essay
Physics
The city of wisdom
Don’t be intimidated by physics: it is made of stories and metaphors. Learn these and the field will open up to you
Jamie Zvirzdin