Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
In this brief yet expansive science lesson, the UK physicist and science educator Brian Cox explores how ‘each snowflake is a microcosm of the laws of physics’. Narrating over charming paper cut-out animation, Cox details a snowflake’s journey from its birth in the clouds to its final melting place, as well as how Johannes Kepler’s theory about their hexagonal shape would take some four centuries to be proved correct. Connecting the structure of these small ice crystals to that of spiral galaxies, this riveting dive into the natural laws that govern all things great and small will almost surely make you see the humble snowflake anew.
Video by The Royal Society
video
Physics
To change the way you see the Moon, view it from the Sun’s perspective
5 minutes
video
Ecology and environmental sciences
GPS tracking reveals stunning insights into the patterns of migratory birds
6 minutes
video
Space exploration
The rarely told story of the fruit flies, primates and canines that preceded us in space
12 minutes
video
Neuroscience
This intricate map of a fruit fly brain could signal a revolution in neuroscience
2 minutes
video
Computing and artificial intelligence
The ‘cloud’ requires heaps of energy to stay aloft. Could synthetic DNA be the answer?
12 minutes
video
Biology
Brilliant dots of colour form exquisite patterns in this close-up of butterfly wings
3 minutes
video
Genetics
Why it took a century to work out that humans interbred with Neanderthals
22 minutes
video
Evolution
How – and how not – to think about the role randomness plays in evolution
60 minutes
video
Physics
The rhythms of a star system inspire a pianist’s transfixing performance
5 minutes