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Created by placing 2,400 different leaves in a stop-motion sequence, The Book of Leaves flickers through the collection of hues, shapes and species that the US animator Brett Foxwell found while collecting samples for his short film LeafPresser. The result is a worthy watch in its own right, drawing out the rich diversity, shared traits and natural beauty of the leaves we so often step over or otherwise take for granted.
Director: Brett Foxwell
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Art
A puppeteer makes sense of an overwhelming world by shrinking it down to size
5 minutes
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Biology
Brilliant dots of colour form exquisite patterns in this close-up of butterfly wings
3 minutes
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Anthropology
Does Mogi’s future lie with her horses on the Mongolian steppe, or in the city?
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Genetics
Why it took a century to work out that humans interbred with Neanderthals
22 minutes
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Art
The sprawling mural that depicts an unflinching people’s history of Los Angeles
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Art
In his poem ‘London’, William Blake crafted a bleak vision of the city he loved
9 minutes
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Evolution
How – and how not – to think about the role randomness plays in evolution
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Art
A prisoner in Guantánamo finds some escape in building intricate model ships
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Meaning and the good life
A Japanese religious community makes an unlikely home in the mountains of Colorado
9 minutes