Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
The womb isn’t as welcoming a space for a developing offspring as you might imagine. Indeed, from the moment an embryo is implanted in the mother’s womb, her immune system views the foreign body as something of an invader. Thereafter, the relationship between mother and developing baby is at least partially defined by a biological war over resources. In this clash, the placenta serves as a life-giving intermediary between mother and offspring, allowing for the transport of nutrients while keeping blood supplies entirely separate. With a surrealist-inspired touch, this animation by Diana Gradinaru for the Royal Institution of Great Britain traces the many functions of this fascinating, essential and short-lived organ, as well as its viral evolutionary origins.
video
Death
Even in modern secular societies, belief in an afterlife persists. Why?
9 minutes
video
Nature and landscape
Take a serene hike through an ancient forest, inspired by a Miyazaki masterpiece
6 minutes
video
Design and fashion
The mundane becomes mesmerising in this deep dive into segmented displays
14 minutes
video
Physics
A song of ice, fire and jelly – exploring the physics and history of the trumpet
9 minutes
video
Animals and humans
An artist and ants collaborate on an exhibit of ‘tiny Abstract Expressionist paintings’
5 minutes
video
Mathematics
How a curious question about colouring maps changed mathematics forever
9 minutes
video
Physics
A dreamy tribute to the music of Brian Eno, rendered in paint, soap and water
2 minutes
video
Biology
To understand how an animal sees the world, start with the shape of its pupils
5 minutes
video
Technology and the self
Why we should worry less about ‘sentient’ AIs and more about what we’re teaching them
16 minutes