Deep Intellect
A thoughtful and engaging piece examining the remarkable intelligence of the octopus – followed by an interview with the author in National Geographic.
The Virus Hunters
A look at the challenges facing the teams based in the Democratic Republic of Congo searching for the next dangerous viruses. They are doing their work at a time when large scale outbreaks are ever more likely as humans encroach further into animal habitats.
The Stick Is an Unsung Hero of Human Evolution
An archaeologist takes a look at the part the humble stick has played in developing the cognitive processes of the human species – from our early origins, to Ronnie O’Sullivan’s record-breaking frame of snooker.
The Trees That Sail to Sea
A look at the trees that escape the loggers’ attentions, the epic journeys they sometimes undertake, and their importance to numerous natural ecosystems.
How Science Is Putting a New Face on Crime Solving
A wide ranging look at recent advances in criminal forensics, from using hair for DNA matches, to the value of teeth bite matches, fingerprinting, arson investigations and facial reconstruction.
Postpartum psychosis: “I’m afraid of how you’ll judge me, as a mother and as a person”
A piece on postpartum psychosis, by an author (and NHS Research Fellow) who experienced it herself after the birth of her daughter.
Why Earth’s History Appears So Miraculous
An ambitious piece looking at observer selection effect – where a data set’s composition or properties are correlated with the very existence of its observer. The first example the piece calls on is an analysis of planes returning from WWII bombing raids with the goal of identifying which areas of the fuselage to reinforce, but it rapidly expands in scope to extinction events for our world, and our universe.
The extraordinary life and death of the world’s oldest known spider
An obituary for a 43-year-old spider whose study was a career-spanning work for the zoologist that first found her. The spider was given a fitting epitaph in the scientific paper written after her death – “we can be inspired by an ancient mygalomorph spider and the rich biodiversity she embodied.”
This Armada of Saildrones Could Conquer the Ocean
A British man who previously spent ten years living in the desert off $10,000 a year in his effort to break the land sail speed record, has started an even more ambitious, and likely more lucrative endeavour. His company, armed with venture capital investment, is building unmanned saildrones that could have a huge impact on our understanding of the ocean, as well as myriad commercial and governmental applications.
ÔOur Saturn YearsÕ
A detailed look at the “insanely, wildly, beautifully successfulÓ Cassini-Huygens mission to explore Saturn, which ended this month after nearly 20 years when its satellite made a planned plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere and burned up.