An Immune System for the Planet

Can we build a global pathogen defence system – a planetary equivalent of the immune system – to protect us when the next pandemic arrives?

10+ mins read

Very Interesting

STIMULATION AND SIGNALLING

Using magnets to influence the brain could lead to revolutionary new depression treatment. The method, tested in rats, targets star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes. Neuroscientists Dr Yichao Yu and Prof Mark Lythgoe at University College London tell us more…

5 mins read

Very Interesting

THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: WHY IS IT BEING RETIRED AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO IT?

The last decade of the ageing space station’s life will feature private occupants, movies and an eventual watery grave

3 mins read

Very Interesting

THE PERILS OF FOLKLORE

Seemingly innocuous folk cures and old wives’ tales can have a darker side

2 mins read

Very Interesting

THE EXPLAINER: TORNADOES

All about tornadoes

3 mins read

Very Interesting

YOU, ME AND OUR MICROBES

Why you are more like your partner than you might think

2 mins read

Very Interesting

ARE WE ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE?

The search for alien life is ramping up. But what if, instead of searching for signs of biology, we looked for something more familiar: an extraterrestrial civilisation?

10+ mins read

Very Interesting

THE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE

A mathematical phenomenon seen in everything from fruit to music

4 mins read

Very Interesting

A MOST VIOLENT YEAR

The volcanoes of 2021 blew our minds at a time when much of the world was reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic

4 mins read

Very Interesting

NEW DADS: DO THEY GET POSTNATAL DEPRESSION?

Nearly one in four new fathers suffers from anxiety and depression in the first year following their children’s birth. Should we be doing more to help them?

3 mins read

Very Interesting