Celebrities : Why Do They Love Bizarre Fads?

Why are famous stars so drawn to the allure of questionable health products and trends?

YOUR MYSTERIOUS BRAIN

Science has mapped the surface of Mars and translated the code for life. By comparison, we know next to nothing about what’s between our ears. Over the next few pages, we ask leading scientists to answer some of the most important questions about our brains…

Volcanoes may have given dinosaur evolution a helping hand

The rise of the dinosaurs seems to be connected to a period of violent volcanic activity more than 230 million years ago

THE FIRST BLACK HOLES

Since just after the Big Bang, ancient black holes may have been shaping the Universe as we know it. Now, scientists are tantalisingly close to glimpsing these mysterious objects

Stone Age humans hatched and raised cassowary chicks in New Guinea

Thousands of years before the domestication of the chicken, humans were collecting cassowary eggs before they hatched

OCTOPUSES ON PARADE

WITH THREE HEARTS, BLUE BLOOD, EIGHT BENDY ARMS AND INTELLIGENCE THAT OUTSMARTS OTHER SPINELESS ANIMALS, THERE'S NOTHING QUITE LIKE AN OCTOPUS. JOIN US ON A DIVE INTO THEIR WEIRD WORLD...

IN THE BEGINNING…

Brian Cox’s new show, Universe, is a scientific creation story. He tells Sara Rigby why the series doesn’t shy away from the unknown, why he sees the stars as gods, and why he wants to launch Boris Johnson into space.

Improve Your Mental Health With Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet will increase flatulence, but it has benefits for you and the planet

The Science Of Dune

The ideas, science and history driving this decade’s biggest sci-fi film

More Me, Now: Is Narcissism On The Rise?

Are we becoming more narcissistic? And is social media behind the seemingly growing me crowd?

Is Regeneration Possible?

Doctor Who makes it look so easy. Is there hope for the rest of us?

THE NET IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR FOLK WISDOM

Every culture on Earth, and even some groups of animals, have traditions and rituals for sharing knowledge vital for survival

Mysteries Of The Abyss

The deep sea is Earth’s last unexplored domain. For the longest time, this enigmatic ecosystem has held within it answers to some of the most important questions in science. Now, a new wave of technologies are powering discoveries that will help us put together the story of Earth’s final frontier

Unlocking The Secrets Of Lucid Dreamer's Minds

Even today, scientists don’t know why we dream. But now psychologists have found a way to communicate with lucid dreamers – people who can take control of their dreams – in the hope that they might help us explore what goes on with our brains at night

Can A Corpse Filled With Trapped Gas Explode When Cremated?

Duru Günel and Kerem Günel, Turkey

So You Want To Be A Scientist?

Millions of people now use virtual courses to get a taster of what it’s like to learn from experts. Here’s our pick of some of the best STEM offerings out there

How Broken Is James Bond's Body?

Would 007 pass a physical ahead of new movie No Time To Die?

Give Flu The Cold Shoulder

There is mounting evidence that braving an icy shower in the morning could keep illness at bay and may even help your brain stay sharp. Brrrrrr!

Mental Health: How Can We Help Elite Sports Competitors Stay Well?

Elite Olympic athletes recently highlighted the mental health issues they faced. A psychologist explains how we could help them

Can You Change Careers In Your 30s?

The events of the last year or so have spurred many to rethink their careers. An occupational psychologist offers some advice on how to make the leap

“[THE RESEARCH IS] AKIN TO FINDING A WAY TO TALK WITH AN ASTRONAUT WHO IS ON ANOTHER WORLD”

By now the researchers had broken exciting new ground, successfully achieving two-way communication with participants while they were dreaming.

A NICE CUP OF TEA

Worker shortages and the pandemic have left our supermarket shelves emptier than usual. What will it mean if supplies of our favourite drink start to dwindle?

The Amazon Now Emits More Carbon Than It Absorbs

Fires burned in the forest tipped the balance this year

A Revolution In The Making

Scientists will soon have the tools to rewrite the book of life, and in doing so, edit out sections that cause disease, piece by piece. But is the technology safe and will all of us get the benefits, or will it be the preserve of those who can afford it?

Dogs won't give you food, even if you gave them some first

They may be your best buddy, but they won’t go out of their way to do you a favour

Astronomers spot moon-forming rings around a baby exoplanet

For the first time, astronomers have detected a dusty ring around an exoplanet where moons could be born. They hope the discovery will teach us more about how both planets and moons are formed.

How Much Of Psychology Can We Trust?

Can we still have faith in psychology in the face of the ‘replication crisis’? DR LISA FELDMAN BARRETT believes so

Should We Look For Aliens?

Even if all we learn is that we’re alone, the search is worth the risk, argues LORD MARTIN REES. Besides which, anyone we do end up finding probably knows about us already

Are We Living In A Simulation?

Could computers ever become sophisticated enough to build a convincing facsimile of the real world? What if they already have and we’re living in that facsimile? Dr Peter Bentley looks into the likelihood of us being trapped in the Matrix

How Can We Deal With All The Dead?

More people die every day, but our graveyards aren’t getting any bigger. So what happens when we inevitably start running out of places to put the bodies? Jules Howard takes you through the options