CLAIMING THE MORAL HIGH GROUND DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE YOU GOOD

Subconscious processes in the brain can convince us we're being good, even when we're not

UNDERSTANDING MATTER COULD REVEAL THE REASON WE, AND THE UNIVERSE, EXIST

Many questions remain unanswered when it comes to matter, but the biggest one is: Why is there any matter to begin with?

Tech horizons

Speculations about OpenAI's next projects abound, and - although nothing has been formally announced we'll be expecting updates to its Generative Pretrained Transformer (GPT) models.

New frontiers in health

Following the attention focused on weight-loss drug semaglutide in 2023, phase 3 trials of a similar antidiabetic, tirzepatide (Mounjaro), are expected to produce results towards the end of 2024.

THE SCIENCE TO WATCH IN 2024

If 2023 is anything to go by, the year to come will witness breakthroughs across every field of science. From cutting-edge advances in artificial intelligence to revolutionary discoveries in health and space exploration, here's what to expect...

MODELLING COMET IMPACTS COULD HELP US LOCATE LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS

Cosmic snowballs in space may have delivered life-giving molecules to Earth

YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO LOSE WEIGHT IF YOUR DOCTOR IS OPTIMISTIC

When it comes to enrolling people in weight-loss programmes, the doctor's sales pitch is key

SCIENTISTS FINALLY WORK OUT WHAT CAUSES UNUSUAL ITCHING

And it's worse than you think

HIDDEN SIGNALS UNDER EARTH'S CRUST COULD HELP US PREDICT FUTURE QUAKES

Scientists say that, with the right forecasting, we could track major earthquakes years in advance

THE BEST SCIENCE IMAGES OF 2023

A PIECE OF ROCK BROKEN OFF AN ASTEROID HURTLING THROUGH SPACE, THE FIRST FOOTPRINTS OF HUMANS ARRIVING IN NORTH AMERICA AND A GIANT MEATBALL MADE OUT OF WOOLLY MAMMOTH. THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE IMAGES THAT CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF BBC SCIENCE FOCUS EDITORS THIS YEAR, AND NO, THAT LAST ONE WASN'T A MISTAKE. ENJOY OUR SELECTION OF IMAGES THAT HAD US RUBBING OUR EYES IN DISBELIEF IN 2023.

Hitting The Snooze Button May Boost Brain Function

Good news for snoozers: new research reveals that if you snooze, you don't lose

SCROLL REVERSAL

Losing days by endlessly scrolling on your smartphone? You're not alone. Perhaps neuroscience can help us beat the urge...

IF CONDITIONS ON EARTH CHANGED, IS IT POSSIBLE DINOSAURS COULD EVOLVE AGAIN? WOULD LIFE... FIND A WAY?

Dinosaurs are still with us, in the form of birds. But could the more canonical dinosaurs, like Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops, evolve again, if the climate and temperature switched back to what the conditions were like during the Cretaceous? Probably not.

DEAR DOCTOR

WHY DO! LOVE SPICY FOOD, WHEN IT DOESN'T ALWAYS LOVE ME? WHAT CAN DO?

WHAT IS DECISION PARALYSIS AND HOW DO I DEAL WITH IT?

If you've ever gone online to order something during a work break - let's say a new electric toothbrush - expecting it to be fairly straightforward, but instead you found yourself overwhelmed by the huge number of choices and options available, you've experienced decision paralysis.

Q&A

IS THERE ANY SCIENCE TO LOW-DOPAMINE MORNINGS?

STRANGE RUMBLINGS

Earth-shattering seismic events can occur away from the fault lines between tectonic plates. And there's no easy way to predict when or where they'll hit

UNDER ΤΗΕ HOOD OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

As the busiest year in the history of artificial intelligence (AI) comes to a close, Prof Mike Wooldridge prepares to deliver the Royal Institution's first Christmas Lecture on the subject. Noa Leach sat down with him to get a preview of the demonstrations his talks will include and an insight into how he thinks AI is going to change the world for children

A BLUEPRINT FOR ANTI-AGEING

SCIENCE SAYS IT'S TIME TO RETHINK - AND TAKE CONTROL OF - OUR BODY'S AGE. HERE'S HOW TO SLOW, HALT AND POTENTIALLY TURN BACK YOUR BIOLOGICAL CLOCK

FARM OF THE FUTURE

Join the BBC's Planet Earth III film crew HED and go behind the scenes in the city farm that's transforming fields into towers and running almost everything with robots

SAD CLOWN PARADOX:WHY TEARS OFTEN LIE BEHIND THE LAUGHS

Mental health issues are common among comedians and performing is just one way they can self-medicate

INDOOR AIR POLLUTION: HOW COOKING CAN DAMAGE YOUR DNA

From roast dinners to scented candles, there are potentially harmful pollutants lurking in every home

EMBRYO RESEARCH: WHY SCIENTISTS WANT MORE THAN 14 DAYS TO STUDY EARLY DEVELOPMENT

An extension to the 14-day limit on research has been proposed and has support. But there are moral and ethical questions to consider

THE UK'S COUNTRYSIDE IS IN TROUBLE... AND WE NEED TO DO MORE TO HELP IT

Britain’s woodlands, wetlands and wildflower meadows are under threat. But awareness isn't enough to save them

A DASH OF 'QUANTUM WEIRDNESS' ADDS AN INTRIGUING NEW ASPECT TO THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION

Just suppose survival of the fittest had a quantum element. What would that mean for life on Earth?

KIDS ARE THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING OBESITY. BUT WE NEED MORE OF THEIR GENES

We can unravel the role that bodyweight plays in disease, but we need a bigger, more diverse, sample of genetic material to do so

AUTONOMOUS DRONE COULD REVEAL ANTARCTICA'S SECRETS

Understanding ancient tectonics will improve ice melt predictions

STUDY REVEALS WHAT REALLY KILLED THE DINOSAURS

It wasn't the meteor's impact, but the colossal clouds of dust it kicked up into the atmosphere that drove the mass extinction 66 million years ago

SCIENTISTS FINALLY FIND WHERE A STARFISH KEEPS ITS HEAD

Compelling research into their genes sheds light on the echinoderm’s enigmatic physiology

ALIEN PLANET DEBRIS DISCOVERED DEEP UNDER EARTH'S CRUST

A planetary collision so big that it formed the Moon also left behind remnants that changed Earth's mantle