My VE Day was nothing like our image of it today

May 3, 2025 | History

Our street party tea was a muted celebration, full of uncertainty. Then, as now, we faced a long struggle towards a better world.

The cat that wouldn’t die

Apr 28, 2025 | Science

The weird paradox of Schrödinger’s cat has found a lasting popularity. What does it mean for the future of quantum physics?

Why scientists are worried about de-extinction of species

Apr 25, 2025 | Science

The creation of three “dire wolf” pups has raised hopes that it may be possible to resurrect extinct animals. But some scientists have grave concerns.

Telescope finds promising hints of life on distant planet

Apr 17, 2025 | Science

Scientists have found new but tentative evidence that a world orbiting another star may be home to life. A Cambridge team studying the atmosphere of a planet called K2-18b has detected signs of molecules that on Earth are only produced by simple organisms.

The rise of end times fascism

Apr 13, 2025 | Opinion, Politics & Human Rights

The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism, say Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them.

Hawaiian island’s ‘freakosystems’ are a warning from the future

Apr 4, 2025 | Science

Ecosystems that have never been seen before are being accidentally created by humans. They offer a stark look into the nature of tomorrow.

‘Bonobo genius’ Kanzi dies at 44

Mar 20, 2025 | News, Science

The bonobo Kanzi, who learned to make stone tools, play Minecraft, and communicate using lexigrams, has died.

‘Spreadsheets of empire’: red tape goes back 4,000 years

Mar 15, 2025 | History

Ancient Mesopotamian stone tablets show extraordinary detail and reach of government in cradle of world civilizations.

Mine copper without destroying the planet?

Mar 2, 2025 | Science

Experts hope research can create greener methods of extracting the metal vital for the renewable energy revolution and the boom in electrical devices.

What to do in the face of global collapse

Feb 18, 2025 | Opinion, Politics & Human Rights

There are many ways Trump could trigger a global collapse. The super-rich will flee to their bunkers – the rest of us will have to fend for ourselves.

How beer sludge is being turned into vegan milk and leather

Feb 7, 2025 | Science

Scientists and industry are finding unusual new uses for brewers’ spent grain – the beer industry’s largest waste product.

The birth of naturalism

Feb 4, 2025 | History, Science

The modern era is often seen as the triumph of science over supernaturalism. But what really happened is far more interesting.

Trump and Musk have launched a new class war

Jan 19, 2025 | Opinion, Politics & Human Rights

Why has the class war been unleashed now, not just in the US but in much of the world? Because the democratizing, distributive effects of two world wars have worn off. The default state of centralized societies, to which nations are now reverting, is oligarchy.

Planet past 1.5C of heating for first time in 2024

Jan 10, 2025 | News

Climate breakdown drove the annual global temperature above the internationally agreed 1.5C target for the first time last year, supercharging extreme weather and causing “misery to millions of people”.

Is societal collapse inevitable?

Dec 28, 2024 | History

Academic Danilo Brozović says studies of failed civilizations all point in one direction – today’s society needs radical transformation to survive.

Spacecraft attempts closest-ever approach to Sun

Dec 24, 2024 | Science

A NASA spacecraft is attempting to make the closest-ever approach to the Sun, enduring brutal temperatures and extreme radiation. The goal is to help us to better understand how the Sun works.