Astronomers have created a detailed forecast of where they expect to observe future stellar explosions in a nearby galaxy, opening a new window into how exploding stars shape the cosmos. Focusing o... Read more Astronomers have created a detailed forecast of where they expect to observe future stellar explosions in a nearby galaxy, opening a new window into how exploding stars shape the cosmos. Focusing on M33, a spiral galaxy about 2.7 million light‑years away, this research combined new maps of cold atomic hydrogen gas from the U.S. National Science Foundation Very Large Array (NSF VLA) with millimeter‑wave observations of molecular gas from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Show less

Changer l'apparence visuelle d'une surface est une prouesse qui semble presque accessible aujourd'hui, sous certaines conditions. Mais des scientifiques sont parvenus à créer un matériau modifiable... Read more Changer l'apparence visuelle d'une surface est une prouesse qui semble presque accessible aujourd'hui, sous certaines conditions. Mais des scientifiques sont parvenus à créer un matériau modifiable à la demande en s'inspirant des techniques existantes dans la nature, et tout particulièrement... Show less

Jawbones and other remains, similar to specimens found in Europe, were dated to 773,000 years and help close a gap in Africa’s fossil record of human origins.

The jawbones and vertebrae of a hominin that lived 773,000 years ago have been found in North Africa and could represent a common ancestor of Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans

In this week’s newsletter: nature’s last stand against the DRC capital’s rampant development, plus looking back on last year’s stories of hopeAnyone who has ever seen a living baobab tree should fi... Read more In this week’s newsletter: nature’s last stand against the DRC capital’s rampant development, plus looking back on last year’s stories of hopeAnyone who has ever seen a living baobab tree should find it hard to forget. Alongside the ubiquitous acacia – the thorny umbrella tree – baobabs are statuesque icons of Africa’s drier landscapes.The trees have influenced, anchored and fed communities for tens of thousands of years, influencing culture and traditions, inspiring art and folklore. This week, freelance reporter Emmet Livingstone’s dispatch for us from the Democratic Republic of Congo, ironically also the home of the world’s largest tropical forest, really struck a chord with me and with many readers.US ‘adapt, shrink or die’ terms for $2bn aid pot will mean UN bowing down to Washington, say expertsPacking a punch: the true story behind the first Zimbabwean film to qualify for OscarsFrom childhood staple to luxury food: how Nigeria’s jollof became too expensive to eat‘You sneak in and hope you make it back’: the Sudanese volunteers risking it all to bring care to millionsThree children dead in Iran protests as security forces accused of ‘indiscriminate targeting’Childbirth under attack: how women and babies became targets in conflicts around the worldIn the Caribbean and Africa a reparations movement is growing: so why is Britain pretending otherwise? | Kenneth Mohammed‘The source of all life is here’: plan to mine lithium in Chilean salt flat sparks fears of water scarcity‘When you plant something, it dies’: Brazil’s first arid zone is a stark warning for the whole countryThe chatbot will see you now: how AI is being trained to spot mental health issues in any language Continue reading... Show less

Most planetary systems contain worlds larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, and the low-density planets around one young star should help us understand how such systems form

Most planetary systems contain worlds larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, and the low-density planets around one young star should help us understand how such systems form

Scientists discovered that aging DNA repeats expand at wildly different speeds—and in some people, the consequences can be devastating. A sweeping genetic study drawing on data from more than 900,0... Read more Scientists discovered that aging DNA repeats expand at wildly different speeds—and in some people, the consequences can be devastating. A sweeping genetic study drawing on data from more than 900,000 people reveals that some parts of human DNA become increasingly unstable over time. These regions consist of very short genetic sequences that repeat again and [...] Show less

You might feel like the days and weeks are slipping by. Here is how one psychologist says you can shift your experience of time

Thanks to the discovery of thousands of exoplanets to date, we know that planets bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune orbit most stars. Oddly, our sun lacks such a planet. That's been a sourc... Read more Thanks to the discovery of thousands of exoplanets to date, we know that planets bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune orbit most stars. Oddly, our sun lacks such a planet. That's been a source of frustration for planetary scientists, who can't study them in as much detail as they'd like, leaving one big question: How did these planets form? Show less