Could head transplantation be a path to immortality?Under development by a team of surgeons, the project raises a host of philosophical and bioethical issuesThu Jul 07 2022 - 05:58
A fire in the sky: our planet’s relationship with the sunIn its absence, life on earth would be impossible, but the effects of the sun are not entirely benignThu Jun 16 2022 - 05:44
Sucking carbon dioxide from the air just one way we can control global warmingHuman ingenuity is providing ways to get us past this pressing problem – which we caused in the first placeThu Jun 02 2022 - 05:01
The creative sweet spot: you can find it in your (very early) sleepResearch shows accessing a hypnagogic state as you drift into sleep can unlock creativityThu May 19 2022 - 03:00
The clever enigmatic octopus and what we know about the species so farGiven the animal’s capacity to learn about the world, their short life span is a mysteryThu May 05 2022 - 01:00
Exploring the birth of the universe from the far side of the moonMoon-based telescopes should be able to resolve the immediate events after the big bangThu Apr 21 2022 - 01:00
Protecting the Earth from killer asteroidsSpace is filled with potentially dangerous objects whose paths scientists can alterMon Mar 28 2022 - 15:29
New research may open door to treating Alzheimer’s and other dementiasPlugging leaks in the blood-brain barrier could prevent or even reverse dementia onsetThu Mar 17 2022 - 05:00
The sophisticated life of plants deserves far greater attentionLessons from their world may help human species increase its chance of long-term survivalThu Mar 03 2022 - 01:30
Fundamental questions science cannot yet answerMystery of life on earth and beyond extends to the Big Bang, dark matter and much moreThu Feb 17 2022 - 06:00
How the sea otter stays warm: a mystery that was recently solvedUnlike larger marine animals, species has no fatty blubber to rely on to retain body heatThu Feb 03 2022 - 01:05
Ideas in philosophy on human extinction are toxic seeds that must be dealt withSuffering is an unavoidable part of the human condition but can serve useful purposesThu Jan 20 2022 - 06:00
Our meritocratic educational system serves us wellMeritocracy has flaws but critics have yet to come up with a superior systemThu Dec 16 2021 - 06:00
Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide not fit for purposeWhen these options are available, those in severe distress can feel pressured to make a choiceMon Dec 13 2021 - 16:35
‘Following the science’ is not enough in a pandemicMaking policy is the task of Government, not to shelter behind ‘objective science’Thu Dec 02 2021 - 01:00
Left-wing authoritarianism mirrors far right, research findsMore similarities than differences between left-wing and right-wing authoritarianismThu Nov 18 2021 - 06:00
Grade inflation: lowering standards in higher educationIt is denied as a serious problem but could cause reputational damageThu Nov 04 2021 - 06:00
Tackling our high anxiety over climate changeFurther global warming will cause more trouble, but there is much we can still doThu Oct 21 2021 - 06:00
There is an unequal human sex ratio of males to females at birthAll countries with strongly skewed sex ratios at birth in favour of males have cultures that display a preference for sonsThu Oct 07 2021 - 01:13
Collateral damage from the Covid-19 pandemicDamage to mental health and economy may rival damage caused by virus itselfTue Sept 07 2021 - 15:36
Conspiracy theories stubbornly impervious to scientific methodIt would be unwise to ignore or patronise the phenomenonThu Sept 02 2021 - 06:00
West in danger of repeating Soviet ideological assault on scienceNew ideologies should be carefully discussed, not uncritically insinuated into general cultureThu Aug 19 2021 - 01:00
There is no need for vaccine hesitancy among the youngLet us count our blessing vaccines against so many diseases are availableThu Aug 05 2021 - 01:00
Nuclear waste is not the hellish material of popular imaginationStudies have shown it can be stored safely for millennia in geological repositoriesThu Jul 15 2021 - 01:04
Covid-19 vaccines have weakened the anti-GMO movement‘Genetic modification has much to offer as everyone who offers their arm to the vaccination needle can confirm’Tue Jun 22 2021 - 01:00
You’re only as old as you feel – research says soGerman study finds feeling younger protects middle-aged against damaging stressThu Jun 17 2021 - 01:04
A pandemic problem: Too much cleaning is bad for your healthSterilising surfaces will have damaged microbiome biodiversity, essential for healthThu Jun 03 2021 - 07:00
How useful is the Copernican principle of mediocrity?The assertion that humans are not special creatures is unwarrantedThu May 20 2021 - 01:00
Aggressive de-growth needed to avoid climate nightmareThis would require prioritising generosity and sustainable living, and measuring success in terms of contentment not GDPTue Apr 20 2021 - 16:11
We need nuclear power to manage climate changeProven technology emits little or no greenhouse gasThu Apr 15 2021 - 06:00
Doctors weigh in on importance of BMI in health outcomesSome are moving from ‘weight-centric’ model to prescribing healthier behaviourThu Apr 01 2021 - 06:00
GDP measures economic activity but misses the pointReliance on GDP as a measure of wellbeing has worsened people’s health and happinessThu Mar 18 2021 - 03:00
Reducing world population may be a bad ideaCollapsed birth rates likely a greater threat to humanity than climate changeThu Feb 18 2021 - 06:00
Vaccinations: Jewel in the crown of modern medical scienceHumanity was vulnerable to a plethora of deadly diseases before jabs arrivedThu Feb 18 2021 - 05:00
Constant bad news about Covid is enough to make you sickMuch research demonstrates that consuming too much bad news takes a toll on healthThu Feb 04 2021 - 01:08
What’s the story behind the mystery of Easter Island? It’s not set in stoneDeforestation, slavery and rats were all factors in the Pacific island’s population declineThu Jan 21 2021 - 06:00
Responding to disaster: Are we getting too soft?The Covid-19 pandemic is undoubtedly serious, but it should not debilitate our resilienceThu Jan 07 2021 - 06:00
Can breathing pure oxygen under pressure reverse ageing?Objective is to fill blood with enough oxygen to repair tissue corroded by advancing yearsThu Dec 17 2020 - 01:00
Fostering inventiveness is critical for societyHuman success depends on our ability to co-operate and organise while technology makes life easierThu Dec 03 2020 - 01:00
Science must not marginalise the humanitiesScience is acutely aware of its limits but scientism is dogmaticThu Nov 19 2020 - 06:00
Is it acceptable to use data from Nazi medical experiments?Unethical Nazi experiments yielded scientifically valid results in some casesThu Nov 05 2020 - 06:00
Was the aid worse than the tsunami?Many Nicobarese regret leaving their homes following the 2004 disaster and now suffer from depression and alcoholismThu Oct 15 2020 - 05:00
The farmer and the hunter-gatherer should be friendsOne of the two groups were treated as inferiors when they blended to form a society about 9,000 years ago, evidence showsThu Oct 01 2020 - 01:00
Near death experience: The phenomenon of the mind ‘leaving’ the bodyDoes it show the existence of life after death or can science explain it?Thu Sept 17 2020 - 05:00
How cooler heads could have avoided the ‘Galileo affair’Conventional account ignores gaps in scientist’s evidence to Catholic Church inquisitionThu Sept 03 2020 - 05:30
Great human advances were made throughout the ‘Dark Ages’The major discoveries of the Scientific Revolution were made in universities strongly supported by the churchThu Aug 20 2020 - 01:00
How Pavlov’s doggedness led to a breakthrough in psychologyDiscovery of conditioned reflex played large role in development of behaviourismThu Aug 06 2020 - 06:00
The world on a string – a primerString theory is beautifully explained by Brian Greene in The Elegant UniverseThu Jul 16 2020 - 01:26
Are ‘designer babies’ something we really want?Ability to alter genetics of embyros remains limited but progress will bring big questionsThu Jul 02 2020 - 01:00
Are societies really ageing?In advanced economies today 75-year-olds have the same mortality rates as 65-year-olds in 1950Thu Jun 18 2020 - 05:00