For many of us, summer is all about fun in the sun, pool parties and that feeling of endless vacation—unless you keep up with the news. Recently there have been a lot of concerning or even devastating developments, from shocking...
Expect Auroras, Solar Flares and More Space Weather from the Solar MaximumSpace weather is heating up in our current solar cycle peakBy Clara Moskowitz & Matthew Twombly Aurora sightings may become more common, and satellite communications and power grids could...
The most effective covid‑19 vaccines had RNA at their heartEzra Acayan/Getty Images The CatalystThomas R. Cech (W. W. Norton) For 50 years, RNA was DNA’s undervalued sibling, but now it has jumped into the spotlight. This multifaceted molecule – which...
It was 21 years ago that I trekked and swam solo, without resupply, across the icy Arctic Ocean from Canada to the North Geographic Pole. The feat hasn’t yet been repeated and probably won’t be due to a drop in...
Whether it’s black orbs swallowing people in downtown Seoul, murder on Mars or malevolent pigs, August has got science fiction fans covered. There are new titles from big names such as James S. A. Corey, Josh Malerman and Neal Asher,...
Covid-19 can have lasting effects on physical and mental healthAleksandr Davydov / Alamy The cognitive abilities of people who were hospitalised with covid-19 during the first wave of the pandemic remain lower than expected, even years later, and there is...
Some teens stay on their phones late into the nightMonkey Business Images/Shutterstock Two recent studies have linked “problematic smartphone use” among teenagers to increased symptoms of anxiety, depression and insomnia. But is it a real problem? And how worried, if...
Vision loss has been linked to dementiaDrazen Zigic/Getty Images A major review has identified vision loss and high cholesterol as two new risk factors for dementia. It claims that eliminating these factors, along with 12 previously recognised ones, may prevent...
ADDICTIVE STOCK CREATIVES/Alamy; AdoBe stock Kathy Schwartz was 10 years free from alcohol, cigarettes and opiates but every day it was painful to control her cravings. “They were always in the background,” she says. In June last year, however, this noise...
Do quantum interactions help brain cells stay in sync?Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images Nerve fibres in the brain could produce pairs of particles linked by quantum entanglement. If backed by experimental observations, this phenomenon could explain how millions of cells in the...
