Robert A. Heinlein (Image: Wikipedia) History is full of confident predictions that turned out to be spectacularly wrong. Flight was impossible, right up until two bicycle makers got a machine off the ground. Reaching the moon was a fantasy, right up until a man stepped onto it. The science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein captured…
A few years ago, the idea of reviving extinct animals sat closer to speculative science fiction than anything investors would normally put money behind. Yet it has steadily been pulled into boardrooms, laboratories, and funding rounds at a scale that now feels difficult to ignore. At the centre of it is Colossal Biosciences, a company…
The Arctic is warming far faster than the rest of the planet, and a new study published in Science Advances suggests that this warming could transform one of Earth’s biggest natural carbon stores sooner than scientists once thought. Researchers say northern soils above 30°N, including vast areas of permafrost, may switch from absorbing carbon to…
A Soviet spacecraft designed to land on Venus in 1972 finally completed its journey more than half a century later, though not in the way its builders intended. Kosmos 482, part of the Soviet Union’s ambitious Venera programme, was supposed to explore the Solar System’s hottest planet. Instead, a rocket malfunction left the spacecraft trapped…
For decades, forests have occupied a central place in discussions about climate change. Trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, convert it into organic matter and store part of that carbon in their trunks, branches and roots. The process seems straightforward enough. More photosynthesis should mean more growth, and more growth should mean more carbon…
The journey is almost over for NASA’s next major space observatory, though its most important work has yet to begin. After years of design, assembly and testing, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, where teams will spend the coming weeks preparing the spacecraft for launch….
For decades, wind power has relied on a familiar formula: enormous towers, vast concrete foundations and specialised heavy-lift equipment capable of transporting and assembling components that can weigh hundreds of tonnes. While effective, these requirements have limited where wind turbines can be deployed and increased both costs and environmental impacts. Now, a new generation of…
Robert Boyle (Image: Wikipedia) Picture the scene the quote paints. A man who cannot see is offered a guide. It is not a wise elder or a great expert, just a dog, or a small child. And yet he takes the help gladly, because he knows he needs it. He does not let pride get…
When Rebecca Young was just 11 years old, she noticed how difficult winter could be for people sleeping rough on the streets of Glasgow. Wanting to make a difference, the schoolgirl came up with an idea for a portable heated blanket that could keep people warm without needing access to electricity. Her invention, which folds…
In the world of theoretical physics, some ideas solve a problem. Others reshape an entire field. Jainendra K. Jain’s theory of composite fermions belongs firmly in the second category.Born in rural Rajasthan and now the Erwin W. Müller Professor of Physics at Pennsylvania State University, Jain has spent much of his career tackling questions that…
