Features
In-depth analysis and opinion from the worlds of science and emerging technology.
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The Biro, the invention that changed the writing game
November 27, 2021In 1945, the first successful ballpoint pen went on sale in the United States and Britain. Initially seen as an expensive novelty, the Biro soon went on to become not only a part of our everyday lives, but one that revolutionized how we communicate. -
Going to Mars is hard: Lessons from Mariner 9
November 12, 2021Fifty years ago this weekend, NASA's Mariner 9 probe went into orbit around Mars. This pioneering mission revolutionized our ideas about Mars and, with humans looking to head that way, is a timely reminder of just how utterly inhospitable a place it is. -
The antimatter enigma: What is it and why didn't it destroy the universe?
October 15, 2021Normal matter has an “evil twin” that annihilates on contact, and despite decades of study antimatter remains very mysterious. So what actually is it? Where is it? Why is it important to understand? And why hasn’t it already destroyed the universe? -
How do nuclear reactors work?
October 01, 2021The urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has put the nuclear energy debate squarely back on the agenda. So how does nuclear energy energy work, where is it headed, and can the atom become "our friend" again? -
Mercury Redstone 4: A close shave for America’s second man in space
July 19, 2021Sixty years ago this week, America sent its second man into space. The mission had gone flawlessly, but nearly ended in tragedy when the Liberty Bell 7 Mercury space capsule sank into the sea, almost taking astronaut Virgil Grissom with it. -
The problem at the heart of modern psychedelic clinical research
June 13, 2021How much of a problem is it if participants in psychedelic clinical trials can easily tell they have been given a placebo? Researcher Suresh Muthukumaraswamy suggests it is, and many findings from recent psychedelic trials may be over-estimated. -
Can a genetic test predict your response to psychedelic drugs?
May 05, 2021With psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy on the cusp of broad clinical approval, millions of people may soon experience these hallucinogenic drugs for the first time. Can a genetic test help predict how individuals will respond to psychedelics? -
Sixty years since Mercury Redstone 3, the first crewed US space mission
May 04, 2021On May 5, 1961, about 45 million US television viewers watched as a single-stage Redstone rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral. Mercury Redstone 3 carried Alan Shepard on a 15-minute flight to become America's first man in space. -
The mRNA revolution: How COVID-19 hit fast-forward on an experimental technology
April 22, 2021Several hundred million people around the world have safely received a wildly effective COVID-19 vaccine based on mRNA technology. So what exactly is an mRNA vaccine, where did the technology come from, and what other diseases could it be useful for? -
Dark matter: What is it, how do we know it's there and will we find it?
April 20, 2021There’s invisible, undetectable stuff all around us, and we call it dark matter. There’s plenty of evidence that this stuff is very real, but what exactly is dark matter? How do we know it’s there? And how are scientists looking for it? -
Vostok 1: 60th anniversary of historic first human spaceflight
April 09, 2021Sixty years ago on Monday, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome atop a variation of a rocket originally designed to launch nuclear weapons to become the first person to orbit the Earth. -
Volkswagen Beetle, the game-changing People's Car
April 02, 2021One of the great game-changing automobiles, the quirky little Volkswagen Beetle emerged from a dramatic birth to become the best-selling car in history, forever altering how small cars are seen, and sparking a remarkable automotive cult in the process.
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