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A decade long mystery - why were billions of starfish turned to goo?
For more than a decade, scientists have been puzzling over what was causing billions of starfish to dissolve into piles of white goo. Sea star wastin…
8 months, 1 week ago
Can science crack the mystery of ME?
Scientists have found the first robust evidence that people’s genes affect their chances of developing myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue s…
8 months, 2 weeks ago
Why can’t the world get its act together on plastics?
After three years of negotiating, talks over a global plastics treaty came to an end in Geneva last week with no agreement in place. So why has it be…
8 months, 2 weeks ago
Staying cool in Europe’s record-breaking heat
Europe is suffering from another heatwave as deadly temperatures of up to 44C hit the continent and wildfires blazed across the Mediterranean. To fin…
8 months, 3 weeks ago
Is sunscreen really toxic?
For many of us, slathering on sunscreen to protect our skin in the summer months is a no-brainer. But recently social media has been awash with influ…
8 months, 3 weeks ago
Summer picks: Where do our early childhood memories go?
It’s a mystery that has long puzzled researchers. Freud called the phenomenon infantile amnesia, and for many years scientists have wondered whether …
9 months ago
Summer picks: what is ‘mirror life’ and why are scientists sounding the alarm?
Recently, a group of world-leading scientists called for a halt on research to create ‘mirror life’ microbes amid concerns that the synthetic organis…
9 months ago
Summer picks: The science of racism, and how to fight it
In this episode from January 2025, Ian Sample speaks to Keon West, a professor of social psychology at the University of London, whose new book explo…
9 months, 1 week ago
Summer picks: Where did our attention spans go, and can we get them back?
In 2024, the Oxford English Dictionary announced its word of the year was ‘brain rot’. The term relates to the supposedly negative effects of consumi…
9 months, 1 week ago
Why do we age in dramatic bursts, and what can we do about it?
Scientists are beginning to understand that ageing is not a simply linear process. Instead, recent research appears to show that we age in three acce…
9 months, 2 weeks ago