Pure Science

Science Focus

Fear not, you’re far from the only one to have had this rather unsettling experience. Since2006, psychologists at the University of Notre Dame inIndianahave been investigating what’s become known as the ‘doorway effect’. In one study they...

Science Focus

Tree-covered hills stand watch over a yawning hole in the ground. The giant pit steps down in stages, its concentric rings growing ever smaller the deeper it goes. Huge trucks rumble up and down these makeshift roadways. This is the scene...

Science Focus

Just when you thought Bambi couldn't get any cuter, meet the pudu, the world's smallest deer. Standing little taller than a domestic cat, what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in allure. Doe-eyed, button-nosed, with little legs...

Science Focus

Climate change may be giving frogs a helping hand in the language of love, a new study has found.  Researchers from University of California, Davis, have discovered that temperature plays a key role in shaping the sound and quality of...

Science Focus

The prosperity of the Chincha Kingdom – a powerful ancient society on the coast of Peru – was largely thanks to their savvy use of bird poop, according to a study recently published in PLOS One. Archaeological analysis of maize (corn) from...

Science Focus

Can I swallow my tongue? No, it's a myth. Although the tongue can move in different directions, being attached to the base of your mouth generally keeps it from moving that far back. If it does move backwards, say, during a seizure, then...

Science Focus

If you scaled Mount Everest, you'd probably be surprised to find fossilised marine creatures – including trilobites, crinoids and brachiopods – on Earth’s highest peak. Their presence hints at how the Himalayas formed around 50 million...

Science Focus

Your jeans feel tight, the number on the scales is higher than it’s ever been and the adverts on your screen promising to ‘bust your belly fat’ seem to be following you round. But how do you know if you have too much? Take out a tape...

Science Focus

Your ability to experience a stable, coherent sense of self is truly a miracle. Each of us experience profound changes across the course of our lifetime, growing from infants into adults, learning new things, forgetting others, forging...

Science Focus

Generative AI has done plenty of things in the three years or so since the release of ChatGPT. It has caused a massive stock market boom. It has integrated its way into our search engines and phone screens. And it’s become a tool that...

Science Focus

NASA has announced plans to build a nuclear reactor on the Moon – a milestone that could power future lunar bases and long-term missions. But it also raises some big questions. How much will it cost? Will someone need to stay up there to...

Science Focus

Plants remove carbon dioxide from the air through the process of photosynthesis and release oxygen as a byproduct. They also help clean the air of pollutants, but it's not clear which houseplant is the best at it. In 1989, NASA researchers...

Science Focus

Getting injuries from burns played a central role in the rapid evolution of humans, according to a new study. Scientists at Imperial College London argue that humans’ close relationship with fire meant our ancestors were far more likely...

Science Focus

Frequent sexual fantasies are linked with neuroticism – a personality trait that could put you at risk of a range of physical and mental health problems – according to a study from Michigan State University, US. Researchers surveyed more...

Science Focus

As an astronomer, I collect stars. There are several hundred billion of them in our Galaxy, the Milky Way, so it's important to find a way to categorise them. While others might rank their stars by colour or size, I prefer to order them...

Science Focus

It's a difficult truth to swallow, but research shows that, every year, we consume between 39,000 and 52,000 microplastic particles with our food. It’s enough to give you a kind of cognitive indigestion. How, in this age of food safety and...

Science Focus

Speak to anyone interested in AI recently, and you’ll be hearing about the same website. Head over to Moltbook.com, they'll tell you, and you’ll find a website reminiscent of Reddit, with users posting and chatting in countless subgroups...

Science Focus

Cellulite causes uneven, dimpled skin with a texture that’s often compared to orange peel or cottage cheese, and it’s most commonly found on the thighs, buttocks, and hips. It’s extremely common: studies suggest that around 80–90 per cent...

Science Focus

Eating oats – and not much else – for two days straight can have lasting benefits for your metabolic health, according to a recent study. A group of 17 adults ate 300g (10.5oz) of oatmeal per day, made with water rather than milk and...

Science Focus

In 2016, LJ was 19 and on the brink of an exciting new chapter. He had graduated from college with grades good enough to secure a place at university and was ready to explore the world. Then he discovered what seemed like an innocuous lump...

Science Focus

The last words Steve Jobs, the legendary Apple founder, spoke were simple: "Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow." Their mystery is enticing – what did Jobs, the digital prophet who brought us the smartphone, see as he neared death? We’ll never know....

Science Focus

We’ve all heard of Ozempic by now. It’s only licensed for use as a diabetes treatment in the UK and US, but it's widely used ‘off label’ to help people lose weight. So much so, in fact, that its name has become an umbrella term for a...

Science Focus

Whether it’s helping with the automation of marking, or even writing letters to parents, AI is affording teachers more opportunity for mentorship, engagement and hands-on learning. With technology rapidly evolving, it’s not unreasonable to...

Science Focus

Hula hoops rotate by rolling around your body, like a wheel on the road, except that they roll on their inside edge instead of the outside. If you gyrate your hips in sync with this rotation, your waist will push against the hoop at just...

Science Focus

I confess, I am a very competitive person. My family stopped playing Cluedo (Clue in the US) with me once they realised I had developed a system that made me totally unbeatable – though they might spell that ‘unbearable’. I have taken...

Science Focus

What's the deepest a submarine has gone? All the way to the bottom! The deepest part of the ocean is the Mariana Trench, the narrow pinch point where the Pacific tectonic plate churns its way back into the mantle beneath. And the deepest...

Science Focus

About two per cent of the world's fish species – some 500 species – are thought to switch sex at some point in their adult lives. Some, like the Asian sheephead wrasse (pictured above), routinely change from female to male. Others, like...

Science Focus

A massive winter storm has swept across large parts of the US this week, leaving more than a million people without power at its peak, killing at least 50 people and cancelling tens of thousands of flights. Economic losses from the storm...

Science Focus

We often think of insects being short-lived, so you might be surprised to learn that some insects can live for decades! The record for the longest-lived insect goes to the golden jewel beetle (Buprestis aurulenta), which can spend as long...

Science Focus

Researchers have smashed a new record in quantum mechanics, creating the largest ever ‘superposition’ – a strange state in which an object can exist in multiple locations at the same time. To achieve this feat, a team at the University of...

Science Focus

If you're trying to quit smoking, you'll have probably heard talk that switching to e-cigarettes – or vapes – is a healthier option. One study by researchers at University College London estimated that in 2017 alone, over 50,000 people...

Science Focus

Pedestrians have really picked up the pace in recent decades. Or, at least, they have in three of the US’s biggest cities, according to a new study. What this reveals about modern society isn’t quite clear, but it’s probably nothing to do...

Science Focus

Palantir Technology from Palantir, an American data analytics company, has been used to help kill... and to help save lives. As its reach expands, questions are growing about this secretive and influential firm, its impact on global...

Science Focus

Science Focus

Imagine waking up to find that you're not awake at all. Your body is asleep, but your mind is running free in a dream where everything feels vivid and real and – because you know you’re dreaming – you can control what happens. In this...

Science Focus

For decades, the story of coastal risk has been dominated by climate change and rising seas. But a major new global study suggests that, for hundreds of millions of people living on river deltas – including those living in cities such as...

Science Focus

The term 'gut health' pops up everywhere these days. But while phrases such as low-carb diets, low-fat diets and high-protein snacks have come and gone, gut health is more than just a fad. Unlike previous trends, the gut-health movement is...

Science Focus

Dementia and disorders like depression and anxiety (conditions associated with persistent negative emotional thoughts) have long been intertwined. Indeed, distinct screening tools have been developed to differentiate between depression and...

Science Focus

A man might be judged as both more threatening and attractive if he has a large penis, according to a recent study by the University of Western Australia. Scientists showed more than 600 men and 200 women computer-generated images of...

Science Focus

A runny nose, a sore throat, a tickly cough: you can spot a cold coming a mile off. Cholesterol, however, isn’t so polite. You won’t feel it as sticky fat slowly builds up inside your arteries, but over time it raises your risk of heart...

Science Focus

As a doctor, I often hear from patients worried about COVID-19, especially those with long COVID. One question comes up a lot: ‘Can you catch COVID again while still dealing with long COVID, maybe a different strain?’ Many people assume...

Science Focus

It's difficult to know for sure how many electrons are in the Universe. British physicist Arthur Eddington (1882-1944) came up with a number in 1938, now known as the 'Eddington number'. Eddington’s calculation was actually for the number...

Science Focus

For many expectant parents, the ultrasound appointment creates a mix of excitement, anticipation and curiosity. But beyond medical checks and images of tiny limbs, new research suggests that the words spoken during these moments could...

Science Focus

Earth exists in a bubble. Our atmosphere forms a protective barrier between everything on the planet's surface and the near-empty vastness of space. But it's not the only bubble Earth sits inside. Beyond our familiar atmospheric cocoon...

Science Focus

Whether you like them or not, weight-loss drugs have changed the world. Obesity levels in the US, which had been on the rise for years, are falling. National spend on food has shrunk, fashion outlets are selling fewer XXL-sized clothes...

Science Focus

I’m standing in a bomb-proof vault. Its reinforced concrete walls are designed to withstand floods, radiation and even a direct hit from an aircraft. The underground stronghold is wired with alarms and automated systems. Yet I’m not...

Science Focus

Plant oils are “the biggest villain” out of “all the bullshit foods”. Not our words, but those of major health influencer (and big fan of raw milk) Dr Paul Saladino. Extreme? Very likely. But Saladino’s anti-seed oil stance is no longer...

Science Focus

In the mountain pastures of Austria, a very clever cow is overturning our view of how intelligent these creatures actually are. A pet Swiss Brown cow named Veronika has learned how to use both ends of a stick to scratch her own back. This...

Science Focus

We all know the sensation the Sun’s rays warming our faces. Its bountiful light and heat make life on our planet possible. But our nearest star also provides us with what is literally the biggest mystery in the Solar System, spanning...

Science Focus

Here’s a question for you. What do screeching tyres, bleeding gums, and chomping down chickpeas all have in common? Hint: they’re not the elements of some avant-garde music video. When we think about the things that send our blood pressure...