Boeing’s first astronaut launch called off due to faulty valve
Boeing called off its first astronaut launch because of a valve problem on its rocket on Monday night. Two Nasa test pilots had just strapped into Boeing’s Starliner capsule when the countdown was halted, just two hours before the planned…
Storms, frogs and a kiss: how a group of scientists designed a message from humanity to aliens
Space objects embody all kinds of contradictions. They’re closely tied to us as our proxies in space, and the people who make or launch them often imprint or project their own emotions and beliefs on to these objects. Yet they…
Scientists claim to have found another distinct genetic form of Alzheimer’s
Having two copies of a gene variant known to predispose people to Alzheimer’s could in fact represent a distinct genetic form of the disease, researchers have said. The variant, known as ApoE4, has long been known to increase the risk…
Scientists create vaccine with potential to protect against future coronaviruses
Scientists have created a vaccine that has the potential to protect against a broad range of coronaviruses, including varieties that are not yet even known about. The experimental shot, which has been tested in mice, marks a change in strategy…
We all want to cut out the bad parts of ourselves. It won’t work, and it won’t make us happier
When I was a little girl, I cried a lot. I used to wish ferociously that I was not such a crybaby. I remember the shame so well. Sitting on my bed on a Sunday evening, hot-cheeked and furious with…
Starwatch: look out for the colours of the Spring Triangle
Today we’ll look at a pattern of stars, a grouping known as an asterism, that heralds the season of spring. In the northern hemisphere, this asterism is known as the Spring Triangle, but for those in the southern hemisphere, Autumn…
Letter: Marion Ecob-Prince obituary
I attended the same senior school as Marion Ecob-Prince. She and her brother were born in the same week as me, in the same nursing home and we were all involved in a baby mix-up. At feeding time my mother…
Being diagnosed with dyslexia has made me happier
Discovering that I have dyslexia, and most probably dyscalculia, later in my life has raised many questions for me, not least whether a childhood diagnosis would have changed the trajectory of my life, both personally and professionally. Over the years…
Chicken or egg? One zoologist’s attempt to solve the conundrum of which came first
The chicken or the egg? Sometimes, as a zoology author, I am asked this question by the kid at the front with the raised hand and large questioning eyes. Sometimes it’s the older guy at the back with a glint…
The new ‘space race’: what are China’s ambitions and why is the US so concerned?
The worsening rivalry between the world’s two most powerful countries that has in recent years spread across the world, has now extended beyond the terrestrial, into the realms of the celestial. As China has become deeply enmeshed in strategic competition…