Latest Stories
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The living robot! Part-frog, part-machine
Is it dangerous to create living robots? Using the cells of a frog and artificial intelligence, scientists have designed an entirely new life form small enough to travel inside a human body.
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Spacecraft to seek the secrets of the Sun
Will the source of life on Earth also be its end? This weekend, a new space probe will blast off towards the Sun to investigate one of the biggest threats to our planet – the solar wind.
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Virus toll rises as 14 are tested in Britain
Is this a global pandemic? In China, there are more than 830 confirmed cases and 25 deaths – with further reports from Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the US.
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Thunberg, Trump and the battle for the truth
Is emotion stronger than science? Appealing to the most powerful people in the world at the World Economic Forum this week, Donald Trump and Greta Thunberg directly opposed each other.
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‘Aliens exist and may already be among us’
Do aliens exist? Helen Sharman, a scientist who was the first Briton in space, has declared that there are definitely other forms of life in the Universe – and they may already be among us.
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Nasa scientist claims evidence of life on Mars
Has there been a cover-up? In a new article, a leading scientist claims that US space probes discovered life on Mars over 40 years ago but Nasa has always denied their full significance.
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The fascinating, undying power of curiosity
Could curiosity be the most important human attribute? It lets us transform chaos into questions, boredom into wisdom, and allows us to find pleasure in the mysteries of the Universe.
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Scientists warn public on alien communication
If aliens call, what should we say? Scientists are turning to the public to ask how — and if — we should reply to intelligent extraterrestrial life. It could alter the course of history.
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Probe peels back mysteries of the universe
Is remote exploration a form of escapism? NASA has sent a spacecraft 12 billion miles from Earth. One scientist says it is like exploring an elephant with a microscope. Why do we bother?
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Scientists claim to have reversed time
Is time travel really possible? For centuries, humans have dreamed of leaping into the deep past or distant future. Will we ever do it? The answer lies in one of Einstein’s strangest theories.
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‘No human is limited,’ says marathon champion
Was it tainted by technology? Eliud Kipchoge has entered the pantheon of the greats alongside Roger Bannister who ran a four-minute mile, 65 years ago. A triumph for sport — or for science?
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The disturbing rise of racist robots
Are robots racist? AI computers are showing sexist and racist bias. A growing number of experts fear that we have created AI in our own worst image, and it could have awful consequences.
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It has rain, water, clouds: so, maybe life too!
What a wonderful find — but does it have any point? Astronomers are thrilled by yesterday’s announcement about a habitable planet. The bad news: it would take two million years to get there.
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Emergency plan to deflect giant asteroid
Are asteroids our biggest threat? Scientists are now working on a plan to protect Earth from Didymos, a giant rock the size of Egypt’s great pyramid — one of 20,000 known near-Earth objects.
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Earth’s 2019 resources ‘budget’ already used
Will it take a disaster to teach us to live within our means? As of today, humans have consumed more resources than Planet Earth can regenerate in a year — a worse record than last year.