Insights

An adorable creature was assumed to be something else for more than 100 years, but what is the significance of this revelation?Likened to a house cat and teddy bear hybrid,...

Predicting the future is a risky business

September 13, 2013

No fusion power, no fuel cells…not even reliable light bulbs – have we really got the 21st century we were promised? Russ Swan laments a dream that seems forever out...

Marvellous microbes

September 9, 2013

Readers of our print edition will have recieved the second of the LN Companion Series of supplements. In it, we take a look at microbiology – possibly the one of...

Talking endogenous retroviruses with Dr Ravinder Kanda

September 6, 2013

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) constitute a substantial fraction of vertebrate genomes, but how did they get there and why are the important? To find out, we chat to Dr Ravinder Kanda...

Ensuring the right balance of scientific freedom and security

September 2, 2013

History has shown that teasing truth from propaganda during times of war is a tricky business indeed. So it is with some caution that as I write this column I...

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Number Cruncher 6

September 1, 2013

A circadian rhythm is a roughly 24 hour cycle in the physiological processes of living beings. Circadian rhythms are endogenously generated, but they can be modulated by external cues such...

Levitation’s what you need

August 30, 2013

Welcome! A veritable feast for you this month – indeed you join us just as our cups are in danger of falling into the ‘over runneth’ category. We have for...

“Is it a boy or a girl?”

August 23, 2013

Choosing the sex of babies born via IVF is a realistic, but illegal, possibility. However, a leading medical ethicist argues there’s no justification for the banScientific research has the power...

Pop culture and the power of scientific deduction

August 21, 2013

Comprehensive tests lead Russ Swan to discover an astounding application of scientific language – the deciphering of bizarre song lyricsI've been applying the power of scientific deduction to some overlooked...

Glassblowing with Stephanie Preston

August 6, 2013

Chemical Engineering, Engineering, Interviews

All of us at some stage in our careers have used scientific glassware – but how do those intricate and often beautiful shapes come to be? We spoke to scientific...

Physics & Engineering

Some incredibly clever manipulation of light

August 1, 2013

Light – such a peculiar and, at times, elusive beast. Both a wave and a particle – it has befuddled some of the greatest scientific minds in history. Yet as...