Science Illustrated

Imagine a group picture including more than three billion people, each one recognisable. That’s what astronomers have created with the Dark Energy Camera’s portrait of the Milky Way, using specially-designed software to separate overlapping bright do

UNIVERSE Planets have no defence when a star runs out of fuel. The dying star expands massively, to perhaps a million times its original size, and swallows any object in its vicinity – including entire planets. Astronomers have previously observed ev

A new technique could become vital for diabetics and elderly people whose reduced blood circulation causes problems with wound healing. HUMANS For most people, a minor wound will be relatively harmless. After some time the wound will heal and disappe

In spring, toads return to the same pond or lake to mate. The females can be heavily outnumbered by males, and an entire cluster of suitors will grab the same female. The winning male holds on to the female for days, fertilising her eggs, which she l

GENOMICS Twenty years ago, scientists published a rough outline of the human genome for the first time. It was then around 90% complete, but there was one potential flaw: it was based on the genetic data of just a handful of people from Buffalo, USA,

UNIVERSE When we look at the sky and observe a blue colour, it is not the colour of the sky we see, rather the blue colour components of sunlight. Although people often describe the Sun as yellow or orange, its light includes all colours. Our eyes se

HUMAN BODY Most women have experienced menstrual cramps, and around 14% feel such severe pain that they have to call into work sick. According to the McGill pain scale, menstrual cramps can be worse than toothache, chronic back pain, bone fractures o

ANIMALS A snail without a shell won’t survive. It is an integral part of the snail’s body and cannot be left behind. The bad news for your snail is that even insignificant damage to the shell can be fatal, as it makes the snail vulnerable to infectio

AEROSPACE The average temperature on the Red Planet is -65°C, some 80°C colder than Earth. The main reason is that the planet is located some 80 million kilometres further from the Sun, but also that the density of the Martian atmosphere is only 1/10

HUMAN BODY Lifehacks on social media can be foolish and dangerous. While you may get away with mouthtaping and may even reap benefits from it, for some people it could be dangerous. Breathing through your mouth is an important back-up for night-time

ZOOLOGY Paedophryne amauensis, a narrow-mouthed frog from Papua New Guinea, is the tiniest vertebrate that biologists have yet discovered. The 7.7mm-long anuran lives in withered leaves on forest floors, and was discovered in 2009 by two American her

AEROSPACE Telescopes, satellites and space stations orbit Earth at permanent altitudes. And the further from Earth a space station is, the faster it must travel to keep up its orbit. The International Space Station, the Hubble telescope, and Tiangong

More than a third of our personality can be explained by neither genes nor upbringing, according to scientists who think that random events during the development of the brain have a key influence on who we become. You may think that you have inherit

1 Identical twins who are separated at birth have the same genes, but they grow up in different environments. So they should share genetic qualities, but become different when it comes to qualities influenced by environmental factors. 2 One twin scor

1 Anxiety reflects your tendency towards negative thoughts and emotions. People who score high on anxiety get easily stressed or uneasy, and they can often be in low spirits or quick-tempered. On the other hand, people with a low score tend to take i

Despite being soft in the head, octopuses are so intelligent that they can exercise self-restraint, or get bored. Studies of transparent octopus embryos are helping scientists to understand nature’s basic recipe for high intelligence. OCTOPUS BOOK OF

1 In an octopus retina, stem cells are responsible for generating new extended nerve cells – and does so in the same way as occurs in human nerve development. Prior to cell division, a stem cell’s cell nucleus – the part which includes DNA – migrates

1 From the Starship bridge, the crew can monitor fuel levels and rocket engines, potentially carrying out corrective manoeuvres using small rocket nozzles, or larger manoeuvres using Raptor rocket engines. 2 Without gravity, astronauts lose both musc

Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa, whose fortune comes from the Zozotown online clothing store is paying for the mission and has selected the crew. He also collects art and bought a famous Jean-Michel Basquiat painting at a price of US$110.5 milli

It was such a tragedy that the very name of the drug has echoed down the decades. In 1959 and during the two years that followed, more than 10,000 babies across 46 nations were born with deformed arms and legs. Their mothers had one thing in common:

Do tall people earn higher pay? Are humans growing ever taller? And is our height predetermined by our genes? Learn what is true and false about our most eye-catching characteristic: height. FALSE In their teens, both boys and girls may grow rapidly

When a new satellite is launched into orbit around Earth, its path is calculated using Newton’s law of gravity: an equation from more than 300 years ago. Astronomy and astrophysics remain dependent on this equation: it provides the underlying basis o

Too hot for a walk, reports our Editor; sensible people are staying inside until early evening when some high cloud cover takes the edge off the heat. He sweltered through the hottest day of the year so far on 7th September, only for the 8th to be ho

Earth The Hyades → Outwardly - directed force → Gravity from visible matter → Gravity from dark matter 1 The galaxies rotate so fast that the outermost stars should be flung out into space. Modern cosmology solves the problem by claiming that a galax

1 A shaft directs the warm outdoor air down through a passage a few metres into the ground, where the air is cooled. 2 From the underground passage, cool air flows to the rooms of the building via a ventilating shaft. 3 The ‘solar tower’ functions su

→ In the early universe, burnt-out stars in dwarf galaxies collapse, ‘giving birth’ to small black holes that combine into medium-sized holes. When the galaxies fuse, so do the black holes. STRENGTH: Scientists know that small black holes can fuse; i

→ 60% of your body is water, and when you sweat, the water must be replaced to avoid dehydration, with headaches, nausea, and dizziness. Latest advice is to drink what you feel you need, but during a heatwave your body will need twice its normal inta

A long time ago in a dwarf galaxy far, far away, a drama of cosmic dimensions is unfolding. A star comes too close to a lurking black hole and is sucked in by its extreme forces of gravity. The star cannot escape. It is drawn ever closer in a spiral

Power-to-X (or P2X) means converting electricity (power) into something else (X) – such as hydrogen or ammonia – in order to store a green energy surplus. It’s one of the biggest questions in the switch to cleaner energy generation. Very often the po

1 Solar and wind energy is converted into power. But much of any surplus energy could be wasted as it cannot (yet) be stored efficiently in batteries. 2 Surplus power is used to split water (H2O) into 2 hydrogen (H2 ) and oxygen (O) using an electrol

Learn about the forgotten drama, scientific duels, and the ‘aha’ moments that created the most exceptional inventions and scientific breakthroughs. In 14th century Europe, books are luxury goods. Only the very rich – such as kings, noblemen, and succ

>how ChatGPT hallucinates Chat-based artificial intelligence can be brilliant, until it isn’t. Find out how hallucination lies at the core of ChatGPT, and why in many cases its answers can’t be trusted… It’s official — love makes a mess of your brain

1 Johannes Gutenberg’s real name was Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden im Hof zum Gutenberg. In his era, the name Gensfleisch was known by most people in the city of Mainz where he was born, as he was part of a ‘patrician’ noble family. Mainz and most o

ASTRONOMY Poor old Jupiter held the crown as our Solar System’s ‘moon king’ for only three months. In February, astronomers discovered 12 new moons orbiting the Jupiter, so that its moon count of 92 overtook Saturn’s total. But now the discovery of 6

The biggest space rocket in history will lift off with a full crew for the first time. A billionaire has chosen a group of artists and creatives so that they can seek inspiration in space. The Moon’s gravitational force will provide much of the impe