We can share images and sounds, so why not smells? Dr Kate McLean-MacKenzie hopes her new atlas will make scents
Christmas may be associated with the aromas of oranges and mince pies but our towns and cities also boast special scents during the rest of the year. Now, one researcher is publishing an atlas attempting to capture these quirky “smellscapes”.
Exclusive: Scientists find a way to forecast hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which affects millions worldwide
Scientists are developing a simple blood test to predict who is most at risk from the world’s most common inherited heart condition.
Millions of people worldwide have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a disease of the heart muscle where the wall of the heart becomes thickened. It is...
Sarah Harper says society must create new ways of living and working amid potential ‘silver economy’
Concerns over an ageing population are overblown and society should learn to celebrate and capitalise on its “massive cohort of healthy, active, older, creative adults”, a leading population expert has said.
While pundits and pressure groups have raised concerns over falling fertility rates,...
Shares of Tesla have hit new highs on optimism about the company’s self-driving taxis. But experts say Tesla is far behind Waymo, which has a big head start.
Psychologists have typically believed that we become less curious as we age, but recent research has shown curiosity actually becomes more targeted and specific in our later years. In this episode from September, Madeleine Finlay hears from Dr Mary Whatley, an assistant professor of psychology at Western Carolina University, and Dr Matthias Gruber of Cardiff University’s Brain Research...
Flame retardants commonly used in furniture are linked to serious health issues, including cancer and thyroid disease
Removing old furniture made with flame retardants from people’s homes can significantly reduce the amount of the toxic chemicals in blood, a new 10-year, peer-reviewed study by California regulators and public health groups has found.
The Trump administration said five regulators and researchers who work to tackle disinformation and abuse on the internet had been barred from entering the United States.
The administration has downplayed concerns — from mass job losses, to a potential financial bubble — as President Trump cheers soaring stock prices and faster growth.
Researchers share the easy ways to uncover moments of festive discovery, proving you don’t need a lab coat to experiment this Christmas
Christmas may seem like a time for switching off and suspending disbelief but there are plenty of ways to introduce a little science into the celebrations.
We asked experts for their top home experiments to challenge friends and family.
Richard Fishacre used his knowledge of light and colour to argue against ‘fifth element’ theories of the day
About 800 years ago, Richard Fishacre, a Dominican friar at the University of Oxford, challenged the scientific thinking of the day, using his understanding of the behaviour of light to show that stars and planets are made of the same elements as found on Earth. Though he faced heavy...
Scientists working for government breed biological control agents in lab to take on species choking native wildlife
Crayfish, weevils and fungi are being released into the environment in order to tackle invasive species across Britain.
Scientists working for the government have been breeding species in labs to set them loose into the wild to take on Japanese knotweed, signal crayfish and...
Kevin Roose and Casey Newton, the hosts of “Hard Fork” at The New York Times, spoke with Andrew Marley, executive director for Effective Altruism DC, about how much water A.I. data centers use.
In conversation with Kevin Roose and Casey Newton on the “Hard Fork” podcast, the former Roomba C.E.O. Colin Angle shares how YouTube’s viral shark cat brought him joy in 2008.
Studying chemical chatter as tiny balls of cells embed could shine a light on early pregnancy and glitches that lead to miscarriage
Researchers have created the lining of a womb in a dish, which promises to shed light on the mysterious early stages of human pregnancy and the glitches that can lead to miscarriage and medical complications.
In laboratory experiments, early-stage human embryos...