Heat normally flows from hot to cold klyaksun/Shutterstock A forgotten cup of coffee will gradually cool down as its heat flows into the cooler surrounding air, but in the quantum realm, it appears this experience can be turned on its head. As a result, we may need to update the second law of thermodynamics, a…
The Carina Nebula viewed by the Hubble Space Telescope NASA/ESA/M. Livio, The Hubble Heritage Team & Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI) Start off in any direction and fly through the universe. Out of our solar system, beyond the edge of the Milky Way, through the forest of galaxies that make up our Local Group into…
In Vigil, a dying oil magnate is visited by ghosts liebre/Getty Images VigilGeorge Saunders, Bloomsbury In general, I am not a fan of novellas (or short novels). Just as I am sinking into them, they finish. However, while interesting people keep writing interesting-sounding works like these, I feel obliged to keep reading them, and this…
You may benefit from mixing up your aerobic workouts Piero Facci / Alamy I often say that the key to staying consistent with working out is finding an exercise you love. You are more likely to move your body if you look forward to doing so. But you should also consider switching it up every…
There may be no need to go hungry – intermittent fasting doesn’t cause weight loss anyway Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Images Intermittent fasting appears to be no more effective for weight loss than doing nothing at all, according to a review of studies involving people who were overweight or had obesity. The diet has become a…
Lymphatic-like structures within the brain of a healthy person Shiju Gan/Harvard University Your brain may contain a hidden network of vessels that helps it dispose of metabolic waste. If confirmed to be true in future studies, the discovery could transform our understanding of the brain and even reveal new therapies for conditions like Alzheimer’s disease….
Earth’s magnetic field extends tens of thousands of kilometres into space Getty Images/iStockphoto Two vast, mysterious blobs of hot rock around Earth’s core may have been instrumental in producing Earth’s magnetic field and caused it to be slightly wonky for millions of years. Scientists have known for decades about two peculiar continent-sized chunks of rock, one…
Historic anatomical preparations from the late 1700s in the Hunterian Anatomy Museum Anatomy Museum © The Hunterian, University of Glasgow A cold virus that infected a woman in London about 250 years ago has been identified by genetic analysis, making it it the oldest confirmed human RNA virus. DNA sequencing has enabled scientists to find…
A healthy diet has long been linked to living into old age – and you don’t have to adhere to it perfectly to reap the benefits SolStock/Getty Images Five dietary patterns have been associated with living years longer, regardless of someone’s genetic risk factors for disease, in a study of more than 100,000 people. “If…
Jessie Buckley as Agnes in Hamnet AGATA GRZYBOWSKA/2025 FOCUS FEATURES LLC The film Hamnet, based on Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, rightly emphasises the relationship between people and nature. We meet Agnes (Jessie Buckley, pictured above), Hamnet’s mother and wife of William Shakespeare, in the woods, asleep. She is said to be the daughter of a wood…
