Life Zoologger: The first reptile with a true placenta Zoologger is our weekly column highlighting extraordinary animals – and occasionally other organisms – from around the world News
Steven Pinker: Humans are less violent than ever Things can only get better Pessimists, anti-capitalists, conservatives and greens, take note – we are much more peaceful now than we used to be, says the psychologist Interactive graphic: The 20 worst things people have done to each other What got you interested in the history of violence? I was struck by a graph I … Opinion
Bird's-eye view of solar plant that works at night See more: To see the image this article refers to, keep checking Picture of the Day on our news blog Short Sharp Science SUNSHINE can be turned into electricity at night in this thermosolar plant. Gemasolar , in Fuentes de AndalucÃa near Seville in Spain, is the first commercial-scale plant to use an innovative "battery" … Regulars
Life Your clever body: Thinking from head to toe There's more to your mind than your brain – your body plays a part in everything from social savvy to mathematical ability Features
The artist and the proton smasher Will the artists who are moving into CERN be a distraction or an inspiration? WEARING a black T-shirt and jeans, and a ring that he made himself, Michael Doser belies the stereotypical view of his vocation as an antimatter physicist. "The public image of scientists is of boffins in lab coats working unimaginatively in their … CultureLab
Enigma Number 1668 Square dates 4 December 2009 is the most recent date that qualifies as a perfect square date when written as day, month, year with two digits for each element, that is as 04.12.09: 41209 is the square of 203. Using the same format, what is the only instance in any century of two consecutive dates … Regulars
Feedback: The salmonella sniff myth The salmonella sniff myth IS THE number of "science projects" in your fridge about to increase? The Online Slang Dictionary says that's a euphemism for the ancient cheeses and so on that have evolved their own advanced biological communities. Some people have none of these, religiously tossing out anything past its "sell by" date. Others … Regulars