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Cracking consciousness will never be easy but we are making strides

19 July 2023

A new way to understand where consciousness comes from and novel insights into subjective thought show that the hard problem of consciousness is worth persevering with

Mandatory Credit: Photo by EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (13842171a) Packages of prescribtion drugs Ozempic and Wegovy by Novo Nordisk sit on a table in Copenhagen, Denmark, 23 March 2023. US celebrities have credited their weight loss to the FDA-approved medications that are prescribed to treat Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes drugs used as slimming agent, Copenhagen, Denmark - 23 Mar 2023

People think drugs like Wegovy are a quick fix. So what if they are?

12 July 2023

Ideas that people should lose weight “the hard way” rather than take semaglutide drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are holding back progress in the fight against obesity

T861Y1 CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing complex, illustration

The high cost of CRISPR therapy will stop it getting to most patients

5 July 2023

The world’s first CRISPR therapy may be approved soon, but sadly it is unlikely to be affordable for hundreds of thousands of people whose pain it could end

Colorado, Cortez, Mesa Verde, cliff dwelling, Cliff Palace. (Photo by: Bernard Friel/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

History reveals vital new lessons in how to make our societies better

28 June 2023

At a time when the future of human civilisation looks shaky, a reappraisal of how we got here suggests that changing direction may be easier than we think

2H57CRH Real zero no net zero placard, Global Day of Action for Climate Justice demonstration, London, UK. 6th November 2021

Net-zero aim shouldn't be used to delay action on carbon emissions

21 June 2023

For executives or politicians with an eye on the next financial quarter or electoral cycle, net zero has clear appeal. But we shouldn't use it as a way to delay action on tackling climate change

What looks much like craggy mountains on a moonlit evening is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on NASA???s James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals previously obscured areas of star birth. Called the Cosmic Cliffs, the region is actually the edge of a gigantic, gaseous cavity within NGC 3324, roughly 7,600 light-years away. The cavernous area has been carved from the nebula by the intense ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds from extremely massive, hot, young stars located in the center of the bubble, above the area shown in this image. The high-energy radiation from these stars is sculpting the nebula???s wall by slowly eroding it away. NIRCam ??? with its crisp resolution and unparalleled sensitivity ??? unveils hundreds of previously hidden stars, and even numerous background galaxies. Several prominent features in this image are described below. ??? The ???steam??? that appears to rise from the celestial ???mountains??? is actually hot, ionized gas and hot dust streaming away from the nebula due to intense, ultraviolet radiation. ??? Dramatic pillars rise above the glowing wall of gas, resisting the blistering ultraviolet radiation from the young stars. ??? Bubbles and cavities are being blown by the intense radiation and stellar winds of newborn stars. ??? Protostellar jets and outflows, which appear in gold, shoot from dust-enshrouded, nascent stars. ??? A ???blow-out??? erupts at the top-center of the ridge, spewing gas and dust into the interstellar medium. ??? An unusual ???arch??? appears, looking like a bent-over cylinder. This period of very early star formation is difficult to capture because, for an individual star, it lasts only about 50,000 to 100,000 years ??? but Webb???s extreme sensitivity and exquisite spatial resolution have chronicled this rare event. Located roughly 7,600 light-years away, NGC 3324 was first cat

The JWST is already delivering on its promise to transform cosmology

14 June 2023

Almost a year after its first images were released, the James Webb Space Telescope is living up to the hype, and its price tag, by revolutionising our understanding of the universe

We need to go beyond net zero to reverse catastrophic climate damage

7 June 2023

Our planet is about to hit a critical 1.5°C of global warming. To rectify things, we must cut emissions, but we also need to harness technology and the natural world to suck carbon dioxide from the air

Larry Brown, owner of Brown's Farm, which produces sustainable eggs for NestFresh, walks around the property in Gonzales, Texas, U.S., on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Farmers are betting they can profit further with specialty eggs by adding another layer of premiumization: eggs from a special type of sustainable farm that can be trumpeted as being better for the planet. Photographer: Mary Kang/Bloomberg via Getty Images

We already have ethical options for replacing industrial farming

31 May 2023

The industrialised food system harms the environment and animal welfare, but new ways of farming are now addressing these issues and further change is coming

Supermassive black hole. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.; Shutterstock ID 1756053335; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Lab imitations of the unobservable cosmos can be genuinely insightful

24 May 2023

Despite the obvious caveats, physicists are right to use fluids and other physical analogues to search for fresh insights about extreme cosmic phenomena, from black holes to the big bang