State deals on climate will need support of the people

5 May 2021

This week’s new questions

5 May 2021

Is it possible for a loud sound to be so brief that we can’t hear it? And where did the microbes that turn milk into yogurt come from?

How does porridge manage to stick to non-stick pans?

5 May 2021

The physics of fluids explains why porridge sticks to non-stick pans - it also explains how you can stop it from happening

Why do some things, like fresh coffee, smell better than they taste?

5 May 2021

Many people find that coffee smells much better than it tastes, here’s the scientific explanation from our readers. Plus why cheese induces the opposite effect

What could happen to change gravity on Earth as we know it?

5 May 2021

Readers give several ways in which gravity on Earth could significantly change, but none of them would be good news for the planet

India's plight could be repeated elsewhere if rising cases are ignored

5 May 2021

What is happening in India could occur elsewhere if rising case numbers are ignored

The world is hot enough: MI6 has started spying on climate polluters

5 May 2021

MI6 starts spying for the planet, plus what Instagram can teach us about birds and cryptocurrency meets magic mushrooms, in Feedback’s weird weekly round-up

Puzzle #112: What is the diameter of the third barrel?

5 May 2021

Can you solve this week’s fiendish puzzle A muse in barrels? Plus the answer to puzzle #111, Eclair-voyance

What to cook if covid-19 has affected your sense of smell and taste

5 May 2021

If your sense of smell has been affected by illnesses like covid-19, you can still make food interesting using the basic tastes of sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami, says Sam Wong

Alien plants: The search for photosynthesis on other worlds

5 May 2021

Looking for signs of life in exoplanet atmospheres is fraught with uncertainty. But now that we can detect polarised light reflected directly off other worlds, we could spot unmistakable evidence of photosynthesis