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Aerial view as she relaxes on mountain ridge, as the sun rises over arid desert landscape surrounding

Enumerating the trivial superpowers our readers possess

19 April 2023

After putting out a call, Feedback reveals the latest crop of trivial superpowers claimed by readers – abilities that seem mundane to those who have them, but extraordinary to those less blessed

Aerial View of Mount Everest 8,848 m (29,029 ft), Himalaya, Nepal, Asia.

This week’s new questions

19 April 2023

What governs the maximum height of mountains on Earth? Could a mountain as high as Olympus Mons on Mars (21.9 kilometres, more than double the height of Everest) be possible on Earth? And do we actually know how the ancient Romans pronounced Latin words?

Is it possible to tell sunrise from sunset in an image? (Part 2)

19 April 2023

An ex-postman recalls his vivid memories of the colours of dawn, and the discussion continues about the famous depiction of a sunset by the painter J. M. W. Turner

PFCXPY Aggressive Hiss Maine Coon Cat, Looking in Camera Isolated on Black Background

How and why is hissing so common in the animal kingdom?

19 April 2023

Hissing has many uses, says one reader, who was inspired to use it in his daily life too

experienced hand of the old music teacher helps the child pupil; Shutterstock ID 379622230; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Why is the left hand used for intricate fingerwork on the violin?

19 April 2023

The right hand is used for the more complex key pressings on the piano, but our readers explain why it is different when playing the violin

Puzzle #218: Can you work out how many children are in each group?

19 April 2023

Can you solve this week’s arithmetical puzzle, Playground parity? Plus the answer to puzzle #217

mugcake is microwaved. Homemade cupcake in a mug is on a plate. Chocolate brownie mug cake. Easy cooking concept, microwave baking. muffin chocolate. High quality photo; Shutterstock ID 2030585198; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

What is really going on when we microwave our food?

19 April 2023

Sam Wong digs into the science of microwaves, dispelling some common myths – and makes a tasty mug cake in just a few minutes

Tom Gauld: Success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration

19 April 2023

Tom Gauld's weekly cartoon

Twisteddoodles: We need you to highlight your research on social media

19 April 2023

This week's cartoon from Twisteddoodles

Searching for the stars near my hometown, Pollachi, led me to the forests of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. As I moved away from towns and their lights, the darker it got, the more I could see - fireflies, stars. I was fascinated when I saw hundreds of fireflies flashing at the edge of the forest and heard stories of trees laden with fireflies deep in the forest. Predicting the time of their peak activity, I set out to a remote area of the reserve along with forest officials. I waited for nightfall in anxiety. Flashes of green started appearing at twilight. As the place grew dark, millions of fireflies started synchronizing their flashes across several trees. Flashes started in one tree and continued across several trees in a mexican-wave like fashion. It lasted all night. I felt transported to another planet. Being under a sky full of stars, with fireflies flashing in the foreground, owls and other nocturnal creatures calling at a distance, Elephants and Leopards lurking around the corner, this was Nature as our ancestors experienced. The image, created by stacking several photographs, shows a 16 minute activity of the fireflies. ? Sriram Murali, India, 3rd Place, Professional competition, Wildlife & Nature, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

See our pick of the entries for the Sony World Photography Awards

19 April 2023

From a firefly panorama to a howling coyote, these are some of the finalists and shortlisted photographs for the professional competition in the 2023 Sony awards