24 articles from SUNDAY 19.3.2023
Why you should make the most of the extra daylight when the clocks change
Daylight helps to regulate hormones and the immune system. It’s good for sleep and can help with depression. So be glad of the extra daylight when the clocks go forwardIf we took away the walls, the ceilings, the street lights, the screens and allowed our senses to guide us, we might rise with the sun and sleep when it sets. Artificial lighting and blackout blinds allow us to choose our waking...
Venus: Proof of active volcanoes—at last
Venus is almost the same size, mass and density as Earth. So it should be generating heat in its interior (by the decay of radioactive elements) at much the same rate as the Earth does. On Earth, one of the main ways in which this heat leaks out is via volcanic eruptions. During an average year, at least 50 volcanoes erupt.
Social anxiety disorder is crippling – and common. Graded exposure is the first step out | Gill Straker and Jacqui Winship
Effective treatment usually requires a holistic approach, yet those suffering often avoid seeking help Many of us are familiar with the uncomfortable feeling of entering a cocktail party at which none of our friends are present. We sidle in awkwardly, imagine others might be wondering what we are doing there and find ourselves not sure where to stand or who to look at. We gaze intently at our...
Baffled by black holes? Confused by quantum theory? Explaining the universe one small step at a time
Science writer Marcus Chown breaks down the mysteries of the universe into manageable chunksTraits which enable organisms to compete successfully for scarce food resources and so survive to reproduce become more common with each successive generation Continue...
At least 14 killed as strong quake jolts Ecuador and Peru
At least 14 people were killed, several were wounded and buildings were damaged in a powerful earthquake that shook Peru and Ecuador Saturday, authorities said.
Unwanted visitor ruins spring break in Florida—toxic algae
With its brilliant sun, white sand and turquoise water, Lido Key Beach would make for a perfect postcard of Florida beaches if it weren't for the dozens of dead fish lying on the shore, killed by a toxic algae bloom known as red tide.
UN commission calls for closing the gender digital divide
The U.N.'s premiere global body fighting for gender equality on Saturday called for wide-ranging efforts to close the gap between men and women in today's technology-driven world and urged zero tolerance for gender-based violence and harassment online.
Millions of dead fish wash up amid heat wave in Australia
Millions of fish have washed up dead in southeastern Australia in a die-off that authorities and scientists say is caused by depleted oxygen levels in the river after recent floods and hot weather.
The forgotten maths genius who laid the foundations for Isaac Newton
A new play explores the short life of Jeremiah Horrocks, whose astonishing discoveries ‘changed the way we see the universe’On a cloudy afternoon in England in 1639, 20-year-old Jeremiah Horrocks became the first person to accurately predict the transit of Venus and measure the distance from the Earth to the sun.His work proved, for the first time, that Earth is not at the centre of the...
A Brief History of Time is ‘wrong’, Stephen Hawking told collaborator
Thomas Hertog worked with cosmologist on a new book after he shared his doubts about A Brief History of TimeIn 2002 Thomas Hertog received an email summoning him to the office of his mentor Stephen Hawking. The young researcher rushed to Hawking’s room at Cambridge. “His eyes were radiant with excitement,” Hertog recalls.Typing on the computer-controlled voice system that allowed the...
Shroom boom: the hunt is on as California rains fuel a mushroom explosion
Unusual weather has created the ideal conditions for fungus, delighting foragers and researchersOn a sun-dappled trail in the woods of Calabasas, Jess Starwood narrows her eyes and gasps with glee. Scrambling up a leafy hillside, she points to a small hump in the ground, covered in leaf litter. “That’s a shrump,” she says – a mushroom hump, where a mushroom may be pushing up the ground as...
A trip to my mother’s native Sweden helped me recapture my childhood
It was a nostalgic journey to rediscover my family roots, but it was also great fun and reminded me how much I missed this beautiful landWhen I saw the sign saying “Sweden”, I cheered. I was alone in the car, but still I cheered. It was my brother’s car, a white Nissan Note I had managed to dent at a petrol station within an hour of driving off Le Shuttle. Nine hundred miles on, the Nissan...
Cyclone Gabrielle: The New Zealand flood victims too scared to go home
Cyclone Gabrielle has sparked a nationwide debate about climate change and vulnerable homes.