Changes in our lifestyles, from diet to washing habits, and in the world surrounding us, may explain why so many are strugglingThe Met Office offers a daily pollen guide, in tones not unlike the storm warning of the shipping forecast: poetic for those not affected, alarming if you are facing a force 8. Saturday’s reads: “The grass pollen risk is on the rise, as more grasses come into flower....

Vaccine plans devised during Covid crisis have been systematically dismantled by ministers, says former head of vaccine taskforceMinisters have “systematically dismantled” critical vaccine plans drawn up during the Covid crisis and left the country recklessly exposed to another pandemic, one of the most senior figures shaping Britain’s scientific response to the virus has warned.In a...

Silicon chip transistors are so small they are approaching their physical limits. And the firm that makes many of them may be somewhat hampered if Xi Jinping decides to invade TaiwanIn the 1950s I spent a significant chunk of my pocket money buying a transistor. It was a small metal cylinder (about 5mm in diameter and 7mm deep) with three wires protruding from its base. I needed it for a little...

There are no signs yet that last year’s 40C will be breached again, but meteorologists predict such peaks could become the normTemperatures have soared above 30C for the first time this year – and meteorologists forecast the chance of Britain experiencing a hot summer is now 45% – 2.3 times the normal figure.The warning leaves the nation braced for a possible repeat of last year’s...

First detected accidentally by US military satellites in the late 1960s, cosmic explosions known as gamma ray bursts (GRBs) have come to be understood as the brightest explosions in the universe.

At one point in 2020, 4.4 billion people—more than half of the world's population—were under lockdown restrictions to stem the spread of COVID-19. This was such a sudden and substantial event that it has become known as the anthropause.

The Arctic Ocean could be ice-free in summer by the 2030s, even if we do a good job of reducing emissions between now and then. That's the worrying conclusion of a new study in Nature Communications.

Beneath our feet, remarkable networks of fungal filaments stretch out in all directions. These mycorrhizal fungi live in partnership with plants, offering nutrients, water and protection from pests in exchange for carbon-rich sugars.

There’s an aisle of the grocery store where inflation is looking exceptionally sticky: indulgent treats. Think coffee, chocolates and your favorite snacks. Prices of soft commodities have soared this year because of supply constraints. The return of El Niño and prospects of hotter, drier weather in producing countries is now threatening to exacerbate tight supply. In the UK,...

Researchers are working on sustainable technology to harvest solar power in space—which could supplement life support systems on the moon and Mars.

David Smith, a retired print technician from the north of England, was pursuing his hobby of looking for interesting shapes when he stumbled onto one unlike any other in November.

A fish larger than a man, tasty as well as beautiful, the freshwater pirarucu is a favorite with poachers in a lawless part of the Amazon jungle where Brazil, Peru and Colombia meet.

A study by a team of University of Oklahoma researchers has been featured in Cell Reports Physical Science, an open-access journal highlighting cutting-edge research in the physical sciences.