Curiouser and curiouser
It means both inquisitive and odd, and drives human discovery. Philip Ball traces a curious history
Science & Technology
Is your brain right-wing?
Political differences have their origin in the way we are wired, according to research in cognitive neuroscience. It’s offering a whole new perspective on politics that we ignore at our…
Blueprint
Manjit Kumar talks to George Dyson, author of Turing’s Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe, about the fathers of the digital age
No more lies
In his powerful new book, The Young Atheist’s Handbook, Alom Shaha challenges young Muslims to be honest if they don’t believe, and calls on organised atheism to broaden its appeal…
A risk worth taking
The crisis at Japan’s Fukushima plant raised the spectre of nuclear disaster. But, one year on, it has made atomic power safer than ever. Angela Saini on the productive upside…
Poised on the edge: an interview with Lisa Randall
Lisa Randall is both a top research cosmologist and one of the best guides to the dizzying world of theoretical physics. Manjit Kumar collides with her
Our fragile home
Voyager’s distant photo of Earth should remind us that we’re all in this together, says Marcus Chown
Please squeeze me
Marcus Chown on the hottest body in the Solar System
No argument
In America rationalists find themselves in a new battle – opposing the passing of ‘academic freedom’ laws that allow the undermining of science in the classroom. Paul Sims reports
Quiz: Boggles goes around
A perplexing plane puzzle from Quizmaster Chris Maslanka