Popular
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The AC/DC current wars make a comeback
The Tesla vs Edison battle of electric current is till on.
The decisive battle took place in 1893 at the Chicago World’s Fair. On one side, the celebrated inventor Thomas Ediso...
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Why are viruses considered non-living?
Viruses lack many of the features that are the hallmarks of life.
Viruses are responsible for some of the most dangerous and deadly diseases including influenza, ebola, rabies and sma...
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Lack of leg fat a sign of unhealthy metabolism
The association of leanness with good health can be misleading.
The comfortable association of leanness with good health is misleading for around 20% of people whose body mass index...
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What creates Earth's magnetic field?
The Earth's core works like a giant bicycle dynamo in reverse.
Travelling to see the Northern or Southern lights has made its way into almost everyone’s bucket list. But unknown to...
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Five ways to travel through time
Travel to the past is probably impossible. But to the future?
In 2009 the British physicist Stephen Hawking held a party for time travellers – the twist was he sent out the invite...
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How to solve a magic square
This arithmetical stunt is not difficult when you know how.
Magicians often include acts that are not strictly magic, but leave their audiences feeling that they have witnessed ...
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What came first, cells or viruses?
A biological enigma that goes to the heart of the origin of life.
Do humans really mark the pinnacle of evolution, or do viruses? While we’ve evolved along a pathway of ever-increasin...
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Why do cats have slit-shaped eyes?
Pupil shape reveals prey or predator in animals.
Ever wondered why cats have vertical slit-shaped pupils, while sheep have horizontal bars? A recent study suggests it...
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Vacuum decay: the ultimate catastrophe
If the Universe dies, this is the most efficient way.
Every once in a while, physicists come up with a new way to destroy the Universe. There’s the Big Rip (a rending of s...
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The big five mass extinctions
Extinctions where more than 75% of the species disappears!
Biologists suspect we’re living through the sixth major mass extinction. Earth has witnessed five, when more than 75%...
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Symbiosis: when living together is win-win
Long-term interactions between two biological organisms.
There are many cases in nature where species team up to help each other, a behaviour known as symbiosis. Resources or...