Published3 AprilShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Islam Dogru/Anadolu via Getty ImagesBy Esme StallardClimate and science reporter, BBC NewsThe White House wants US space agency Nasa to develop a new time zone for the Moon - Coordin... More »
Private Covid boosters are available for people who do not qualify to receive these vaccines on the NHS. But is it worth paying for a shot?With most people now having been exposed to Sars-CoV-2 through previous vaccination and/or infection, our immune systems ... More »
Here is a simple maths problem: together a bat and ball cost £1.10. The bat costs one pound more than the ball. How much is the ball?It doesn’t take long for most people to answer 10p. And most people get it wrong. If you are in the minority that pauses long e... More »
On April 8, for about four minutes, many Americans will have the rare chance to witness a total solar eclipse. The last time that happened in North America was 2017 – and the next time won’t be until 2044. The eclipse, which occurs when the moon moves in front... More »
Eclipses have been a subject of fascination throughout human history, and the fact that we now have a clearer understanding of what they actually are—at least in the celestial mechanics sense—than we did in centuries past has not made them any less exciting. W... More »
Cheaper private Covid jabs could end up being just as expensive as their pricier alternative because the vaccine must be given in groups of five, experts have warned.Boots and pharmacies that partner with the company Pharmadoctor are offering Pfizer/BioNTech j... More »
By Helen Sullivan Photographs by Michael AwWhen he picks me up at the airport, Gary Cobb is wearing a nudibranch baseball cap, a gray T-shirt covered in illust... More »
A total solar eclipse, when the cosmos clicks into place with the worlds aligned like cue balls, may be one of the most profoundly visceral experiences you can have without ingesting anything illegal.Some people scream, some cry. Eight times, I’ve been through... More »
On clear evenings in Madrid, Alfredo Paniagua sets up his 180-pound telescope in the center of the city. Curious passersby soon begin to line up to peek through the lens.It’s a nightly ritual Mr. Paniagua has performed for two decades. He often stays past midn... More »
Earlier today I set you the following mini-pub quiz, based on wordplay puzzles from The Cryptic Pub Quiz Book by Frank Paul. Here they are again with answers.Round 1: SynonymsChange one letter of each word to make pairs of synonyms. Thus “paid and dug” could b... More »
Trillions of evolution’s bizarro wonders, red-eyed periodical cicadas that have pumps in their heads and jet-like muscles in their rears, are about to emerge in numbers not seen in decades and possibly centuries. Crawling out from underground every 13 or 17 ye... More »
A straw-headed bulbul Anne Pinto-RodriguesThe early morning air at Hindhede Nature Park in central Singapore is filled with bird calls. But one birdsong clearly stands out from the rest—the long, gurgling call of the straw... More »