Nature and Cosmos

Uprooted

Environmental activists have been jailed, persecuted and spied on. What fuels such an absolute commitment to a cause?

Specimens

Figurines, fishers, bugs and bats – how things in the world become sacred objects in a museum

In the dark

Dark matter is the commonest, most elusive stuff there is. Can we grasp this great unsolved problem in physics?

Spaced out

Living in space was meant to be our next evolutionary step. What happened to the dream of the final frontier?

Things genes can’t do

Simplistic ideas of how genes ‘cause’ traits are no longer viable: life is an orderly collection of uncertainties

Blue sky thinking

Geoengineers are would-be deities who dream of mastering the heavens. But are humans the ones who are out of control?

Beauteous beasts

Humans have been breeding animals for beauty for centuries. But should we draw the line at genetically modified pets?

A flowered planet

For all their intricate symbolic force, from the Paleolithic to today's herbalism, plants are still a deep mystery to us

Walking on oil

East Africa is the world's latest hotspot for oil and gas exploration. Will this be a boon or a curse in arid Turkana?