END OF DAYS: APOCALYPSE SPECIAL
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DOOMSDAY
Modern civilisation may be the most advanced and most powerful in history – but it could be toppled by calamity like so many before it. Tim Dean looks at some of the more likely dangers that could take us to the brink – or beyond.
SNEAKY SEX
Our conventional notions of masculinity and sexual behaviour are being shown the door. Richard Conniff explores the myriad tactics employed to secure a mate - and finds some sneaky surprises.
TOMB RAIDERS
Archaeologists are turning to particle physics to probe deeper into ancient structures for hidden knowledge and treasure. The key to it all is a curious particle, the muon, explains Haley Bridger.
BIRTH OF THE MOON
How the Moon arose has long stumped scientists, and rocks brought back in the 1970s deepened the mystery. Now Dutch geophysicists argue that it was created not by a massive collision 4.5 billion years ago, but by a runaway nuclear reaction deep inside the young Earth, as Marcel Crok reports.
WORLDS OF ILLUSION
Think you know what the Earth looks like? Don't be so sure. As Tim Dean discovers, all world maps are lies. The trick is finding the one that lies the least.
TRICK OR TREATMENT?
The ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture is becoming increasingly popular. But does offer real medical benefits? Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst investigate.
Kate Selway, geophysicist.
The latest happenings in science.
It sounds like something dreamed up in a comic book: a creature whose spiky ribs pierce its own skin to skewer and poison unsuspecting enemies.
The light bulb has become a symbol of original thought, but the tale behind its invention is a quite different story.
The last interview with the late Arthur C. Clarke in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in January 2008, found the famed author still entranced with terraforming planets, space elevators, and the search for extraterrestrials.
Pictures of the world's most spectacular natural features, taken by NASA satellites.
It's not a bad job for Sigrid Close - travelling to exotic parts of the world to count meteors as they streak through the night sky.
The man behind Moore's Law is tackling biodiversity, the future of engineering education and the secrets of the universe.
Bob tried to reason with himself. Nothing disastrous would happen if he dried his nose before his brow ... Could a brain implant cure his obsessive-compulsive disorder? An original science fiction story by Stefani Nellan.
A browse through the latest in science books and DVDs.
The prince of cyberpunk
For far too long it's been overlooked, says Sandra McLaren, but geothermal energy from naturally radioactive hot rocks represents an abundant energy source right in our backyard.
