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EVROS, GREECE - AUGUST 31: A firefighters runs as wildfire intensifies in the village of Sidiro and Yannuli in Evros, Greece on August 31, 2023. Efforts to extinguish wildfire continues. (Photo by Ayhan Mehmet/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Environment

Why 2023 was almost certainly the hottest year ever recorded

Greenhouse gas levels and the arrival of the El Niño weather pattern pushed the world’s climate into “uncharted territory” in 2023

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Wolf-Rayet stars are known to be efficient dust producers, and the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on NASA?s James Webb Space Telescope shows this to great effect. Cooler cosmic dust glows at the longer mid-infrared wavelengths, displaying the structure of WR 124?s nebula. The nebula is made of material cast off from the aging star in random ejections, and from dust produced in the ensuing turbulence. This brilliant stage of mass loss precedes the star?s eventual supernova, when nuclear fusion in its core stops and the pressure of gravity causes it to collapse in on itself, and then explode. As MIRI demonstrates here, Webb will help astronomers to explore questions that were previously only left to theory about how much dust stars like this create before exploding in a supernova, and how much of that dust is large enough to survive the blast and go on to serve as building blocks of future stars and planets.

Space

Six of the most amazing space pictures from 2023

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Close up image of a selection of freshly flame grilled burgers in a row on a wooden counter at a London street food market. Each of the burgers has its own label, on which is written the contents of the burger. The burgers are sandwiched between glazed buns, and presented on beds of fresh green lettuce and stuffed with melted cheese and red onion. Horizontal colour image with copy space and beautiful bokeh background.

Health

Cancer in young people is rising and 2023 saw a plan to figure out why

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2PNBXXP Pack of Ozempic, antidiabetic for weight control, taken in a pharmacy in Niesky, April 13, 2023.

Health

Wegovy and Ozempic made 2023 a revolutionary year for weight loss

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Beatriz Nascimento Afro-Brazilian academic and activist

Space

Two books to write and the universe to decipher – 2024’s gonna be busy

Comment

The best 3 board games of 2023 – if you love science

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The best 3 board games of 2023 – if you love science

Culture

The best science-inflected music of 2023

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The best science-inflected music of 2023

Culture

Space

2023 saw thrilling space missions and new cosmic mysteries

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2T11AWH London, UK. 10th Oct, 2023. Staff pose with the Lightning Fields series at the preview. 'Hiroshi Sugimoto: Time Machine' exhibition preview and photocall at the Hayward Gallery. The exhibition will run until 7th Jan, 2024. Credit: Imageplotter/Alamy Live News

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The best science picture books for your coffee table in 2023

Culture

Colorful light trail soaring the sky connecting the world with wireless technology with the Yosemite National Park in California.

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The 13 best new science fiction books of 2023

From a dystopian future with Naomi Alderman to climate fiction with Christopher Priest, this is 51��'s guide to the best science fiction of the year

Culture

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The 22 best non-fiction and popular science books of 2023

Culture

Mind

The Future of Language review: Powerful tech will change everything

Culture

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Troubled by Faith review: How delusion marked psychology's beginnings

Culture

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How do two new books on consciousness close in on the elusive field?

Culture