Space Fourth moon discovered around Pluto Pluto and friends Weigh in: What should the new moon be named? The cosmos loves irony. Five years after Pluto was stripped of its planet status , astronomers have discovered yet another moon in orbit around it, bringing its entourage to four. The tiny body may have been born in the same collision that gave … 51¶¯Âþ
Life Better mousetraps? Beware simple history The introduction of horses transformed the social structures of the North American Plains Indians The greatest technological revolution ever – farming replacing foraging – was initially a step back for human productivity THE great upheavals of our human past, the demise of slavery, for example, or the end of Communist rule in the Soviet Union, … Opinion
Treehoppers put obsolete genetics to fashionable use See more: To see the image this article refers to, keep checking Picture of the Day on our news blog Short Sharp Science THE designs of Philip Treacy, creator of the "fascinator" worn by Princess Beatrice at this year's royal wedding, pale in comparison with the efforts of tiny insects called treehoppers. The insects sport … Regulars
Physics Ultimate logic: To infinity and beyond Many levels of infinity The mysteries of infinity could lead us to a fantastic structure above and beyond mathematics as we know it WHEN David Hilbert left the podium at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, on 8 August 1900, few of the assembled delegates seemed overly impressed. According to one contemporary report , the discussion … Features
Drowning in milk In her new book, Milk , food historian Deborah Valenze gives an exhaustive and sometimes intriguing account of all things milky ROMAN myth has it that the Milky Way was created after a peculiar domestic dispute. As the goddess Juno slept, her husband Jupiter snuck up and planted his illegitimate son Hercules at her breast. … CultureLab
Enigma Number 1657 Magically different The magic square shown is different. When complete, it contains all the numbers 1 to 36, and any six of them (no two in the same row or in the same column) add up to the same total. What are the numbers behind the letters ENIGMA? WIN £15 will be awarded to the … Regulars
Feedback: Cars that go clippetty clop Cars that go clippetty clop WE HAVE run several stories in recent months about signifiers that relate to obsolete concepts – either in the form of words, such as blueprints which were blue once but aren't any more (25 June) , or pictures, such as a sign showing a steam locomotive to warn of the … Regulars