Space Astrophile: Lonely planet roams with stellar outcasts Just drifting: artist's impression of CFBDSIR2149 Astrophile is our weekly column on curious cosmic objects, from the solar system to the far reaches of the multiverse Object: Gas giant planet Name: CFBDSIR2149 Location: The AB Doradus moving group of stars The giant planet doesn't even remember home. Once it was the largest in a system … 51¶¯Âþ
Health Abortion providers are motivated by conscience, too Pro-lifers like to claim the moral high ground. But the tragic case of Savita Halappanavar, who died after allegedly being refused an abortion, highlights the ethical case for abortions, says obstetrician Lisa Harris Opinion
See a gorilla in the midst See more: To see the image this article refers to, keep checking Picture of the Day on our news blog Short Sharp Science IN THE Central African Republic, a female western lowland gorilla runs through a cloud of butterflies. She capers, if a gorilla can be said to caper. The other gorillas in her group … Regulars
Life Our true dawn: Pinning down human origins The argument over when our lineage split from chimps is about to be settled, with colossal consequences for prehistory Features
Holiday gifts: What to give the scientifically curious See more: An illustrated version of this article will be published within the next two weeks on our CultureLab books and arts blog CultureLab
Enigma Number 1725 Square bashing I have in mind a list of consecutive positive integers. A second list of numbers is generated by squaring each of the numbers in my original list. The sum of the first 2500 of these squares is equal to the sum of the next 2499 in the list. What is the smallest number … Regulars
Feedback: Commas in breach of copyright Commas in breach of copyright THE copyright statement that Isobel Clarke found at the bottom of a music review on www.wrightmusic.net ( bit.ly/CopyWright ) seemed so excessively inclusive that she sent it to Feedback with her comments. The statement reads: "This article or any part of it, however small, must not be copied, quoted, reproduced, … Regulars