Health Will NZ drug reform bring high times or a comedown? New Zealand's abandonment of prohibition is a pivotal moment in the global debate over how to control recreational drugs Opinion
Space Hundreds of mini solar systems found in the Milky Way Our galaxy is brimming with small solar system lookalikes. More than 300 planetary systems reminiscent of our own have been found in data collected by NASA's premiere planet-hunter, the Kepler space telescope . The discoveries add to the unexpected diversity of exoplanets that exist in the Milky Way. "The planets are small, they have circular … 51¶¯Âþ
Technology Online university courses can't change the world alone They promise equality of access to higher learning, but online courses will only succeed with better general education in place first, say two educationalists Opinion
Health Some breastfeeding benefits questioned by US study Still the best SOME of the common claims about the long-term benefits of breastfeeding – that it can boost IQ and protect against health conditions in later life – have been cast into doubt by a new study. Unsurprisingly, considering how contentious the issue of whether women should breastfeed is, the work has already been … 51¶¯Âþ
Earth Peering through the ice at a key Antarctic species (Image: Enrico Sacchetti) ANTARCTIC silverfish aren't really silver – at least not while they are alive. They start off pink with a silver shimmer that only darkens into the metallic hue they are known for after death. Living in such frigid conditions, silverfish ( Pleuragramma antarcticum ) have some neat survival tricks, for example, they … Regulars
Space A black hole in a bath: Big physics on a bench-top If you haven't got a CERN budget, don't despair: find the magic formula and you can recreate the most exotic cosmic objects in surprisingly humble settings IN MANY an unassuming corner of the globe, you might come across an attic, shed or spare room with a table-top railway. To the uninitiated, these model train sets, … Features
Life Hot on the trail of consciousness in brain and machine Consciousness may be the brain sharing information with itself (Image: Gebhardt/Neuebildanstalt/Plainpicture) From brain-scanning experiments to self-aware robots, two books explain how far we've really come in the quest to crack consciousness "NOWHERE in science have so many devoted so much to create so little consensus," writes physicist, author and TV presenter Michio Kaku of consciousness … CultureLab
Earth The science of success: Blood, or sweat and tears? Obama is far from happy about falling social mobility (Image: Jewel Samad/Getty) Everyone has a pet theory about why people do well in life, but what does the evidence say – and what can we do to help ourselves and our children? "WHILE we don't promise equal outcomes, we have strived to deliver equal opportunity … Careers
Feedback: Lashings of lakes Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more Lashings of lakes FEEDBACK sincerely hopes that readers in flood-prone parts of the UK are over the worst of it now. The huge quantities of water that have been sloshing around inevitably generated a surge of strange similes. Three readers … Regulars