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Explore the most exciting new ideas and emerging concepts in science, health, technology and the environment with 51¶¯Âþ’s exclusive in-depth articles, interviews and long reads.
The hacker turned politician using digital tech to reimagine democracy

Technology

The hacker turned politician using digital tech to reimagine democracy

Taiwan’s first ever minister of digital affairs has transformed politics, using online platforms and AI to give power to the country’s citizens – with lessons for us all

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This image from ESO?s VISTA telescope captures a celestial landscape of vast, glowing clouds of gas and tendrils of dust surrounding hot young stars. This infrared view reveals the stellar nursery known as NGC 6357 in a new light. It was taken as part of the VISTA Variables in the V?a L?ctea (VVV) survey, which is currently scanning the Milky Way in a bid to map our galaxy?s structure and explain how it formed.

Physics

Why this is a golden age for life to thrive across the universe

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MAZATLAN, MEXICO - APRIL 08: A man prepares his telescope to see the eclipse on April 08, 2024 in Mazatlan, Mexico. Millions of people have flocked to areas across North America that are in the

Physics

Is it possible to fully understand the universe while living in it?

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star milkyway

Space

Why you should feel comforted, not scared, by the vastness of space

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This mind-blowing map shows Earth’s position within the vast universe

Space

This mind-blowing map shows Earth’s position within the vast universe

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HY0AKX Little green alien and welcome sign welcomes visitors to a business in Roswell, New Mexico

Space

Why our location in the Milky Way is perfect for finding alien life

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https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2022/07/Stephan_s_Quintet_NIRCam_and_MIRI_imaging Stephan?s Quintet ? NIRCam and MIRI imaging An enormous mosaic of Stephan?s Quintet is the largest image to date from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, covering about one-fifth of the Moon?s diameter. It contains over 150 million pixels and is constructed from almost 1,000 separate image files. The visual grouping of five galaxies was captured by Webb?s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). With its powerful, infrared vision and extremely high spatial resolution, Webb shows never-before-seen details in this galaxy group. Sparkling clusters of millions of young stars and starburst regions of fresh star birth grace the image. Sweeping tails of gas, dust and stars are being pulled from several of the galaxies due to gravitational interactions. Most dramatically, Webb?s MIRI instrument captures huge shock waves as one of the galaxies, NGC 7318B, smashes through the cluster. These regions surrounding the central pair of galaxies are shown in the colours red and gold. This composite NIRCam-MIRI image uses two of the three MIRI filters to best show and differentiate the hot dust and structure within the galaxy. MIRI sees a distinct difference in colour between the dust in the galaxies versus the shock waves between the interacting galaxies. The image processing specialists at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore opted to highlight that difference by giving MIRI data the distinct yellow and orange colours, in contrast to the blue and white colours assigned to stars at NIRCam?s wavelengths.

Space

How big is the universe? The shape of space-time could tell us

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Are space and time illusions? The answer could lie in black holes

Physics

Are space and time illusions? The answer could lie in black holes

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Head star made with 3d illustration image.; Shutterstock ID 1765794698; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Physics

The universe is built a lot like a giant brain – so is it conscious?

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the surface of an multiverse with a lot of universes 3d rendering; Shutterstock ID 2256998119; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Physics

We are closer than ever to finally proving the multiverse exists

One hundred years ago, we discovered there were other galaxies beyond our own. Now, we might be on the verge of another discovery: that there are other universes

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Health

Why antibiotic resistance could make the last pandemic look minor

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Space

Is an old NASA probe about to redraw the frontier of the solar system?

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Technology

The truth about social media and screen time's impact on young people

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Society

Why humanity’s survival may depend on us becoming a tribe of billions

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