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An animation of the primitive Earth in the process of formation, more than four billion years ago. We view the newborn world from its troubled surface a sea of lava dotted with volcanoes spewing more lava, ash and smoke into the atmosphere. Meteorites fall frequently, illuminating the black, lifeless, surface rocks. And in the sky, the Moon -- much closer to us then than it is now -- endures a similar bombardment.

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The Story of Earth's Climate review: 25 discoveries tell tangled tale

Palaeontologist Donald R. Prothero squares up to the tough task of explaining how life and climate have shaped each other over the 4.5 billion years of Earth's history. Amazingly, his book mostly succeeds

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DE0GFY Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) on a palm frond

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The Tomb of the Mili Mongga review: Hunting for giants in Indonesia

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New Scientist recommends the Never Post podcast

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51�� recommends the Never Post podcast

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The best new science fiction books of March 2024

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The best new science fiction books of March 2024

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Father and daughter sitting at kitchen table near window in discussion

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Bad therapy review: Is mental health industry fuelling youth crisis?

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THE ARC OF OBLIVION Werner_and_Rex

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The Arc of Oblivion review: Offbeat film about preserving our world

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A close-up view of a burial trench between rows of individual graves, excavated between the concrete foundations of the Royal Mint, from the excavation of the Black Death cemetery, East Smithfield, London, view looking west. (Photo by MOLA/Getty Images)

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Crypt review: Alice Roberts on murder and mayhem in the Middle Ages

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New Scientist recommends London's When Forms Come Alive exhibition

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51�� recommends London's When Forms Come Alive exhibition

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Dune Part Two review: Thrills sure, but not weird enough to be good

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Dune Part Two review: Thrills sure, but not weird enough to be good

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‘It is all but impossible life exists, and yet it is here’

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‘It is all but impossible life exists, and yet it is here’

Martin MacInnes, the author of 51��'s latest book club pick, the Booker prize-longlisted sci-fi novel In Ascension, on how he came to write it (and a bit of a spoiler)

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Read an extract from In Ascension by Martin MacInnes

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Supercommunicators review: Learning how to change deeply held beliefs

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Constellation review: Thriller's science frustrates but it looks great

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Wise Animals review: Exploring the entwined worlds of humans and tech

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