Science & Tech

While teen years are never easy, research is examining whether they are harder than ever for the current generation of teenagers. By Ali Jones - Media headlines lamenting spiralling levels of anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide among Europe’s teenagers make regular and uncomfortable reading. In recent years, news on this front seems to have gotten only worse. In 2021, UNICEF estimated that over 16% of Europeans between the ages of 10 and 19 live with a mental disorder. The global figure is 13.2%. Formative years EU-funded research is looking at what exactly is...

Millions of people facing heart failure could benefit from new advances in artificial versions of the organ. By Michael Allen - The human heart beats 100 000 times a day, every beat circulating blood, oxygen and...

While barely being given a second thought by most people, the masses of condensed water vapour floating in the atmosphere play a big role in global warming. By Michael Allen - Predicting how much...

From stir-frys to stroganoffs, the tasty fungus central to health-conscious cuisine may be cultivated in greener ways. By Ali Jones Mention La Rioja in northern Spain and most people will picture majestic sun-drenched vineyards nestled...

Ask anyone in a choir why they enjoy it, and they will tell you about the euphoric effects singing has on their mental health. A team of neuroscientists and clinical psychologists based at the University of Helsinki (Finland) believe these benefits could extend to improving brain function and treating aphasia. By Andrew Dunne - Professor Teppo Särkämö is studying how ageing affects the way singing is processed by the brain, which could have important therapeutic applications. ‘We know a lot about speech processing, but not much about singing. We’re exploring how different singing related functions might be preserved in many neurological diseases,’ he explained. For people with aphasia, a condition which...

Sylvester Kaczmarek, Imperial College London - In today’s interconnected world, space technology forms the backbone of our global communication, navigation and security systems. Satellites orbiting Earth are pivotal for everything from GPS navigation to international banking transactions, making them indispensable assets in our daily lives and in global infrastructure. However, as our dependency on these celestial guardians escalates, so too does their allure to adversaries who may seek to compromise their functionality through cyber means. A satellite’s service could be interrupted, or at worst the spacecraft could be disabled. The expansion of the digital realm into space has opened new frontiers for cyber threats, posing unprecedented challenges. This emerging battleground highlights...

Mike Sori, Purdue University - Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, orbits in the outer solar system, about two billion miles (3.2 billion kilometers) from Earth. It is an enormous world – quadruple the diameter of Earth, with 15 times the mass and 63 times the volume. Unvisited by spacecraft for more than 35 years, Uranus inhabits one of the least explored regions of our solar system. Although scientists have learned some things about it from telescopic observations and theoretical work since the Voyager 2 flyby in 1986, the planet remains an enigma. It’s easy to divide the solar system into two large groups: an inner zone with four rocky...