One lightning flash could run a whole power station – and there are 8 million strikes around the Earth every day. We still don't know what triggers the phenomenon, although a new theory proposes a role for cosmic raysA new theory from Russian researchers suggests that lightning may be a by-product of cosmic rays. Surprisingly,…
Sarah McClay died at South Lakes Wild Animal Park after 'inexplicably' walking into tiger enclosure, where she was mauledA zoo keeper who was mauled to death by a tiger had no reason to be in its enclosure, according to the animal park's owner.Sarah McClay, 24, was attacked by a Sumatran tiger at South Lakes Wild…
It's been quite a week for Britain's first official astronaut. Meeting the prime minister, a press scrum at the Science Museum; and an agonising interview with Jeremy Paxman. How did he cope?There is something about human space flight that simultaneously feels both entirely futuristic and of the past; a future written into stories and dreams…
A Daily Mail headline claimed trying alcohol during puberty ups the chance of addiction. But results are far less persuasive"People who have their first taste of alcohol during puberty are more likely to become addicted," says a recent headline in the Daily Mail. But is that actually what the research shows? (clue: would I write…
Light from TVs, computers, tablets and smartphones may disrupt sleep and raise risk of obesity, heart disease and depressionWatching TV or using computers, tablets or smartphones after dark may cause sleep loss and resultant health problems, a leading doctor has warned.Peering at brightly lit screens at night disrupts the body's natural rhythms and raises the…
The unprecedented analysis shows that many animals, birds, insects, fish and plants are in trouble• UK wildlife winners and losers - in picturesAn unprecedented stocktake of UK wildlife has revealed that most species are struggling and that one in three have halved in number in the past half century. The unique report, based on scientific…
Young women are using Botox as a 'preventive measure', but facial paralysis inhibits the ability to mirror others' expressionsThe news that younger women than ever are resorting to Botox as a "preventive measure" has got me thinking about the time a few years ago when I went to stay with a friend. The face she…
Coombs Dale, Derbyshire: The land is scarred and nicked, like the face of a veteran fighter, but the blackthorn is smothered in blossomThe high limestone country north of Longstone Edge has its own strange energy, a consequence perhaps of the quarrying there, both ancient and modern. The land is scarred and nicked, like the face…
Eight-foot-tall radio-controlled robot capable of responding to voice or light ray commands is to be auctioned in LondonGygan, a giant radio-controlled robot, which more than half a century ago entranced the world by flashing its car headlamp-like eyes, turning its head stiffly from left to right, and shuffling forwards at the terrifying speed of 10…
What we can learn from Ingrid Loyau-Kennet’s grace under pressure | Anouchka Grose
In Woolwich, a seemingly ordinary woman did something extraordinary. Her humanity may well have saved livesAt the scene of Wednesday's killing in Woolwich, Ingrid Loyau-Kennet got off a bus and spoke to the two killers, seemingly concerned only to keep them calm and stop them hurting anybody else. In photographs taken by other witnesses, we…
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