Science

This year’s non-word of the year, ‘Bio-deutsch’ (biological German) has caused much controversy

As they can only take into account what they are given, they are fallible

Louis XIV built a Xanadu at Versailles – and sealed his family’s fate. But amid the extravagant luxury was thrilling innovation

The tech giant’s groundbreaking new chip is a gamechanger in the field of supercomputers – and the basis of powerful and potentially transformative technologies

The Oxford-based sleep scientist Vladyslav Vyazovskiy believes so, but it would just make life blander

The great German composer’s genetic makeup illustrates the dangers of polygenic screening

Nasa’s Artemis II mission is scheduled to orbit the moon in September, but don’t hold your breath – it’s already been put back more than once

The scientific developments in AI in 2024 were just the tip of the iceberg

It may not quite be ‘Google Maps of the human body’, but it’s not far off

Donald Trump's picks for the big science and technology jobs seem calculated to spread despair. Scientists need to formulate a robust response

The first man-made object in space was built by Germany – and the country’s space programme is now the biggest in Europe

Physicists are searching for evidence of the existence of particles known as gravitons – to determine if gravity is a ‘quantum’ affair

In times of state corruption and political interference, scientists remain ‘apolitical’ at their peril

Biology is notoriously conservative about bold new ideas, so even the suggestion of modernising the evolutionary theory has caused a stir

For years, scientists have been trying to undermine the cornerstone of modern fundamental physics, but it stubbornly refuses to break

We need water to survive. So why is ensuring its presence so controversial?

The gap between academia and reality needs to be closed when navigating today's political climate

Is AI really science, or just hi-tech number crunching?

Scientific American magazine has endorsed Kamala Harris, but many in the science community have their concerns

As Nobel season approaches, speculation has begun in the scientific community

The military’s investment in the technologies of invisibility should be a cause for concern

While Europe has under-invested, China has invested. The UK needs to take notice

The ethical issues surrounding these developments are about far more than safety

China’s Chang’e-5 mission has fuelled a new lunar race after it brought back a sample of rock apparently containing water

Fusion won’t arrive soon enough to solve global warming but it could become a commercial reality in the second half of the century

The exploration of genetic modification for space travel raises ethical questions about altering human biology

The UK’s regulator, HFEA, is having to grapple with the scientific, ethical and even philosophical challenges associated with synthetic embryo research

Tech billionaires want to reverse ageing – and even cheat death. But scientist Venki Ramakrishnan says they are chasing a mirage

The furore surrounding the Algerian boxer, who may have Swyer syndrome, highlights complex issues around gender and sport

The Covid inquiry report has exposed the systemic failures in the UK’s pandemic response

In TNE’s new column, science writer Philip Ball provides news and analysis from scientists, policymakers and the frontiers of human knowledge

American philosopher Thomas Kuhn's controversial thinking turned normal science on its head