Science

He’s the Israeli historian best known as the author of “Sapiens”, which looked at the evolution of humankind – and now Yuval Harari has published “21 Lessons for the 21st Century,” a book warning us how to harness the greatest global revolution to date: the rise of artificial intelligence. Cathy Newman went to meet him…

Three anti-fracking activists have been jailed for causing a public nuisance, after they climbed on to lorries outside a fracking site near Blackpool. The judge at Preston crown court said their actions had also significantly disrupted local residents, who depended on using the surrounding main road.

There’s a darker side to parts of Britain’s wool trade, exposed by an undercover investigation by animal rights group PETA Asia. Every year, for health reasons, sheep have their winter fleeces removed. But in footage given exclusively to this programme, sheep shearers are filmed punching, kicking, and stomping on the heads of animals, raising questions about…

The US space agency NASA has launched a mission to investigate the mysteries of the Sun – flying closer than ever before. The Parker Solar Probe launched successfully early this morning, on a seven year voyage to make 24 orbits of the Sun. It’ll fly just over 6 million km from the surface – protected…

The chemical giant Monsanto has been ordered to pay more than two hundred million pounds in damages – after a jury in the United States backed a claim by a groundsman that a pesticide contributed towards his terminal cancer. The firm has insisted British consumers are safe to use the product – declaring the “science…

It sounds like the title of a disaster movie, but a “Hothouse Earth” is what a group of climate scientists say we could be heading for – even if current carbon reduction targets are met.  

There may be a short respite from the unrelenting heat tomorrow when at least one half of the country might get rain and thunder. But today was the hottest of the year so far in many places. Paul McNamara has been in Hampshire with a business which can’t keep up with current demand. We are…

There’s a lake on Mars, it’s been revealed today. It’s not very big, but it is described as a proper body of liquid water probably around 20 kilometres wide and at least a metre deep. Scientists from the National Institute for Astrophysics say it’s the first conclusive proof that H2O exists there currently, even though…

Up to 76 people are feared to have died and scores are missing amid unprecedented floods in western Japan. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says rescue efforts are a “race against time”.

It’s got kids obsessed, parents tearing their hair out and some schools calling for it to be banned. Fortnite is the video game of the year. It’s an astonishing success, but sparking lots of debate about gaming addiction, as the NHS opens its first clinic specialising in the condition. As a parent myself, I know…

It’s not just the big cities that suffer from air pollution – new data from the World Health Organisation has revealed that the steel town of Port Talbot is the most polluted place in the country. The WHO has a safety limit of 10 micrograms per cubic metre of fine particle emissions. In Port Talbot…

Carlo Rovelli’s first book ‘Seven Brief Lessons on Physics’ was one of the fastest-selling science books on record. Now, he’s back to explore the mysteries of time.

The most detailed study yet of a major cancer type has revealed that genetic damage can begin years, or even decades, before symptoms appear and diagnosis is possible. The study also suggests that many patients could avoid unnecessary surgery and chemotherapy.