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Stay informed with commentary and opinion pieces on the latest issues in science, technology, health and the environment, written by expert Â鶹´«Ã½ journalists and world-leading researchers and thinkers.

2WKKMAM Vivid image of a light bulb shattering with a dynamic multicolored glass fragment splash

Life

How – and why – we chose the best 21 ideas of the 21st century

From smartphones to net zero, there has been no shortage of innovative ideas in the past 25 years, which is why we have taken a look back to choose the best

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Mind

The 3 best ways to tackle anxiety, according to a leading expert

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FHYMKG Big Bang, conceptual image Computer illustration representing the origin of the universe The term Big Bang describes the

Space

The most important second in the entire history of the universe

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2Y7R9XY Ehningen, Germany. 01st Oct, 2024. A model of a suspension of the quantum chip of a Quantum System Two quantum computer is on display at the opening of the first quantum data center of the computer company IBM. Credit: Marijan Murat/dpa/Alamy Live News

Technology

How to finally get a grasp on quantum computing

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Health

AI is promising to revolutionise how we diagnose mental illness

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Life

Why non-human culture should change how we see nature

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Humans

The hunt for where the last Neanderthals lived

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Mathematics

Why it’s easy to be misunderstood when talking about probability

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This new NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month features a rare cosmic phenomenon called an Einstein ring. What at first appears to be a single, strangely shaped galaxy is actually two galaxies that are separated by a large distance. The closer foreground galaxy sits at the center of the image, while the more distant background galaxy appears to be wrapped around the closer galaxy, forming a ring.?? Einstein rings occur when light from a very distant object is bent (or ???lensed???) about a massive intermediate (or ???lensing???) object. This is possible because spacetime, the fabric of the Universe itself, is bent by mass, and therefore light travelling through space and time is bent as well. This effect is much too subtle to be observed on a local level, but it sometimes becomes clearly observable when dealing with curvatures of light on enormous, astronomical scales, such as when the light from one galaxy is bent around another galaxy or galaxy cluster. When the lensed object and the lensing object line up just so, the result is the distinctive Einstein ring shape, which appears as a full circle (as seen here) or a partial circle of light around the lensing object, depending on the precision of the alignment. Objects like these are the ideal laboratory in which to research galaxies too faint and distant to otherwise see. The lensing galaxy at the center of this Einstein ring is an elliptical galaxy, as can be seen from the galaxy???s bright core and smooth, featureless body. This galaxy belongs to a galaxy cluster named SMACSJ0028.2-7537. The lensed galaxy wrapped around the elliptical galaxy is a spiral galaxy. Even though its image has been warped as its light travelled around the galaxy in its path, individual star clusters and gas structures are clearly visible. The Webb data used in this image were taken as part of the Strong Lensing and Cluster Evolution (SLICE) survey (programme 5594), which is led by Guillaume Mahler at University of

Space

I’m calling it – 2026 is going to be the year of the galaxy

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Mind

Making autism into a partisan issue can only be harmful

While US President Donald Trump and his administration are making false and debunked claims about the causes of autism, real research is improving our understanding of the condition

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Life

Why connecting with nature shouldn’t mean disconnecting from science

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Space

The first quantum fluctuations set into motion a huge cosmic mystery

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Mind

The 3 things you should do this New Year to foster a positive mindset

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Space

Why I’m going to reap the mental health benefits of stargazing in 2026

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