麻豆传媒

Rift where humans began

Killer earthquakes and volcanic activity more than a million years ago, argues Mark Maslin, may have been the making of modern humans

The V-1 menace secret weapons that saved Britain: After five years of war, Britain was shocked when the pilot;ess V-1s breached its defences to claim thousands of lives. The only way to fight back, writes Robert Buderi, was to rush through three top-secr

Hearing pictures, seeing sounds: Ear and eye implants for the deaf and blind are still not living up to their promise. Rosie Mestel asks whether researchers would do better to exploit the potential of the unimpaired senses

Mad brains and the prion heresy: The idea that a simple protein could act as an infectious agent was too much for most biochemists. Georgina Ferry reports on what happened when one man dared to go out on a limb

How collectors killed: One hundred and fifty years ago next week the last two great auks ever seen were killed at their breeding colony on a tiny island off the coast of Iceland. Tim Birkhead chronicles the bird’s fate

Will the Space Clipper stay a DREAM?: Star Wars spawned the technology that could make space travel as routine as air travel, and a prototype reusable rocket has already flown. Arlan Andrews explains how its fate is hanging on a report to be published ne

El Salvador’s buried roots: Out of the ash of an ancient volcanic eruption, archaeologists are unravelling the complexities of village life in 7th-century Central America

Froths, foams and heady geometry: The head on a glass of beer doesn’t look like a tough geometrical challenge. Yet the way bubbles fit together is intoxicating mathematicians, writes Denis Weaire

Real juice, pure fraud: Trading standards inspectors in Europe and North America are cracking down on the fraudsters who adulterate fruit juice but sell it as pure, says Tara Patel

Igniting laser fusion: Will the US government safeguard the future of its weapons designers by parting with almost $1 billion for the construction of the world’s most powerful laser? Jeff Hecht reports

The Great Catalyst Picture show

Darlings, clones, you were wonderful . . .: The remake of a Jules Verne classic is grappling with the technical challenges of using virtually real actors. Clive Davidson reports

The trouble with ME: For the past decade sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome have fought to get their condition recognised as a biological disease. Now scientific research seems to be backing their claims, says Renee Twombly

Birth of a human robot: Can AI researchers really turn today’s stupid robots into the intelligent humanoids of science fiction, asks Roger Lewin