Inside story of Elon Musk’s space dream
SpaceX (Credit: SpaceX) The best of the week’s reads in science and technology, including Elon Musk’s ambitious space plan, and the disastrous birth of weather forecasting. When the banks tanked, the hipsters kept Britain going. The “flat white economy” of tech, marketing and media makes up 8% of British GDP – “the size of the […]
Pioneers of women’s football to receive blue plaque in Luton
Keith Batt Harry Batt (centre), his wife June (behind) and son Keith (far left) were involved in the early days of British women’s football through the team Chiltern Valley Ladies The first women to represent England at an international football tournament will be honoured with a blue plaque. The FA and Luton Heritage Society will […]
How to make a mile-high building
Getty Images (Credit: Getty Images) The best of this week’s science and technology long reads, including how to build a tower a mile high, why Japan’s stagnation isn’t all bad and why animals evolve to glow in the dark. Lessons learned from teaching evolution at the University of Kentucky, where Darwinism is almost “synonymous with […]
Ethiopia all-women flight marks 8 March
Ethiopian Airlines ‘The Lucys are about to control the skies for the 5th time’, the airline tweeted Ethiopian Airlines is marking International Women’s Day by operating an all-women flight from Addis Ababa to Oslo. The airline announced this in a tweet with a reference to the Beatles’ song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds: “The […]
Are we hard-wired to doodle?
(Thinkstock) Why are we drawn to doodling? As David Robson discovers, there may be much more to our idle scribbles and other drawings than we realised, and the story begins in the sands of the Australian desert… For the Arandic, the Warlpiri, and other indigenous societies of the Australian desert, many conversations begin by carefully […]
Women’s Euro 2017: England can still get better after 6-0 win, says Mark Sampson
Taylor’s hat-trick was the first by an England Women player at the finals of a major tournament, and the first any nation has scored at the Women’s Euros since 1997. The Arsenal forward, who was left out of England squads by former boss Hope Powell, had turned down a chance to play for her country […]
The genius behind stick figure toilet signs
(Getty Images) We use them every day without thinking about them, but the universally recognised symbols for male and female toilet signs have much more going on than it seems. Jonathan Glancey explores the enduring appeal of these quaint but powerful pictograms. Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is a magnificent and serious film, sparkling […]
The sculptor who mended Great War soldiers’ shattered bones
Anne Acheson: The artist who changed medical history An artist from Northern Ireland made the breakthrough in resolving one of the biggest medical dilemmas facing soldiers injured in World War One. Anne Acheson’s achievement is all the more remarkable because it was made when women did not even have the vote. As a sculptor, she […]
Can you learn in your sleep?
(Getty Images) Sleep learning used to be a pipe dream. Now neuroscientists say they have found ways to enhance your memory with your eyes closed, says David Robson. Just before you climb under your duvet, you carefully prepare your room. You sprinkle a few drops of incense on your pillow, put on some headphones, and […]
The Hundred: Tammy Beaumont and Tom Abell to lead Welsh Fire
New recruit Tom Abell will lead Welsh Fire in the men’s Hundred with Tammy Beaumont taking the role for the women’s team in 2023. Sophie Ecclestone will lead Manchester Originals women. All-rounder Abell has joined Welsh Fire from Birmingham Phoenix while Beaumont will lead a team including new signings Sophia Dunkley, Shabnim Ismail and Freya […]