Science

Return to the red planet
The prospect of people living on Mars may come a little closer to reality with the landing of a probe in two weeks' time.
11 May 2008

Meet the dodo's playmates (and guess what - they're not with us today either)
Experts have now been able to reconstruct the appearance of dozens of long-extinct birds and animals from the same remote tropical isles where the dodo lived.
11 May 2008

First Americans lived on seaweed diet
The first Americans ate seaweed, suggesting that colonisation of the continent was slower than archaeologists had thought.
08 May 2008

Great tit loves global warming
Britain's great tits are making the most of the warming climate and defying gloomy predictions about extinctions, according to a study conducted over half a century.
08 May 2008

'Spinach does really help build muscles'
Popeye the cartoon sailor may have been right to claim that spinach builds muscles.
08 May 2008

Ancient sea creatures 'dressed up' in diamonds
A glimpse into prehistoric fashion has revealed that ancient sea creatures liked to doll themselves up with diamonds imported from outer space.
08 May 2008

Scanner shows our heart rules our heads
Evidence of how the heart rules the head when it comes to tackling tricky ethical dilemmas was published on Thursday.
08 May 2008

Why beauty is an advert for good genes
Beautiful people are healthier and live longer, according to a study of sex appeal.
07 May 2008

Evidence child abuse may 'mark' genes in brain
A test that could provide an objective way to see if a person has suffered child abuse could emerge from a discovery reported today.
07 May 2008

Platypus as bizarre as it looks
The genetics of the duck billed platypus reveal that the creature is as bizarre as it looks , writes Roger Highfield.
07 May 2008

Potted plants improve office workers' health
Potted plants in offices can improve the health of stressed-out workers and reduce the number of sick days they take, a study suggests.
07 May 2008

Bubbles the key to a healthier diet
A chemical engineer may have found a way of encouraging children to eat healthier food, Roger Highfield.
07 May 2008

Amazon doomed by too much clean air
The lungs of the planet - the Amazon - could be wiped out within half a century as a result of too much clean air, writes Roger Highfield.
07 May 2008

Why food looks more appealing when hungry
A brain scan study has revealed that the appetite-stimulating gut hormone ghrelin rules our heads by making food look yummier too. The hormone is known to rise before meals, then fall after.
06 May 2008