Long Reads
Your Final Resting Place Could Be a Coffin Made of Mushrooms
Loop wants to rebuild the world with ecological structures made of fungal mycelium. Its proof of concept? Living coffins.
Meet the UK’s New Woodland Rangers: a Herd of Wild Bison
A rewilding project in Kent thinks that introducing bison to the UK can supercharge biodiversity. But how wild can introduced animals ever be?
Gravity Could Solve Clean Energy’s One Major Drawback
Finding green energy when the winds are calm and the skies are cloudy has been a challenge. Storing it in giant concrete blocks could be the answer.
What Happens When an AI Knows How You Feel?
Technology used to only deliver our messages. Now it wants to write them for us by understanding our emotions.
Boom’s Quest to Make Supersonic Flights a Reality (Again)
Denver-based startup Boom already has orders for its commercial supersonic planes. But is supersonic travel really the future, or best left to nostalgia?
Bearing Witness
David Attenborough’s Unending Mission to Save Our Planet
“We tend to think we are the be all and end all—but we’re not. The sooner we can realize that the natural world goes its way, not our way, the better.”
The Untold Story of the Contraceptive Pill
Frustrated by a lack of information around birth control, Alice Pelton founded The Lowdown, a review platform and resource for contraception that’s run by women, for women.
The Horse, the Drone and the Epic Fight for Gambling Success
In the world of in-running sports betting, fractions of a second can equal big money.
Glaciers Are Melting. One Ski Resort is Fighting Back
The Italian region of Trentino is using new technology to combat glacial melt on one of Europe’s oldest, coldest battlefields.
The Race to Grab All the UK’s Lithium Before it’s Too Late
Two companies are convinced that the historical mining region of Cornwall holds a bounty of lithium, but first they need to get to it.
The Race to Stop Fish Becoming the Next Factory Farming Nightmare
Many diets that are better for our health, and the planet’s, call for eating more fish. Where will it all come from?
The Exponential Age Will Transform Economics Forever
It’s hard for us to fathom exponential change – but our inability to do so could tear apart businesses, economies and the fabric of society.
By Azeem Azhar
The draconian rise of internet shutdowns
Ten years on from the Arab Spring, internet shutdowns are increasingly used to stifle democracy. But what comes next could be worse
A radical plan to treat Covid’s mental health fallout
The NHS is trialling a new approach to tackling physical and mental health issues: ask what really matters
By Julia Hotz
Our burnout moment is a good thing
As lockdowns start to lift, we have a rare opportunity to address burnout on a systemic level – and make sure everyone’s included
How the internet censorship community turned on NetBlocks
NetBlocks has become a crucial source of truth in the era of internet shutdowns. But many are now questioning its methods
Cricket is having its Moneyball moment
When Twenty20 launched, the game of cricket changed forever. Now a team of data evangelists are taking the sport to the next level
By Mike Jakeman
One man’s plan to resurrect the animal species we can’t save
It may be too late to save some animals from extinction, but Tullis Matson has a backup plan: freeze their cells to preserve their genes
To make a new kind of electric vehicle, first reinvent the factory
Arrival set out to make affordable, electric commercial vehicles. First it had to build a whole new production line
NVIDIA and the battle for the future of AI chips
NVIDIA’s GPUs dominate AI chips. But a raft of startups say new architecture is needed for the fast-evolving AI field
By Nicole Kobie
Quantum computers are already detangling nature’s mysteries
Practical quantum computers may be decades away – but the race to build them is already tackling thorny global problems, and unlocking the secrets of the universe
By Amit Katwala
Find Satoshi
A mystery cube, a secret identity, and a puzzle solved after 15 years
In 2005, an alternate reality game asked players to find a man named Satoshi based just on a photograph. Fifteen years later, the mystery was solved
mRNA
The mRNA vaccine revolution is just beginning
mRNA brought us a Covid-19 vaccine in record speed. Next it could tackle flu, malaria or HIV
The fight for quiet in a world full of noise pollution
Quiet Parks International wants to protect natural environments from manmade noise
By Tom Ward
Long Reads
The quest to make genuinely cheesy animal-free cheese
Making animal-free cheese that lives up to the taste and texture of the real thing is a scientific conundrum. Now, several startups reckon they’ve solved the challenge