


An interstellar object is cruising through the solar system
Its appearance puts a new branch of astronomy to the test
ON THE NIGHT of July 1st, in a remote corner of Chile, a small robotic telescope noticed something in the sky. What at first seemed a routine detection of an object travelling through the solar system soon turned out to be anything but. The object’s trajectory revealed it to be a much rarer visitor than first thought. Formed around a distant star elsewhere in the Milky Way, it is an interstellar wanderer, not a merely interplanetary one.
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RFK junior wants to ban an ingredient in vaccines. Is he right?
Studies show that thimerosal does more good than harm

AI is helping to design proteins from scratch
They could treat diseases, test drugs and boost crop yields

A new project aims to synthesise a human chromosome
The tools developed along the way could revolutionise medicine
How sea slugs give themselves superpowers
Their slimy shenanigans might have applications for humans, too
Is being bilingual good for your brain?
Perhaps. Learning languages offers other, more concrete benefits
Distrust in public-health institutions is not just an American problem
Across the rich world politics is driving scepticism