The study of ancient DNA is helping to solve modern crimes
Such techniques have helped secure two convictions this year
ESKE WILLERSLEV was an unusual witness for a murder trial. An expert in ancient DNA (aDNA) at the University of Copenhagen, his day job involved studying the lives of prehistoric peoples and extinct megafauna. And yet over the summer of 2024 he was asked to persuade a jury that he had something to offer in another field altogether: crime-scene investigation.
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Automating this delicate task is harder than it seems
Why Oriental hornets can’t get drunk
They can guzzle extreme amounts for their size, without suffering ill effects
Perovskite crystals may represent the future of solar power
Their efficiency rates far exceed those of conventional silicon panels
SpaceX is NASA’s biggest lunar rival
The company’s successes are also showing up the agency’s failings
Tubeworms live beneath the planetary crust around deep-sea vents
The conditions are hot, sulphurous and low in oxygen
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has achieved something extraordinary
If SpaceX can land and reuse the most powerful rocket ever made what can’t it do?