When everything feels... well, 'meh', there's complex chemistry at play in your brain

Quantum physics is really confusing, but scientists are finally beginning to make some sense of it all

New studies have shown that several small lifestyle changes can drastically improve your heart health

Scientists are beginning to understand what makes tardigrades (otherwise known as 'water bears') so indestructible

Is there life elsewhere in the Universe? If you look at the deep-field images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, it’s easy to believe there might be something. Those images capture a portion of the sky smaller than a grain of sand held at arm’s length, and yet, in them, you can see thousands of galaxies. Within each of the galaxies are billions of stars. In the face of those odds, it just feels implausible to think our little rock is the only one where life found a way. The more we study other-worldly materials, like meteorites from Mars and dust collected from asteroids, the more we find the type of ingredients needed for biological processes. The most compelling discovery of this kind came in January, when scientists declared they’d found 14 of the 20 amino acids that make up human proteins inside a sample returned from the asteroid Bennu. In fact, they found all five of the nucleotide bases that make up our DNA (adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine and uracil). So, what does it all mean? Could life be quite common in the cosmos? Did life on Earth come from another world? Jonathan O’Callaghan picks up the story in this issue.

An advanced new research station is being developed to explore the potential for a human settlement under the ocean

Gorging on flying ants could make seagulls appear to act drunk, thanks to formic acid - which is toxic to birds

With sales skyrocketing, a shortage of this key critical material could halt progress

It's official: the internet needs more pictures of cats with bread on their head

Dental experts are sounding the alarm about removing fluoride from drinking water, but how much of an impact will the ban actually have?