91av

Read an extract from The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks

28 November 2025

The 91av Book Club is currently reading Iain M. Banks's classic sci-fi novel The Player of Games. In this extract, we meet protagonist Gurgeh for the first time

Easter Island statues may have been built by small independent groups

26 November 2025

Mapping of the main quarry on Easter Island where giant statues were carved has uncovered evidence that the monuments may not have been created under the direction of a single chief

The long-overlooked insects that could save our crops

25 November 2025

Hoverflies, often mistaken for bees and wasps, pollinate three quarters of our crops. Now we’re discovering we can train them to be even more efficient

Ancient tracks may record stampede of turtles disturbed by earthquake

21 November 2025

Around 1000 markings on a slab of rock that was once a seafloor during the Cretaceous period may have been made by sea turtle flippers and swiftly buried by an earthquake

What is cloud seeding and could it end the drought in Iran?

18 November 2025

Facing its worst drought in decades, Iran is attempting to stimulate rain by spreading seeding agents in clouds, but the technique is likely to have modest benefits at best

Here's one solution for satellite pollution

12 November 2025

Mysterious holes in Andean mountain may be an Inca spreadsheet

10 November 2025

Thousands of holes arranged in a snake-like pattern on Monte Sierpe in Peru could have been a monumental accounting device for trade and tax

Deep-space sci-fi novel is delightful, profound and not to be missed

5 November 2025

A planet is about to be destroyed by the collapse of a binary star system in Slow Gods, Claire North’s first venture into classic science fiction. Read it! says Emily H. Wilson

Advanced quantum network could be a prototype for the quantum internet

4 November 2025

Building a working quantum internet would require overcoming a host of technical challenges, but researchers who have built one of the most advanced quantum networks to date say they think it is possible

A terrifying book dissects the neuroscience of warfare

1 October 2025

Warhead by neuroscientist Nicholas Wright is an alarming insider account of how our brains influence conflict – and how those brains were, in turn, shaped by war, finds Elle Hunt