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Humans

The hunt for where the last Neanderthals lived

Clues from studies of ancient plants and animals have helped archaeologists pin down where the last Neanderthals found refuge, says columnist Michael Marshall

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Mathematics

Why it’s easy to be misunderstood when talking about probability

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Why connecting with nature shouldn't mean disconnecting from science

Life

Why connecting with nature shouldn't mean disconnecting from science

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Making autism into a partisan issue can only be harmful

Mind

Making autism into a partisan issue can only be harmful

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This new NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month features a rare cosmic phenomenon called an Einstein ring. What at first appears to be a single, strangely shaped galaxy is actually two galaxies that are separated by a large distance. The closer foreground galaxy sits at the center of the image, while the more distant background galaxy appears to be wrapped around the closer galaxy, forming a ring.?? Einstein rings occur when light from a very distant object is bent (or ???lensed???) about a massive intermediate (or ???lensing???) object. This is possible because spacetime, the fabric of the Universe itself, is bent by mass, and therefore light travelling through space and time is bent as well. This effect is much too subtle to be observed on a local level, but it sometimes becomes clearly observable when dealing with curvatures of light on enormous, astronomical scales, such as when the light from one galaxy is bent around another galaxy or galaxy cluster. When the lensed object and the lensing object line up just so, the result is the distinctive Einstein ring shape, which appears as a full circle (as seen here) or a partial circle of light around the lensing object, depending on the precision of the alignment. Objects like these are the ideal laboratory in which to research galaxies too faint and distant to otherwise see. The lensing galaxy at the center of this Einstein ring is an elliptical galaxy, as can be seen from the galaxy???s bright core and smooth, featureless body. This galaxy belongs to a galaxy cluster named SMACSJ0028.2-7537. The lensed galaxy wrapped around the elliptical galaxy is a spiral galaxy. Even though its image has been warped as its light travelled around the galaxy in its path, individual star clusters and gas structures are clearly visible. The Webb data used in this image were taken as part of the Strong Lensing and Cluster Evolution (SLICE) survey (programme 5594), which is led by Guillaume Mahler at University of

Space

I'm calling it – 2026 is going to be the year of the galaxy

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Space

The first quantum fluctuations set into motion a huge cosmic mystery

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Woman athlete trail runner running and climbing mountain cliff during her training.

Mind

The 3 things you should do this New Year to foster a positive mindset

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2026 is set to be an even bigger year for weight-loss drugs

Health

2026 is set to be an even bigger year for weight-loss drugs

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LIAOCHENG, CHINA - FEBRUARY 18: (CHINA OUT) People take photos with the glass sculpture of a Chinese cabbage installed at a square on February 18, 2016 in Liaocheng, Shandong Province of China. The glass sculpture is 9-meters tall and 5-meters wide. The Chinese cabbage is called

Life

Could James and the Giant Peach inspire the future of food?

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Why I'm going to reap the mental health benefits of stargazing in 2026

Space

Why I'm going to reap the mental health benefits of stargazing in 2026

Navigating the night sky can have a positive effect on our well-being. This will be the year I learn the constellations, resolves Michael Brooks

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Health

Gene-edited babies are the future – but these CRISPR start-ups aren’t

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Technology

How not to misread science fiction

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Mind

Why it is important to make space for solitude over the festive season

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Health

New Year's resolutions work better if you know what to measure

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