Get customised news updates on your homepage by subscribing to articles

Planet Earth Report –“Coronavirus ‘Once-in-a-Century’ Pathogen to Extraterrestrial Origin of Protein”

29th February, 2020

Headline news by leading science journalists about the extraordinary discoveries, technology, people, and events changing our knowledge of Planet Earth and the future of the human species.

Learn more

Pressure to keep up: status imbalance a major factor in stress in gay men

29th February, 2020

Striking findings contained in new study may broaden appreciation of unique stressors faced by gay and bisexual men

Learn more

Brain wiring could be behind learning difficulties, say experts

27th February, 2020

Scientists say current system for labelling children with difficulties is ‘too simple’

Read more

“Big Life” –Habitable Exoplanet Twice Size of Earth Detected

27th February, 2020

Potentially habitable exoplanet detected, opening search for life to planets significantly larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune.

Learn more

Login or register to get customised updates

Pregnancy

There are many unknowns when it comes to pregnancy, and many accepted phenomena are still unexplained, or simply attributed to "hormones" or "the placenta" (a complex and poorly understood organ!)

Learn more about pregnancy

Sleep

Going without sleep will kill you faster than going without food. But why?

Learn more about Sleep

Plastics

What happens to plastic when it gets disposed of into the environment, and how might it affect us?

Learn more about plastics

Chameleons

Chameleons hold a fascinating blend of traits that scientists have been studying for many years.

Learn more about chameleons

Keystone species

If a keystone species is lost, the entire ecosystem can collapse.

Learn more about keystone species

Extraterrestrial life

The search for alien life catches many people's imagination and has always been a very public branch of science. So with all this investigation, why has our search revealed nothing? Are we truly alone in the Universe?

Learn more about Extraterrestrial life

Bats and Ebola

Ebola is one of the most contagious and dangerous diseases, but between outbreaks the disease must be hiding somewhere. Some suspect bats, but is this really true?

Learn more about Bats and Ebola

Whales

Whales; the majestic, mysterious mammals of the ocean.

Learn more about Whales

Learning

From the moment we are born, we begin to learn about the world around us, and this continues for the rest of our lives. But exactly how does this happen in the brain?

Learn more about learning

Vision

Vision is arguably a human's primary sense - we use it to spot danger and navigate our environment. Despite this, there is still plenty we don't know about how this sense works.

Learn more about vision

Senses

Our senses allow us to explore and interact with the world around us. Even the simplest living organisms have some way to sense their environment - and some animals can sense in ways we can't even imagine!

Learn more about senses

Animal communication

Animals certainly communicate – some using sounds, and others using body language, pheromones or even electricity. But does any of this actually constitute language?

Learn more about animal communication

Language

Language is a vital part of being human, and some argue it is what sets us apart from other animals. But plenty of mysteries remain.

Learn more about language

Vaccines

There are many open questions surrounding vaccines – but perhaps not the first questions that come to mind. Vaccines do not cause autism, but there are many things we don’t know about them, such as why some wear off.

Learn more about vaccines

Microbiome

The ecosystem in your gut – how the microbiome might affect what we eat, what illnesses we get and whether we gain weight easily. How to change your microbiome and why it's such a fuzzy business.

Learn more about microbiome

Pain

Pain, while unpleasant, is vital for our survival. But in many cases it can get out of hand, and limit people's activity and quality of life. More needs to be understood about pain before we can develop ways to help people with chronic conditions.

Learn more about pain

Smell

Smell is probably the least well understood of our five main senses, despite playing a huge role in our lives and impacting our well being more than we realise.

Learn more about smell

Emotions

Emotions are a vital part of society, but there are still plenty of mysteries surrounding them- from what they are for to whether it will be possible, or desirable, to create AI that experiences them.

Learn more about emotions

Memory

Our memories make us who we are, and yet we still don't understand how memories are stored in the brain, or what happens when memory problems develop.

Learn more about memory

Immune system

Our immune systems are vital for our survival as they protect us from bacterial, viruses and other pathogens that could cause us harm. But sometimes, they can go wrong, and cause damage to our bodies.

Learn more about immune system

Shark hunting and conservation

Sharks rarely attack humans, but around 100 million sharks are destroyed by humans every year. Deterrents including bubble curtains, camouflage, ‘startle response’ sounds, and chemical deterrents.

Learn more about Shark hunting and conservation

The captive shark

We still don’t know how to engineer truly suitable shark tanks for the great white, used to travelling hundreds of kilometres daily. Large sharks have large appetites, are fussy, and kill everything.

Learn more about The captive shark

The social shark

Wild sharks have been observed cooperating, playing and courting. This suggests they communicate, yet they don’t emit sounds. Learn more about the other possible methods of communication being researched.

Learn more about The social shark

Shark migration and movement

Some sharks have daily routines, whilst many are crepuscular. Climate-driven migrations may explain apparent increases in shark sightings. Female bull sharks even ascent rivers to give birth – the only shark to tolerate fresh water.

Learn more about Shark migration and movement

Shark physiology

Sharks have very different priorities for sensing than land mammals. In eddy chemotaxis, their perception of smell and turbulence are combined. Sharks also use electroreception and may be colour blind.

Learn more about Shark physiology

Sharks

Sharks are one of our most poorly understood animals, hard to study, dangerous and diverse, impacting the ecosystem and sometimes our daily lives.

Learn more about Sharks

Evolution

Despite its amazing ability to explain how species change and diverge there are some areas of evolution that scientists are still working to understand.

Learn more about evolution

Hearing

There are plenty of things we don't know about the complex process of hearing, and what happens when it goes wrong.

Learn more about hearing

Origin of life

The Origins of Life - Where and how did life begin?

Learn more about origin of life

Extinction

What causes animals to go extinct? And what could be the cause of the ultimate demise of humans?

Learn more about extinction

Mental health

Mental health problems have a huge impact on society, but are poorly understood.

Learn more about mental health

Undiscovered species

How many species are unknown to science? And will we ever know the true number, before many of them are wiped out?

Learn more about undiscovered species

Birds

We see birds around us every day, so you might think we know all there is to know about our feathered friends – but that is far from the case!

Learn more about birds

Genes

Since the discovery of DNA in 1953 we have known the importance of this simple molecule in making us who we are, but there are still plenty of things we don't know about genetics.

Learn more about genes

Climate change

Scientists agree that human activities are causing climate change, but the finer details are still unknown.

Learn more about climate change

Aging

For the moment at least, it seems that ageing is an inevitable part of life. And yet scientists don't really understand how, or why, we age.

Learn more about aging

Space Medicine

The effects of space travel on the human body are still being investigated. Until the risks are fully understood, humanity faces limits in the scope of their space exploration.

Learn more about Space Medicine

Artificial intelligence

A field at the cusp of scientific and philosophical thinking, but have we fully understood the outcomes of such a progressive movement.

Learn more about artificial intelligence

Our blog posts focus on a specialist topic.
Many are written by scientists about their ongoing research, others by the TWDK team.

The plant-eating shark

Thursday 31st of March 2022

Why do Narwhals have tusks?

Friday 18th of February 2022

The cannibal in the ocean

Thursday 13th of January 2022

Moving moss

Sunday 7th of November 2021

The smallest astronauts ever

Friday 30th of July 2021

Stress inner ear

Wednesday 14th of July 2021

Can't find what you're looking for? Browse the branches of biology that interest you most.

Biochemistry is a broad area of chemistry covering the chemical processes involved in life itself.

Biomechanics applies the principles of physics and engineering to understanding biological systems.

Biomedicine looks at the underlying mechanisms of disease.

Biophysics uses the principles of physics to study life at every level, from atoms and molecules, to cells, organisms and environments.

Cytology also known as cell biology, cytology is the study of cells - the building blocks of life.

Developmental Biology is the study of how organisms grow and develop, from how genes influence cells, to how organisms change throughout their lives.

Ecology is the study of how organisms affect, and are affected by, their environment.

Evolutionary Biology looks at how plants and animals are affected by the process of evolution by natural selection.

Genetics is the study of genes - the stretches of DNA found in almost every creature which acts as the blueprint for their bodies.

Microbiology is the study of the smallest, usually single-celled, organisms such as bacteria and viruses.

Molecular Biology looks at the structure of cells, and the systems within them at the molecular level, to understand how they work and interact.

Neuroscience is the study of the central nervous system, including the brain.

Palaeontology is the study of life which existed prior to the current "Holocene" geological epoch.

Photobiology is the study of how cells and organisms change physically and chemically in response to non-ionising radiation.

Physiology focuses on organisms at the system level. It aims to explain how these systems, which can range from a single cell to a whole organism, carry out their functions.

Radiobiology studies the effects of ionising radiation on living organisms.

Zoology or animal biology, is the study of biology relating to the animal kingdom.

Or try our advanced search.