Draft climate deal plagued by weak wording as deadline looms
As the UN climate change talks near the end, the draft deal still has many unresolved issues, so will the negotiators deliver?
Raft made of dust carries water droplets across a sea of oil
An unlikely vessel could shuttle drops of water around microfluidic devices, giving fine control over chemical reactions
*Sad face*: Being happy does not help you live longer
Apologies to self-help authors and peddlers of the optimism fallacy. A huge study suggests there is no link between being happy and living longer
Rising seas expected to sink islands near US capital in 50 years
The Tangier islands in Chesapeake Bay near Washington DC could become uninhabitable by 2063 as sea levels rise and force people away
On-demand workers unite online to fight Uber and the gig economy
The gig economy leaves workers beholden to app-based task masters like Uber and Airbnb, without any benefits. Digital platforms could help them take power back
Black holes have a size limit of 50 billion suns
Physicists have firmed up a theoretical limit on the mass of a black hole by figuring out when it will disrupt the disc that feeds it
Pairs of habitable worlds could throw microbes at each other
Some exoplanet systems have planets a fifth as close together as Earth is to Mars, a factor that could drive interplanetary fraternisation
Tiny dark matter stars would harbour particles that act as one
Like the Borg race in Star Trek, stars made of a certain dark matter candidate would have particles that behave as one - and might be observable
Is climate change behind the storm that flooded parts of the UK?
After record-breaking downpours fell on parts of the UK, some blame climate change, which is expected to make storms more frequent and intense
Black holes have a size limit – of 50 billion suns
Physicists have set a theoretical limit on the mass of a black hole by figuring out when it will disrupt the disc that feeds it
