Novels need a gripping story to stay popular as the decades pass, but it seems that other less-obvious factors may also contribute to their lasting success

There are signs deep beneath the Pacific Ocean that an exploding star once sent cosmic rays blasting out towards Earth, and now we have an idea of which stars may be to blame

The rhythm of an infant's brain activity seems to put them in constant learning mode, whereas that of an adult may allow them to retrieve conceptual knowledge

Stratospheric temperatures in Antarctica are spiking, which could see strange weather unfold across the southern hemisphere in the coming months

When a key protein regulator dials down DNA repair mechanisms, our cells accumulate more mutations, which may cause us to age faster

The shared ancestor of our species, the Neanderthals and the Denisovans may be far older than we thought – which could completely change our understanding of humanity's evolution

Mixing nanoparticles into some common plastics made them harder to break and possibly easier to process, pointing towards a way to make better materials or packaging

The constant temperature and low humidity of a cave network in Saudi Arabia turned cheetahs, some of which died thousands of years ago, into mummies

Rising carbon dioxide levels have boosted the growth of trees in the Amazon rainforest over the past few decades, but it is unclear if this trend will continue

It is almost impossible to make cement without emissions, but carbon-capture-and-storage technology is finally being deployed to decarbonise the sector

Huntington’s disease has been successfully treated for the first time using a gene therapy, which may be available in the US as soon as next year

Since the 1970s, astronomers have predicted that Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way, should be sending out hot wind – they have just caught the first glimpse of it

Thinking you don’t fit in is agonising, whether you are starting at university or changing jobs. Our advice columnist, David Robson, shares some tips to change how you feel

Surreal images from a new book, Microcosms, show how confocal microscopy that uses laser scanning creates a super-sharp new journey around mind-altering plants and fungi

Forget the tropes about how violence or maybe volcanic eruptions killed off our ancient cousins, The Last Neanderthal by Ludovic Slimak offers a very different take on how they died out

In this latest instalment of Future Chronicles, an imagined history of future inventions, Rowan Hooper explains how the creation of living solar panels transformed their impact on the world

Feedback is delighted to learn that researchers have discovered what Taylor Swift is accidentally doing to rescue the science of plants from mid-ness. Just take a look at her videos – sorry, botany teaching aids

We are quick to place ourselves on the extremes of the social spectrum, but the truth is that personality is more malleable than you think, says Claudia Canavan

From anger to hope, Kate Marvel and Tim Lenton explain how to tackle the tricky feelings aroused by climate change and harness them to take action

Simply listening to the experiences of women with conditions such as endometriosis will help to end the long-standing inequalities they face when it comes to medical progress