Astronomers have struggled to explain why a long and thin cloud forms above Mars’s Arsia Mons volcano each year, until now

Ancient remains from a cave in Serbia show that Neanderthals were hunting mountain goats 300,000 years ago, adding to evidence of their ability to adapt to different environments

A hidden world of quantum metrologists ensure that everyday devices perform safely and correctly, but their work is never done

An archaeological dig in northern England shows iron and lead processing continued and even increased after the departure of the Romans

Our first attempt at shifting the orbit of an asteroid has provided crucial insight into how we could safely deflect a space rock that was hurtling towards Earth

By combining the information storage capabilities of DNA with a design inspired by a cassette tape, researchers have created a storage medium that can hold 36 petabytes of data

A mix of three antibodies seems to protect mice against several strains of influenza and could one day be useful against seasonal flu or pandemics

Feedback is mystified by a new way to assess interstellar visitors and the risks they pose, be they lumps of ice or alien craft. Just pray they don’t top out on the Loeb Scale

There are three key nutrients that all plants need – nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium – but in different amounts. So finding fertiliser that suits all your plants might seem tricky, but there is a simple solution, says James Wong

After fifty years of books, games and movies, what more could the Aliens franchise deliver? An inventive TV show, with fresh monsters and new heroes, finds our TV critic Bethan Ackerley

Not only are children starting puberty earlier, they face a digital world where, for good and bad, most of their interactions are internalised. How We Grow Up is scary, illuminating and hopeful, says Chris Simms

There is growing opposition to environmental policies around the world, but could researchers have found a way around this, asks Graham Lawton

Diagnosing mental health conditions like anxiety and depression can be difficult, but it turns out that your nose could help doctors understand when you are feeling the strain, says Gillian Forrester

We know fermented foods do us good, but the ZOE founder's new book still surprises with fascinating facts - and avoids feeling like an ad for his gut supplements, says Helen Thomson

Next to the flashy realm of AI, materials may seem quaint. But new quantum research could yield revolutionary breakthroughs, with the power to transform our world

Most human populations evolved to cope with low or high local levels of micronutrients such as zinc, but these localised adaptations might now be problematic

An exceptionally loud collision between two black holes has been detected by the LIGO gravitational wave observatory, enabling physicists to test a theorem postulated by Stephen Hawking in 1971

A rock found last year on the surface of Mars offered tantalising evidence that life once existed on the Red Planet. Now scientists have found yet more evidence that could point to the existence of ancient organisms – but we can't know for certain without returning samples to Earth

For women going through perimenopause, there is no shortage of advice on how to deal with the symptoms – but which strategies show real results, and which are social media hype?

A part of the brain that is about the size of a sunflower seed in people could play a big role in our food consumption