Wider hips may make childbirth easier, but increase the risk of other health issues

A fossil jawbone found by fishers in the Taiwan Strait has extended the known range of ancient Denisovan people thousands of kilometres to the east

Schrödinger called his metaphorical cat “quite ridiculous” but the quantum weirdness it represents has become a useful benchmark for the quantum computing industry, finds our quantum columnist Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

Globally, only 14 per cent of the plastic we use is recycled – but some countries achieve higher rates and new technologies could change the picture drastically

A machine controlled by AI that sprays bears with the chilli pepper chemical capsaicin could reduce dangerous confrontations with people

A newly discovered settlement in the north-western Nile delta was built by the Egyptian New Kingdom perhaps 3500 years ago and included a temple dedicated to pharaoh Ramesses II

Solvej Balle's newly translated speculative novel, On the Calculation of Volume (parts I and II), examines the numbing effects of time through the old trope of being stuck in a single day. It is an effective meditation

An AI analysis finds that since the 1970s, speeches by US Congress members have shifted to favour language such as “fake news” and “mislead” over words such as “science” and “statistics”

There have been several claims of quantum computers performing at a level impossible to match with a classical computer – most of which have been refuted. Could there be a mathematical reason why this keeps happening?

A baby has been born after being conceived via IVF performed by a machine, with a medical professional merely overseeing the process

Cellulose, the main component of paper, can be turned into clear, waterproof objects such as cups that are almost indistinguishable from plastic, but break down more quickly

In the latest instalment of our Future Chronicles column, which explores an imagined history of inventions yet to come, Rowan Hooper reveals how brain-computer interface let us travel to Mars via robot avatars in the late 2020s

Feedback is delighted to hear from a reader who proposes an ingenious new unit of data – but we have some quibbles with the maths

Bed rest is commonly prescribed for high-risk pregnancies. It can't hurt and might help, right? Wrong, says Jacqueline Sears

Cuneiform, the oldest identified writing system, defied deciphering – until 1857. What happened then makes a terrific read, in Joshua Hammer's The Mesopotamian Riddle

Governments love asking what scientific research will bring society, but the most important discoveries come from wondering without direction

A new understanding of why some animals evolved to be loners, and the benefits that brings, shows that a social lifestyle isn’t necessarily superior

Amazon is aiming to launch its first operational satellites today to provide speedy internet connections in remote regions, but it will still take some time to catch up with its main competitor, SpaceX's Starlink  

A map of part of a mouse brain, which is expected to be generalisable to people, could help scientists understand behaviours, consciousness and even what it means to be human

Ancient rocks reveal there were several humid spells in Arabia’s past, which might have given early hominins a route out of Africa long before our genus migrated