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Health

Does using the internet make us happier or sadder?

A study of more than 2 million people in 168 countries suggests that having access to the internet is linked to higher life satisfaction, but many questions remain unanswered

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Physics

Doughnut-shaped swirls of laser light can be used to transmit images

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Space

How to see tonight's northern lights – the strongest in 20 years

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the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern lights, putting on a show over Achmelvich beach, Sutherland, in the Highlands of Scotland, UK.

Space

Dozens of stars show signs of hosting advanced alien civilisations

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Heavy or painful menstrual periods are linked to worse exam results

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Heavy or painful menstrual periods are linked to worse exam results

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Mathematics

500-year-old maths problem turns out to apply to coffee and clocks

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Life

Monkeys can learn to tap to the beat of the Backstreet Boys

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Health

Extreme exercise may help you live longer without stressing your heart

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A slice through the largest 3D map of our universe to date

Space

Invisible 'dark radiation' may explain a big problem with dark energy

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traders in stock market

Mathematics

Game theory shows we can never learn perfectly from our mistakes

An analysis of a mathematical economic game suggests that even learning from past mistakes will almost never help us optimise our decision-making – with implications for our ability to make the biggest financial gains

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An image of Mars

Space

Mars is blasting plasma out of its atmosphere into space

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This enchanting spiral galaxy can be found in the constellation of Ursa Major (the Great Bear). Star-studded NGC 3972 lies about 65 million light-years away from Earth, meaning that the light that we see now left it 65 million years ago, just when the dinosaurs became extinct. NGC 3972 has had its fair share of dramatic events. In 2011 astronomers observed the explosion of a Type Ia supernova in the galaxy (not visible in this image). These dazzling objects all peak at the same brightness, and are brilliant enough to be seen over large distances. NGC 3972 also contains many pulsating stars called Cepheid variables. These stars change their brightness at a rate matched closely to their intrinsic luminosity, making them ideal cosmic lighthouses for measuring accurate distances to relatively nearby galaxies. Astronomers search for Cepheid variables in nearby galaxies that also contain a Type Ia supernova so they can compare the true brightness of both types of stars. That brightness information is used to calibrate the luminosity of Type Ia supernovae in far-flung galaxies so that astronomers can calculate the galaxies' distances from Earth. Once astronomers know accurate distances to galaxies near and far, they can determine and refine the expansion rate of the universe. This image was taken in 2015 with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, as part of a project to improve the precision of the Hubble constant ? a figure that describes the expansion rate of the universe. Text: European Space Agency

Space

Has the biggest problem in cosmology finally been solved?

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Mind

How to reconnect with long-lost friends, according to science

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Technology

DeepMind is experimenting with a nearly indestructible robot hand

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