SCIENCE

Pain relief from the placebo effect may not actually involve dopamine

Dopamine (red) approaching one of its receptors (blue) JUAN GAERTNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/ALAMY The hormone and neurotransmitter dopamine is generally believed

SCIENCE

XEC: What we know about the new covid-19 variant and its symptoms

Covid-19 variant XEC may spread more easily than previous variants Jarun Ontakrai/Shutterstock A new covid-19 variant called XEC has started

SCIENCE

Light has been seen leaving an atom cloud before it entered

Light can get away with an impossibly fast journey due to quantum fuzziness Михаил Руденко/Getty Images/iStockphoto In the quantum realm,

SCIENCE

Polaris Dawn mission is one giant leap for private space exploration

An artist’s rendering of the spacewalk on the Polaris Dawn mission SpaceX SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission is a leap forward

SCIENCE

Mega El Niños may have played a part in the Permian mass extinction

Illustration of the end-Permian extinction event, when extreme temperatures may have killed off forests RICHARD JONES/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY The Great

SCIENCE

I took control of NASA’s Valkyrie robot and it blew my mind

NASA’s Valkyrie robot, ready to be inhabited through virtual reality James Woodford I am standing before one of the most

SCIENCE

The mathematical theory that made the internet possible

The internet could not exist without information theory Mehmet BAYSAN / Alamy The following is an extract from our Lost

SCIENCE

How understanding the brain’s microglia could end neurodegeneration

As you read this sentence, an army of cells patrols your brain. These soldiers slip around neurons, using their gangly

SCIENCE

Quantum holograms can send messages that disappear

Polarised light can make messages encoded in a quantum hologram disappear Hong Liang, Wai Chun Wong, Tailin An, Jensen Li

SCIENCE

Lyme disease test gives hope for a speedier diagnosis

Lyme disease can spread to people via infected ticks 24K-Production/Shutterstock A new approach to diagnosing Lyme disease could help people