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With the advent of the space entrepreneur, the rest of the universe looks closer than ever. But will we get off this planet in time?
Margin-rich business model of scientific journals is under scrutiny from European academics
How ancient DNA is showing early human migrations to be more complex than once thought
A celebrated sociologist’s manifesto for open, tolerant 21st-century cities
An eye-opening study of the animals living — and thriving — in urban environments
People infected by spores develop a hive-mind mentality in this pacy SF thriller
Joseph E Aoun’s ‘Robot-Proof’ explores how AI will affect the way we work
Clive Cookson selects his must-read titles
A humanist technology manifesto seeks to make the case for VR as a liberating force
A menagerie of extraordinary animals reveal themselves in an illuminating collection of essays
A grim and painstakingly detailed account of the revolutionary invention of antiseptic
An exploration of the colourful life of Renaissance polymath Jerome Cardano
A neuroscientist warns over the unfolding public health disaster of sleep deprivation
Journalist Franklin Foer makes a strong case that Google, Facebook and peers represent an ‘existential threat’
According to physicist Max Tegmark, ‘Life 3.0’ is set to expand into the cosmos. Will there be a place for humanity?
The gases around us are the starting point for an entertaining scientific journey
A journey to the frontiers of neuroscience captures the excitement of a young discipline
Clive Cookson selects his mid-year reads
If we grasped the idea that male and female brains aren’t so different, how different the world might look
Four new books suggest ways of reducing emissions that do not depend on Trump
An extraordinary hymn to threatened seabirds breaks down the barriers separating science and poetry
Share your top pick — fiction or non-fiction — for our Summer Books feature
A lively portrait of the secular religion seeking to overcome biology
How growing awareness of other minds, both natural and artificial, is prompting a reassessment of our place in the world
An argument that history is made wherever people are having the most fun
