Articles
Why oil investors should have listened to Minsky
The price of oil seems to have stabilised – yet experts on the industry warn that this very stability could lead to speculation and a subsequent crash. Economist Hyman Minsky warned that markets have a habit of creating their own instability but was ignored, Robert Matthews writes
Did force field lead to the Big Bang?
It’s the biggest mystery of the universe … how it all began. Now it looks as if scientists studying patterns left by gravitational waves in cosmic microwave radiation are closing in on what type of event inflated the cosmos faster than the speed of light, Robert Matthews writes
How a form of carbon could mean safe drinking water for the whole world
Chemists think they may have found a material able to make seawater drinkable.
Better passwords the key to safer cybersecurity
Once the preserve of spies and their masters, cryptology – the science of keeping secrets – now affects us all.
Halt in global warming is a hot topic
Climate-change sceptics often point to statistics that show global temperatures stopped rising 15 years ago. But it is only one element of many in a complex, interlinked system of meteorological processes that we are only beginning to understand.
Scientists show ball lightning is not a myth
Some scientists doubted ball lightning even existed until it was caught on film by a team from China. What causes the phenomenon is still up for debate, writes Robert Matthews .
The science behind The Hobbit’s fiery dragon
Scientist Robert Matthews discusses the plausibility of whether a dragon, like the one seen in the new Hobbit movie, could actually fly.
Why the Pisa tests may not show the right way forward for education in the UAE
Set up in 2000 by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Pisa is a triennial test of the abilities of more than half a million 15 year olds across 65 countries.
12,500-tonne wake-up call
The Chelyabinsk event highlighted the inadequacies of current methods for spotting space objects before they strike Earth and the importance of commoners' observations to science.
Astronomers brace for Comet ISON’s close brush with the Sun
Astronomers predict that Comet ISON will shoot past the sun barely 700,000km above its surface, a hair’s breadth by astronomical standards - and this may well prove disastrous for the comet.
Science is scary when it works
We are not used to dealing with pure physics. So when we are confronted with raw, merciless forces in space, they can be utterly terrifying.
The science of winning a noble prize
Being chubby has its benefits
The numbers are in on obesity, and the results might shock you: slightly overweight people have a lower mortality rate than those with a healthy body mass index.
UAE weather: Scientist behind August showers rains on his own parade
This month’s cloud-seeding experiments seemed to produce the anticipated rain – but the man behind it, Omar Alyazeedi, is hardly shouting it from the rooftops.
Carbon farming: UAE deserts ideal for saving the earth
Hot, dry coastal regions such as the UAE may actually be ideal for a technique scientists are calling "carbon farming".
