‘Pirate spiders’ make a living by preying on other spiders
While they belong to the group that includes all the orb-weaving spiders, pirate spiders cannot weave webs of their own
14 June 2017
Journalism
Why I won’t leave London, ever
The country I call home has been hit by two attacks in two weeks, but the funny, brave Brits are reason enough to stay
10 June 2017
Hauschka explores pianistic possibilities on ‘What If’
Key phrase: “Exploded keyboard.”
11 May 2017
The Creepy, Insane, and Undeniably Romantic World of Cryonics
I went into it a skeptic—and I still don’t think it’ll work. And yet I’m sold.
26 April 2017
What are three-parent babies?
The first baby conceived using a controversial technique has been born in Mexico, but how does it work and are we at the dawn of the GM babies?
27 September 2016
‘Chemsex’ Enthusiasts Can’t Do It Without Drugs
Drugs are higher-tech and more available than ever before, so it’s no wonder people are taking them from the dance floor to the bedroom.
17 September 2016
Altered States
Caffeine is the most widely-consumed mood-changing drug in the world, with adult “users” consuming an average of 200mg a day. But could it be causing us harm?
1 August 2016
‘Electrosex’ Is Our Freaky Future
Couples who use electricity between the sheets say it taps into the body’s nervous system.
25 June 2016
And on the MiMu gloves … the ingenious devices helping disabled musicians to play again
How can a trumpeter paralysed from the neck down play music again? With a little help from tech. Meet the players whose careers have been reignited by the HiNote, the Headspace and the Quirkitar
27 May 2016
Magic-mushroom drug lifts depression in first human trial
Researchers' long fight to test psilocybin's safety finally yields fruit.
17 May 2016
How Men Are Biohacking Multiple Orgasms
Is the male multiple orgasm achievable through drugs, technology—or something else entirely?
23 April 2016
Landmark study reveals the effect of LSD on the brain
Former drugs advisor Professor David Nutt shows how the brain becomes “desegregated” when taking LSD.
11 April 2016
Brain scans reveal how LSD affects consciousness
Drugs researcher David Nutt discusses brain-imaging studies with hallucinogens.
11 April 2016
Is Pornography Warping Our Brains?
In a highly connected and mobile world, it's easy to get hold of porn, but is it a harmless way to spice up your love life, or something more sinister?
1 April 2016
The Mental lllness Cursing People With Pedophile Illusions
Pure OCD can give its victims haunting sexual visions, and may affect millions of people.
26 March 2016
Is Orgasmic Meditation A Cult?
Fans say it helps women experience better, more frequent orgasms. Critics say it’s overblown marketing.
5 March 2016
How We Misunderstand Sexual Arousal
Meredith Chivers’s research on may surprise you...
31 January 2016
The Power of Music for Health
The more we learn about the power of music, the more medical applications we discover for it.
8 January 2016
Chemsex and the Case for Preventative HIV Drugs in the UK
"This is about being responsible for yourself and everyone else. PrEP is an opt in—HIV is not an opt out"
7 December 2015
A Clinical Trial Is Exploring How MDMA Could Help People With Autism
"It seemed natural to ask: what other populations, beyond people with PTSD, could we help with MDMA?"
27 November 2015
Chemsex: how dangerous is it?
People have been mixing sex and stimulants since Roman times and before. But the British Medical Journal warns that the risks from chemsex – taking a specific cocktail of drugs to have sex for up to three days – are a public health priority
5 November 2015
Banning laughing gas is a serious matter. The balloon protest treats it as a joke.
The proposed ban on nitrous oxide is irrational and unworkable, and requires serious challenge, not an inane demo in Parliament Square
31 July 2015
The Search for a Women’s Condom Alternative That Could Prevent HIV
“The possibility of having a ring that contains a microbicide and a contraceptive, in the same device? Now that would very attractive.”
23 July 2015
Could ecstasy be a potential treatment for PTSD?
The first clinical trial in Canada is under way to test whether the party drug could be part of a treatment for those with PTSD
13 July 2015
The Soft Moon @ Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen
I don’t have a music collection titled “Music To Slit My Wrists To”, but if and when I ever start one, The Soft Moon will definitely feature prominently.
19 June 2015
Let’s Get It On: The race for the world’s best condom
It’s hugely unpopular, worn by an estimated 5% of men around the world: can 11 design mavericks, funded by Bill and Melinda Gates, reinvent the condom for a sexier, safer world?
13 June 2015
A History of the Ice Pick Lobotomy
It was decreed “the worst idea on the mind” in history in a public debate at the Royal Institution in 2006. Yet it seemed like such a good idea at the time—so good, it won its devisor the Nobel Prize.
12 June 2015
Your Baby Knows Music Better Than Most Adults
Each and every one of us is born with perfect pitch
24 April 2015
Animals Like to Get High in the Wild, Too
Humans aren’t the only ones who turn to drugs for a little bit of escape. In my new book on the science of hedonism, the quest by animals to get high is documented.
20 April 2015
On The Anniversary of the First Acid Trip, What Do We Now Know About LSD?
But one high is so famous it has a birthday: Bicycle Day, April 19, 1943. The world’s first acid trip.
19 April 2015
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