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Societies can be united and inspired by ideas of the future. We urgently need more of them, argues futurist Sarah Housley

In Love's Labour, psychoanalyst Stephen Grosz draws on 40 years of conversations with his patients about relationships. This compelling memoir is reminiscent of the writing of Oliver Sacks, says David Robson

Governments are looking to ban social media for children but can't get enough of AI – a technology parents are far less equipped to deal with

Governments are looking to ban social media for children but can't get enough of AI – a technology parents are far less equipped to deal with

Since sending the first human into space in the 1960s, the solution to one key challenge has remained elusive: the efficient and reliable production of oxygen in space. On the International Space Station, this problem is addressed by heavy and energy-intensive systems that are not ideal for long-duration space missions.

According to astronomers, water worlds, though admittedly not those containing Kevin Costner, are one of the most common types of planets in our solar system. This is partly due to low density estimates and the abundance of water ice past the “snow line” orbit of a star. But a new paper led by Jie Li and their colleagues at the University of Michigan, suggests there might be an alternative type of planet that fits the density data but is made up of a completely different type of material - soot.

Deep in one of our Galaxy's most spectacular star forming regions, astronomers have undertaken the most detailed look yet at a pair of stellar giants that rank among the heaviest stars ever directly measured in the Milky Way. The binary system NGC 3603-A1, located 25,000 light years from Earth, consists of two massive stars locked in an incredibly tight orbital dance.

As quantum computers get larger, they may become truly useful – 3D-printing a key component of some quantum computers may make it easier to build larger arrays of qubits to make them more powerful

As quantum computers get larger, they may become truly useful – 3D-printing a key component of some quantum computers may make it easier to build larger arrays of qubits to make them more powerful

Storing carbon dioxide underground is seen as a way to mitigate climate change, but the world could run out of safe storage space within 200 years if we keep on burning fossil fuels

Storing carbon dioxide underground is seen as a way to mitigate climate change, but the world could run out of safe storage space within 200 years if we keep on burning fossil fuels

Bizarrely, Iberian harvester ant queens lay eggs that turn into male builder harvester ants, and some of her offspring are hybrids of the two species

Bizarrely, Iberian harvester ant queens lay eggs that turn into male builder harvester ants, and some of her offspring are hybrids of the two species

Scientists have mapped the activity that takes place across a mouse's entire brain as it decides how to complete a task - and the results could explain the origin of our gut feelings

Scientists have mapped the activity that takes place across a mouse's entire brain as it decides how to complete a task - and the results could explain the origin of our gut feelings

From flexible implants to circuits seeded with living cells, a new kind of electronics is starting to produce long-lasting implants with the potential to help everything from paralysis to hearing and vision loss

From flexible implants to circuits seeded with living cells, a new kind of electronics is starting to produce long-lasting implants with the potential to help everything from paralysis to hearing and vision loss

Sea ice is frozen seawater that floats in the ocean. This photo, taken from NASA’s Gulfstream V Research Aircraft on July 21, 2022, shows Arctic sea ice in the Lincoln Sea north of Greenland.

NASA/Rachel Tilling

Sea ice is frozen seawater that floats in the ocean. This photo, taken from NASA’s Gulfstream V Research Aircraft on July 21, 2022, shows Arctic sea ice in the Lincoln Sea north of Greenland.

This image is the NASA Science Image of the Month for September 2025. Each month, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate chooses an image to feature, offering desktop wallpaper downloads, as well as links to related topics, activities, and games.

Text and image credit: NASA/Rachel Tilling

NASA/Rachel Tilling

Sea ice is frozen seawater that floats in the ocean. This photo, taken from NASA’s Gulfstream V Research Aircraft on July 21, 2022, shows Arctic sea ice in the Lincoln Sea north of Greenland.

This image is the NASA Science Image of the Month for September 2025. Each month, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate chooses an image to feature, offering desktop wallpaper downloads, as well as links to related topics, activities, and games.

Text and image credit: NASA/Rachel Tilling