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‘Instead of scuba diving on shrinking reefs, we helped regrow them’: readers’ best conservation tourism experiences

From a sea turtle rescue centre in Italy to rewilding in the Scottish Highlands, here are some of your favourite trips that give a little back The Ropes of Hope works for coral reef restoration in the Mafia Island marine park, off Tanzania. Instead of scuba diving to see shrinking reefs, we got involved with a project regrowing them. It’s the brainchild of Jean de Villiers, a South African molecular biologist who talked my teenagers through the underwater coral gene bank research and community involvement. Our ocean-view tree house accommodation didn’t hurt, with hot chocolate and cake hoisted

Science

Scientists identify two overlooked skills that predict reading success

A massive new study reveals that intelligence plays a surprisingly limited role in children's reading success, while visual processing showed no meaningful connection at all. Instead, the strongest predictors are sound recognition, vocabulary, and background knowledge, offering new clues about how to help struggling readers.

Science

Scientists discover metals that defy the deep freeze at -424°F

Scientists have discovered a surprising mechanism that allows certain metals to resist cracking at temperatures as low as -253°C (-424°F), when similar materials typically become dangerously brittle. Instead of breaking, two experimental alloys reorganize their internal structures, creating new ways to absorb stress and remain flexible.

Science

New 3D thermal invisibility cloak makes objects disappear from infrared cameras

Researchers have developed a groundbreaking 3D invisibility cloak that can hide complex objects from infrared cameras while protecting them from extreme heat and cold. Instead of blocking heat, the device guides it around an object, making the object appear invisible to thermal imaging from virtually any direction. Successfully built and tested, the cloak could transform electronics cooling, thermal protection, and stealth technology.

Science

Scientists build a nuclear clock that could make atomic clocks obsolete

Scientists in Vienna have achieved a major breakthrough in timekeeping by creating the world’s first self-stabilizing nuclear clock, a technology that could eventually surpass even the most precise atomic clocks. Instead of relying on electrons in atoms, the clock uses the tiny nuclei of thorium atoms, which are far less sensitive to outside disturbances.

Science

A famous quantum effect can finally be predicted in real materials

Scientists have developed a powerful new way to calculate the Kondo effect, a strange quantum phenomenon that appears when magnetic atoms are embedded in metals. Instead of relying on simplified models, the method uses the real atomic and electronic structures of materials, allowing researchers to predict their behavior with far greater accuracy.

Science

A meteor hit Oklahoma 100 million years later than scientists thought

A meteor crater buried beneath Oklahoma has turned out to be nearly 100 million years younger than scientists thought. Zircon crystals show the Ames impact occurred about 370 million years ago, meaning it was not part of the mysterious Ordovician bombardment once linked to a possible ring of debris around Earth. Instead, the impact coincided closely with a major mass extinction that devastated marine life.

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Scientists were wrong about this strange mammal for nearly 40 years

A beautifully preserved fossil from Mongolia’s Gobi Desert has solved a mystery that puzzled paleontologists for nearly 40 years. Tamirkhan balcarceli shows that zhelestids were not early relatives of modern placental mammals, despite having teeth that seemed to suggest they were. Instead, the rabbit-like animal belonged to a separate lineage of small Cretaceous mammals.

Science

These tropical trees breathe at night to survive drought

Some tropical trees have evolved a clever way to survive drought by taking in carbon dioxide at night, allowing them to keep their pores closed during the hot daytime and conserve water. By comparing three Clusia species, researchers discovered that this water-saving form of photosynthesis, known as CAM, did not arise through a single evolutionary change. Instead, ancient genome duplications followed by millions of years of genetic reshuffling produced strikingly different strategies, from strong CAM to stress-triggered and hybrid forms.

Style

Dads and dudes: the two style clans that dominate menswear

The ‘dad’ look favours straight lines and muted colours, while ‘dudes’ prefer baggier clothes with adornments There is a competition going on at the US Open this week and it’s not the one involving rackets and balls. Instead, leading men who are not entered into this year’s draw are serving looks rather than aces. Tennis legend Roger Federer took to the court on Tuesday in navy blue polo shirt and shorts, navy blue sweatbands and navy blue socks. The cuts were trim and the top was tucked in. The young Spanish player Carlos Alcaraz wore a Nike vest, untucked and the colour of Ribena, maroon sho