Rather than hoping for the emergence of some new ‘party of the left,’ EMMA DENT COAD sees a broad alliance of local parties and community groups as a way of reviving democratic progressive politics

EXOPLANET research seeks to identify and characterise alien planets orbiting other stars.
Since the first exoplanet was confirmed in 1992, thousands of others have been found.
One focus for this research is the characterisation of their atmospheres. Our own atmosphere, the gas layer in which we live, is so intimately linked to the existence of life on Earth that understanding the atmospheres of exoplanets provides crucial evidence to identify other Earth-like planets.

A maverick’s self-inflicted snake bites could unlock breakthrough treatments – but they also reveal deeper tensions between noble scientific curiosity and cold corporate callousness, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
Science has always been mixed up with money and power, but as a decorative facade for megayachts, it risks leaving reality behind altogether, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT

