Paypal billionaire Elon Musk has revealed plans for a radical new ‘hyperloop’ transport system that could ‘shoot’ passengers 380 miles from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 30 minutes. Travellers enter aluminium pods mounted by skis either to their feet or to their cars. The pods, mounted above the ground on columns 50 to 100 yards apart, travel through steel tubes, reaching speeds of up to 800mph and travelling on […]

Alfredo Moser’s invention is lighting up the world. In 2002, the Brazilian mechanic had a light-bulb moment and came up with a way of illuminating his house during the day without electricity – using nothing more than plastic bottles filled with water and a tiny bit of bleach In the last two years his innovation has spread throughout the world. It is expected to be in one million homes by […]

Academic Zhang Lin has spent six years shifting rocks and rubble to the roof to create this mountaintop penthouse But residents say he is a ‘menace’ and has caused cracks in the building and leaks from broken pipes Officials say he had no planning permission for the ‘extension’ but it will only be demolished if proven unsafe A Chinese man has spent six years building his dream mountaintop villa on […]

More than 100,000 people are eager to make themselves at home on another planet. They’ve applied for a one-way trip to Mars, hoping to be chosen to spend the rest of their lives on uncharted territory, according to an organization planning the manned missions. The Mars One project wants to colonize the red planet, beginning in 2022. There are financial and practical questions about this venture that haven’t been clarified. […]

  Is it informative or worrying to know in detail what’s happening in our bodies? Dr Kevin Fong investigates how information is moving from doctor to patient – and what that means for the management of our health. There is a famous scene in the movie The Matrix where Keanu Reeves’ character, Neo, is offered the choice between a red pill and a blue pill. The former would open his […]

A Buddhist mob has attacked a mosque in the Grandpass area of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, leaving at least five people injured. Buddhists and Muslims clashed after the attack, and police imposed a curfew in the area. Last month, a group of Buddhist monks had protested near the mosque, demanding it be relocated. In recent months hardline Buddhist groups have mounted a campaign against Muslim and Christian targets. Several […]

Six people have been killed in a volcanic eruption on a tiny island in Indonesia, officials have said. Mount Rokatenda, on the island of Palue some 2,000km (1,250 miles) east of Jakarta, spewed ash and rocks 2km into the air. Disaster officials said hot ash covered a nearby beach, leaving four adults and two children dead. The volcano had been rumbling since late last year, forcing the evacuation of hundreds […]

America’s foreign policy has gone into a tailspin. Almost every major initiative from the Obama administration has run into sharp, sometimes embarrassing, reverses. The U.S. looks weak and confused on the global stage. This might come as happy news to some opponents of the administration who enjoy seeing Barack Obama fail, but it shouldn’t. America’s failure in international strategy is a disaster-in-the-making for its allies and for the people who […]

Two pilots working for Turkish Airlines have been abducted in Lebanon, near Beirut’s international airport. The men were snatched from a bus which was carrying several other crew members and passengers between a hotel and the airport terminal. A group called Zuwwar al-Imam Rida has said it seized the men, saying they would be freed in exchange for nine Lebanese hostages in Syria. Turkey has advised its citizens in Lebanon […]

Lightning is a discharge of static electricity that occurs when there is an imbalance in the electrical charge between the cloud and the earth’s surface. Put very simply, it is a giant electric spark in the sky – a very powerful one. A single bolt could be a billion volts. It can stop a person’s heart and cook their internal organs. On average three people die in the UK each […]