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2 months ago | 
newscientist.com | Tim Boddy
To beat the winter blues, I have treated myself to two excellent pieces of escapism. Lost Gardens of London, open until 2 March at the Garden Museum, proved a thoroughly engaging exhibition full of great London morsels. Who knew that the city’s Southwark borough once had its own zoo? I also enjoyed The Employees (pictured above) at London’s Southbank Centre last month, directed by Ĺukasz Twarkowski. This mesmerising piece of theatre is based on a book by Olga Ravn.
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Jan 22, 2025 | 
newscientist.com | Tim Boddy
Released in 2013, Her is set in the “near future” of 2025. Since that near future is now here, I was intrigued to see how the film holds up today. Written and directed by Spike Jonze, the melancholic, soulful sci-fi film stars Joaquin Phoenix (pictured above) as a lonely and soon-to-be divorced writer who falls in love with his operating system, voiced by Scarlett Johansson.
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Jan 21, 2025 | 
newscientist.com | Tim Boddy
These eerie images of a fiery sky show the moment when SpaceX’s Starship rocket dramatically returned to Earth in pieces last week. They were captured by photographer James Temple, who was working as a chef on a superyacht in the Turks and Caicos Islands. When he realised what was happening, he grabbed his camera extender for a closer shot.
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Dec 4, 2024 | 
newscientist.com | Tim Boddy
These remarkable and intricate illustrations are the work of Mark Catesby, an English naturalist and artist who made numerous visits to North America in the early 18th century, recording the flora and fauna he saw on his travels. His work is collected in a new book, Catesby’s Natural History by Stephen A. Harris, an exploration of the naturalist’s landmark treatise, The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands.
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Oct 2, 2024 | 
newscientist.com | Tim Boddy
You could be forgiven for thinking that this dramatic image is a still from a forthcoming science fiction epic, but it is actually the work of photographer Andrew McConnell, part of his in-depth series Some Worlds Have Two Suns – and it is very much of this planet. McConnell began documenting the movements of Russian Soyuz rockets in 2015.
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Sep 20, 2024 | 
newscientist.com | Leah Crane |Chelsea Whyte |Tim Boddy
New Scientist Live, the world’s greatest festival of ideas and discovery, is returning to ExCeL London from Saturday 12 until Sunday 13 October, with a dedicated Schools’ Day on Monday 14 October. There is a stunning lineup of more than 60 speakers, five stages and a wide array of exhibitors and experiences.
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Jun 5, 2024 | 
newscientist.com | Tim Boddy
I have recently had a double helping of botanical culture, starting with a terrific exhibition at Tate Britain, London. Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520-1920 puts a spotlight on female artists, many of whom have been unfairly forgotten, and challenges stereotypes. Within the exhibition there is a section on flowers, including Mary Delany’s collages. Naturalist Joseph Banks said that her works were the only botanical images from which he could reliably identify a plant species.
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May 16, 2024 | 
newscientist.com | Tim Boddy
Damith Osuranga Danthanarayana’s Human DisasterDamith Osuranga DanthanarayanaFeaturing shots of elephants reduced to eating garbage in Sri Lanka and of plastic pollution in Vietnam, the shortlist for the annual Earth Photo competition has been announced. The contest aims to draw attention to the extensive challenges facing our planet. Nearly 2000 images were submitted to this year’s competition, with 31 photographers and more than 100 images making the shortlist, six of which are shown here.
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Dec 6, 2023 | 
newscientist.com | Bethan Ackerley |Tim Boddy
The Fall (Komorebi)In this high-concept, anime-inspired album, Komorebi becomes her alter ego, Kiane, an alien who visits Earth on a voyage of self-discovery. Transported by delicate vocals and the sweeping orchestration, I felt punch-drunk by the end.
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Nov 29, 2023 | 
newscientist.com | Tim Boddy
ONCE the fourth-largest freshwater lake in the world, the Aral Sea has now shrunk from 68,000 square kilometres to just 10 per cent of its former size. Photographer Kristina Varaksina travelled to the Republic of Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan where the southern part of the lake is. She has documented those living in the area in her picture series , taking elegant portraits and vibrant landscapes. [caption id="attachment_2405519"…
