This Arabian desert was once a lush paradise. Why did ancient humans avoid it?

Too dry for cacti: extreme droughts could push iconic species to extinction

What the future holds for AI – from the people shaping it

Artificial intelligence is set to fundamentally impact the way that we live our lives. From the worlds of health, national security and geopolitics to consumer products, academic research and healthcare — there is huge scope of AI influence, and yet the field is rife with misinformation and vested interests. But technology does not build itself, and it is people that are driving the change. In this film, Nature asks those behind the AI revolution what they think AI means for their fields, for society more broadly, and what impacts— if any — society should be particularly concerned about.

How to power space missions with nuclear waste

Most spacecraft use solar panels to power the equipment on board - but missions to places like the shadowed craters of the moon or the deep solar system can’t rely on energy from the sun. Could nuclear fuel, with its high energy density, be a promising alternative? In this film, Nature explores the work of a spinout from the University of Leicester called Perpetual Atomics. Researchers there have been developing technology that uses by-products from nuclear reactors on Earth to fuel missions in space. These space nuclear power systems will be used on board the Rosalind Franklin Mars Rover, which is due to be sent to the red planet by 2030.

What is powering this super-bright supernova?

Supernovae are colossal explosions triggered as ancient stars come to the end of their lives. Scientists have done huge amounts of work to identify and understand these cosmic fireworks but, in the last 20 years or so, astronomers have spotted some supernovae that don’t make sense. Superluminous supervnovae are 10 to 100 times brighter than expected, and while different theories exist, no-one is quite sure how that’s possible. Now the wobbling signal from one of these super bright explosions has provided a possible answer.

Whale graveyard discovered 7km under the sea

Whale bones and ancient fossils have been discovered on the ocean floor, concentrated in a deep groove known as the Diamantina Zone. Researchers used the Fendouzhe submersible to descend into the largely unexplored depths and were amazed to find deep sea creatures living on fallen whale bones as well as hundreds of fossils. The oldest fossil was dated to over 5 million years and another represented a previously unknown species of extinct beaked whale.

How do quantum computers work?

Quantum computing is entering a new era. The pace of development has quickened and there’s a growing hope that machines capable of solving intractable problems could be built in the next ten years. But how can a quantum device solve problems a conventional machine cannot? And what even is a quantum computer?