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US science faces existential crisis
THE Trump administration has called for the US to revitalise its science and technology enterprise and accelerate research. But President Donald Trump has spent the past two months dismantling the very research apparatus built for this purpose. It is an end to the “endless frontier”, a vision set out after the second world war by technocrat Vannevar Bush, which posits that basic research is the driving force behind progress. It has persisted for 80 years, shaping the US into a leader in the sciences. “The Trump administration is effectively banning many types of research it does not like” Now, that vision has come crashing down. Thousands of jobs across federal agencies have been terminated and research funding worth billions of dollars has been suspended or cancelled. The idea of the…
CAN A FORGOTTEN BEAN SAVE THE BREW?
STENOPHYLLA IS A COFFEE PLANT, not a criminal, and yet it can still lay claim to its very own “Wanted” poster. In 2018, Aaron Davis, head of coffee research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London, was desperate to track down the rare species, which hadn’t been seen in the wild since 1954. The data he’d found in historical records suggested that stenophylla might be resistant to drought and heat—increasingly valuable traits in a warming and drying world. So he created a “Have you seen this plant?” flyer with pictures of stenophylla’s leaves, whose pointed tips resemble snake fangs. A colleague of his based in Sierra Leone, Daniel Sarmu, jumped on a motorbike and rode across the country’s rust-colored dirt roads, handing out copies to farmers. Most shook their…
Distant planet offers a window to Earth’s destiny
UNIVERSE Astronomers have made a spectacular discovery: an Earth-like planet 4000 light years from Earth. Known as KMT-2020-BLG-0414, the rocky planet doesn’t much resemble our own planet today, but it gives a rare insight into what Earth might be like billions of years from now. The planet is orbiting a white dwarf, which is the remains of a star that was once a sun. After billions of years, Earth could end up in a similar orbit around a white dwarf, after our own Sun has also become such a heavenly body. Like Earth, the discovered planet is rock-based and has a solid surface, unlike gas giants such as Jupiter and Saturn. What makes the discovery fascinating, however, is the planet’s orbit around a white dwarf. In about five billion years, our Sun…
Concours back on ice at St Moritz
The ICE (International Concours of Elegance) St Moritz was back on the Swiss town’s frozen lake from 21-22 February, after last year’s edition was cancelled because of heavy snowfall. In place of 2024’s abandoned concours d’élégance, some entrants had taken part in the impromptu Top Down competition on the day before the event. Braving the Olympia Bob Run – the world’s oldest bobsleigh course – owners jumped in their classics for a hillclimb back to the top. It returned this year, on 20 February, but not as part of the official event. On the Friday, cars gathered on the snow-covered St Moritzersee to be judged. Australian industrial designer Marc Newson’s Bugatti Type 59 won the Open Wheels category and the Best in Show award. This year’s trophy was designed by…
From Combat to Commuter
General aviation (GA) pilots often have a fascination with military aircraft. If you’re keen to see them up close, you can volunteer at a museum, or join a warbird association. Knowing the owner, paying a fee, or just being in the right place at the right time you might score a ride or flight in one. If you want to part with a big sum of money, you could be lucky enough to own and regularly fly your own ex air force, navy, or army aircraft. The Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, CA, has a collection of 160 aircraft with more than 35 in flyable condition. Its website sums up the reasons for operating ex-military airplanes as follows: to preserve rare and historic aircraft; to inspire people to…
Stories we tell
Amanda Bell “I am new to painting and there will be a fair bit of anxiety on the days I bring the work in and see it displayed for the first time. The work is my painted response to a favourite poem of mine by Alison Cobby Eckermann, Ruby Moonlight. I asked a question of violence. What do you do to us, our bodies, our wellbeing and our spirits? “I then tried to paint my attempt at answering those questions. Might not work. Doing it anyway. The painting is titled Mika Djinaning (Moon looking) (2025). The moon is old and has seen many things, and continues to see. “I was first in Revealed in 2021 with my light installation From our mouths, lips, throat and belly (2020). I dreamt of…