Science

Tiffany Taylor on an investigation of the strategies for innovation involved in evolution

Howard P. Segal on an examination of the accelerating pace of life whose scope extends beyond fast food and computers

Philip Hoare admires a terrifying portrait of our impact on the sands that protect us from danger

Laurence Coupe praises a handbook for ecologically responsible living

Irene Glendinning evaluates a rare study of the effectiveness of STEM widening-participation schemes

Steve Redhead on a discussion of play as a means of interacting with the world around us

Maths problems are given an unusual twist when the living dead invade, says Noel-Ann Bradshaw

Are our ever more monitored lives becoming safer as a result? John Gilbey sifts the evidence

Is life on our planet unique in space? And do we know how to find out? Cait MacPhee ponders

Robyn Arianrhod on the complex and contradictory life of the greatest physicist of all time

Biancamaria Fontana on the tangled connections between historical events and mental illness

Chris Knight on the history of humanity and the myths that shape our civilisations

Euan Clarkson admires an exquisite collection of images of an iconic arthropod’s fossil traces

Simon Underdown extols a study that looks beyond stones and bones to understand how the past shaped the brain

Resisting sexual temptation is one thing, forgoing sweets another. Natalie Gold on a study of restraint

Tiffany Taylor on a captivating and comical look at an often overlooked group of evolutionary survivors

Ellen Carol DuBois extols a study of a scientific theory’s impact on the pursuit of empowerment

A lack of disciplinary expertise in digital cultures undermines this study, finds Tara Brabazon

A study of heliocentrism rightly acknowledges the work of Islamic astronomers, writes Peter Barker

A compelling effort to inspire ethical concern for endangered species is marred only by jargon-laden interludes, finds Wenfei Tong

Jörg Michael Dostal on how the NSS has enabled the US to attain technological leadership to serve its geopolitical objectives

Simon Underdown on a meticulously researched analysis of two camps’ opposing arguments over Darwin’s work

Tiffany Taylor on the emotional and aesthetic responses we share with our hominid ancestors

Steven Yearley on the economic and ethical reasons for why attempts to prevent climate change have failed

Considering different timescales is a fun way to digest serious science, finds Graham Farmelo

Brian Hurwitz on the inadequacy of language when it comes to describing physical suffering

Shahidha Bari on a deliberately ‘marginal’ life of the grouchy great man of psychoanalysis

Virginia Trimble on the search for the mysterious, magical secret ingredient of the universe

Overuse of antibiotics is upsetting the balance of our internal ecosystems, finds Jon Turney

Alison Stokes on a 19th-century volcanic eruption that caused a global climate disaster

Tim Birkhead advocates long-term scientific studies, particularly for natural selection observations

Sally Lowell on our understanding of embryonic development and the possibilities and responsibilities that have arisen

Robyn Arianrhod on a compelling tale of Jesuits, geometry and heresy in the turbulent 17th century

A former Higgs boson sceptic is a formidable guide on the hunt for the elusive particle

Tony Mann enjoys a fresh application of complex mathematical thinking to commonplace events

Robert Reynolds on how US cultural critics in the 1970s ignored the upside of championing oneself

Life history of physicist illuminates undervalued Britons behind the Bomb

Tiffany Taylor on a thought-provoking exploration of alcoholism from an evolutionary perspective

Niall O’Flaherty on a penetrating and nuanced account of Malthus’ insights and the consequent responses

Lynne Segal on an analytic philosopher’s first-hand account of sexual violence and its aftermath

Jeremy Black on the provocative thesis that war has permitted the creation of peaceful societies

Uta Papan on an exploration of pregnancy texts

Luna Centifanti welcomes a disentanglement of popular confusions over brain and behaviour

A good grasp of basic statistics will help us to make the right life choices, finds Omar Malik

Jon Turney on an editor whose work with popular science writers helped to re-establish the genre

William Poole on how a culture of literary commonplacing gradually gave way to one of scientific record-keeping

A US approach to environmental integrity offers useful pointers for the UK, says David Maguire

Joanne Dickson on innovative mental health approaches to the understanding and treatment of a global problem

Claire Spottiswoode on the history of modern ornithology and how it has contributed to our understanding of evolution

Sigrid Sterckx on a Derrida-inspired analysis of calculation, incalculability and ending life

Laurence Coupe admires scholarly insights of a kind the REF could never hope to measure

Advice from an astronomer would have benefited this exploration of connections between two subjects, says Virginia Trimble

Simon Underdown on a gripping account of the reconstruction of the first genome recovered from an extinct human species

Jules Pretty salutes an account revealing an unnerving alteration in a place and its ecosystems

What will we need to know to reboot civilisation after the apocalypse?, asks Alison Stokes

Jon Turney on the possibilities, real and imagined, of engineering the building blocks of life

Eric Michael Johnson is gripped by an evaluation of what it is to be human and our place in nature

Steve Jones considers a reflection on the Origin of Species’ influence on everything (except biology)

Tony Mann admires a book where art and mathematics are in perfect harmony

A study of children in institutions offers a perspective on the cognitive benefits of parenting, find Mary K. Rothbart and Michael I. Posner