The Best of BBC Future
20+ most popular BBC Future articles, as voted by our community.
Making you smarter, every day.
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The Soviet spacecraft cemetery in the Pacific
Point Nemo has become the final resting place for hundreds of spacecraft. What will future archaeologists make of it?
Is time travel really possible? Here's what physics says
The ability to jump forward and backwards in time has long fascinated science fiction writers and physicists alike. So is it really possible to travel into the past and the future?
The 420-year-search for Shakespeare's lost play
To celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's First Folio, BBC Future investigates a mysterious vanishing – a play that has been missing for centuries.
The surprisingly subtle ways Microsoft Word has changed how we use language
As Microsoft Word turns 40, we look at the role the software has played in four decades of language and communication evolution.
BBC Future on Aviation
Is seaweed the future of flying?
Aircraft currently leave a major footprint on the world's climate, so can the aviation industry hope to reach net zero by the middle of the century?
The giant hangar poised for an aviation revolution
Airships could offer a much cleaner and quieter alternative for some aspects of the aviation market. In a former airship factory, a new generation are taking shape.
BBC Future on Colors
How colours affect the way you think
Our world is awash with a rainbow of colours, but certain shades can have a surprising impact on our ability to concentrate, our mood and even our taste.
«And if you want a child to concentrate, you might consider painting a classroom in a vivid palette and so bolster their reading scores.»
BBC Future on Environment
Do single-use plastic bans work?
The problems caused by plastic waste are rapidly increasing around the globe, but it still serves a useful purpose in food packaging. Can plastic still be a green option?
«brands have transitioned away from refillables to single-use packaging faster in the global North than in the South; it simply made more economic sense,»
The animals changed by proximity to humans
It's not just domestication that has changed animals – simply sharing their environment with humans has radically altered the behaviour of some species.
«It's not just domestication that has changed animals – simply sharing their environment with humans has radically altered the behaviour of some species.»
BBC Future on Food
How hunger can warp our minds
Hunger is a powerful sensation, and it can overwhelm our brain's ability to carry out other tasks.
How a vegan diet could affect your intelligence
The vegan diet is low in – or, in some cases, entirely devoid of – several important brain nutrients. Could these shortcomings be affecting vegan’s ability to think?
BBC Future on Health
How our eyes can change colour throughout our lives
Through apparently spontaneous change or through mishap or illness, our eyes can change colour in surprising ways.
The curious ways your skin shapes your health
Weathered or unhealthy skin is emerging as a major risk factor for almost every single age-related disease, from Parkinson's to type 2 diabetes.
BBC Future on History
Do we need a better understanding of 'progress'?
A growing and influential intellectual movement aims to understand why human progress happens – and how to speed it up. Garrison Lovely investigates.
The forgotten medieval habit of 'two sleeps'
For millennia, people slept in two shifts – once in the evening, and once in the morning. But why? And how did the habit disappear?
BBC Future on Kindness
What stops people from being kinder?
The Kindness Test is the world's largest survey on what it means to be kind. It's shed light on the barriers that stop us being kind – but also that empathy truly is international.
What we do and don't know about kindness
In recent years, psychologists have gained a deeper understanding of human kindness and its benefits, but as Claudia Hammond writes, there's still so much to explore.
BBC Future on Nature
Is air pollution causing us to lose our sense of smell?
Our sense of smell is one of our richest and wide-ranging windows into the world around us, but a threat in the air we breathe may be eroding our olfactory powers.
Why don't humans have fur?
Most mammals, including our closest living relatives, have fur. So why did we lose ours?
BBC Future on Solar Energy
How Morocco went big on solar energy
Morocco has become famous for its vast, world-leading solar arrays. But these mega-projects are just the start of the action on climate change that Morocco could be capable of.
The floating solar panels that track the Sun
Many countries are looking to floating solar power to save valuable space. The Netherlands is taking this one step further, with water-based arrays that follow the Sun.
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How our brains cope with speaking more than one language
Speaking a second or even a third language can bring obvious advantages, but occasionally the words, grammar and even accents can get mixed up.
«our languages aren't just static throughout our lives but shifting, actively competing and interfering with each other.»
Can you delay ageing by refusing to act your age?
When old age starts depend on where you live in the world. But it may also partly depend on how you view ageing. Can you delay it with a positive attitude?
The race to reclaim the dark
Some 200 places around the world have now achieved Dark Sky status. Frankie Adkins explores the benefits nights with out light pollution can bring.
«LED lighting – despite its reputation for energy efficiency – often contains high proportions of blue light in its spectrum, which creates a harsh glar»
Why some people can't tell left from right
It can seem like an almost childish mistake, but a surprising number of adults confuse left from right and scientists are only just starting to understand why.
The messages that survived civilisation's collapse
The Sumerians, Maya and other ancient cultures created texts that have lasted hundreds and even thousands of years. Here's what they can teach us about crafting an immortal message.
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