New study estimates the odds of life and intelligence emerging beyond our planet
Humans have been wondering whether we alone in the universe since antiquity. We know from the geological record that life started relatively quickly, as soon as our planet’s environment was stable enough to support it. We also know that the first multicellular organism, which eventually produced today’s technological civilization, took far longer to evolve, approximately […]
Considered the most active volcano on Earth, Mt Etna looms large over daily life in Sicily. And for the people here, living in its shadow is a complex and emotional undertaking.
In the largest city in Sicily, Catania, an alarm went off inside the scientific research centre, the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). A large wall covered with dozens of screens showed a tapestry of charts, figures, maps and live video streams, but it was one particular screen which drew the scientists’ attention. “An earthquake, on […]