Ian McEwan’s new novel is a work of “lab lit” genre fiction. It lacks the punch of Atonement or the political ambition of Saturday—but is more fun than either

Top science stories of the month

The top science stories this month

There's a reason why we find it easier to "get" modern art than avant-garde music, and it's not just about our natural conservatism and love of Mozart

The moving image is coming soon to books and magazines

On Darwin, space and the odd Newton

Philip Ball reports on the top science stories this month

Obama’s latest appointment has enraged the new atheists in the US scientific community. Plus, Jupiter unexpectedly suffers a direct hit

Nasa's Mars lander has a Twitter feed; big science and astronomy may soon follow suit. Plus, the genomics of schizophrenia and shit

On a visit to Cern, I found optimism over the reopening of the Large Hadron Collider and a surprising alliance with novelist Dan Brown