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Health workers wearing face mask stand in front of a triage tent for suspected COVID-19 patients outside the Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon on April 2, 2020. - Over 500 people have died in Portugal after contracting COVID-19 among more than 6,000 recorded cases of the disease. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP) (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images)

Health

Fascinating but flawed book explores how sickness shapes our lives

Susan Wise Bauer's The Great Shadow investigates the effects of illness on individual lives and collective beliefs. It's a mixed bag, says Peter Hoskin

Culture

BEIJING - AUGUST 11: (L-R) Eamon Sullivan of Australia, Michael Phelps of the United States and Amaury Leveaux of France compete in the Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay Final held at the National Aquatics Center on Day 3 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 11, 2008 in Beijing, China. The United States finished the race in first place in a time of 3:08.24 and wins the gold medal and set a new World Record. Eamon Sullivan of Australia set a time of 47.24 in the first leg, a new World Record. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Physics

Engaging look at friction shows how it keeps our world rubbing along

Culture

Sierra Greer

Video

Sierra Greer discusses her award-winning sex robot novel 'Annie Bot'

Video

Jockeys compete in a race for purebred Arabian horses at the Liwa International Festival 2023, some 250 kilometres west of the Gulf Emirate of Abu Dhabi, on December 23, 2022. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Life

A fascinating book reveals the ancient story of horses and humans

Culture

3APAPEW Dark silhouette of a girl in dress on mystical deep space background

Space

Peter F. Hamilton's latest is an epic slice of sci-fi – with one flaw

Culture

Woman with a heart reflected in her eyes.

Technology

We're getting intimate with chatbots. A new book asks what this means

Culture

B4M34P John Peters and Adrian Nichol RAF air crew who were shot down and held prisoners in Iraq during the Gulf War

Mind

A new book provides a toolkit to tackle anxiety. Can it really help?

Culture

K6J3GX An old fashioned, stand on, coin operated, weighing scales at the end on an English seaside pier

Health

As Ozempic goes global, a powerful book reframes how we see obesity

Culture

Two friends toasting with glasses of light beer at the pub. Beautiful background of the Oktoberfest. fine grain. Soft focus. Shallow DOF; Shutterstock ID 486491203; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other:

Health

New ��˾þ� recommends Why We Drink Too Much for Dry January

Culture

The best new popular science books of January 2026

Comment

The best new popular science books of January 2026

A host of new science books are due to hit shelves in January, by authors including Claudia Hammond, Deborah Cohen and Daisy Fancourt

Culture

Comment

The best new science fiction books of January 2026

Culture

Comment

Our verdict on The Player of Games: Iain M. Banks is still a master

Culture

Comment

The challenges of writing from the perspective of a sex robot

Culture

Technology

Read an extract from Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

Culture