Matthew Du Plessis

Scientists have the technology (and apparently the inclination) to make fungus better, stronger, faster

Scientists are remapping the stories of ancient civilisations by shooting them with lasers

Super-strains of bacteria need a new nemesis, and scientists reckon they’ve found one

Sluggish snails prevailed, but Homo erectus may have died out because, honestly, why bother?

They promise the earth and never deliver, but sometimes the world’s leaders give us the sun, the moon and the stars

CRISPR-Cas9’s responsible use has been welcomed as an important stride in medical research and molecular biology

We used to laugh at the idea that Mars had canals — now it turns out there’s a whole fricking lake

There have been many success stories in efforts to extend the human lifespan in the past 200 years

We’ve just learned that brain-hijacking parasites can bend even uninfected bystanders to their will

The humble honeybee is catching up to humans in the arithmetic game, but there is quite literally nothing to worry about

Cheap and efficient space travel would be a golden goose for any nation that cracked it

Let us entertain the notion — if only for a moment — that cephalopods may be from space. How would we go about testing the hypothesis?

A week before the elections, the toilet scandal gripping SA has thrust a small town into the national spotlight, leaving residents flustered and wary.