As the coronavirus outbreak continues, why do some people stockpile and others shrug? The psychology of uncertainty explains what's going on, says Rachel McCloy

Westworld is soon to return with season three. Four episodes in to the impossibly glamorous, highly urbanised future, I can't wait to find out what's going on, writes Emily Wilson

People living in Russia about 20,000 years ago built a "bonehenge" – a circular structure made of mammoth bones that could have been used to store food

It's easy and fun to make hand-pulled noodles, especially if you understand how gluten is acting inside the dough to make it stretch y and elastic, says Sam Wong

The mysterious Liangzhu civilisation was a neolithic "Venice of the East", rivalling ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia with its engineering marvels

Ancient humans in Africa mixed far more than we thought, according to new findings revealed by sequencing the genomes of a diverse group of people from across the world

Shards of pottery probably used for transporting food suggest a mountain site in the Czech Republic may have been a nature retreat for Iron Age religious hermits

This week, watch a sci-fi film set in an infinitely recursive suburbia, read about the woman who cracked star chemistry and catch great new games

Kate Darling researches human-robot interaction. She explains why we are prone to forming emotional connections with robots and what we can learn from our relationships with pets and other animals

New archaeological finds show that New Guinea developed sophisticated cultural practices around the same time as they were emerging in Europe and Asia

Many people feel intimidated by the prospect of making pastry, says Sam Wong, but a little understanding can go a long way to successfully making this beautiful rhubarb tart

Your immune system ages too, weakening as you get older and making you more susceptible to infections. Fortunately, we are discovering plenty of things you can do to turn back the clock and stay healthy

Always forgetting birthdays? Terrible at staying in touch? New tech promises to turn you into the best buddy ever. We put it to the test

This week, make your own ending to a thriller set in a locked-down lab, join a nature walk to track Europe’s spring and listen to the trends shaping our future

Pandemics of the past can teach us about the current one, says John Troyer, who studies how we use technology to alter the experience of death

Forget the simple out-of-Africa idea of how humans evolved. A huge array of fossils and genome studies has completely rewritten the story of how we came into being.

A prehistoric human species that lived in Europe 1.2 million to 800,000 years ago is emerging as a contender to be our last common ancestor with Neanderthals

This week, listen as the US debates covid-19, play a struggling survivor of an earthquake-torn city and discover how the planet gains from human progress slowing down

Is our love affair with AI really about building a new kind of deity to meet human needs no amount of rationality can fill? Max Barry's disturbing novel Providence lays out the case, says Sally Adee

Boredom can be unpleasant, but we can learn from some of the world's dullest people how to keep ourselves amused, says boredom researcher James Danckert

West Africa's waters are a hotspot for illegal fishing, says conservationist Justine Dossa. She is working to change fishing practices and tackle pollution

All you need to make satisfying plant-based protein is flour and water. Seitan, or wheat gluten, takes a little effort to produce, but the results are worth is, says Sam Wong

The covid-19 pandemic has many of us stuck at home. The result could completely reshape how we use the internet, writes Annalee Newitz

A piece of string found in a cave in France is the oldest ever discovered and shows that Neanderthals knew how to twist fibres together to make cords

They Are Already Here: UFO culture and why we see saucers by Sarah Scoles tries to find out what's so appealing about hunting UFOs

Watch Apple TV's See where vision becomes a heresy, discover non-human animals that also rely on culture and enjoy the International Space Station from your own home

In Vivarium, a young couple in need of a starter home meet an estate agent who is very definitely not what he seems, and nor is the estate he shows them, finds Simon Ings

Tom Gauld’s science cartoons appear weekly in New Scientist. He explains how he gets his ideas as his latest collection, Department of Mind-Blowing Theories, hits the shelves

Skeletal markings show that some women who lived on the Mongolian steppe 1850 years ago appear to have been warriors, perhaps providing inspiration for the famous Ballad of Mulan

Watch Netflix's Absurd Planet explore weird animals, discover the powerful chemical industry and create dance using a choreographer’s motion-capture moves

N. K. Jemisin's latest book sees New York itself come alive to fight off aliens in the first part of a new trilogy with ethnicity at its heart

Thinking of the brain as a machine may be hampering our progress in understanding how it works, says The Idea of the Brain: A history by Matthew Cobb

You don't need eggs to make meringues, pancakes and a host of other baked goods. If you know the science behind it, there are ingredients such as aquafaba that can do the same job

In Altered Carbon’s version of the future, our identities are stored in chips and can be switched between bodies. The first series was a hoot. The second, however, is a bit too earnest, says Emily Wilson

There's been a surge in people wanting to grow fruit and vegetables, but the path to self-sufficiency isn't as easy as some may have you think, writes James Wong

Building muscle reduces the risk of cancer and stroke, boosts brainpower, burns through calories and more – it might even be better for you than cardio

Archaeologists can learn a lot about ancient people by analysing their faeces, but only if they can be sure the remains weren’t left by a dog. Now AI can help

Coronavirus will overshadow Earth Day's golden anniversary, but the movement's successes are worth celebrating, says Gary Paul Nabhan

Our brains influence all aspects of our lives, including our sexual desires. This means brain injuries can have some surprising effects, says Amee Baird

How to use the Maillard reaction to make delicious dulce de leche – the ultimate comfort food when you are stuck indoors, says Sam Wong

Medical student Mia gets more than she bargains for in German thriller Biohackers and former US surgeon general Vivek Murthy has a new book about loneliness

Srinivisa Ramanujan’s ideas seemed to come from a parallel universe and mathematicians are still getting to grips with them today, say Ken Ono and Robert Schneider

A podcast called Science Diction looks at the stories behind scientific terms and phrases. Each episode is short and nicely put together, says David Silverberg

Gulls are often misunderstood. Many people think of them as chip-stealing pests, but that's just because they haven't spent the time to get to know them, says Madeleine Goumas

Ricky & Morty are back on Netflix, a new online exhibition shows art in the making and book A Life Without End sees a writer attempt to avoid death

Getting your wok scorching hot and preparing your ingredients in advance is the best way to make a tasty stir-fry, says Sam Wong

Hyperconsumption adds to environmental destruction that brings people into contact with animal viruses that can spark pandemics. We have to avoid the temptation to rely on it to get us out, writes Graham Lawton

Mark O'Connell's book Notes from an Apocalypse is an exploration of doomsday preparation from Mars colonists to fallout shelter estate agents

A fresh look at the world’s oldest religious texts suggests ancient Egyptians saw the sky as a water-filled iron container from which chunks fell to Earth as meteorites

With social media, newspapers and politicians all espousing unverified covid-19 findings, use these seven signs to tell if a study should be treated with caution