How It Works

Jo is an academic lawyer and lecturer specialising in criminal law and forensics. She is also the author of a number of true crime books. A technology and multimedia specialist, Mark has written tech articles for leading online and print publication

When Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year 79 CE, the volcano unleashed an avalanche of gas and rock hot enough to boil blood, vaporise flesh and even transform bits of brain tissue into glass, according to a new study. Archaeologists rarely uncover hum

An anxious cat will run away from visitors and hide from new situations until they have established safety. If your cat is shy, it is best to ensure there are multiple places to hide around your home. Curious and extroverted cats need constant brain

Wild cats lead entirely different lives to those within our households, but they still share some of the same traits. Tigers and house cats share around 95 per cent of their DNA, and in some mannerisms this can show. Initially, domestic kittens hav

A plant’s buds act as a shield for the delicate flowers inside. Flowers of different shapes, sizes and forms come with individual and distinct protection. Throughout winter these buds remain closed and dormant, surviving the cold until their time com

Becoming a notorious Chicago mobster, Capone capitalised on the profitable potential of prohibition, arranging a network of moonshiners and bootleggers to illegally sell alcohol to the public. But in 1931, Capone was sentenced to 11 years in prison f

The majority of an engine’s energy is lost in heat and friction. While engines generally only convert between 14 and 30 per cent of potential chemical energy into kinetic energy, engineers have found ways to slowly improve this efficiency. Unused oxy

■ Silicon works well for microchips as it makes good switches, because it is a semiconductor. It’s not electrically conductive like copper, which we use to make wires that carry electricity. It’s not a non-conductive insulator, like rubber. Insulator