The Universe and Me, Part 8: Nations
The Romans were the first of many kingdoms to lay claim to Great Britain over the centuries, which would rise from these hardships as an important international power...
Read MoreThe Universe and Me, Part 7: Humans
Human beings, the anatomically modern kind, have lived on Earth for the last quarter of a million years. Although that is a tiny amount of time compared to the vast spans I’ve described so far, I feel we’ve achieved rather a lot.
Read MoreThe Universe and Me, Part 6: Mammals
Mammals lived, for 135 million years, in the shadows of much larger reptiles. Dinosaurs dominated the land, giant marine reptiles owned the seas, and pterosaurs patrolled the skies. Mammals did not rest on their laurels, however, developing the traits that define them today.
Read MoreThe Universe and Me, Part 5: Sex
Sexual reproduction has been a powerful force for the last 1.2 billion years. Exactly why and how it evolved remains unclear, but it does offer some advantages.
Read MoreThe Story of the Universe and Me: Life
How, exactly, the complex biochemistry that animates our cells came to be remains mysterious. The best guess we have is that RNA, ribonucleic acids, were the first part to materialise.
Read MoreThe Story of the Universe and Me: Earth
The Earth formed in the same manner as its brethren: by accretion from the disk of dust left behind by the sun’s birth. Heated by the many collisions that grew it, the planet was molten at first.
Read MoreThe Story of the Universe and Me: The Solar System
Around five billion years ago, an average-sized white star swelled from the dust of a barred spiral galaxy. From the disc of remains that surrounded it, smaller bodies pulled together and fell into line around it, until it was orbited by a swarm of planets, from gas giants to tiny, rocky worlds.
Read MoreThe Story of the Universe and Me, Part 1
Everything that makes up my body was once packed into a single point, along with all the other energy that has ever existed. That includes everything that makes up the planet Earth, every star in the sky, and you, dear reader.
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