Alexia Austin

This article is also available as a pdf version. As morning dawns over the fields and olive groves of Jaén in the south of Spain, a flock of northern bald ibises (Geronticus eremita) are in flight. From the back of an ultralight aircraft, Helena Wehner, the birds’ foster parent, calls out a rhythmic, German tune to guide them on their way to their winter steadings. This image, taken by student Gunnar Hartmann, is the overall winner of this year’s #ScientistAtWork photo competition.

Katabasis R. F. Kuang Harper Voyager (2025) Graduate studies can be hell — metaphorically. In Katabasis, it’s the literal truth. Katabasis is Greek for a descent to the underworld — think Dante’s Inferno. But in R. F. Kuang’s hands, these works are not literature but travel guides. Alice Law and Peter Murdoch are PhD students at the University of Cambridge, UK, the top institution in their field of analytical magick.

LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook As the British naturalist marks a milestone birthday, we take a look at how his work has shaped science. By Alexia Austin and Amelia Hennighausen Deep in the rainforest of the Virunga Mountains in Rwanda, David Attenborough watches as a troop of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) play in the undergrowth around him. One — a youngster — crawls onto his lap and tugs at his clothes.