Mucus ado about snails

Aloe vera and shea butter are well known for skin care. But how about snail slime?

David Attenborough: A passion for detail

Sir David Attenborough OM celebrates his ninetieth birthday on 8 May 2016. He is best known for his BBC television series, but he also writes extraordinary books.

Frozen Planet: The icing on the cake

Watching the astonishing BBC series Frozen Planet (2011) – for which no superlative is an exaggeration – one is struck again and again by life’s diversity, resilience, and incongruity. Narrated by the inimitable David Attenborough, it is a plum pudding of vistas and facts among which is the astonishing story of the Isabella Tiger Moth.