Humans have been obsessed with eternal youth since time immemorial. But although we are living longer than ever before, we still haven’t found an elixir for staying young. There have been some remarkable advances in scientific research though. Now a new study has unveiled the full structure of the anti-ageing enzyme telomerase. Richard Faragher explains how the discovery may help us extend our lifespan and perhaps cure cancer.

Our Milky Way galaxy may be a familiar corner of the universe, but astronomers don’t actually know the exact positions or velocities of the vast majority of its stars. Now the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission has released a huge tranche of data detailing the sky position and brightness for nearly 1.7 billion stars. George Seabroke explains what it could help us discover.

Britain occupied Iraq between 1917 and its independence in 1932 and during that time the administrators left their mark on the local dialect. Linguist Ahmed F Khaleel charts the often strange ways in which the Iraqis adopted – and adapted – a range of English words.

The Conservative party has been trying to broaden its appeal in recent years, including among ethnic minorities. But Rakib Ehsan warns that the mess it has made of the Windrush affair may have undone any progress. Richard Warren has been working with people caught up in the government’s “hostile environment” for some years. He describes the Kafkaesque scenarios that arise from this immigration policy in the course of attempting to accomplish even the most basic tasks.

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