The brilliant mathematician and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Sir Roger Penrose appeared to have broached a field too far when he began theorising about the nature of consciousness.

In the 1990s, he proposed that quantum processes take place in our brains, blessing humans with what’s called “quantum consciousness”. The idea was roundly dismissed by those who’d dedicated their lives to teasing out our neural mysteries. Among the dissenting voices were those who felt Penrose had simply applied the riddle of quantum physics to the enigma of the mind, adding jazz hands.

Quantum consciousness remains a highly controversial theory. And yet, dodging through the mud-hurling, a new paper has now laid the experimental foundations that could actually test Penrose’s idea. By building mesmerising Escher-esque patterns on the scale of individual electrons, researchers have finally measured what Penrose reckons could be happening inside our skulls.

Not content with creating a diamond-encrusted skull, Damien Hirst is now dabbling with NFTs – the digital certificates sold alongside or on top of actual pieces of art. But the way he’s doing it is characteristically ironic, calling into question art, value and currency. And we’ve heard from an expert who’s examined just how absurdly polluting space tourism could be – exposing the folly of briefly leaving the atmosphere, only to leave it a little dirtier than when you took off.

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