Dark matter: Deep in a mine on the edge of the North Yorkshire moors, a British-led team is trying to solve the biggest mystery in the universe

Search for dark matter

'I'm a complete ham. I drifted into acting. My first ambition was to be a nun': The world according to Eva Mendes

Eva Mendes

The Latina actress on being funny, her fascination with cemeteries, why she's a giver not a taker and her plans for world domination.

Stripping down a £22m RAF Chinook for Afghanistan

RAF Chinook

What you see here is a Chinook being disassembled by 18/27 Engineering Squadron before it heads out for action.

She's electric: The 139mph eco car

Nemesis

Made in Norfolk, driven by battery and 0-100mph in 8.5 seconds. The only catch? It's £100,000 (oh - and if you want to go further than 150 miles, you'll have to plug it into the recharger)

OLLY SMITH: With the January damp comes the ideal winter food: Stew. But which wine to pick?

Chateau la Dournie Saint-Chinian 2008 / Gulf Station Pinot Noir 2008

Wine can be powerful in a number of ways, but for the kind of oomph required to match a hearty stew you'll want something with hefty flavour and a bit of body.

The city of the future: It's a story of camels, penguins and cars you don't drive

City of the future

It's got big numbers, only three buttons and knows exactly where you've been. Meet Nike's merciless Sportwatch GPS

Nike's Sportwatch GPS

'I could be bitter about only getting £200 for Sgt Pepper. But I have to move on,' says Sir Peter Blake

Sir Peter Blake / Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts

Best known for the 1967 Beatles album, the artist on the need to be possessed, developing a thick skin and having no regrets.

'I become the characters - if they need to obtain a false passport, I get one myself,' says Frederick Forsyth

Frederick Forsyth

The Day of the Jackal author on why the devil is in the detail, standing up for what you believe in and the importance of hard work.

'My boat's called Grey Power because I was told I was too old to sail round the world,' says sailor Sir Robin Knox-Johnston

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston

The sailor on the power of the older generation, why there's no such word as 'can't' and the importance of laughing in the face of adversity.

'A school reunion? It would be pointless. There wouldn't be anybody there': Clint Eastwood at 80

Clint Eastwood

'Being Sting's daughter has done nothing for me. I will never, ever perform a duet with him': The World according to Coco Sumner

Coco Sumner

The 20-year-old singer on making it on her own, being a feral child and why nearly dying was good for her creativity.

I spy with my robot eye: James May tests Meccano's latest toy

James May / Meccano Spykee Wi-Fi spy robot

Once you built bridges with Meccano. Now you can use it to spy on your cat - as Top Gear's finest found.

Rare glimpse behind the doors of the legendary Ferrari factory (but will theme parks and branded bathrobes destroy its mystique?)

Ferrari California

The most celebrated car marque in the world is expanding - fast. But will theme parks, high street stores and branded bathrobes kill off its rivals...or destroy its mystique irrevocably?

The 39 Steps to writing a perfect thriller (by the grandson of the author who wrote the first ever modern spy novel)

John Buchan / The 39 Steps

Even now, almost 100 years after it was first published, the story retains a modernity that is little short of astonishing.

From Walt Disney to Max Beerbohm: Ten of the greatest Cartoonists

Siegfried Sassoon / Donald Duck

From 20th century most iconic Disney images to Beerbohm's caricatures of political, literary and theatrical personalities, here GERALD SCARFE, chooses his all-time favourites.

JAMES MARTIN: The Pingu-friendly version of Fiat's 500 is a two-cylinder...but not as we know it

James Martin and Fiat 500 0.9 TwinAir Lounge

JAMES MARTIN: Audi's little run-around is on the pricey side - but it's the best small car on the market

James Martin and the Audi A1 1.6 TDI Sport

So it's a grown-up car - but you can bet that in a year there'll be a sporty RS version that will have the boy racers jumping up and down like excited monkeys.

JAMES MARTIN: The classic Seventies sports car is back from the dead with a bespoke fitting as individual as a Saville Row suit

James Martin and the Jensen Interceptor S

The first thing you notice with the Jensen Interceptor S is the speed. It’s quicker than the brochure stated and at a deep-throated 2,000 revs I was easily overtaking BMW M3s.

JAMES MARTIN: Is it a coupé? Is it a 4x4? The Juke looks like something David Attenborough might find in the jungle

James Martin and the Nissan Juke Tekna

Nipping around town was good fun, parking was easy and so was motorway cruising (once the snow melted).

She's electric: The 139mph eco car

Nemesis

Made in Norfolk, driven by battery and 0-100mph in 8.5 seconds. The only catch? It's £100,000 (oh - and if you want to go further than 150 miles, you'll have to plug it into the recharger).

£15m for a three-bed flat (in rather a good location)

One Hyde Park

The Candy brothers' One Hyde Park opens this week... with £1bn worth of flats already sold, proving there are still some squillionaires out there. Entry-level buyers need not apply...

Ben Fogle's top winter-survival jackets

Ben Fogle / RAB Infinity jacket

It's a chill wind that blows us no good...so why suffer? Adventurer Ben Fogle tests four hi-tech jackets to beat the freeze.

TOM PARKER BOWLES: Vacuum pack your food, et voila! It could turn you into the next Heston Blumenthal

Broccoli in glass bowl

Sous vide involves sealing food in airtight plastic bags and then cooking it in a water bath over long periods at a very low heat.

TOM PARKER BOWLES: Skiing is the new year exercise regime of choice - and to do it you need to fill up with hearty Alpine cuisine

Mont d'Or cheese

This is not the time for tasting menus and tiny towers of baby vegetables. Skiing food is all about high-altitude stodge including a glut of bubbling cheeses.

TOM PARKER BOWLES: French onion soup combines pain and pleasure in one exquisite dish

French onion soup

Who could resist the charms of soft, sweet caramelised onions melted into a rich broth? Then topped with aged Gruyère, served as hot as Hades and bubbling like a lake of lava.

THE INSIDER: 'You've got the biggest one I've ever seen,' said Kim Cattrall. 'Darling, it's enormous!'

Piers Morgan / Kim Cattrall

The Sex And The City actress was referring to my billboard in Times Square. Plus an 'awkward threesome' involving Colin Firth.

THE INSIDER: 'When Madonna sees the show, she'll realise the unsettling truth that she's yesterday's news'

Piers Morgan / Madonna

Madonna obviously thought she was being very clever by reacting to my ban by saying she'd never heard of me.

THE INSIDER: 'Don't be misled by her sweet, innocent smile - Katherine Jenkins can party with the best of them'

Piers Morgan / Katherine Jenkins

When I bought my pub, I dreamed wistfully of one day having Katherine Jenkins as head bargirl. Well, tonight that dream came bizarrely true.