“The bodies of the first robot pets were based on cats and dogs, but dragons and Ewoks later became popular”Westend61 / Anna Huber / Getty Images There is no doubting the value of companion animals, either during our evolutionary history,...
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) as seen from the Canary Islands on 30 SeptemberCARLOS DE SAA/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Earth is about to have a close encounter with a comet, possibly passing through its ion tail – a rare occurrence. If we are lucky,...
There are probably many more earthworm species than those that have been officially recognisedAndia / Alamy Tens of thousands of species of earthworms are likely to be wriggling in the world’s soil, yet to be discovered by scientists – which...
October 10, 20246 min read2024 Election Will Define America’s Stance on Immigration, with Consequences for Science and TechnologyBoth presidential candidates would restrict immigration but Donald Trump would try to implement an extreme anti-immigrant agendaBy Gary Stix Immigration is among the...
Let’s create a reality dating show unlike any other in one key aspect. First, we’ll rent a villa on a tropical island. Then we’ll fly in five men and five women, each with their own (heterosexual) dating preferences. Our goal,...
Cat or dog person? Leah Michelle Baines and Jessica Lee Oliva at James Cook University in Australia say they have discovered that people who own dogs tend to be more resilient than those who own cats. They also report discovering...
Cells found inside ancient rocks, their DNA stained with a green fluorescent dyeY. Suzuki, S. J. Webb, M. Kouduka et al. 2024/ Microbial Ecology Microorganisms have been found living in tiny cracks within a 2-billion-year-old rock in South Africa, making...
The past few years have seen outstanding progress in medication for previously incurable conditions. Most pertinent for me is the approval of lecanemab for use in the UK and elsewhere to slow the progress of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. It isn’t...
People who are very sick can be reduced to their diagnoses by othersMartin Parr/Magnum Photos Being IllNeil Vickers and Derek Bolton (Reaktion Books) In 1979, when endocrinologist David Rabin was diagnosed with an incurable neurodegenerative condition, he understood only too well...
AI may increasingly contribute to scientific discoveriesYuichiro Chino/Getty Images It is a common refrain that artificial intelligence is coming to take all our jobs, and now it seems that Nobel prizewinners are no exception. Two of the awards this year,...
