Category: Technology

The Hora 1 site is at the base of this peak of rock in northern Malawi. Chelsea Smith, CC BY-ND In the ancient past, when human communities were small and the only way to travel was by walking, what were the chances of meeting a stranger? And what would happen next? We know that ancient […]

Storm Austen and Storm Boelo swept across the UK in quick succession. Rain lashed windows, river levels rose and the clocks went back. It feels like winter has arrived all at once. Yet most of England and Wales are still in drought. Parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Sussex are in severe drought, the […]

When a humble dung beetle arrives at a patch of manure, it forms the dung into a ball and rolls it away in a straight line, putting distance between its food and competitors. That may sound simple, but there is much more to it than meets the eye. Lost in a desert at night or […]

Drones are starting to be used help experts predict winter storms more accurately. 1000 words/Shutterstock Weather drones are being tested to help update forecasts of extreme weather more quickly, and could help us prepare earlier for upcoming winter storms. With an unprecedented El Niño increasing the chance of storms and wet weather in Europe this […]

OpenAI’s president, Greg Brockman, recently suggested that its advanced model, known as GPT-6 Astra, could mark the arrival of something called artificial general intelligence, or AGI. If AI itself is often defined as the ability to simulate human intelligence, OpenAI defines AGI as an AI system that outperforms humans at most economically valuable work – […]

Battlefield robots were once thought of as the stuff of science fiction. But the Ukraine war has put paid to that view, with uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs) – or ground robots – taking on an increasingly visible role. In September 2026, Mykhailo Fedorov, the former defence minister of Ukraine – who is generally credited for […]

Invasive alien brambles have been spreading across South Africa since the early 1900s, having come from North America and Europe. All brambles fall within the genus Rubus. Their common names in South Africa are braam (Afrikaans), ijingijolo (isiZulu) and monoko-metsi (seSotho). Over the decades, these plants have crept into tree plantations, pastures and native grasslands. […]

AstroStar/Shutterstock Autumn can feel bittersweet. The nights are drawing in quickly, and spending time outdoors becomes less appealing. For stargazers, however, the longer nights bring more opportunities to explore the sky. Read more: Day and night aren’t equal length on an equinox – here’s why But where to start? Perhaps the August 2026 solar eclipse […]

Memo Ossa/Shutterstock For decades scientists have argued about where bats originated. A recently published study in the journal Nature offers new evidence to address that question. This new international study combining DNA and fossils supports Europe as bats’ likely birthplace. The problem thus far has been that, unlike birds, which have a superb fossil record […]

Every couple of years, the same false stories come back. A claim that an election was rigged before a single vote was cast. An old video of violence, stripped of its date and place, presented as breaking news. For fact-checkers, this means repeatedly investigating claims they have already debunked, even as new false stories emerge. […]