Black rhinos are mostly loners, but not always: why this matters for saving the species

Kim Wolhuter, CC BY Black rhinos are notoriously aggressive, not just to humans, but also to their fellow black rhinos. Aggression is so prevalent that injuries sustained after fighting with another black rhino are a common cause of death. Because of this aggression and their solitary nature, black rhino social behaviour has been largely unexplored. […]

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How UK scientists are helping the MMX space mission grab the best sample of soil from Mars’ moon Phobos

Mars has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos, but their origins remain uncertain. Were they asteroids captured by Mars’ gravity, or did they form from debris following a giant impact on the planet? Japan’s Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) mission aims to solve this mystery by collecting samples of soil from Phobos, the largest of the […]

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Democrats are at Cop31 to show that the US has not abandoned the fight against climate change

The results of the US midterms on November 3 delivered a resounding victory for the Democrats, and a major loss for US president Donald Trump and the Republican party. Gaining control of the Senate and the House of Representatives has emboldened the Democrats, giving them a renewed sense of political legitimacy and a mandate to […]

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Why the doomsday prediction of 1960 matters today

Photobank-2/Shutterstock.com According to the late Heinz von Foerster, Friday, November 13 2026, is doomsday. Professor von Foerster and two colleagues at the University of Illinois published that prediction in 1960 in the respected journal Science. The paper has been widely discussed ever since. Theirs was an unconventional vision of doomsday, brought about by the world’s […]

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Why Donald Trump keeps threatening Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain – and why it is so hard to destroy

Pickaxe Mountain (Kūh-e Kolang Gaz Lā) lies in the Karkas mountains of central Iran (image shows view of Karkas range from near Tarq). Petr Kahanek / Shutterstock Iran has become a test of Donald Trump’s credibility at home as well as his power abroad. The war and rising fuel prices contributed to the Republican defeat […]

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Archaeological finds at an Irish fort reveal insights into the finer side of medieval life

A collection of miscellaneous artefacts from Caherconnell Cashel. Michelle Comber Popular media, from computer games to movies, often portrays medieval life as being dominated by fighters and farmers. In these depictions, there’s little evidence of a world beyond political struggle and simple subsistence. Leisure activities are often overlooked, despite the fact that they existed in […]

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Xiaomi Surpasses 800,000 EV Deliveries as Hyper-Automated Beijing Plant Drives 76-Second Assembly Pace

BEIJING — Tech giant Xiaomi has reached a landmark 800,000 electric vehicle (EV) deliveries just 29 months after handing over its first production car. The rapid scaling of the company’s automotive division highlights a major shift toward software-defined, hyper-automated manufacturing in China’s competitive EV market. At full operating speed, Xiaomi’s 720,000-square-meter Beijing EV plant rolls […]

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Beyond the Hype: How Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and the Renaissance of Handwork Are Reshaping the Global Workforce

As artificial intelligence adoption accelerates across global enterprises, sensationalist narratives predicting total mass unemployment are increasingly giving way to a more complex economic reality. While advanced automation and generative models are fundamentally transforming knowledge work, industry analysts emphasize that AI will not cause the apocalyptic workforce collapse often portrayed in headlines. Instead, it is triggering […]

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AI won’t ever make a historically accurate film – but it could help archaeology create better stories

Grok's Odysseus wears cloth we have no evidence for. Grok Imagine Tech billionaire Elon Musk was up in arms about the recent adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey by director Christopher Nolan, which he heavily criticised for its diverse casting and accused of lacking historical accuracy. Claiming he wanted to show that artificial intelligence could bypass traditional […]

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It’s a bumper year for wild mushrooms – here’s what you could find in the woods today

This autumn looks like it could be a good year to spot large numbers of wild mushrooms. Already many can be seen covering tree roots and shady spots. Mushrooms are the part of certain fungi that you see above ground. The rest of it is either underground or within a tree trunk. All mushrooms are […]

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