Category: Technology

Ormalternative/Shutterstock Psychopaths might account for only about 1% of the general population, but they account for a disproportionate share of violent crime. Distinct from other conditions like sociopathy and antisocial personality disorder, psychopaths tend to show traits such as an absence of remorse or guilt, a lack of empathy and a charming and manipulative interpersonal […]

Lillac/Shutterstock When we dream of landscapes, we might imagine rolling valleys or rugged mountains. But there is a whole landscape hidden from human view: the secret world of the seafloor. Half of Earth’s oceans are more than 3.2km deep. Beneath them lie cavernous plains untouched by sunlight, vast gaping trenches made by Earth’s tectonic plates […]

Each year as Ramadan approaches, more than 2 billion Muslims around the world prepare for a month of fasting, prayer and communality. But Ramadan does not begin on the same day everywhere in the world. This year, some countries will commence the month of fasting on Thursday, February 19, whereas other countries may begin it […]

For years, big tech companies have placed the burden of managing screen time squarely on individuals and parents, operating on the assumption that capturing human attention is fair game. But the social media sands may slowly be shifting. A test-case jury trial in Los Angeles is accusing big tech companies of creating “addiction machines”. While […]

Government departments across South Africa are increasingly relying on digital tools to evaluate public programmes and monitor performance. This is part of broader public-sector reforms. Their aims are to improve accountability, respond to audit pressure and manage large-scale programmes with limited staff and budgets. Here’s an example. National departments tracking housing delivery, social grants or […]

ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum) A recent study showed that Mars was warm and wet billions of years ago. The finding contrasts with another theory that this era was mainly cold and icy. The result has implications for the idea that life could have developed on the planet at this time. Whether Mars was once habitable […]

Nicoleta Ionescu/Shutterstock The short, dark days of winter are never easy to get through. But for many people in the UK and across Europe, this winter has felt particularly gloomy because of the seemingly endless rain. If you live in some parts of south-west England or the Welsh borders, at the time of writing it […]

Pablo Carlos Budassi, CC BY-NC-SA To an astronaut today, the Earth looks like a vibrant blue marble from space. But 700 million years ago, it would have looked like a blinding white snowball. This seems an unlikely cradle for life, yet new evidence suggests the frozen ocean featured restricted ice-free oases that provided a lifeline […]

Frame 352 from the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film in 1962. wikipedia It was the image that launched a cultural icon. In 1967, in the northern Californian woods, a seven foot tall, ape-like creature covered in black fur and walking upright was captured on camera, at one point turning around to look straight down the lens. The […]

Sorapop Udomsri/Shutterstock Are you one of those people who can’t drop off to sleep if it’s “too quiet”? If so, you’re not alone. According to a 2023 survey of UK participants, 50% of people listen to some kind of noise to help fall asleep. Many people have turned to pink, white or brown noise to […]