Fears of helping the enemy are blocking international agreements on AI in weapons systems

Walking the dog: a US service member patrols with a Ghost Robotics Vision 60 prototype at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. Tech. Sgt. Cory Payne / US Air Force The third in a series of military AI summits was held in La Coruña, Spain in February 2026. The aim of the meeting was to […]

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Poor pay is holding back Africa’s biodiversity research and reducing its contribution to global science

Africa is one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth. But much of its biodiversity remains poorly studied. Research from the continent contributes to less than 1% to global scientific output. This pattern is often explained by limited investment in research. Governments in sub-Saharan Africa allocate, on average, only about 0.4% of their gross domestic […]

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We Updated Our Privacy Policy. Here's What Changed and Why.

We recently updated our privacy policy for the first time since 2022. Most of the changes are clarifications, reorganizations, and improvements in transparency, particularly around how third-party tools that run parts of our site operate. But one change is substantive enough that we want to address it directly. The Change You Should Know About: Opt-In […]

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Ancient tooth proteins suggest ‘Homo erectus’ may have left a genetic legacy in people today

For most of the 20th century, the model of human origins was a tree: with the trunk dividing into branches, and then twigs. Each species of human relative (hominin) was a neat, single branch. As an undergraduate, I was taught that Homo sapiens was one of these branches that emerged in Africa, spread across the […]

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We Must Not Normalize Digital Surveillance Abuses. EFF’s New Guide Underlines Concrete Steps to Fight Back.

Poor accountability, feeble control mechanisms, and insufficient legal frameworks have led to systematic human rights violations in the Americas, with no consistent remedy or reparation to victims. What’s needed is to materialize essential guarantees and measures to combat repeated surveillance abuses in the region. To help build a path for solutions, EFF launches the guide […]

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The Pennine hills are full of holes – here’s how they’re helping fight climate change

Excavators cut shallow areas in the peatlands as part of a project to develop more wetlands. Adam Johnston, CC BY-SA Thousands of holes are appearing in the Pennine hills, as part of efforts to improve carbon storage by restoring damaged peatland. Peat itself is carbon rich and so as it grows it will help to […]

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Six spin-outs emerge during Research England pilot – UKRI

Six spin-outs, in areas from biomanufacturing in space to environmentally conscious fashion, have progressed during a UKRI Research England pilot. It demonstrated the success of pooling resources by universities sharing Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) and expertise. The pilot sought to test whether shared TTOs, a collaborative model for universities, may support universities with smaller research […]

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Eaten, used as taxis and vomited up: how bees support other animals

The importance of bees for pollinating wild plants and crops is well known. If we lose the bees, we lose our food. But this is only part of the picture. Bees also support a hidden network of other species, sometimes as mutual partners, sometimes as prey, sometimes as other unwilling victims. Many organisms depend on […]

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My unsung hero of science: Carolyn Wood Sherif, pioneer of feminist psychology who foresaw the risks of scientific bias

In the US state park of Robbers Cave, Oklahoma, Carolyn Wood Sherif is standing squinting up at the sun. The two wooden cabins before her rattle with shrieks and cries from excited 11-year-old boys. They have been split into two groups of 11 and encouraged to bond. Over three long, laborious weeks in the summer […]

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Heatwaves are now everyday disasters – governments need to do more to protect people

Heatwaves are a growing global threat to human health, wellbeing and livelihoods. Across 12 major European cities during the summer of 2025, a ten-day period of extreme heat led to 2,300 deaths – 1,500 of them were attributed to climate change amplifying temperatures by 1-4°C. Heatwaves were responsible for nearly half a million global deaths […]

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