Category: Technology

Informal settlement in South Africa. By Matt-80 – Own work, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY “Turn right after the first big tree; my house is the one with the yellow door.” In parts of South Africa, where settlements have grown without formal urban planning due to rapid urbanisation, that could well be a […]

In a move that signals the dawn of “Physical AI,” NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang officially launched the Alpamayo AI platform at CES 2026 on January 5, 2026. Designed to bring “deep-reasoning” capabilities to autonomous vehicles (AVs), Alpamayo shifts the industry from reactive, rule-based systems to intelligent agents that can think, justify, and act in real-world […]

Wild rock doves such as these are endangered, following interbreeding with feral 'city pigeons'. Mike Pennington/Wikimedia , CC BY-NC-SA Domestic pigeons have surprising cultural significance. They inspired Charles Darwin in his thinking about evolution, delivered wartime messages to save lives, and have symbolic meaning around the world. The domestic pigeon is among the best understood […]

Metamaterials – artificially made materials with properties that aren’t found in the natural world – are poised to transform daily life. Their unique properties are enhancing products from sporting goods to consumer electronics and beyond. As a sports engineer and the person leading on health applications within the UKRI-funded UK Metamaterials Network, I have unique […]

Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn’t just made up of data, chips and code – it’s also the product of the metaphors and narratives we use to talk about it. The way we represent this technology determines how the public imagination understands it and, by extension, how people design it, use it, and its impact on society […]

The growing industry of 'grieftech' enables people to interact with dead relatives. Deepbrain AI When Roro (not her real name) lost her mother to cancer, the grief felt bottomless. In her mid-20s and working as a content creator in China, she was haunted by the unfinished nature of their relationship. Their bond had always been […]

Jorm Sangsorn/Shutterstock Humans like plants. We like seeing them change the colour of their leaves throughout the year. They connect us to nature even if we live in a big city. But most people don’t think that much about the lives of plants, and least of all, about their sex life. Because plants don’t move […]

Boontoom Sae-Kor/Shutterstock The start of a new year has long been considered an important moment for personal change. Psychological research shows that calendar landmarks such as birthdays, Mondays or the new year can act as mental reset points, making people more likely to reflect on their lives and attempt new goals. This phenomenon was described […]

CARDIFF, Wales — In a historic milestone for the global tech industry, Welsh aerospace firm Space Forge successfully ignited a high-temperature manufacturing furnace aboard its orbital satellite, ForgeStar-1, on December 31, 2025. Managed from a mission center in Cardiff, the microwave-sized “mini-factory” reached a blistering 1,000°C (1,832°F) while circling the Earth. The achievement confirms that […]

vatolstikoff/Shutterstock I have a form of time–space synaesthesia, so the new year arrives for me in a very physical way. I feel myself move around the year, almost like I’m travelling along a structure. December sits low and to my left; January lifts and slides forward. The transition has a weight to it, as though […]