Category: Technology

In most industries, maintenance is a waiting game. Things are fixed when they break. But in the 21st century, an age defined by data and automation, that approach no longer makes sense. The solution could be predictive maintenance. This is an approach that uses sensors and software to analyse equipment performance in real time and […]

Left: Bee-mimicking hoverfly (Eristalis intricarius) on a purple flower. Right: bumblebee, also on purple flower. L: Peter O'Connor/Wikipedia. R: Pixabay (CC0), CC BY-NC-SA Deception is everywhere in nature. Animals and plants routinely cheat, lie and manipulate for their own benefit. One example is mimicry, where one species (the mimic) has evolved to resemble another (the […]

While quantum computing promises breakthroughs in many areas, from medicine to finance, it also threatens to crack the encryption that currently protects everything from online banking to national security. Backed by £7 million of UK government funding, the new SpeQtre satellite will test quantum communication technologies from space that are so secure that any attempt […]

European nations approved a record €22.1 billion budget for the European Space Agency (ESA) on Thursday, a 30% jump from the prior €16.9 billion three-year allocation, to accelerate independence in launches, satellites, and defense amid intensifying global rivalry. Ministers from 23 member states met in Bremen, Germany, fully endorsing ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher’s request […]

Song_about_summer/Shutterstock In the middle of the ongoing cost of living crisis, exorbitant displays of wealth are back. Since the beginning of his term in January, US president Donald Trump has been literally bringing the gilded age back to the White House. In April, Katy Perry spent 11 minutes in space for an undisclosed price, reportedly […]

Earlier this year, a cyberattack on British retailer Marks & Spencer caused widespread disruption across its operations. Stock shortages, delayed deliveries, and logistical chaos rippled through the retailer’s network. In 2025 alone, several other UK food businesses, including Harrods and Co-op, have been targeted by cyber-attacks. The food sector is highly dependent on different links […]

Ireland has unveiled INSPIRE, a €750 million investment package designed to transform research infrastructure across the country’s higher education sector. Announced by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science James Lawless TD, the programme represents the largest single commitment to research infrastructure and talent in the history of the State. A Strategic […]

SteffenTravel/Shutterstock The roar of an African lion is one of the most iconic sounds of the animal kingdom. However, my new research suggests it should actually be separated into two distinct vocalisations: the full-throated roar, and an “intermediary roar” with a flatter, less varied sound. Making this distinction could have important implications for lions’ conservation. […]

Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the world wide web, has released an important new book about the problems we face online and how to solve them. It is called This is for Everyone, meaning that the internet should be for all. The philosophy espoused in the book is that the internet should not be a […]

Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock Sleep is one of the essential physiological needs for human survival, alongside food, water and air. But sleep is socially driven, influenced by environmental and personal factors, and a recent study suggests it may be affected by fragments from bacteria. Historically scientists have thought it unlikely that gut microbes affect physiological sleep regulation. The […]