A machine making semiconductor chips David Talukdar / Alamy The latest commodity coveted by the AI industry is computer memory, and the sector is signing deals directly with manufacturers for billions of dollars worth of chips – the very same chips that consumers use in smartphones, laptops and games consoles. At best, this is driving…
The bubonic plague arrived in Europe in the late 1340s CPA Media / Alamy The Black Death, a bubonic plague outbreak that killed up to 60 per cent of the population of medieval Europe, may have been set in motion by volcanic activity around 1345. The plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, is spread by fleas feeding…
Michael Benson’s shot of a robber fly. The flower and fly together are slightly wider than 1 centimetre across © 2025 Michael Benson A butterfly net, tweezers and a drawstring bag brimming with small plastic vials: it is an unusual toolkit for a photographer, but not for Michael Benson. Over six years, he gathered specimens…
Spider silk threads Martin J. Ramirez/Royal Society Publishing These twisting threads wrapped in thinner, looping strands are the silk of an Australian net-casting spider (Asianopis subrufa), a consummate ambush predator. Instead of building a web and waiting for prey to fall into it, this spider holds its net in its front four legs and throws…
A shot from Human, about our ancient ancestors BBC/BBC Studios Human (BBC iPlayer/NOVA) Ella al-Shamahi is the perfect guide to our ancient ancestors. In Human, she takes us on a whistle-stop tour of our past over a span of 300,000 years, including our turbulent relations with other hominins. The palaeoanthropologist builds a complex story in…
Adrià Voltà Where once they lived in our backyards, many pets – for better and for worse – have now transitioned to a pampered life as “fur baby” family members. The American Veterinary Medical Association recently highlighted that pet owners were projected to spend nearly $1 billion on costumes for their pets this year. Many…
In Common Side Effects, Marshall makes a key discovery Warner Bros. Discovery Cataclysms, conspiracies and rebellions featured in many of 2025’s biggest sci-fi shows. And while all that instability reflects poorly on the state of our world, at least it did make for fantastic television. Here are six series that should be on your to-watch…
Josie Ford Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more Locked out The phrase “you couldn’t make it up”, Feedback feels, is often misunderstood. It doesn’t mean there are limits to the imagination, but rather that there are some developments you can’t include in a fictional story because…
Swimmers in January at Beckenham Place Park lake in London AMcCulloch / Alamy It’s 8am and I’m standing at the edge of my local lake at Beckenham Place Park in London, the early morning sun just beginning to peek over the trees. A layer of mist is rising from the cold water and all is…
1 hour ago Yang Tianand Hafsa Khalil Watch: Explosions rock Kyiv after overnight Russian strikes Russia and Ukraine launched overnight drone strikes against each other as the US confirmed American officials were set to meet Russian representatives in Abu Dhabi as part of efforts to end the war. Officials in Kyiv said at least six…