AI could be used to make the toxin ricin, but this can also be obtained from castor beans, found in many gardens American Photo Archive/Alamy Artificial intelligence promises to transform biology, allowing us to design better drugs, vaccines and even synthetic organisms for, say, eating waste plastic. But some fear it could also be used…
As the birthplace of prestige TV shows like The Sopranos and The Wire, HBO—and, by extension, HBO Max—is best known for its impressive lineup of original series. The network has also been upping the ante with feature-length content that is the stuff of Oscar dreams. Below is a list of some of our favorite films streaming on HBO…
While a printer upgrade might not sound like the most exciting way to spend your hard-earned dollars, the right machine can save you a ton of time and money. My favorite all-in-one printer and scanner, the Epson EcoTank ET-2980, is marked down by $50 on Amazon. It has all the features most home users will…
On Wednesday, the first day of the US government shutdown, employees at the Department of Education (DOE) set their automatic out-of-office email responses to inform recipients that they would be unable to respond until after the shutdown. Hours later, many DOE employees realized their response message had been altered to contain partisan language without their…
At least two people have been killed in Morocco after police opened fire to prevent protesters from storming a police station in Lqliaa, near the coastal city of Agadir, state media says. These are the first deaths reported since huge youth-led protests broke out across Morocco on Saturday as anger grew over the government’s decision…
Melting ice sheets in Antarctica will raise sea levels DurkTalsma/Getty Images Antarctica may have passed a climate tipping point of no return, scientists are warning, with mounting evidence that a sudden slump in sea ice formation since 2016 is linked to human-induced ocean warming. For decades, Antarctic sea ice levels remained relatively stable despite rising…
Artist’s impression of Cha 1107-7626, a rogue planet about 620 light years away ESO/L. Calçada/M. Kornmesser A ravenous rogue planet has been caught eating 6 billion tonnes of gas and dust per second. This behaviour blurs the line between planets and stars, suggesting both can form in similar ways. Rogue planets, free-floating balls of gas…
Jane Goodall transformed our understanding of chimps Europa Press Reportajes/Europa Press/Avalon Jane Goodall, who has died aged 91, changed the world through the way she saw animals, particularly chimps. In 1960, when she was 26, she observed a chimp she had named David Greybeard fishing for termites with a twig he had stripped of leaves.…
Learning to play an instrument is a cognitive pursuit, as well as a creative one Andrew Fox/Alamy Music training seems to boost reading skills in young children by enhancing their ability to recognise and manipulate the sounds that make up words. Learning to play an instrument has long been linked to improved early reading abilities,…
Merlin D. Tuttle These endearing photos of bats are a far cry from how these animals are often perceived – linked to fictional evildoers, or blamed for real-life diseases, most recently covid-19, due to the viruses they harbour. But the mammals deserve far more sympathy and attention, argues ecologist Yossi Yovel, based at Tel Aviv…