AI-manipulated audio clips, images and videos have been used to harass people, scam money and influence elections, despite efforts to rein them in | Continue reading
Anthropomorphism - attributing human-like characteristics to non-human objects - is on the rise amongst technology researchers, particular when it comes to AI chatbots | Continue reading
Symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, such as impulsivity, may have helped foragers in hunter-gatherer communities quickly move on to new areas when food sources were low | Continue reading
Forgetfulness can be frustrating, but cognitive scientists reckon it underpins the brain’s capacity to efficiently process sensory information – and its unique ability to generalise our knowledge | Continue reading
Recent research suggests teenagers’ brains are particularly suited to coping with volatility and new experiences, including socialising and venturing to unknown places | Continue reading
A deadly flower kills the gnats that pollinate it but may help the insects’ offspring in return, which indicates that plant-pollinator relationships may be more complex than previously thought | Continue reading
The time of day, the amount of sleep we get and our stage in life can each affect how our brains function. But the good news is there are ways to make sure your brain is working at its best | Continue reading
The bitcoin halving, which occurs once every four years, will reduce rewards for miners and some investors think it will push prices higher | Continue reading
Investigations into quantum computing mishaps caused by high-powered particles from space have revealed that these cosmic rays are responsible for a significant number of errors | Continue reading
Generative AI can rewrite political adverts on social media to target users with different personality types, making it easier to manipulate elections using personal data on a large scale | Continue reading
Listening to electronic music makes neurons in our brain fire in time with the beat, which appears to alter our reaction time and sense of unity | Continue reading
Archaeologists say a mysterious language inscribed on a 2000-year-old metal hand may be related to Basque, but linguists aren't convinced | Continue reading
Strange new types of cells keep coming to light in the human brain. By the latest count, there are more than 3300, and we don’t even know what most of them do | Continue reading
The surprising discovery that your brain has its own microbiome is raising an intriguing possibility – that some dementias might be reversible | Continue reading
Astronomers have found a quasar 12 billion light years away hosting a supermassive black hole that gobbles up a sun-sized amount of mass every day | Continue reading
People with higher levels of niacin in their blood may be more at risk of a heart attack or stroke, possibly because too much of the vitamin inflames blood vessels | Continue reading
Research is cutting through historical discrimination and gender politics to get to the truth about differences between the brains of men and women | Continue reading
Diving seabirds, a tiny octopus and a close encounter with a grey whale feature in breathtaking entries for the 2024 Underwater Photographer of the Year competition | Continue reading
Your brain burns through the same amount of energy whether you’re daydreaming or taking an exam. So why do we experience mental fatigue? | Continue reading
Earth lacks some of the ingredients that would have been key to the origins of life – they may have been delivered to glacial ponds by tiny specks of cosmic dust | Continue reading
Around one-fifth of the stem cells grown in laboratories for as-yet-unapproved medical treatments have cancer-causing mutations | Continue reading
The latest AI model capable of converting text into video is attracting praise from some AI researchers, while also raising concerns about the risks of video deepfakes during global elections in 2024 | Continue reading
Shipping companies are experimenting with onboard carbon capture systems, but they face difficult trade-offs on energy and space for regular cargo | Continue reading
Assembling starch granules into 3D shapes could achieve the same thickening effect in foods with up to 50 per cent fewer granules, reducing the calories and carbohydrates without sacrificing texture | Continue reading
Carbon dioxide gas found throughout the atmosphere of Callisto hints it has a complex carbon cycle – akin to the one which on Earth helps to sustain life | Continue reading
Regulators in Australia and New Zealand have given the green light for farmers to grow a genetically modified banana resistant to a devastating fungal disease spreading worldwide | Continue reading
Markers of biological ageing in polar bear tissue samples reveal that stress associated with climate change appears to be taking a toll | Continue reading
A "negative greenhouse effect" means rising concentrations of CO2 and methane have slightly cooled parts of Antarctica’s upper atmosphere, but that could change as the air becomes more humid | Continue reading
A "negative greenhouse effect" means rising concentrations of CO2 and methane have slightly cooled parts of Antarctica’s upper atmosphere, but that could change as the air becomes more humid | Continue reading
A tiny robot with a clutch that mimics similar mechanisms found in microorganisms could be used to trigger the internal workings of a cell | Continue reading
Incredibly thin, hollow wires made from gallium and nitrogen can produce laser beams that are hollow with a ring-shaped cross-section, and that could be used to create optical fibres out of thin air | Continue reading
US officials have warned of a new international security threat – a mysterious Russian space weapon that may possess nuclear capabilities. Here’s what you need to know | Continue reading
Tree-planting projects in Africa may damage grasslands and savannahs by introducing too much shade. By preventing smaller plants from photosynthesising, this would have knock-on effects for the rest of the ecosystem | Continue reading
The largest study of telehealth abortions to date has found that the medications are just as safe and effective if they are obtained via online services instead of through a face-to-face doctor’s appointment | Continue reading
Changing the microbial community on the roots of tea plants can improve the flavour and nutritional content of tea leaves, leading to a better-tasting cuppa | Continue reading
Rethinking a century-old chemical reaction could jump-start the production of cleaner jet fuel made from captured carbon dioxide and clean electricity | Continue reading
As organic material in a bone gets replaced by minerals over time, it becomes a fossil. But that can happen at different rates even within the same individual | Continue reading
A measure of consciousness called neural complexity increases even with small doses of LSD, but we still don't know the potential risks of microdosing psychedelic drugs | Continue reading
Different species of poison frogs tap their toes when feeding to create vibrations that cause flies to move closer to them | Continue reading
Children who live in countries where school uniforms are the norm appear to be less active than those who don't, possibly because the clothing restricts their movement | Continue reading
A drug called pazopanib is known to provide brief relief from arthritis pain – encapsulating it in nanoparticles can make its effects last much longer, research in mice suggests | Continue reading
A 2200-year-old burial ground in northern Italy includes people interred with dogs and horses, perhaps showing they had strong bonds with their animals | Continue reading
An emoji that represents happiness to one person may signify a different emotion to another, with this varying according to our age, gender and nationality | Continue reading
Sperm that were immobile became active after just 20 seconds of ultrasound exposure in a lab experiment that may help boost the success of fertility treatment | Continue reading
Tom Gauld's weekly cartoon | Continue reading
This week's cartoon from Twisteddoodles | Continue reading
New archaeological evidence shows that ancient humans ate each other surprisingly often - sometimes for compassionate reasons. The finds give us an opportunity to reassess our views on the practice | Continue reading
Maths tells us the best way to cover a surface with copies of a shape – even when it comes to jigsaw puzzles, says Katie Steckles | Continue reading