Satellite image of the Antarctic iceberg A23a in November 2023 European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-3 via Reuters The largest iceberg in the world is on the move after being stuck in the Antarctic seafloor for nearly 40 years. Known as A23a, the iceberg has now floated beyond the northernmost point of Antarctica and is on its way […]
The eyes of insects like ants can detect the polarisation of light Razvan Cornel Constantin/Alamy A compass that relies on polarised light can use the sun to tell where magnetic north is, even when it is cloudy. It is based on how some insects navigate and could be used when conventional magnetic compasses aren’t reliable, […]
Flu viruses can occasionally jump from pigs to humans VWPics/imageBROKER/Shutterstock English health officials are tracing the contacts of a person in North Yorkshire who seems to have caught a flu virus from pigs called influenza A(H1N2)v, the first time such a transmission has happened in the UK. The person had a mild illness and has […]
Older people shouldn’t necessarily limit treat foods, such as ice cream, or opt for low-fat varieties Nik Taylor / Alamy The usual healthy weight advice has been torn up for people who are over 65, at least in the UK. People in this age group are now being told that “if you are slightly overweight, […]
BARELY a month goes by these days without the detection of a tantalising “sign of life” in an alien atmosphere. With the James Webb Space Telescope’s unmatched ability to probe the chemistry of distant worlds – and so many promising exoplanets to set our sights on – today’s astronomers are increasingly confident that their generation […]
Marvin Andujar, director of the Neuro-Machine Interaction Lab at the University of South Florida, explains how student Tyree Lewis is able to brain-paint through emerging brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. Alamy Stock Photo The Future of Language: How technology, politics and utopianism are transforming the way we communicate Philip Seargeant Bloomsbury After linguist Philip Seargeant’s grandmother […]
FOR many of us, the covid-19 pandemic is fading into memory. But for millions of people, that isn’t possible as they are still unwell. An illness that is often brief and mild is, for some, the start of a rollercoaster of symptoms that can last years. Today, around 65 million people may have long covid. […]
Graeme Whipps/Shutterstock I RECENTLY learned that the field of radio astronomy essentially started with a meteor shower. It was December 1945, and physicist Bernard Lovell was in Cheshire, UK, searching for cosmic rays – high-energy particles that zip through space. He had obtained a radar detector left over from the British army after the second […]
Pilots Svetlana (Masha Mashkova) and Ed (Joel Kinnaman) Mike Yarish/Apple TV+ For All MankindCreated by Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben NediviApple TV+ ONE of the most reliable shows on TV has to be For All Mankind. In part, that is down to its irresistible formula. This alternate history of the space race, in […]
Sewing patterns require skill to work with SeventyFour Images/Alamy Artificial intelligence can turn a single photo of an item of clothing being worn into accurate sewing patterns to recreate the garment. Clothing makers use sewing patterns to create the differently shaped pieces of material that make up a garment, using them as templates to cut […]