Fungal highways are vast, yet hidden underground – new study
Researchers have mapped vast fungal networks underground and there’s much more to fungi than the mushrooms we see above the surface. Jan Stria/Shutterstock Beneath our feet lie some of the largest living organisms on Earth. Fungi are mostly invisible and largely overlooked, but they help sustain the ecosystems and food systems that we depend on […]
Criminal fly-tipping gangs are costing governments millions – AI and drones can help track waste dumpers
Illegal dumping of waste is costing the UK government over a £1 billion per year. malaha/Shutterstock Illegal waste dumping in the UK is no longer a marginal nuisance. It is increasingly operating at an industrial scale, with serious consequences. The reported dumping of around 30,000 tonnes of waste at a protected site of special scientific […]
Pieter Obels and Feng Xiao-Min: a compelling exploration of nature through steel and paint
A new exhibition at the Opera Gallery London, is offering two very different – yet curiously complimentary – sets of artistic responses to nature. It highlights the work of Dutch sculptor Pieter Obels and French-Chinese painter Feng Xiao-Min. This is Obels’s first major London exhibition for ten years. Born in 1968 and now based in […]
Baby slings: what the evidence says about benefits, risks and safe use
Baby slings offer convenience and promote infant bonding, but serious risks include suffocation, falls, and hip dysplasia if the sling is used incorrectly Natalia Deriabina/Shutterstock Human babies are born more dependent on their caregivers than most other mammals. They need close contact with an adult for feeding, comfort, warmth and protection. Parents and caregivers around […]
As AI plays a bigger role in relationships, true intimacy is getting lost
Intimacy, without AI, is messy. Alberto Menendez Cervero/Shutterstock The CEO of dating app Hinge recently suggested that generation Z, “struggling to have the confidence to put themselves out there”, needs AI to help them find love. Apparently, without AI tools, younger people will struggle to express who they really are. From the fascinating rise and […]
Women’s prize for non-fiction winner, The Finest Hotel in Kabul, gives voice to the people of Afghanistan
The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People’s History of Afghanistan is about an institution tasked with the job of housing strangers – Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel. Through this hotel, which sits high on a hill, and the people within it, seasoned BBC journalist and current foreign affairs editor, Lyse Doucet, attempts tell an immersive history of […]
Not all fruits and vegetables are equal when it comes to heart health, our research shows
The flavanols found in many fruits and vegetables are beneficial for heart health. nadianb/ Shutterstock Fruits and vegetables are an important part of our diet. They provide nutrients and fibre, and many contain additional compounds (known as bioactives) that can improve health. But not all foods are created equal – with big differences in the […]
Magic mushrooms and Alzheimer’s: what one remarkable case can tell us
CYAM/Shutterstock Magic mushrooms are better known for producing hallucinations and altering people’s sense of reality than for treating brain diseases. Most people associate them with tripping, rather than Alzheimer’s disease. But a report on an individual patient has prompted scientists to ask whether psilocybin, the psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms, could have unexpected effects on […]
Trump has backed away from renewed war with Iran – here’s why
The US and Iran stepped back from the brink of returning to all-out war on June 11. Hours after saying the US military would carry out strikes against Iran for a third consecutive night, Donald Trump postponed the attack. The Iranian military had said the US would “receive a more severe response than before” if […]
Germany pulled the plug on flagship FCAS fighter jet – the implications for European defence are worrying
The effective collapse of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) fighter jet programme is a major setback for European defence cooperation. France, Germany and Spain have spent nearly a decade trying to develop what was intended to become Europe’s premier next-generation combat aircraft, only for the programme to succumb to disputes over leadership, the distribution […]