Can you lend me a hand? Researchers are developing wearable robotic limbs
Two models wearing Jizai Arms, an additional robotic arms system developed at the University of Tokyo. Kazuaki Koyama/JIZAI ARMS Project, University of Tokyo How many times have you asked someone to hold open a door while carrying something, or fumbled with your front-door keys with your arms full of shopping? Wouldn’t it be great if […]
How the emojis and fashion choices of Germany’s far-right supporters get around the ban on Nazi symbolism
‘No business with Neo-Nazis’. Image Flats! via Flickr., CC BY-SA In the wake of the Alternative für Deutschland’s (AfD) electoral success in the Saxony-Anhalt state election, commentators both in Germany and internationally have expressed concern with the party’s extreme right-wing policies. Among these concerns are recent calls from party elites to adopt “remigration” policies. The […]
Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days has new meaning in the age of climate change
In Happy Days, one of Irish playwright Samuel Beckett’s best-known plays, the body of the protagonist Winnie is embedded in a mound of sand or dirt. During the first act, she is buried to above her waist and in the second, she is buried up to her neck. In the stage directions, Beckett specifies the […]
Magnesium supplements: what you need to know about each different type
Chay_Tee/ Shutterstock If you’ve spent any time on social media recently, you’ve probably found yourself wondering whether you should be taking a magnesium supplement. There’s no shortage of influencers listing all the benefits that different types of magnesium supplements have – from boosting brain function to helping ease anxiety and improving sleep. Indeed, magnesium is […]
Trump and Burnham’s first meeting was a success – but could this ‘good connection’ harm the prime minister at home?
Tonally, it was perhaps not quite what the UK prime minister and his delegation had been hoping for. Moments before meeting Andy Burnham for the first time, Donald Trump told the world about “a British invasion fleet” arriving 250 years ago “to crush the cause of liberty”. Immediately after Trump’s address to the UN General […]
Nine political books to inspire young people – chosen by experts
Jacob Lund/Shutterstock Amid a cycle of divided parties, political fragmentation and the UK going through a record number of prime ministers in recent years, young people could be forgiven for tuning out of politics altogether. Our experts have recommended nine books to strike teenagers and young adults’ interest in thinking politically. 1. Noughts and Crosses […]
New mining map highlights damage caused by extracting metals for your smartphone
Ahmet Misirligul/Shutterstock The most sustainable smartphone is the one you currently own. An estimated 80% of your phone’s negative impact on the environment happens before the first minute of use – before it is even unboxed. One smartphone contains more than 70 raw materials and more than 50 metals. Many of these need to be […]
AI is finding chart success in Christian, gospel and country music
In the wake of the US Screen Actors Guild strike over AI protections and UK musicians’ silent album to protest proposed changes to copyright law, more than a dozen AI-produced tracks have emerged on the Billboard charts since 2022. While AI music has gone viral across social media platforms like TikTok through novelty covers that […]
Five intimidating houseplants that are surprisingly easy to care for
Sergii Kozii/Shutterstock Humans have an innate connection to nature – a concept known called biophilia. Studies have shown the biophilic connection we experience being surrounded by plants improves our mental state and may even slightly shorten hospital recovery rates. This connection has driven the desire for greenery throughout history, with the Victorians even renting rare […]
Saddam Hussein used Oliver Reed and a James Bond director to tell Iraq’s story – but who tells it now?
From the beginning of his brutal reign in Iraq, Saddam Hussein could claim an unusual credit: film producer. After Saddam became president in 1979, his cousin played him in The Long Days. The film dramatised his role in a failed 1959 attempt to assassinate Iraq’s then-prime minister, Abdul-Karim Qasim. The film presented the new dictator […]