How to enjoy the solar eclipse safely
Orlowski Designs LLC/Shutterstock Most people underestimate how much light a pair of sunglasses blocks out. A typical dark pair removes around 80 to 90% of the visible light reaching the eye. Safely looking directly at the Sun requires reducing the light reaching the eye by a factor of around 100,000, meaning roughly 99.999% must be […]
Inside the antarctic expedition that made Shackleton and Scott famous – and paved the way to the South Pole
The Discovery winter camp. Wikimedia, CC BY-NC In August 1901 Robert Scott, Ernest Shackleton and more than 40 other men set sail to Antarctica for the first time. On their newly built ship, the Discovery, neither Scott nor Shackleton knew what to expect, nor whether they would come back alive. It was on this journey, […]
Head injuries associated with e-scooters – new study
Pen_ash/Unsplash A fall from an electric scooter (e-scooter) can look deceptively minor. The rider is standing only a short distance above the road and, unlike a motorcycle, most e-scooters are limited to relatively modest speeds. Yet trauma surgeons are seeing injuries that tell a different story. E-scooter crashes can cause serious head injuries, damage to […]
Nature has spent billions of years fighting bacteria – AI could help us learn its secrets
E coli has a new enemy – designed by AI. Saiful52/Shutterstock.com Tiny viruses that infect bacteria could one day help us tackle infections that antibiotics can no longer treat. But first, scientists need to understand how these viruses work, and artificial intelligence could provide them with a powerful way to do that. Known as bacteriophages, […]
Japan’s earthquake shows extreme heat can turn one disaster into two
Emergency workers attempting to rescue survivors after a recent earthquake in Kyushu, Japan, also had to cope with extreme summer heat. After the earthquake killed at least 38 people and left thousands homeless in late July, daytime temperatures climbed into the high 30°Cs and in some places hit 40°C for the first time ever, with […]
Fields, greenhouses or vertical farms: what is the best way to grow food in a changing climate?
Aaron Watkins/Shutterstock When most people picture British farming, they probably imagine fields of wheat, potatoes or vegetables stretching across the countryside. But some of the food on supermarket shelves is produced in environments that look very different. A tomato might spend its entire life inside a glasshouse, growing more than 20 metres tall with water […]
Who does sport really belong to – the fans or the funders?
Under fire: Gianni Infantino, president of football’s world governing body, Fifa. Jose Breton/Pics Action/Shutterstock Football’s world governing body, Fifa, has come under fire for attempting to “sell the World Cup”. Its president, Gianni Infantino, had plans to sell a stake in future World Cup profits to investors, with substantial incentives offered to member associations if […]
Scientists have designed a functioning virus from scratch using AI – what you need to know
ART-ur/Shutterstock.com Artificial intelligence has designed viruses that can infect bacteria and reproduce – a first that shows AI is beginning to do more than analyse the genetic code of living things. It can write new versions of it, too. The viruses in question are bacteriophages, or phages – viruses that infect bacteria rather than people, […]
Why do some people feel life is so unfair? Understanding this may help explain conspiracy beliefs
HimelVector/Shutterstock Most people set out in life wanting to believe the world is fair. They expect people to wait their turn in queues, to be treated equally in their job, and to be rewarded for hard work. These expectations influence how they understand the world around them, and shape their responses to it. But what […]
In a more devolved UK, should London still be in charge of broadcasting?
The BBC Cymru Wales headquarters in Cardiff. meunierd/Shutterstock What we watch on television, hear on the radio and see on our screens is shaped by decisions that are still largely made in Westminster. That includes the rules governing broadcasters, how public service media are funded and regulated and how the UK’s nations and regions are […]