Animal behaviourists tested 61 gulls in Cornwall to find most effective method of countering feathery threat

Some people respond to the unwanted attentions of a gull eyeing up a bag of chips or a Cornish pasty by frantically flapping their hands at the hungry bird while others beat a rapid retreat into the nearest seaside shelter. But researchers have found that a no-nonsense yell – even a...

A new law will allow authorised testers to assess AI models for their ability to generate abuse material

On the fifth anniversary of the PlayStation 5, the firm says its focus remains on its current console.

Szabolcs Csépe played Dance Dance Revolution for six days to secure his place in the record books.

New funding for researchers and streamlined regulation part of roadmap for phasing out use of animals in science

Animal testing in science would be phased out faster under a new plan to increase the use of artificial intelligence and 3D bioprinted human tissues, a UK minister has said.

The roadmap unveiled by the science minister, Patrick Vallance, backs replacing certain animal tests that are...

Do you have an uncanny recall for faces? Have you ever recognised the same extra in TV shows that are decades apart? If so you could be part of the small number of super recognisers. Research from the University of New South Wales indicates they naturally pick out the most useful parts of a given face to help commit it to memory.

So what else have scientists uncovered about this elite cohort?...

The solution to today’s poison puzzler

Earlier today I set you the following puzzle. Here it is again with the solution.

Two dead at the drink-off

Continue reading…

Blue Origin says it is aiming for another attempt as soon as Wednesday as competition with Musk’s SpaceX intensifies

Blue Origin, the space company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced on Sunday to postpone the anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket due to unfavorable weather conditions in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Rain and a ground system issue caused delays that were followed by...

Tearing up, sweating and other bodily functions are all signs that the body is trying to expel spicy foods as quickly as possible. But there is a simple reason why some people enjoy those sensations

The first thing to understand about eating spicy food is that it really isn’t a matter of taste. Capsaicin, the active chemical in capsicum plants that are a key ingredient in anything you’d...

Who poisoned who?

Today’s puzzle is credited to Michael Rabin, the legendary computer scientist, who in the late 1980s posted it to an electronic bulletin board at Carnegie Mellon University.

It has recently been brought to light by a puzzle enthusiast who thinks it deserves to be better known. I agree – it’s an all time classic.

Continue reading…

A Dundee professor carried out the first remote thrombectomy on a human cadaver.

One of the world’s most prominent cyber-criminals speaks to the BBC in an exclusive interview.

Wrap up warm, grab a deck chair and take your place to spot about 10-15 bright meteors an hour

It is time again for one of the more reliable meteor showers of the year: the Leonids. Active between early November and early December, the shower experiences a sharp peak this week, expected on the night of 16–17 November.

The meteors take their name from the constellation Leo, the lion, and appear...

Fascination of investors such as Elon Musk with uploading their brains to computers is hindering progress in curing disease, say scientists

It has been an excellent year for neurotech, if you ignore the people funding it. In August, a tiny brain implant successfully decoded the inner speech of paralysis patients. In October, an eye restored sight to patients who had lost their vision.

It would...

Nobel prize-winning biologist whose discovery, with Francis Crick, of the structure of DNA solved the mystery of genetic inheritance

James Watson, who has died aged 97, had an extraordinary gift for science, combined with ruthless ambition and an arrogant disregard for most of his peers. These combined qualities earned him a key role in one of the 20th century’s most profound scientific...

Parenthood can seem an impossible dream for many, and online sperm donor groups offer a solution, but they can be a murky world

A man going by the name “Rod Kissme” claims to have “very strong sperm”. It may seem like an eccentric boast for a Facebook profile page, but then this is no mundane corner of the internet. The group where Rod and other men advertise themselves is a community...

Robert Beattie, 82, has found specimens of a 151m-year-old midge that challenge what we know about how the insects evolved

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As a boy, holidaying with his family in the New South Wales coastal town of Gerringong, Robert Beattie found a shell in a rock. It turned out to be hundreds of millions of years old –...