THURSDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2025, 07:10
Conchologists, and citizen scientists team up to seek out endangered mollusc species along River Thames
It is tiny, hairy and “German” – and it could be hiding underneath a piece of driftwood near you. Citizen scientists and expert conchologists are teaming up to conduct the first London-wide search for one of Britain’s most endangered molluscs.
The fingernail-sized German hairy snail...
Online sleuths quickly found that some accounts posting about U.S. politics, including those in support of the MAGA movement, appeared not to be based in the United States.
The minimum you can do
Today’s puzzle is about transport links and soapy water.
The four towns
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Visible from urban locations, pairing takes on special meaning when seen with minimal light pollution
This week, the moon will pass close to the planet Saturn in the evening sky. Although visible from urban locations, the pairing takes on a special meaning when seen from a location with minimal light pollution. The brilliant silver glow of the moon and the steady golden light of Saturn contrast...
The prehistoric birch tar found in Estonia contained traces of saliva that were analysed by genetics experts
A piece of stone age “gum” chewed by a teenage girl 10,500 years ago has been discovered by archaeologists in Estonia.
The Institute of History and Archaeology at the University of Tartu discovered that the prehistoric birch tar had impressions of teeth marks and traces of saliva.
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New technologies can reduce our reliance on animal experiments. This isn’t just morally right, it could have scientific and economic benefits too
Science is a slaughterhouse. We rarely acknowledge the degree to which animal life underwrites the research that provides us with medicines, or the regulation that keeps us safe. Live animals were used in 2.64m officially sanctioned scientific...
OpenAI adjusted ChatGPT’s settings, which left some users spiraling, according to our reporting. Kashmir Hill, who reports on technology and privacy, describes what the company has done about the users’ troubling reports.
In tweaking its chatbot to appeal to more people, OpenAI made it riskier for some of them. Now the company has made its chatbot safer. Will that undermine its quest for growth?
The chatter left startled adults unsure whether they heard correctly. Testers warned that interactive toys like this one could allow children to stray into inappropriate exchanges.
Multi-year studies announced after Cass review found ‘insufficient evidence’ about effects on children with gender dysphoria
Two studies to investigate the impact of puberty blockers in young people with gender incongruence have been announced by researchers in the UK after an expert view said gender medicine was “built on shaky foundations”.
Puberty blockers were originally used to treat early...
UK academics say latest chemicals are ‘wake-up call’ and urge global action to stop weaponisation of neuroscience
Sophisticated and deadly “brain weapons” that can attack or alter human consciousness, perception, memory or behaviour are no longer the stuff of science fiction, two British academics argue.
Michael Crowley and Malcolm Dando, of Bradford University, are about to publish a book that...
A global group of researchers was unable to read the vote tally, after an official lost one of three secret code keys needed to unlock a hyper-secure election system.
A judge queried lawyers about whether a breakup made sense during closing arguments on how to fix the tech giant’s dominance in online advertising.
Thalha Jubair, 19, and Owen Flowers, 18, are charged with conspiring to commit unauthorised acts.
This week the company announced that it would require users to undergo an A.I.-powered age estimation process in order to chat with others on the platform. Will this change reassure parents?
It joins other platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat in the ban that starts next month.
It is a time of superlatives in the tech industry, with historic profits, stock prices and deal prices. It’s enough to make some people very nervous.
The online marketplace removed adverts which included a video a user said depicted a pornographic scene.
Right-wing users have tapped A.I. tools to promote President Trump’s agenda. He took notice.
Scientists say plant’s resilience suggests it could help with oxygen generation or soil formation on space missions
Matt Damon grew potatoes for survival in The Martian, but researchers say mosses could one day help turn the dust and rocks of other planets into fertile soil.
Physcomitrella patens, or spreading earthmoss, is already known as a pioneering species – albeit for being an early...
The story has sparked debates about cryogenics and fidelity. But it also tells us something deeper about our responses to loss
One of the last remaining fun things about the internet is getting to pass judgment on the goings-on in households that you would never hear about otherwise. On Reddit, for instance, there is a whole thriving sub for just this purpose called Am I the Asshole?, where...