Skip to Content

THURSDAY, 30 OCTOBER 2025, 02:13

Science/Tech

‘Bored aliens’: has intelligent life stopped bothering trying to contact Earth?

15 October at 11:41 AM, via The Guardian

Astrophysicist proposes a ‘radically mundane’ theory for why humans have yet to encounter extraterrestrials

For centuries, great thinkers have pondered why, given the hundreds of billions of planets in the galaxy, we have seen no compelling signs of intelligent life beyond Earth.

Now, scientists are mulling an intriguing possibility: if aliens exist, their technology may be only marginally...

Plantwatch: An extraordinary orchid that lives and flowers underground

15 October at 07:00 AM, via The Guardian

Botanist trying to conserve highly vulnerable rhizanthella that survives by feeding on nutrients from a fungus

Rhizanthella is an extraordinary orchid that lives its entire life underground. It flowers below ground, has no leaves and survives by feeding on nutrients from a fungus that gets its food from the soil and by connecting with roots of the broom bush, Melaleuca uncinata.

Rhizanthella...

Tech Life

14 October at 21:30 PM, via BBC News

The head of the company that makes Tasers tells us about the future of the technology.

SpaceX Starship travels halfway across world in successful test flight – video

14 October at 14:48 PM, via The Guardian

Biggest and most powerful rocket ever built successfully made it halfway around the world while releasing mock satellites during its 11th test flight on Monday. The previous test flight in August — a success after a string of explosive failures — followed a similar path with similar goals

Continue reading…

Traitor or faithful: how to spot a liar – podcast

14 October at 06:00 AM, via The Guardian

The Traitors has returned to UK screens with its biggest viewing figures ever as 19 celebrities compete to be crowned the winner. The game depends on being able to accurately spot a liar, but are any deception detection methods actually backed up by science?

Madeleine Finlay speaks to Timothy Luke, a senior lecturer in the department of applied psychology at the University of Gothenburg, to...

Did you solve it? The London cab that rode into history

13 October at 17:57 PM, via The Guardian

The answers to today’s questions

Earlier today I set these three puzzles, loosely based around 1729, the “taxicab number”. To read about the link between London cabs and 1729 please read the original post.

1. Square pair

Continue reading…

AI could make it harder to establish blame for medical failings, experts say

13 October at 17:00 PM, via The Guardian

Report raises concerns about liability issues and lack of testing as development of AI health tools booms

The use of artificial intelligence in healthcare could create a legally complex blame game when it comes to establishing liability for medical failings, experts have warned.

The development of AI for clinical use has boomed, with researchers creating a host of tools, from algorithms to help...

Lab-grown human embryo model produces blood cells

13 October at 17:00 PM, via The Guardian

Breakthrough raises new possibilities for regenerative medicine, which uses patient’s own cells to repair damaged tissues

Scientists have grown embryo-like structures in the laboratory that produced human blood cells, raising new possibilities for regenerative medicine.

The ability to generate blood stem cells in the laboratory may one day make it possible to treat patients in need of bone...

Factory Towns Revive as Defense Tech Makers Arrive

13 October at 11:01 AM, via New York Times

Drawn by local talent, cheap labor and state cash incentives, start-ups building the weapons of the future are revitalizing manufacturing in once-vibrant industrial towns.

‘The universe has opened up for us’: meet the astro-ambassadors who welcome stargazers to the Himalayas

13 October at 09:00 AM, via The Guardian

A tourism initiative in India’s first dark sky reserve has brought new hope to a community as employment means they can stay close to their roots and culture

The snow-flecked peaks surrounding the village of Hanle are bathed in golden light as the sun sets. In the valley, 28-year-old Tsering Dolkar secures a telescope to its tripod and focuses the lens beneath a clear sky.

Zipped into warm...

Can you solve it? The London cab that rode into history

13 October at 08:10 AM, via The Guardian

Do you have the knowledge?

Around 1919, the British mathematician G. H. Hardy hopped on a London cab on his way to visit his Indian colleague Srinivasa Ramanujan.

The cab’s licence number, 1729, seemed dull to Hardy but his pal fervently disagreed. “It is a very interesting number,” said Ramanujan. “It is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways.”

Continue...

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. ...
  4. 34
  5. 35
  6. 36
  7. 37
  8. 38
  9. ...
  10. 53