An immensely readable dive into the ‘predictive processing’ hypothesis, our best guess as to how the mind really works

The process of perception feels quite passive. We open our eyes and light floods in; the world is just there, waiting to be seen. But in reality there is an active element that we don’t notice. Our brains are always “filling in” our perceptual experience, supplementing...

India can’t grow enough apples to meet demand but farmers are struggling to raise production.

Vulnerable grassland birds listen in to the social rodents warning of the many threats both species face

Prairie dogs bark to alert each other to the presence of predators, with different cries depending on whether the threat is airborne or approaching by land.

But their warnings also seem to help a vulnerable grassland bird.

Continue reading…

Leading artists said the bill needed to be changed to protect them from having their work copied by AI.

The apps use artificial intelligence to create fake nude images of people without their consent.

As a companion to the Guardian’s Missing in the Amazon podcast, global environment editor Jon Watts goes in search of answers to the question Dom Phillips was investigating when he was murdered: how can we save the Amazon?

In the final episode of a three-part series, Jon encounters a radical new view of the Amazon’s history being uncovered by archaeologists. Far from an uninhabited...

The messaging app says the UK government’s demands over data access could set a “dangerous precedent.”

Groundbreaking observations map chaotic patchwork of magnetic activity at pole, said to be key to understanding how sun’s field flips

The sun’s uncharted south pole has been revealed for the first time in striking images beamed back from the Solar Orbiter spacecraft.

The joint European Space Agency (ESA) and Nasa mission swooped below the planetary plane and, for the first time, captured the...

Researchers identify new species named Khankhuuluu mongoliensis from skeletons unearthed in Mongolia

Tyrannosaurs might evoke images of serrated teeth, massive bodies and powerful tails, but their most recent ancestor yet discovered was a slender, fleet-footed beast of rather more modest size.

Experts say the new species – identified from two partial skeletons – helps fill a gap in the...

By slashing time and cost of restoration, technique could be used on paintings not valuable enough for traditional approach

The centuries can leave their mark on oil paintings as wear and tear and natural ageing produce cracks, discoloration and patches where pieces of pigment have flaked off.

Repairing the damage can take conservators years, so the effort is reserved for the most valuable...

Prototype is able to detect small concentrations of the toxic substance in alcoholic drinks or on someone’s breath

Australian researchers have developed a prototype methanol “breathalyser” capable of detecting small concentrations of the toxic substance in alcoholic drinks or on someone’s breath.

Methanol poisoning is a problem that affects thousands of people every year, killing 20-40% of...

As a companion to the Guardian’s Missing in the Amazon, Jon Watts, global environment editor, goes in search of answers to the question Dom Phillips was investigating when he was murdered: how can we save the Amazon?

In episode two, Jon meets the people trying to make sure the rainforest is worth more standing than cut down – from a government minister attempting to establish Brazil’s...