Tests showed horses that smelled body odour from people watching scary films startled more easily

Horses can smell fear, or at least whether you have scared yourself witless watching a horror movie, according to researchers who say the effect has consequences for riders, trainers and others who work with the animals.

In a series of tests, horses that smelled body odour from people watching...

Decoded genome of meat in pup’s stomach helps scientists build picture of what caused extinction of species

Researchers have shed light on the final centuries of the woolly rhinoceros after studying a hairy lump of meat from the stomach of an ancient wolf cub that became mummified in the Siberian permafrost.

The beautifully preserved remains of a two-month-old female wolf cub were discovered in...

The use of the AI tool to digitally undress women has sparked a backlash as well as intervention from the government and regulator.

Research finds no evidence heavier social media use or more gaming increases symptoms of anxiety or depression

Screen time spent gaming or on social media does not cause mental health problems in teenagers, according to a large-scale study.

With ministers in the UK considering whether to follow Australia’s example by banning social media use for under-16s, the findings challenge concerns that...

Society should only eject fellows for fraud or other defects in their research, says Paul Nurse

The president of the Royal Society has reignited a row over Elon Musk’s association with the body by arguing that fellows should only be ejected for fraud or other defects in their research.

In an interview with the Guardian, Paul Nurse defended the academy’s decision not to take action against...

A Monzo spokesperson said it had activated a back-up banking service after identifying issues affecting its app.

Exclusive: Some scientists say many detections are most likely error, with one high-profile study called a ‘joke’

High-profile studies reporting the presence of microplastics throughout the human body have been thrown into doubt by scientists who say the discoveries are probably the result of contamination and false positives. One chemist called the concerns “a bombshell”.

Studies claiming to...

Analysts say the deal is likely to be welcomed by consumers – but reflects Apple’s failure to develop its own AI tools.

Ian Sample puts listeners’ questions on sleep to Dr Allie Hare, consultant physician in respiratory and sleep medicine at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals and president of the British Sleep Society. They cover why women experience sleep disturbance during the menopause, why sleep paralysis affects some people more than others, and what scientists know about the link between sleep and...

A deadly fungus has already wiped out 90 species and threatens 500 more but Anthony Waddle is hoping gene replacement could be their salvation

Standing ankle-deep in water between two bare cottonwood trees on a hot spring day, eight-year-old Anthony Waddle was in his element. His attention was entirely absorbed by the attempt to net tadpoles swimming in a reservoir in the vast Mojave desert.

It...

It is the most essential thing we do – yet many of us arguably breathe badly. The author of Breath explains how that can be changed

In the last stages of writing his book, Breath, James Nestor was stressed. “Which was ironic when writing a book about breathing patterns and mellowing out,” he says. The book was late; he’d spent his advance and was haemorrhaging even more money on extra...

It is currently illegal to share deepfakes, but the law against creating them has not yet come into force.

Elon Musk’s chatbot is under fire for altering images of women to remove their clothes without their consent.