shutterstock Bad data does not only produce bad outcomes. It can also help to suppress sections of society, for instance vulnerable women and minorities. This is the argument of my new book on the relationship between various forms of racism and sexism and artificial intelligence (AI). The problem is acute.Continue Reading
In 1991, hikers came across a body that was partially contained in ice high up in the Alpine province of South Tyrol, Italy. Initially thought to be from a recent death, the body was later discovered to be 5,300 years old – from a time known as the Copper Age.Continue Reading
Exploring the British countryside? Unlikely, says big cat expert. Karel Bartik/Shutterstock Rumours that there are big cats in Britain stubbornly keep cropping up. The thought of a large predator lurking in the rural landscapes of Britain is an exciting one. The most recent widely published claim of a big blackContinue Reading
pio3/Shutterstock Being a good listener means having empathy. But empathy is one of the most misunderstood listening skills. Empathy is what we feel when we are trying to understand the world from the perspective of another person. One of the common misconceptions about empathy is that you need to haveContinue Reading
The Vikram lander should carry the rover to the lunar surface. ISRO, Author provided On Wednesday August 23, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) mission Chandrayaan-3 will deploy its lander and rover to the surface of the Moon. As the name suggests, this is the third mission in a programmeContinue Reading
imrankadir/Shutterstock When Angela, a Malayan sun bear, stood up and waved to visitors to her enclosure at the Huangzhou Zoo in China on July 27, she became a social media sensation. Her build, posture and seemingly friendly gesture seemed so human that people speculated that she was actually a costumedContinue Reading
Pteranodon was a large-bodied pterosaur. YuRi Photolife / Shutterstock Our understanding of animal behaviour depends on observation. Researchers can study how animals are born, grow and develop. We can gather evidence of how they interact with each other and their environment. But how do we do this for extinct animals?Continue Reading
Psychedelics can help uncover consciousness. agsandrew/Shutterstock Psychedelics are known for inducing altered states of consciousness in humans by fundamentally changing our normal pattern of sensory perception, thought and emotion. Research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics has increased significantly in the last decade. While this research is important, I haveContinue Reading
Inside Creative House/Shutterstock The school summer holidays are in full swing. If you’re a parent, you may be getting tired of hearing “I’m bored!” echoing through your home – especially on rainy days when everyone’s stuck inside. But pretty much every kitchen can double as a chemistry set. Here areContinue Reading
StudioFI / Shutterstock The idea of space-based solar power (SBSP) – using satellites to collect energy from the sun and “beam” it to collection points on Earth – has been around since at least the late 1960s. Despite its huge potential, the concept has not gained sufficient traction due toContinue Reading
