Grouse shooting in Scotland has an alarming death toll – and not just for game birds: Mark Caunt/Shutterstock The Scottish moors are considered areas of outstanding beauty, and often assumed to be “wild” and “untamed”. However, these landscapes are the result of management techniques that are now under scrutiny by the Scottish government. These practices …
E3: why the world’s biggest video game event just closed for good – and what’s next for the industry: The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), an annual trade event for the video game industry, has been permanently cancelled by its organisers, who cited the COVID pandemic and changes in company marketing techniques as the reason for …
Why did a far-right MP take a fire extinguisher to a Jewish menorah just as Poland’s new government was being voted into power?: In an attack caught on video, a member of the Polish parliament (Sejm) used a fire extinguisher to put out the Hanukkah candles on a menorah positioned in a public area of …
‘Just the rich can do it’: our research shows how immigration income requirements devastate families: Post-Brexit immigration rules have already affected thousands of UK-EU couples and families. 1000 Words/Shutterstock The government has announced a host of new restrictions aimed at cutting net migration to the UK. Headline announcements include increasing the salary requirements for skilled …
Warfare ruins the environment – and not just on the front lines: RoProy/Shutterstock On the morning of December 6 1917, a French cargo ship called SS Mont-Blanc collided with a Norwegian vessel in the harbour of Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada. The SS Mont-Blanc, which was laden with 3,000 tons of high explosives destined for …
Nazi doctors weren’t just ‘a few bad apples’, shows report – and simplistic stories won’t help guard against future medical abuses: Jewish children kept alive in Auschwitz for use in Mengele's medical experiments. Alexander Voronzow/Wikimedia Commons Extraordinary evil involves a total moral collapse across society caused by failure of individual humanity and ethical judgment. This …
There are many reasons disabled people can’t just work from home — threatening to cut their benefits won’t fix the wider problems: PBXStudio/Shutterstock As part of the UK government’s latest economic plan, disabled people may have to look for jobs they can do from home or face cuts to their benefits. Previously, disabled people with …
Developmental amnesia: the rare disorder that causes children to forget things they’ve just learned: Developmental amnesia can affect children throughout their adult lives too. Gorodenkoff/ Shutterstock Even though it came out more than 20 years ago, many people still remember Finding Nemo thanks to one of its beloved main characters: Dory. The blue fish is …
Stents for angina have more than just a placebo effect, new trial confirms: Photo Oz/Shutterstock Stents are like scaffolding that keep narrowed arteries open. These devices have been revolutionary in treating heart attacks where their use has increased year on year and countless lives have been saved. But the role of stents in patients with …
Bletchley declaration: international agreement on AI safety is a good start, but ordinary people need a say – not just elites: In November, the UK government held the first AI (artificial intelligence) Safety Summit in the historically resonant setting of Bletchley Park, home to the legendary second world war codebreakers led by the computing genius …
AI-generated faces look just like real ones – but evidence shows your brain can tell the difference: Can you tell which faces are real and which are synthetic? Answers are at the bottom of the article. Robin Kramer, Author provided For a while, limitations in technology meant that animators and researchers were only capable of …
Just Stop Oil attack the Rokeby Venus: how the group is using the suffragettes’ disruptive tactics to shape public opinion: Two Just Stop Oil protesters have smashed the glass on the Rokeby Venus by Diego Velázquez at the National Gallery in London. This, you might be surprised to hear, is not the first time this …
Doing laundry by hand sheds just as many microfibres as machine washing – new research: Most of the world washes their clothing by hand. elJad/Pixabay, CC BY-NC-SA Between 6,500 and 87,000 tonnes of microfibres are shed during domestic laundering every year in the UK. Many of these minuscule fibres end up in rivers and oceans, …
‘Bone smashing’: broken bones, tooth loss and blood vessel damage are just a few of the harms of this bizarre TikTok trend: There's no evidence 'bone smashing' can permanently alter your face's appearance. Kyryk Ivan/ Shutterstock The internet never ceases to amaze when it comes to the bizarre health crazes people are willing to try. …
Straw bale hung from London’s Millennium Bridge to comply with ancient law – just part of the River Thames’ long, legal history: Maintenance workers on London’s Millenium Bridge – which spans the River Thames – have hung a bale of straw from the bridge’s undercarriage. An ancient byelaw requires that a bridge’s owner warn passing …
Here’s what’s driving the record autumn heat (it’s not just carbon emissions): Climate scientists have detected a striking jump in global temperatures during 2023. September was 1.75°C above Earth’s pre-industrial average temperature and a whole half-degree celsius warmer than the previous hottest September. These observations have been variously described as “shocking”, “mind-blowing” and “gobsmacking” by …
Economic Freedom Fighters became South Africa’s third largest political party in just 10 years. What’s behind its electoral success: South Africa is drawing nearer to a landmark national general election in 2024. Based on recent electoral trends and opinion polls, the governing African National Congress (ANC) is expected to drop below 50% of the national …
Building on the greenbelt is central to solving the housing crisis – just look at how the edges of cities have changed: Amid new targets of 1.5m new homes over five years, the Labour party has pledged to review the planning rules which dictate where housing in England can be built. The shadow chancellor, Rachel …