US tech leaders are urgently calling for rules on AI – China already has them
Recent warnings from American AI leaders have created the impression that the world is only beginning to confront the dangers of advanced artificial intelligence. Dario Amodei, chief executive of tech company Anthropic, has called for governments to intervene to slow the development of increasingly powerful AI models. His proposal begins with independent evaluators embedded inside […]
Wolves did not save Yellowstone – why were we so desperate to believe they did?
You might be among the 46 million people who’ve seen a video showing how wolves changed Yellowstone, or you may have heard some other version of this story. Yellowstone, which covers nearly 3,500 square miles of the western United States, was the world’s first national park. Its pioneering reintroduction of wolves, which began in 1995, […]
AI has made borrowing more expensive – an expert explains how bond markets are changing
Sven Hansche/Shutterstock The global bond markets are a sensitive lot. And they’ve been having a particularly tricky time lately. Spooked by high inflation, high interest rates and high levels of government debt across the world, those markets have become less stable over the summer. The prices of government bonds – what governments sell to investors […]
Taylor Swift: my database of her 123,553 lyrics reveals hidden patterns
“It seems like all I ever do is change”, Taylor Swift writes in the prologue to the bestselling album 1989 (Taylor’s Version), released in 2014. In fact, change is a core part of the Swift marketing machine, which revolves around the evolution of her “eras”. Since the release of her debut album in 2006, Swift […]
From sausage rolls to full breakfasts, class has shaped the foods that define English identity
Breakfast by Alfred Janes. Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / The National Library of Wales, CC BY-NC English food is often perceived as ancient and reassuringly unchanging. Podcast host Lewis Bassett’s new book The Full English: The Ways We Eat and Why makes that view harder to sustain. Bassett’s sociological approach shows how urbanisation, empire, industry and […]
Sudden confusion in an older relative? Don’t assume it’s a urine infection
Sudden confusion in an older person needs urgent medical assessment, even when a urine test finds bacteria. Inside Creative House/Shutterstock Urinary tract infections can cause sudden confusion, known as delirium, in older people. But finding bacteria in someone’s urine does not necessarily explain their confusion, and the real cause may lie elsewhere. An older person […]
An autumn stargazing forecast: how to make the best of our night sky
AstroStar/Shutterstock As autumn settles over the UK, there is something quietly magical about stargazing. Crisp air and early darkness come hand in hand with familiar constellations. Cold nights might not sound inviting when you’re on the sofa, but with a thick coat, a flask, and someone to share the view with, they’re rather easy to […]
Millions of new skilled workers are needed – vocational GCSEs could help prepare them
Irene Miller/Shutterstock Vocational education is coming back into the classroom. The government has announced a new generation of vocational GCSEs, allowing teenagers in England to study subjects such as building and construction, digital technology, creative media production, child development and business and finance alongside the traditional academic curriculum. The qualifications, which could be available in […]
Why do some chimpanzee mothers carry their dead infants for months?
jindrich_pavelka/Shutterstock In 2003, in the deep forests of Bossou in Guinea, a chimpanzee mother did something that reshaped how we view animal minds. Jire carried the the lifeless body of her one-year-old infant Jimato for some 68 days. Even as the infant mummified before her, she gently swatted flies away, carefully placed it on branches […]
Meningitis at university: why students are at higher risk and what to watch for
Close contact, shared accommodation and nights out help meningococcal bacteria spread quickly among new university students. Xavier Lorenzo/Shutterstock Freshers’ week is designed to bring new students together. But the same close contact that helps friendships form can also help infections spread. Most cases of so-called “freshers’ flu” are relatively mild. Meningococcal disease is different. Although […]