Note: this article has spoilers. In Interstellar’s near-ish future, our climate has failed catastrophically, crops die in vast blights and America is a barely-habitable dustbowl. Little education beyond…
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Science + Tech – Articles, Analysis, Comment
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The quality of virtual reality systems – immersive, computer-generated worlds – has advanced dramatically in recent years, as can be seen by the expansive editorial from journalists testing Oculus Rift…
Those words on the screen, “No signal”, are even more annoying when there’s no signal for you, but others are still connected. Wouldn’t it be better if phones simply switched to a different network to…
The aircraft industry is expecting a seven-fold increase in air traffic by 2050, and a four-fold increase in greenhouse gas emissions unless fundamental changes are made. But just how “fundamental” will…
It seems Ebola and terrorism may have lost their scare factor. That is because journalists have once again turned to arachnophobia. “Brazilian Wandering spider found under a bunch of bananas in Waitrose…
One method for safeguarding online anonymity is Tor, “the onion router”, whose name comes from its method of adding and stripping away encryption layer by layer as messages pass from one node to another…
On November 12, the Rosetta spacecraft’s Philae lander is due to land on the surface of a comet. As a space scientist working with those who have instruments on board, I can’t wait. I met up with some…
In the developed world, internet access is getting close to saturation point throughout the population, with the proportion of those online in many countries in the West approaching 80% for fixed broadband…
Scientists working on an experiment at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in the US have taken a step forward in developing a technology which could significantly reduce the size of particle accelerators…
Robert Hannigan, the new head of British signals intelligence agency GCHQ, has accused technology companies of aiding terrorists and criminals by providing them secure communications through their products…
Researchers have found the £20 limit for contactless payments with credit and debit cards can be tricked into accepting unlimited payments without entering a PIN number – when used with a foreign currency…
Science, like any other field that attracts investment, is prone to bubbles. Overly optimistic investments in scientific fields, research methods and technologies generate episodes comparable to those…
The language Robert Hannigan, the new head of GCHQ, uses in his opening statement is well considered in his appeal to openness, democratic values, and the need for corporate responsibility towards helping…
With only a week to go before the Rosetta spacecraft drops its Philae lander onto the surface of comet 67P, I wonder whether there will be another space mission in my lifetime that is so inspiring. Part…
Silicon Valley is a household name; less so its London equivalent Tech City, although there’s now enough interest in the area for one company to be running guided tours. So what are the chances for TechNorth…
There are now more mobile phones in use than there are people in the world to use them – some 7.2 billion phones. Mobile phones are becoming integral parts of our lives, penetrating into areas of the developing…
The history of science is full of episodes when a seemingly ludicrous theory is ridiculed, but then slowly gathers evidence and support to move from the fringes to the heart of the scientific consensus…
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Computer security relies on a great number of links, hardware, software and something else altogether: you. The greatest threat to information security is…
The open-access movement, which aims to provide researchers and the public with free access to academic work, has been growing. But most academic research remains behind expensive paywalls, which decreases…
When the “right to be forgotten” was established in the European Union, allowing people to have inaccurate and potentially harmful information removed from search engine results, there were concerns it…
Despite killing a majority of people it infects, some patients survive the onslaught of Ebola virus. What gives them this resistance, ask Michael Katze, professor of microbiology, and colleagues from the…
Video games, Jane Austen, and a Welsh footballer: it might seem these three have nothing in common, but all have been the basis for online abuse targeted specifically at women. Of course, both men and…
In sport we don’t just want to know who won. We now want to know how to replicate success and then improve on it. And to do this, we’re using data – and lots of it. The field of “big data” analytics has…
When we make important social decisions – which political candidate to vote for, whether to trust someone with our money, whether a person is guilty of a crime – we’d like to think we do so rationally…
This year’s GameCity festival in Nottingham will include the announcement of the UK National Videogames Arcade which will open in the city in 2015. The arcade will be a centre for gaming culture and a…