Editor’s note: the research paper on which this article is based has been retracted by the journal. Stegodyphus dumicola is a social spider. This curious little creature lives in shared nests with more…
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As Viviane Reding, vice-president of the European Commission, congratulates herself for forcing Google to comply with the right to be forgotten, she might want to take a moment to think about some issues…
This weekend we could see history made. The US Triple Crown of thoroughbred horse racing hasn’t been won since 1978. This spring, the racehorse California Chrome won the first two legs of the Triple Crown…
Nearly a third of all the food produced in the world is lost or wasted, according to the UN’s World Resources Institute. If we convert this mass into calories, it constitutes nearly a quarter of all food…
We need to watch out for headlines like the ones earlier this week warning that people had two weeks to protect themselves from a “powerful computer attack”. It can end up scaring people who have little…
When you go online today, you are likely to encounter the Reset the Net campaign. Exactly one year after the first revelations from Edward Snowden about NSA spying, the campaign is designed to mobilise…
The first time ecstasy impinged on the public consciousness in Britain was in November 1995, when an 18-year old Essex schoolgirl named Leah Betts died a few days after taking a tablet at a birthday party…
If you’re going to fall, injure yourself and need help, where is a good place to do it? Should you choose a busy thoroughfare or a deserted backstreet? Statistics and experiments in social psychology will…
For decades, scientists have tried to understand the complex and gruesome relationship between the parasitic emerald wasp Ampulex compressa and its much larger victim, the common household cockroach Periplaneta…
Ever since there were shops, people have enjoyed window shopping. But a new phenomenon is emerging that takes the habit to the extreme. If you save things to your Amazon wishlist without ever actually…
The Conversation organised a public question-and-answer session on Reddit in which James Gilbert, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Sussex, explained weird and stunning insect reproductive strategies…
Apple has set developers in a frenzy with an overwhelming spread of software updates, unveiled at its Worldwide Developers Conference. The new releases include updates for its desktop operating system…
Recently the American publication Mother Jones published an article on the dangers of food laced with tiny metal oxide particles. The article, however, is laced with errors and misinformation. The source…
It’s little wonder that computer experts are warning that computer users could be experiencing “notification fatigue” after the past few weeks. But even if you’re feeling overwhelmed following the Heartbleed…
We’ve all returned home after a night out at a party to find a Facebook friend request from someone you briefly met but barely know. Just to be polite, you add the person to your friend list. But it turns…
Several high-profile security breaches have, of late, got many people wondering about their passwords. It would be great news if I could tell you a perfect sure-fire system to manage your passwords; the…
The canyon-like scars which line Mars’ crust are seen by many as evidence for liquid water. But a study now suggests that a different kind of fluid – one much less hospitable to life – may actually have…
As the UK government wrangles with the sticky problem of how to make health records useful for research without compromising privacy, it might look to how Google has evolved for inspiration. Google was…
Most academic papers today are published only after some academic peers have had a chance to review the merits and limitations of the work. This seems like a good idea, but there is a growing movement…
When we want what we write to be clearly communicated to a reader, we generally try to use a typeface that is clear to read. But few people realise how quickly your choice of typeface affects that process…
Even in a world of digital devices, braille continues to be a vital part of life for blind people. For nearly 200 years, this versatile writing system has allowed them to learn, work and live in a more…
Meet Sacculina carcini – a barnacle that makes a living as a real-life body-snatcher of crabs. Unlike most barnacles that are happy to simply stick themselves to a rock and filter food from the water…
Once a topic explored exclusively in science fiction, the notion of restoring sensory feelings to humans and to machines is now approaching reality. Scientists around the world are developing artificial…
A British coroner has sparked anxiety among parents by linking Call of Duty, one of the most popular video games in the world, to teenage suicide. John Pollard says Call of Duty has “figured in recent…
In the daily hubbub of current “crises” facing humanity, we forget about the many generations we hope are yet to come. Not those who will live 200 years from now, but 1,000 or 10,000 years from now. I…