Pandemics, it has been said, are lived forwards but only understood backwards. At the end of a year in which Covid-19 has claimed 1.7 million lives since it was first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan last December, experts are now wondering if, and when, there was a turning ... Read More »
The coronavirus pandemic might not be the “big one” that experts have long feared, World Health Organization emergencies chief Mike Ryan warned at the global health agency’s last virtual media briefing of the year. Since the first reports of the coronavirus began circulating nearly a year ago, the WHO has repeatedly warned ... Read More »
A new WhatsApp update will prevent the popular messaging app from working on millions of phones from 1 January 2021. Older Android and iPhone devices will no longer support the latest version of the app, forcing owners to either update their mobile operating system or buy a new smartphone. Any iPhone not running iOS 9 or newer, ... Read More »
The South African variant of Covid-19, two cases of which have now been detected in the UK, is likely to be more transmissible, may hit young people harder, and may be slightly more resistant to vaccines, scientists in South Africa believe. However, research is still continuing to confirm the threat posed by ... Read More »
Scientists are investigating whether Uranus’ moons could have oceans hidden beneath its surface, in their quest to find habitable worlds that could have hosted alien life. Researchers believe that Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon, the five largest moons of Uranus would be prime candidates for investigation due to their similarities to Europa and Enceladus, the moons of Jupiter and ... Read More »
The world is undergoing a cyber attack that is “remarkable for its scope, sophistication and impact”, Microsoft president Brad Smith has warned. The SolarWinds hack that was revealed in recent days is still “ongoing” and appears to be carried out “by a nation with top-tier offensive capabilities”, Mr Smith warned in a blog ... Read More »
As many people face the prospect of being alone for the holidays, new science is showing how loneliness might actually help build structures in the brain tied to imagination. Lonely people were more likely to have increased activity in areas of the brain tied to reminiscing, thinking about others and ... Read More »
The rapid spread of a new variant of coronavirus has been blamed for the introduction of strict tier four mixing rules for millions of people, harsher restrictions on mixing at Christmas in England, Scotland and Wales, and other countries placing the UK on a travel ban. So how has it ... Read More »
Scientists may have received the first radio signals from a planet outside of our solar system. The breakthrough could allow for a major new way to examine and understand distant worlds, according to the astronomers who found it. The signals are coming from the constellation Boötes, which can be seen ... Read More »
Facebook has revealed more details about its secretive plans to release a mind-reading device, telling employees in a private meeting on Tuesday how it will work. In an audio recording of the meeting, obtained by BuzzFeed News, Facebook’s chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer explained how a neural sensor would translate people’s ... Read More »
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