Science | The Guardian

My colleague and friend, the psychotherapist, author and campaigner Paul Gordon, has died aged 70. While eschewing the limelight, Paul was an influential figure and unique voice in the world of psychotherapy. His political commitment and determination to improve people's lives led him to train as a psychotherapist at the Institute of Psychotherapy and Social Studies in London in the late 80s, and later at the Philadelphia Association, founded in 1965 by RD Laing and colleagues in order to challenge established ways of thinking about and responding to distress.Paul became its chair, and was a strong advocate for the unique sanctuary and asylum their therapeutic homes have long offered to anyone in need. Indeed, facilitating access to low-cost or free therapy was important to Paul, who also worked with young people at North London's Open Door, at Freedom from Torture, and helped to establish the Free Psychotherapy Network. Continue reading...

Readers respond to an article by Elle Hunt on the science of unshakeable tunesI have suffered from constant tinnitus for 30 years, and when it was joined by earworms it became almost unbearable (Tortured by an earworm? How to get it out of your head, 16December). I read of the cure" of listening to something else, but all that did was to replace it with something perhaps more irritating.Then I got to wondering: what would happen if I listened to silence? It wasn't music, so it didn't work. But then I began to listen to Cage's 4'33" - and amazingly, that did work, but not on audio only. Ihave to watch the music not being played. I have watched versions on the violin, guitar, full orchestra, string quartet, piano - it doesn't matter which it is because they all sound the same. Continue reading...

Data is used for the first time to show regional differences in the uptake of a single medicine - sodium valproate - and the potential benefits are striking say researchersScientists have created a unique map of England and Wales that reveals detailed variations in the use of a single medicine. The drug is sodium valproate, a treatment for severe cases of epilepsy that is also known to cause health problems for pregnant women.The findings show drops in the use of the drug, in response to warnings about its effects, but the map reveals clear differences in dispensing patterns to women of child-bearing age, with the highest rates being found in local authorities in the north-west and across coastal regions in the east. These variations highlight potential inequalities that need further investigation, the researchers warn. Continue reading...

The notion that vast windfalls inevitably bring misery is based on a handful of sad casesDoes winning the lottery wreck your life? When it was revealed earlier this week that an anonymous Briton had won 177m in the November EuroMillions draw - making them the third biggest national lottery winner ever - the Mail Online announced it with all the impartiality of a bad fairy at a christening: Other big winners", the second half of the headline ran, have faced lottery curse' withdivorce, disease, family splits and death".Follow the progress of lottery winners through the newspapers, and you'd be forgiven for thinking they all live out the same morality tale. Headlines such as The bad luck of winning" and A treasury of terribly sad stories of Lotto winners" drive home the point. Continue reading...

After midlife burnout came a rediscovered curiosity for two friends and writersIt was the early 2000s, we were in our 20s and had both started as assistants at the same company. We bonded over excruciating induction sessions, where we had to reveal things like which cartoon character we most identified with (B: Danger Mouse; E: Marcie from Peanuts). We laughed a lot, but we also worked really hard - and pushed each other to do new things. Twenty years later, with six children between us as well as more senior jobs, we found ourselves bogged down by endless to-lists and the relentless pace of midlife. We realised we needed to rediscover and connect to the positives in the world around us. The answer lay in sparking each other's curiosity.Many studies have shown that having a curious mindset has real-life benefits, both for our bodies and our souls. Our brains have evolved to release dopamine when we discover new things, and dopamine boosts memory, creativity and forges new neural connections. Other research shows that having a driving sense of curiosity can break down barriers between people - particularly important in our increasingly polarised world - c uriosity helps us to build empathy, connectivity and respect for others. Continue reading...

AGI in South Carolina investigated by government after leaked files revealed traumatic injuries and animal deathsThe US Department of Agriculture is investigating allegations from an animal rights organisation concerning Alpha Genesis Incorporated (AGI), the animal experimentation facility and breeder, from which 43 monkeys escaped last month.AGI is accused of abuse and neglect", and of violations of the Animal Welfare Act, as leaked documents show that between 2021 and 2023, multiple primates held at AGI centres endured preventable traumatic injuries and deaths. Continue reading...

Previously unseen artefacts show invading forces included communities of men, women, children, craftworkers and merchantsDozens of sites linked to the Viking great army as it ravaged Anglo-Saxon England more than 1,000 years ago have been discovered. Leading experts from York University have traced the archaeological footprint of the Scandinavian invaders, identifying previously unknown sites and routes.The study, conducted by Dawn M Hadley, professor of medieval archaeology, and fellow archaeology professor Julian D Richards, found that the significance of many of the ingots, gaming pieces and other artefacts unearthed by metal detectorists over the years had been overlooked until now. They also discovered about 50 new sites that they believe were visited by the Viking great army. Continue reading...

My father, Arno Rabinowitz, who has died aged 90, was a pioneering educational psychologist and a widely admired mentor, counsellor and confidant. His existence was down to a confluence of luck: his mother, Tilly, was one of three siblings evacuated from eastern Europe in the early 1920s during the pogroms against Jews. These three were Ochberg Orphans", fortunate recipients of the philanthropy of another emigre, the industrialist Isaac Ochberg, who enabled Jewish orphans to emigrate to safety in South Africa.Arno was born in Johannesburg, to Tilly (nee Abrahams) and Danny Rabinowitz, a hotelier. He went to school at Highlands North in Johannesburg and later studied English and politics at the University of the Witwatersrand in the 1950s. There he was involved in clandestine anti-apartheid activities and was briefly a legal intern, in which capacity he saw Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo in court. Continue reading...

The altar stone, which we now know is from Scotland, may have been a gift or marker of political allianceFive thousand years after the first monument was created at Stonehenge, it continues to give up dramatic new secrets - such as the jaw-dropping" revelation earlier this year that its central stone had been transported more than 700km to Salisbury plain from the very north of Scotland.While it had been known for more than a century that the huge sarsens for which Stonehenge is best known come from more than 12 miles (20km) away and its bluestones" originated in Wales, the discovery that the altar stone, which sits right at its heart, was Scottish caused an archaeological sensation, capturing headlines around the world. Continue reading...

Scientists surprised to find so many animals unknown to science in Alto Mayo, a well-populated regionResearchers in the Alto Mayo region of north-west Peru have discovered 27 species that are new to science, including a rare amphibious mouse, a tree-climbing salamander and an unusual blob-headed fish". The 38-day survey recorded more than 2,000 species of wildlife and plants.The findings are particularly surprising given the region's high human population density, with significant pressures including deforestation and agriculture. Continue reading...

Prof Mark Pallen, Dr Aimee Parker, Prof Nick Loman and Prof Alan Walker take issue with an article that discussed the existence of a brain microbiome and its impact on diseasesContrary to what is implied in your article (The brain microbiome: could understanding it help prevent dementia?, 1 December), the weight of expert opinion in medical microbiology rejects the existence of a brain microbiome" in the sense of a resident microbial community in healthy human brains. While pathogenic microbes - such as Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease, or fungal pathogens like Cryptococcus neoformans - can invade the brain and cause neurological symptoms, these are examples of infections, not evidence of a nativemicrobialcommunity.Similarly, cognitive benefits of vaccines can be explained by their role in preventing infections or modulating immune responses and inflammation, rather than any impact on a brain microbiome". Furthermore, the studies cited in the article have not undergone independent validation, nor do they provide any kind of consistent picture. This mirrors controversies around other supposed microbiomes - such as that of the placenta - which have failed to withstand independent scrutiny. Over a decade of research indicates that contamination, typically from laboratory reagents, is the most plausible explanation for such findings, particularly when even supposedly ultrapure water has been shown to harbour DNA signatures and culturable microbes. Continue reading...

One algorithm identified the five strongest notes in each drink more accurately than any one of a panel of expertsNotch up another win for artificial intelligence. Researchers have used the technology to predict the notes that waft off whisky and determine whether a dram was made in the US or Scotland.The work is a step towards automated systems that can predict the complex aroma of whisky from its molecular makeup. Expert panels usually assess woody, smoky, buttery or caramel aromas, which can help to ensure they don't vary substantially between batches of the same product. Continue reading...

Scientists race to discover new species before destruction of natural world drives them to extinctionFrom a toadstool with teeth to a vine smelling of marzipan and a flower that has cheated its way out of having to photosynthesise, a weird and wonderful host of new plant and fungus species have been discovered in 2024.Other plants given scientific names for the first time include beautiful new orchids, a ghostly palm and a hairy plant that appears to have stolen a gene from an unrelated family. The species are among the 172 new plants and fungi named by scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and their partners. Continue reading...

Dr Chris van Tulleken has been at the forefront of the campaign to change our food system and better regulate the sale of ultra-processed foods (UPF). This year he will be giving the Royal Institution Christmas lectures, Britain's most prestigious public science lectures, in which he'll be investigating how food has fundamentally shaped human evolution, the importance of our microbiome - as the extra organ' we didn't know we had - and how we can all eat better in future, for the sake of our own health and the health of the planet.Nicola Davis sat down with Van Tulleken to discuss the lectures, the challenge of understanding the impact of UPFs on our health, and his top tip for Christmas dinner. Madeleine Finlay hears from them both in this Christmas special edition of Science WeeklyClips: Sky News Continue reading...

Paper published in International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents in 2020 withdrawn by Dutch publisher ElsevierA controversial study that promoted hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug, as a treatment for Covid-19 has officially been withdrawn.On Tuesday, Elsevier, a Dutch academic publishing company which owns the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, issued the retraction of the March 2020 study, saying concerns have been raised regarding this article, the substance of which relate to the articles' adherence to Elsevier's publishing ethics policies and the appropriate conduct of research involving human participants". Continue reading...

Return pushed back to late March, stretching mission that was supposed to last eight days to more than nine monthsThe two Nasa astronauts who have been stuck in space since June because of technical issues will have to remain at the International Space Station even longer - stretching a mission that was originally supposed to last only eight days to more than nine months.On Tuesday, Nasa announced that its astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, along with Russia's cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, will return to Earth following the arrival of Crew-10 next year. Originally scheduled for a February launch, the space agency has pushed back the Crew-10 mission's launch date to no earlier than late March of 2025. Continue reading...

Jaw found in Scotchtown, Orange county, is latest notable discovery from ice age-era animal in the regionA New York state resident has found a complete mastodon jaw just below the surface of their lawn, after spotting two large teeth protruding from the ground.Mastodons roamed the US north-east during the Pleistocene epoch, and there have been several notable mastodon discoveries in the region, including a complete 13,000-year-old skeleton in Hyde Park, New York, in 2000. Continue reading...

Study finds 9,000-year-old remains in Americas hold genomes of bacteria family that causes diseaseAfter the French king Charles VIII invaded Italy in 1494, an unknown and disfiguring disease erupted in the army camps and duly spread across Europe when the men returned to their homelands the following year.The epidemic is regarded as the first historical account of syphilis, but where the disease came from has been debated by scholars ever since. One camp believes it emerged in the Americas, and was brought to Europe by Columbus in 1493. Another suspects it was lurking in Europe before the explorer set sail. Continue reading...

At HMP Grendon, psychology professionals aim to re-child' a group of Britain's most serious offenders in relatively relaxed conditions. Does the treatment work?As you go through the gates of Grendon prison in Buckinghamshire, past the raised garden - whose intricacy is still discernible in November - towards the main block, there's a foundation stone laid by Rab Butler from when building commenced in 1960. As home secretary, he wanted two things: to improve understanding of crime, and its treatment," Simon Shepherd, head of the Butler Trust, a charity celebrating exemplary work by prison staff, tells me. So he got the funding for the Cambridge Institute of Criminology. And he also got the funding for Grendon, the world's first dedicated psychotherapeutic prison."The idea, radical in the 60s, and still radical when it's applied to criminals, is that you re-child people, re-educate them. Childhood is where you learn the skills to manage life. If you have a personality disorder, that is essentially because you didn't get those skills in childhood. So you put somebody into a really intensive environment where they learn how to manage themselves and deal with people," Shepherd says. The NHS reports that 60 to 70% of prisoners in the UK have a personality disorder; I've heard numerous forensic professionals put the figure as high as 80%. Continue reading...

After success in Tanzania, other African countries may introduce the rodents to help sniff out the diseaseMwajuma Abdalla Ngema went to the clinic in Dar es Salaam with a persistent cough and intense pain around her ribs. The mother of two was tested for tuberculosis (TB) but the result came back negative. I was given some medication to manage the cough but the pain was unbearable," says Ngema, who went home feeling frustrated at the lack of clarity over her health.A few days later, Ngema was called back to Mbagala Kizuiani clinic - she had subsequently tested positive. She was relieved to finally have a diagnosis: I am currently on medication and on the road to recovery." Continue reading...

For the past 10 years cosmologists have been left scratching their heads over why two methods for measuring the universe's rate of expansion provide totally different results. There are two possible solutions to the puzzle, known as the Hubble tension: either something is wrong with the measurements or something is wrong with our model of the universe. It was hoped that observations from the James Webb space telescope might shed some light on the problem, but instead results published last week have continued to muddy the waters. To understand why the expansion rate of the universe remains a mystery, and what might be needed to finally pin it down, Madeleine Finlay speaks to Catherine Heymans, the astronomer royal for Scotland and a professor of astrophysics at the University of EdinburghThe Hubble constant: a mystery that keeps getting biggerSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Academics agree that by protecting robotic vehicles and landing sites we will help archaeologists of the futureJust as the outline of an iron-age hut or remains of a Roman sword cause excitement today, archaeologists of the future could be brushing Martian dust off metal and marvelling at one of Nasa's rovers.Researchers have said that such instruments, as well as other forms of human activity on Mars, including landing sites and debris, must be preserved as part of the archaeological record of space exploration. Continue reading...

UK not part of Iris2 project described as a significant step towards Europe's sovereignty and secure connectivity'The EU has launched an ambitious 10bn (8.3bn) space programme with a constellation of 290 satellites to rival Elon Musk's Starlink, further widening the post-Brexit security gap with the UK.The constellation is intended to ensure the bloc's security for governments and armies amid increasing global concerns over cybersecurity. Continue reading...

Scientists explain why the music of Kylie Minogue, Lady Gaga and Wicked sticks in our minds - and the best ways to ditch an unshakeable tuneSomething has changed within me - and it's really bloody annoying!Ever since Wicked stormed the global box office last month, many people have been holding space for the lyrics of Defying Gravity - which is to say, unable to get them out of their head. Continue reading...

US company Viatris has applied for a UK trademark for wafer-like film that dissolves in the mouthIt is a little blue pill that has transformed male health and the sex lives of millions.But while Viagra's success has made the erectile dysfunction drug famous, a less conspicuous form could soon become available. Continue reading...

The former Friends star criticised the film which makes extensive use of an AI-driven tool called Metaphysic Live to de-age and face-swap actorsTom Hanks' new film Here has been criticised as an endorsement for AI" by former Friends star Lisa Kudrow.Kudrow was discussing the implications of ageing with host Dax Shepard on the Armchair Expert podcast and pointed to Here as the harbinger of crisis for the film industry. Continue reading...

Peak of activity will be on 22 December and early risers should definitely look upAnother week, another meteor shower. Last week it was the highly reliable Geminids meteor shower, this week it is the lesser shower known as the Ursids. Whereas the Geminids were disrupted by the presence of a full moon, the Ursids will appear in a largely dark sky. Only after midnight will the moon, now progressed to its last quarter phase, appear above the horizon.The Ursids themselves will potentially be visible from the moment darkness falls in the northern hemisphere, since their radiant is located in the constellation of Ursa Minor, near to the north celestial pole. Continue reading...

Oxford analysis shows evidence of bloody massacre, with hand and feet bones chewed by human molarsA collection of human bones discovered 50 years ago in a Somerset pit are evidence of the bloodiest known massacre in British prehistory - and of bronze age cannibalism, archaeologists say.At least 37 men, women and children were killed at some point between 2200BC and 2000BC, with their bodies thrown into a deep natural shaft at Charterhouse Warren, near Cheddar Gorge. Continue reading...

Experts express fear - and resilience - as they prepare for president-elect's potential attacks on climate researchAs the world's largest gathering of Earth and space scientists swarmed a Washington venue last week, the packed halls have been permeated by an air of anxiety and even dread over a new Donald Trump presidency that might worsen what has been a bruising few years for science.The annual American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting drew a record 31,000 attendees this year for the unveiling of a slew of new research on everything from seismology to climate science to heliospheric physics, alongside a sprawling trade show and bouts of networking as scientists jostle to advance their work. Continue reading...

A professor of statistics explains that living is about taking risks and not knowing the outcome, and why it's important to accept and embrace thatMy father was an enthusiastic traveller, but as he got older he increasingly suffered from what he called travel fever", a vivid term for the acute anxiety felt before a journey, essentially due to uncertainty about all the things that could go wrong. Sadly, this eventually stopped him from going on holiday. Then I, too, started to suffer similar apprehension, so I consulted a psychotherapist. She recommended a small piece of cognitive behavioural therapy, which involved acknowledging the mental and physical symptoms of anxiety, but telling myself that these were essentially indistinguishable from feelings of excitement about the prospect of a journey. This reframing of my feelings has been reasonably effective - it's one way of dealing with uncertainty.It's not just the uncertainty of travel that we all have to face. None of us knows what is going to happen, or what is currently going on outside our immediate knowledge, or the vast majority of what has happened in the past. Uncertainty has been called the conscious awareness of ignorance", and there is a lot we are ignorant about. Continue reading...

Lines for pastries, phones, even paying respects have become famous. What is it that draws people to spend their scarce, precious time in queues?

Life-saving surgery in Greg Scott's youth instilled determination to find more effective EEG diagnosisAs a student, the neurologist Greg Scott had very little interest in following a career in medicine. Computing was the focus of his studies.Then one day he suffered a grand mal seizure. Also called a tonic-clonic seizure, it causes a loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions. Continue reading...

The Southern Sky Astrophotography 2024 exhibition displays the top entries from the 20th David Malin awards for Australian astronomers and photographers. The images are on display at the Sydney observatory until 1 February Continue reading...

Head north, avoid light pollution and seek out high ground - how to plan to see the northern lightsThe northern lights lit up the skies across the UK and Europe several times this year, and experts are predicting 2025 will be a great year for spotting the often elusive light show.The dazzling natural phenomenon, also known as the aurora borealis, has been particularly active in late 2024 and this will continue into next year. Continue reading...

Nyxoah's Genio device zaps the nerves in the tongue to help sufferers breathe better overnightPatients with a common sleep disorder have been fitted with an app-controlled device that zaps the nerves in the tongue to help them breathe overnight in a UK first.Sleep apnoea causes breathing to stop repeatedly during sleep and is thought to affect about 8 million people in the UK. Continue reading...

Amazing flurry of activity' possible in 2024's largest meteor shower with peak visibility across the country early on Saturday

Experts warn that mirror bacteria, constructed from mirror images of molecules found in nature, could put humans, animals and plants at risk of lethal infectionsWorld-leading scientists have called for a halt on research to create mirror life" microbes amid concerns that the synthetic organisms would present an unprecedented risk" to life on Earth.The international group of Nobel laureates and other experts warn that mirror bacteria, constructed from mirror images of molecules found in nature, could become established in the environment and slip past the immune defences of natural organisms, putting humans, animals and plants at risk of lethal infections. Continue reading...

As a study reveals that England has fourth-fastest growth rate globally, we outline some of the issues that increase riskRates of bowel cancer in young people are rising more sharply in England than in many other countries around the world, a study has found. Experts are still in the early stages of understanding the reasons behind the rise but here we look at some of the factors that could be contributing. Continue reading...

As a UK report finds women with reproductive conditions have faced poor care due to medical misogyny', people share their sufferingWomen and girls in the UK with gynaecological conditions such as endometriosis and adenomyosis have spent years in pain due to medical misogyny", according to a parliamentary report.The women and equalities committee report found that women with reproductive conditions faced inadequate care due to a pervasive stigma" and symptoms being normalised" by healthcare professionals. Continue reading...

On Monday Google unveiled its Willow quantum computing chip. The new chip takes just five minutes to complete tasks that would take 10 septillion years for some of the world's fastest conventional computers to complete. But despite its impressive power, it's not clear the chip has any practical applications. So does it bring quantum computing any closer? To find out Ian Sample speaks to Winfried Hensinger, professor of quantum technologies at the University of Sussex.Because of industrial action taking place by members of the National Union of Journalists at the Guardian and Observer this week, you may notice some disruption to the availability of new episodes in your Guardian podcast feeds in the coming days. All the work on this episode was done before the strike action began. For more information please head to theguardian.comGoogle unveils mindboggling' quantum computing chipSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Cochlear implantation is controversial in ways that parallel medical situations - such as artificial limbs and cornea transplants - are not. Why does this issue provoke such fierce debate?

Study suggests rate of disease among young adults is rising for first time and England has one of the fastest increasesThe number of under-50s being diagnosed with bowel cancer is increasing worldwide, according to research that also reveals rates are rising faster in England than almost any other country.For the first time, global data suggests doctors are seeing more young adults develop early-onset bowel cancer, from Europe and North America to Asia and Oceania. Continue reading...

UK's AI research body's ability to be a serious scientific organisation' is in danger, 90 staff tell trusteesStaff at the UK's national institute for artificial intelligence have warned that its credibility is in serious jeopardy" and raised doubts over the organisation's future amid senior departures and a cost-cutting programme.More than 90 staff at the government-backed Alan Turing Institute have written to its board of trustees expressing concerns about its leadership. Continue reading...

Researchers find that varying stiffness and speeds at which skin grows lead to mechanical' formation of inward foldsIt sounds like a conundrum that Rudyard Kipling would have explored in his Just So Stories, but researchers say they have the answer to how crocodiles get the scales on their heads.Many animals, from turtles to birds, have scales - hard plate-like structures that form on the skin. Continue reading...

As Apple Intelligence rollout continues, linguists say tools to rewrite texts and emails can miss nuance and characterIs that you? Or is it the bot? Linguists have said the nuance and character of human language is at risk, as Apple becomes the latest tech firm to launch artificial intelligence tools that can rewrite texts and emails to make users sound more friendly or professional.The ability to lighten a grumpy missive or turn arcane language into something a five-year-old could understand is promised from the new technology, which will be available on UK iPhones, iPads and Macs from Wednesday. Continue reading...

Company and investors to buy up to $1.25bn of stock at $185 a share, up from $112 a few months ago

The technology, which enables a gene to spread itself through a population, might prove a significant tool for disease preventionMosquitoes carry some of the world's deadliest diseases, including malaria, yellow fever and dengue. But challenging geography, conflict, budgets and insecticide resistance are among the issues hampering efforts to fight them.With global malaria cases continuing to rise and the climate crisis hastening the spread of virus-carrying mosquitoes into more countries, scientists are searching for low-cost, equitable ways to stop them transmitting disease. Continue reading...

The disease killed 600,000 people amid 263m cases globally in 2023, says WHO, calling for nations to address funding shortfallMalaria killed almost 600,000 people in 2023, as cases rose for the fifth consecutive year, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO).Biological threats such as rising resistance to drugs and insecticides, and climate and humanitarian disasters continue to hamper control efforts, world health leaders warned. Continue reading...

UN health body says patients could have more than one disease as unidentified illness continues to cause alarmTen patients suffering from a mystery disease that has broken out in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have tested positive for malaria, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said.However, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the patients could have more than one disease simultaneously. Continue reading...

I tried Sora, OpenAI's new tool, and it just left me sad. Are we ready for a world in which we can never tell what is real?I recently had the opportunity to see a demo of Sora, OpenAI's video generation tool which was released in the US on Monday, and it was so impressive it made me worried for the future. The new technology works like an AI text or image generator: write a prompt, and it produces a short video clip. In the pre-launch demo I was shown, an OpenAI representative asked the tool to create footage of a tree frog in the Amazon, in the style of a nature documentary. The result was uncannily realistic, with aerial camera shots swooping down on to the rainforest, before settling on a closeup of the frog. The animal looked as vivid and real as any nature documentary subject.Yet despite the technological feat, as I watched the tree frog I felt less amazed than sad. It certainly looked the part, but we all knew that what we were seeing wasn't real. The tree frog, the branch it clung to, the rainforest it lived in: none of these things existed, and they never had. The scene, although visually impressive, was hollow.Victoria Turk is a London-based journalist covering technology, culture and society Continue reading...