Tag Archives: science

Paris, France | AFP |  Algorithms are a crucial cog in the mechanics of our digital world, but also a nosy minder of our personal lives and a subtle, even insidious influence on our behaviour. They have also come to symbolise the risks of a computerised world conditioned by commercial …

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP |  Data guru Hans Rosling, a Swedish public health expert famous for combating scientific ignorance with catchy YouTube videos in his mission to promote a “fact-based world”, has died at the age of 68, his foundation announced. Rosling, who described himself as an “edutainer”, was diagnosed …

Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Grace Matsiko A team of Ugandan engineers has invented a “smart jacket” that diagnoses pneumonia faster than a doctor, offering hope against a disease which kills more children worldwide than any other. The idea came to Olivia Koburongo, 26, after her grandmother fell ill, and …

Paris, France | AFP |  Baboons make sounds that are similar to the vowels a,e,i,o and u, researchers said Wednesday, suggesting that some monkeys have had the physical capacity for language for millions of years. The findings in the journal PLOS ONE add a new dimension to the long-running debate …

5. 4. 3. 2. 1. 1… An extra second to see out 2016 Paris, France | AFP | As if 2016 has not been long enough, the year’s dying minute will last an extra second to make up for time lost to Earth’s slowing rotation, timekeepers say. Countries that use …

Paris, France | AFP | Humans used ceramic pots to cook wild plants more than 10,000 years ago, well before the advent of agriculture, researchers reported. The findings are the earliest direct proof that our species processed plants for food. The vessels, discovered in Libya, contained traces of wild grasses …

Paris, France | AFP |  Pregnancy causes “long-lasting” physical changes to a woman’s brain, with significant, but seemingly beneficial, grey matter loss in parts of the crucial organ, a study said. Some alterations lasted at least two years, they reported, but did not appear to erode memory or other mental …

Paris, France | AFP | A good night’s sleep may reinforce negative memories in the brain, researchers said on Tuesday, lending scientific credence to the time-worn caution against going to bed angry. Slipping into slumber while holding on to a freshly-formed bad memory engraves it in the brain, making it …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | A British girl who died after a terminal illness won the right to have her body frozen in an unprecedented ruling, the High Court said on Friday. The 14-year-old girl from London had written to a judge explaining she wanted a chance to “live …

Jakarta, Indonesia | AFP | Skygazers were heading to high-rise buildings, ancient forts and beaches Monday to witness the closest “supermoon” to Earth in almost seven decades, hoping for dramatic photos and spectacular surf. The unusually big and bright Moon will appear at its most impressive just as night falls …