Deepfakes make it harder for us to communicate truths to one another and reach consensus on what is real. Screenshot The recent viral “deepfake” video of Mark Zuckerberg declaring, “whoever controls the data controls the world” was not a particularly convincing imitation of the Facebook CEO, but it was spectacularly successful at […]
Many victims of school bullying suffer mental illness later in life. from shutterstock.com The Victorian state government was recently reported to be investigating whether it could make it easier for bullying victims to sue schools. This was prompted by the case of a 13-year-old boy who had to undergo surgery after being […]
Concentrations of antibiotics found in some of the world’s rivers exceed ‘safe’ levels. Credit: University of York Concentrations of antibiotics found in some of the world’s rivers exceed ‘safe’ levels by up to 300 times, the first ever global study has discovered. Researchers looked for 14 commonly used antibiotics in […]
Life online is still life, but with extra challenges. from www.shutterstock.com magine you’re a 14-year-old girl on the train on your way home from school, when out of nowhere a “dick pic” appears on your phone. Surprise! You’ve been cyber flashed. It’s a form of harassment that didn’t exist even […]
From Amazon rainforests to the Arctic Circle, indigenous peoples are under siege. Waiapi people cross the Feliz river by barge in Amapa state, Brazil From Amazon rainforests to the Arctic Circle, indigenous peoples are leveraging ancestral knowhow to protect habitats that have sustained them for hundreds and even thousands of […]
Amber held high value in past human cultures, and it may have been lucrative to create fake beads for trade. from www.shutterstock.com Making fake jewels isn’t a modern phenomenon – it’s a human behaviour that dates back thousands of years. New research published today suggests that traders 2,000 years ago were […]
GETTY IMAGES Scientists and government officials meet this week in Paris to finalise a key assessment on humanity’s relationship with nature. The Intergovernmental Panel for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, or IPBES, will issue the first report of this type since 2005. It will detail the past losses and future prospects for […]
British scientists have joined the race to produce meat grown in the lab rather than reared on the hoof. Scientists at the University of Bath have grown animal cells on blades of grass, in a step towards cultured meat. If the process can be reproduced on an industrial scale, meat […]
In this Nov. 16, 2013 file photo, the Large Millimeter Telescope stands on the summit of the Sierra Negra peak near the town of Atzitzintla, Mexico. Astronomers have become the latest victims of Mexico’s violence with activities at the observatory being reduced because its staff has suffered so many crimes […]
Studies have shown that people perceive, select and evaluate shared experiences in a similar way to commercial offers. Shutterstock The scope and scale of the so-called “sharing economy” has increased exponentially over the past decade, to the point where it affects almost every aspect of our lives. Ride sharing has […]