World

All stories in World

• How plants’ ability to ‘think’ might force us to redefine intelligence

  Some might balk at the idea that plants made of roots, stems and leaves could have intelligence or consciousness. But scientists have actually been hotly debating this idea for decades. A recent paper sought to finally draw a line under this question by dismissing it completely. ...

  • The Conversation

• You can now get 100,000s of books for FREE — thanks, confusing copyright law

  Copyright law, you can't live with it, you can't live without it — but at the very least you can get a whole load of books ...

  • Callum Booth

• Here's what we need to build our first moon base

  Half a century after humans first walked on the moon, a number of private companies and nations are planning to build permanent bases on the lunar surface. Despite the technological progress since the Apollo era, this will be extremely challenging. So how should you get started? The ...

  • The Conversation

• The 'feral hog' meme encapsulates the best side of the internet

  The feral hog meme came out of nowhere, but means a bit more than many of the short-lived jokes beloved by the Very Online ...

  • Callum Booth

• President Donald Trump blames video games (again) for mass shooting

  The weekend was a particularly hellish one, as mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio occurred in less than 24 hours. At least 31 people died and countless more were injured. As Americans are rocked by the tragedy and attempt to understand it, the President has gone on ...

  • Rachel Kaser

• Fighting for sex helps animals survive habitat loss, new beetle research says

  Animals around the world are seeing their environments change. Climate change is causing heating and changes to weather patterns, the oceans are becoming more acidic, and previously undisturbed habitats are being altered and degraded by human activities. If we want to understand ...

  • The Conversation

• Criminologist: Trump acts like a criminal when denying climate change

  While much of the world now recognizes the need for immediate action, there are still those who question the scientific consensus on climate change and deter efforts to tackle it. As might be expected, they have the attention of US President Donald Trump and his Republican administration. The ...

  • The Conversation

• Earth's ocean was stagnant and stinking for a billion years — here's why that's exciting

  Geologists have dubbed Earth’s middle age the “boring billion”. Occurring some 1,800 to 800 million years ago, it has long been considered a period when little happened on Earth in terms of biological evolution, climate, or the chemistry of the oceans and atmosphere. But emerging ...

  • The Conversation

• Dinosaurs are dead, but there's still life inside their bones

  One of the tricks you learn hunting dinosaurs in Canada is to look for orange. Dinosaur bones are dull browns, tans, and ...

  • The Conversation

• Research: Climate change helped elephants evolve a large brain

  Elephants have long captivated our attention, partly because of their sheer size and majesty. But we’re also struck by ...

  • The Conversation

• Johannesburg's power supplier gets the better of ransomware attackers

  A ransomware infection at City Power, one of South Africa's electricity providers, left some city residents of Johannesburg ...

  • Ravie Lakshmanan

• Senate Intelligence Committee: Russia targeted all 50 US states ahead of 2016 elections

  In a heavily redacted report released by the Senate Intelligence Committee today says Russians targeted election systems ...

  • Ivan Mehta