science
Have we finally worked out how Venus flytraps snap shut?
It was widely thought that the movement of water through Venus flytrap cells caused the trap to close, but detailed experiments have led scientists to propose an alternative mechanism Source link
Ditching cigarettes for vapes may curb the cancer benefits of quitting
A study of 4.5 million people suggests that ex-smokers who take up vaping are more at risk of dying from lung cancer than people who quit without the use of e-cigarettes Source link
New Scientist recommends a brilliant take on the evolution of birds
Palaeontologist Steve Brusatte’s The Story of Birds offers an excellent and sometimes startling account of bird evolution, finds Michael Marshall Source link
Hundreds of new moons are revealing our solar system's violent history
The outer solar system once seemed like a quiet backwater. But a glut of tiny, strange moons with unruly orbits are coming into view, revealing hints of a surprising past – and the origin of Saturn’s rings Source link
A Waymo nearly hit me, but I'm still optimistic about driverless cars
A near miss with a Waymo while cycling through London hasn’t changed my optimistic stance on driverless cars, but we can’t ever let our guard down, says Matthew Sparkes Source link
Iron Age Britons may have removed the brains of the dead
Scrape marks inside a skull and sharpened limb bones in a set of remains found in Scotland may be evidence of unusual Iron Age funerary rituals Source link
The last-ditch plan to save coral reefs from utter destruction
Bleaching has devastated reefs around the world, raising fears of an irreversible shift. Yet new interventions have revealed that corals can be remarkably resilient if we can give them enough help to recover Source link
You don't need to worry about recursive-self-improving AI – yet
Anthropic has warned that recursive-self-improving AI could be on the horizon, but the truth is the company is more immediately concerned with marketing itself for a blockbuster initial public offering on the stock market, says Matthew Sparkes Source link
Can Apple and Google stop children from sharing explicit images?
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned tech firms, including Apple and Google, that they must voluntarily implement tools to stop children sharing explicit images, but experts warn this is easier said than done Source link
Are we getting to the point where it's safe to gene-edit babies?
A team in the US has reported promising results after using an improved form of CRISPR to gene-edit human embryos, but a major issue remains unsolved Source link