Including population control in climate policy risks human tragedy
Making population issues part of the world's efforts to avert climate change could cause human rights abuses including forced sterilisation, says Ian Angus
Future robot swarms should copy lazy ants who let others do the work
The optimum strategy for tunnelling ants is to leave all of the digging to just a few workers. Swarms of robots could use similar techniques for clearing rubble
The male fish who eat their eggs because they want better babies
When male barred-chin blenny fish are unimpressed by their latest batch of offspring, they often eat them so they can start a new family as soon as possible
New mega-journal will raise the profile of African science
A new journal for Africa's scientific researchers is about to makes its debut. It could be a game changer for the continent, says Curtis Abraham
Corals on old North Sea oil rigs could help natural reefs recover
Not only are deep-sea coral ecosystems thriving on oil and gas rigs in the North Sea, their larvae may be helping repopulate damaged natural reefs
Replacing your boss with a cruel robot could make you concentrate more
A mean robot watching over you increases your focus on the most important parts of a task more than a friendly robot or even no robot at all
Why the US is worried a Russian satellite might be a space weapon
A Russian satellite has been getting closer to Earth without a clear reason and US officials are concerned that it could be a space weapon
A drug’s weird side effect lets people control their dreams
Researchers have developed the most effective technique for lucid dreaming yet, and it may allow people to fulfil fantasies and overcome nightmares and phobias
An opt-out organ donor system might actually lead to fewer transplants
England’s plans to make everyone an organ donor by default could make families less likely to give consent, perhaps leading to a fall in transplant operations
Exposure to insecticide DDT linked to having a child with autism
Although DDT has been banned for decades in many countries, exposure to its breakdown products may be influencing whether mothers have autistic babies