Brain scans reveal why your brain forgets details
The way we store and retrieve memories prioritises abstract context over specific details, which might help us learn general lessons from our experiences
Interstellar asteroid ‘Oumuamua slipped by NASA space telescope unseen
The Spitzer Space Telescope failed to spot ‘Oumuamua, the first interstellar object we’ve ever seen, but we were still able to learn something about this strange space rock
China is about to launch a mission to explore the far side of the moon
The Chang’e 4 mission, launching on 7 December, will place both a lander and a rover on the far side of the moon, where no spacecraft has ever landed before
Why Australia’s new encryption laws may actually help criminals
Australia has just introduced new laws forcing companies to give them access to people’s encrypted messages. Cybersecurity researchers say this will likely backfire
Genetic disorders should be the focus of CRISPR gene editing trials
He Jiankui used gene editing in an attempt to make HIV-resistant babies, but most geneticists think the best use of embryo editing would be to prevent genetic disorders
DeepMind’s Go playing software can now beat you at two more games
A machine learning system called AlphaZero is the first AI that can learn to master more than one game using the same algorithm - it can play Go, chess and shogi
Exclusive: Controversial skeleton may be a new species of early human
A skeleton found decades ago in South Africa may be a new species of Australopithecus, and could help reveal when our ancestors evolved to walk on two feet
Sorry France, but fuel taxes are a bitter pill we must all swallow
The reversal of France’s fuel tax sends a worrying message to world leaders meeting this week in Poland to firm up climate commitments, says Olive Heffernan
Geckos sprint across water on air bubbles they make with their legs
House geckos are too big to float using surface tension, and too small to create enough force to walk across water, so they use a combination of these tricks
Parrots are clever because their brains evolved the same way as ours
Like humans, parrots have big brains and good communication skills – now we know the DNA regulating parrot and human brain development evolved in a similar way