Crowdsourcing a solution works best if some don’t help
There is wisdom in crowds, but people's natural tendency to freeload means crowsourcing works best if the crowd size is relatively small
Speed dating shows arranged bird marriages lead to bad parenting
Zebra finches who raised chicks with their mate of choice proved to be better parents than those that had an arranged partnership
One Per Cent
Control a drone swarm, AI takes school tests and robo-reporter files its first story
Exoskeleton reveals lengths we go to save energy when walking
We naturally shift our gait even if it saves minuscule amounts of energy – a finding that could help rehabilitate people with spinal injuries
Great tits and blue tits battle by laying eggs in enemy nests
Hostile nest takeovers and sneaky egg laying defines the interspecies warfare that may result in chicks with confused identity
Did global warming play a role in Japan’s devastating floods?
A freak set of weather events led to tropical storm Etau dumping record amounts of rainfall, but climate change may have played a part too
Volunteers ate 6000 calories a day to probe cause of diabetes
People who eat too much become resistant to their own insulin and can develop diabetes. A binge-eating experiment suggests that oxidative stress may be to blame
Black holes may be brick walls that bounce information back out
It's another shot in the black hole wars – a Nobel laureate has a counterpoint to Stephen Hawking's new solution to the black hole information paradox
Earth’s composition might be unusual for a planet with life
Solar systems with habitable planets seem to be made of different stuff to our sun, meaning alien worlds probably aren't like Earth, a new study suggests
Jeremy Corbyn: Where he stands on science and medicine
The new leader of the Labour Party supports action on climate change, and has created a shadow minister for mental health – but he fails on some issues
