Science

TikTok could find itself in the crosshairs of UK authorities as they consider whether the video-sharing app should be banned. Security minister Tom Tugendhat told Sky News he had asked the National Cyber Security Centre to look into the Chinese-owned platform, which has more than one billion users worldwide. Despite its popularity, it has come

I’m watching as war breaks out in the Lake District. Tensions have been escalating for months between blue forces from the south and red forces in the north over disputed territory around Kendall. Now a helicopter has been shot down and both sides are attacking. It’s an exercise, of course. Not on a military training

NASA’s scientists are tracking a newly discovered asteroid that has a chance of impacting Earth in 2046. It’s a “very small” chance, according to NASA’s Planetary Defence Coordination Office – about 1 in 600. The space agency’s orbit analysts are keeping a close eye on the asteroid, which is about the size of an Olympic

Elon Musk has made no secret of his desire to colonise Mars, but seemingly not before he’s had a go at running his own community here on Earth. The SpaceX, Tesla, and Twitter owner wants to build a “utopia” called Snailbrook for his workers to live in Texas, reports The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). It

Devices that literally create energy from thin air could be made real thanks to a newly-discovered enzyme that transforms hydrogen into an electrical current, scientists have said. The finding was made in light of recent work by the same Australian team that showed many bacteria draw on hydrogen from the atmosphere as an energy source.

Scientists say they have bred mice using eggs originating from male cells, in a breakthrough which could one day pave the way for human male couples to have children. Researchers claim they successfully created the eggs by turning male XY chromosome pairs from the skin cells of male mice into female XX chromosome pairs. This

One revealing exchange spelt out the reason that America’s top intelligence officials believe TikTok is a threat to US national security. The vice-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Marco Rubio, asked the Director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, a few simple questions. Image: (L-R) Chair Mark Warner listens as vice-chair Marco Rubio speaks during

Twitter boss Elon Musk has backpedalled after publicly mocking an employee on the social media platform.  Twitter worker Haraldur Thorleifsson wasn’t sure whether he had been sacked by the company after finding himself locked out of his work computer, along with 200 others. Unable to get a clear answer as to whether he was still

To anyone interested in the political handling of the pandemic, Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages are explosive. So far, much of our understanding of decision-making and handling of scientific advice to government has been based on official minutes, committee evidence or rumour. But are they damning evidence of a minister failing to act on scientific advice?

A remote kissing device has been created by a group of university students in China for people in long-distance relationships. The 3D silicone gadget has a mouth-shaped module and is triggered through a kiss, which is then transferred to the “mouth” on the other side. It mimics the movement, temperature and pressure of the kiss

The quest for guilt-free flying may have been knocked off course by a broad study that has concluded there is “no clear or single net zero alternative to jet fuel”. The four most viable alternatives “offer some carbon savings but are not ideal”, according to the review by the Royal Society academy of scientists. Replacing

Global efforts to tackle climate change are currently insufficient, meaning it is time to explore technologies to reflect sunlight hitting the Earth back into space, a UN report has said. With efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions “not on track to meet the 1.5°C Paris Agreement goal”, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said: “Climate change

The Last Of Us star Bella Ramsey has hit back at a homophobic backlash over gay storylines in the popular video game TV adaptation, saying such representation is “extremely important”. The 19-year-old English actress told Sky News she found some people’s opposition to gay love stories in the show “bizarre”, adding: “The climate emergency and

An 11-year-old girl from Cambodia has died from bird flu, health officials have said, the first person in the country to die from the infection since 2014. The girl was from the rural province of Prey Veng, in south-eastern Cambodia, and became ill on 16 February. She went to hospital in the capital, Phnom Penh,

Tony Blair and William Hague are both in their 60s. Perhaps not the first people you’d expect to be calling for the UK to get with the times and “discover its place in this new world”. Their report – which calls for the government to roll out a “digital ID” for everyone in the country

Smartwatches and wearable fitness devices could trigger a heart attack in vulnerable patients and potentially be deadly, a new study has warned. The study carried out by researchers from the University of Utah and published in the Heart Rhythm journal, found that Samsung Galaxy Watch4, Fitbit smart scales, and Moodmetric smart rings, among many others