Science

A stroke survivor has been able to move her hand and arm for the first time in nine years after spinal stimulation. Heather Rendulic was left paralysed on her left side after a stroke in 2012 at the age of 22. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University in the US used

Microsoft is limiting how many questions people can ask its new Bing chatbot after reports of it becoming somewhat unhinged, including threatening users and comparing them to Adolf Hitler. The upgraded search engine with new AI functionality, powered by the same kind of technology as ChatGPT, was announced earlier this month. Since then, it has

An estimated 91.2% of card payments last year were contactless, according to data covering spending when the technology was available. Analysis of habits by debit and credit card users at Barclays showed face-to-face or in-store spending using contactless was up from 82.6% achieved the previous year. The bank credited much of the “tap and go”

Previous COVID infection boosts long-term immunity and lowers the risk of hospitalisation and death at the same level as vaccination, new peer-reviewed research shows. The study, led by the University of Washington and published by The Lancet medical journal, is said to be the “most comprehensive study to date” on the impact of natural immunity

A major study is being launched to see if people with psychosis or psychotic symptoms can benefit from cannabidiol (CBD). CBD is the second most abundant active ingredient in cannabis but does not give a high by itself and there is no evidence people can become addicted. The NHS only prescribes it for a few

In a battle to tackle misinformation, Google is expanding on a new initiative called “prebunking”. The tech giant aims to release short videos which highlight the techniques that are commonly used whenever misleading information is put out on to the internet. The videos are set to appear as adverts and will be put out on

Britain should be more concerned about Chinese-made CCTV cameras on the streets than spy balloons 60,000ft above ground, a watchdog has warned. New findings from the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner (OBSCC) said British police forces are “shot through” with Chinese cameras, drones and other surveillance equipment. The watchdog’s survey also suggested bodies using the

A 19-month-old girl has been successfully treated for a fatal genetic disease with the world’s most expensive drug. Teddi Shaw is the first person in the UK to receive Libmeldy, a treatment that corrects the underlying genetic fault that causes metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD). The gene therapy, which replaces a defective gene inside the body’s cells,

Semi-aquatic dinosaurs which roamed southern England 125 million years ago inherited the brain capacity from their ancestors to catch the fish they survived on, according to new research. Scientists from the University of Southampton and Ohio University reconstructed the brains and inner ears of two spinosaurs, which they say helps reveal how these large predatory

Flying taxis could be with us sooner than you think as Dubai hopes to launch its “aerial ridesharing” service by 2026. United Arab Emirates Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum has announced the approval of the designs for new air taxi stations across the city. Renewing Dubai’s commitment to the flying taxi programme, he

A heart failure patient has become the first in the UK to be fitted with an early warning sensor the size of a pen lid which alerts medics if their condition worsens. The device will allow for more rapid interventions, helping keep people well for longer, avoiding costly hospital admissions and easing pressure on the

Work should start to create a vaccine against bird flu in case the virus starts to spread between humans, a UK expert has warned. Professor Ian Brown, head of virology at the Animal and Plant Health Agency, said the rapidly evolving virus was increasingly spreading from birds into mammal species, raising the threat to humans.

Reddit was the victim of a cyber attack that saw hackers steal employee login details and access the platform’s internal systems. The popular internet forum said the incident took place on 5 February. In a statement, the company revealed hackers accessed “internal documents, code, as well as some internal dashboards and business systems”. But there

The images of collapsed, and collapsing buildings are truly distressing. After all, structural failure is the main reason for the catastrophic loss of life in this earthquake. So why has it been so bad in an area of known risk? Above all else, this was a very severe earthquake. Possibly even more severe than even

If 2023 is the year the world starts to collapse, scientists think they know where you should head to survive. The Doomsday Clock has moved the closest to global catastrophe it has ever been – largely because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and also the climate crisis. Now, researchers say Australia and New Zealand are

Microsoft has revealed a revamped Bing search engine powered by chatbot technology as an AI arms race with rival Google hots up. The Windows, Office, and Xbox maker is also giving its Edge web browser an update following a multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI, which took the world by storm last year by releasing ChatGPT. While