Science

The Doomsday Clock has inched 10 seconds closer to midnight – the closest it has ever been to a global catastrophe. But what does that actually mean? Although only a metaphor for the dangers facing humanity, the clock is updated by those in the know about a range of risks. The countdown is agreed on

The UK’s inaugural vertical rocket launch could happen as soon as this summer, with another attempt to reach orbit for the first time not far behind. Scott Hammond, deputy chief executive of SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland, told Sky News they hope the site will host multiple launches in the months ahead. It comes after an

Scientists say they are stunned after discovering sea spiders have the ability to grow new reproductive organs and an anus. Experts already knew that when the arthropods lose legs, they can regrow them. But in a development that will no doubt inspire the next generation of Spider-Man stories, a study has found the underwater creatures

Pet fish have spent money and revealed their owner’s credit card details to thousands of people during a live stream. The unlikely incident happened during an unusual experiment by a Japanese YouTuber, who wanted to see if his fish could complete a video game by themselves. Using a webcam pointed at their fishbowl and motion-tracking

Could the next public health crisis be caused by a fungus? The threat of such an emergency is posed at the outset of the hit TV series, The Last Of Us, which begins in the 1960s with a bleak speech by an epidemiologist on the danger of fungi. “If the world were to get slightly

Elon Musk has taken to the witness box to refute allegations that Tesla shareholders were defrauded out of billions of dollars by his tweets from 2018. The company’s chief executive wrote in 2018 that he had “secured” funding to take the electric carmaker private and later that investor backing was “confirmed”, causing shares to soar

Passengers have travelled on a full-size self-driving bus for the first time in the UK, with one of them describing the experience as “brilliant”. A group of 22 volunteers, part of a co-design panel, took a test journey on the autonomous single-decker over the Forth Road Bridge near Edinburgh on Thursday, operator Stagecoach said. Fleur

An independent panel concluded it was “exceptionally unlikely” that dredging to expand a Teesside port caused the deaths of thousands of crabs and other marine life.  Mass deaths of the animals on the coastline from Hartlepool to Whitby saw swathes of crabs washed ashore between October and December 2021. It resulted in distressing scenes of

If China invaded Taiwan there would be major impacts across the global high-tech supply chain “in weeks”, according to the chief executive of one of the most important companies involved in making vital semiconductor chips. Speaking exclusively to Sky News, Doris Hsu, CEO of Taiwan-based GlobalWafers, also said customers have “a lot of concerns” about

Stars are disappearing before our eyes at a faster rate than originally thought, with almost a third of people around the world now unable to see any at all, according to new research. While the unaided human eye should be able to spot several thousand stars on a clear, dark night, our view of our

Unvaccinated COVID patients retain a greater risk of death and cardiovascular disease for at least 18 months after infection, new research suggests. The findings come following a study of more than 160,000 people during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic – before any jabs were available. Those who caught the disease between March and

“Lucky girl syndrome” is the latest trend taking over TikTok, and its devotees believe affirmations are the key to a successful – and lucky – life. Wondering what it’s all about – and whether it’s time you started manifesting? Read on. What is the lucky girl syndrome trend? Lucky girl syndrome is a form of

Google Stadia, the tech giant’s ill-fated venture into the video game industry, is taking its final breaths after little more than three years. Launched in November 2019 with the goal of making a major dent in a space long dominated by Microsoft‘s Xbox, Sony’s PlayStation, and Nintendo, executives appeared convinced that players would be quick

A recruitment team unknowingly recommended ChatGPT for a job interview after the AI was used to complete an application task. Since its release back in November, the internet at large has been putting the impressive language model through its paces to see just how flexible and human-like it can be. With little more than a

Scientists have simulated what would happen if a nuclear bomb was dropped on a major city. Whether you’re close enough to be vaporised in an instant, or within range of possible radiation poisoning, there’s no such thing as a good place to be if one goes off where you live. But a new peer-reviewed study,

Apple chief executive Tim Cook is to take a pay cut of more than 40% after shareholders turned on the size of his awards last year. The company said he requested the move after fewer than two-thirds of Apple investors supported his pay package at the tech firm’s annual meeting in 2022. Regulatory filings on