Science

Scientists have discovered what they say is “the most elaborately dressed-to-impressed dinosaur ever described”, shedding new light on how birds like peacocks inherited their ability to show off. The new chicken-sized species lived about 100 million years ago, and had features which have never before been seen in the fossil record, including a mane of

A consortium led by BT will develop the UK’s first commercial drone corridor in Reading next summer, using a five-mile (8km) flight path to experiment on the different uses for unmanned drones. The experiment will see drones share open and unrestricted airspace with other commercial aircraft, including planes, while being operated beyond the pilots’ line

Digital technology has been used to rebuild the brain of Thecodontosaurus, giving new insights into one of the earliest dinosaurs to roam the planet. Better known as the Bristol dinosaur after its fossils were found in the city in the 1830s, it was only the fourth dinosaur to be named. Research now suggests it may

Iran has executed Ruhollah Zam, a dissident accused of inspiring nationwide protests in 2017 through his high-profile Telegram channel, according to state-controlled media. Mr Zam, 47, had been living in exile in France until 2019 when the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claims it lured him back to the country and arrested him. The IRGC

A group in China is using a flamethrowing drone to destroy the nests of wasps. The device is being used as part of a campaign to eradicate more than 100 wasp nests in a village in Zhong county near the city of Chongqing. Blue Sky Rescue, which the China Daily newspaper describes as the country’s

Mastercard and Visa have said that they will no longer allow their credit and debit cards to be used for purchases on Pornhub. Both payment companies had launched an investigation after a report in The New York Times alleged that many videos posted on the adult website were taken without consent – and some depicted

The European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is the EU’s lead authority for evaluating products such as COVID-19 vaccines, says it has been targeted by a cyber attack. The agency is responsible for authorising the use of COVID-19 vaccines across the EU, and has access to quality, safety and effectivity data generated by the pharmaceutical researchers’

Google has revealed the top search terms used in 2020. The top search was, of course, coronavirus – and that drove people to flock to Google search to make sense of the changes to their lives and adapt to new ways of living. Google also released a YouTube video with words by Kofi Lost and

Cybersecurity firm FireEye says it has been hacked by foreign government agents with “top-tier capabilities”. FireEye has 8,800 customers, including US federal government agencies and more than half of the Forbes Global 2000 list. The US firm said hackers broke into its network and stole “red team tools”, which it uses to test the defences

Plans by social media firms for more messaging encryption would put children at risk, England’s children’s commissioner has said. Anne Longfield says end-to-end encryption, which hides messages from everyone except those in a conversation, makes it impossible for platforms to monitor content and prevents the police from gathering evidence of child sexual exploitation. Her report

Finland is today expected to introduce a new law which could see Chinese telecommunications equipment excluded from the nation’s networks. It follows Finland‘s minister of transport and communications, Timo Harakka, stating the country would not directly be banning Huawei equipment with the law. Although it does not name Huawei or fellow Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE,

The pub staples of beer and crisps could soon be destined for bigger things after a technology firm worked out how to harness the emissions and waste from their manufacturing processes to tackle climate change. Emissions from beer fermentation in a brewery, which usually produces a high amount of carbon dioxide (CO2), will be captured

Poultry and other captive birds will have to be kept indoors under tightened rules aimed at curbing the spread of bird flu following a series of outbreaks. The move was ordered by the Chief Veterinary Officers for England, Scotland and Wales following cases of the “highly infectious” disease, including in the wild. From 14 December,

The Oxford team behind a successful COVID-19 vaccine candidate are close to entering the final stage of human trials in their jab against malaria. Speaking to The Times, The Jenner Institute director Adrian Hill said the much-anticipated injection will be tested on around 4,800 children in African countries next year, after earlier trials showed promising

A British-led experiment which could enable mining on the moon and Mars will be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday. Acquiring local resources in space rather than bringing everything needed from Earth could enable long-term human settlements off the planet. The new BioAsteroid experiment, which will take off on a SpaceX rocket

It is an exclusive club including the likes of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Snapchat’s Evan Spiegel. Today, 25-year old Austin Russell joined them in becoming one of the few entrepreneurs to have become a billionaire before the age of 30. He did so as Luminar Technologies, the company he co-founded and of which he is