Technology

The Eta Aquariid meteor shower is expected to peak in the early hours of Saturday 6 May. It’s time to camp out, gather your sleeping bags and prepare for a night of stargazing, as you might be able to see a spectacular display of 120-160 shooting stars per hour. The Eta Aquariids occur when the

The declaration that COVID is no longer a global health emergency is an historic moment. It can be seen as an official declaration of the end of a pandemic that in three years killed nearly seven million people globally and made billions sick. In itself, it is a bureaucratic step. When the WHO declares a

Finland’s largest daily newspaper is fighting back against Russia’s media restrictions by hiding news about the war in Ukraine in a secret room within a video game. Helsingin Sanomat’s editor-in-chief Antero Mukka said the paper had to get creative in trying to breach the restrictions and decided to conceal articles in the shooter game Counter-Strike,

Astronomers have seen the first evidence of a dying sun-like star engulfing an exoplanet in what could be a preview of Earth’s ultimate fate. The cataclysmic event, some 13,000 light years away, was observed using the Gemini South telescope in Chile. Such spectacles occur when stars similar to our sun near the end of their

Elon Musk is wrong to call for a global pause in the development of AI, which would play into the hands of rogue regimes, a new report has warned. The SpaceX, Tesla, and Twitter owner was one of 1,000 people to put his name to a letter saying humanity faced “profound risks” due to the

A search is under way for “super memorisers” to take part in a study about why some people are especially good at remembering things. Anyone who thinks they are gifted is being asked to do an online test and survey – and some of the best will be invited to Cambridge University. Scientists there will

An artificial intelligence trailblazer, dubbed the “godfather of AI” has issued a warning about the technology he helped create. Geoffrey Hinton is the latest to join a growing list of experts who are sharing their concerns about the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence. Mr Hinton went so far as leaving his job at Google to

A British scientist known for his contributions to artificial intelligence has told Sky News that powerful AI systems “can’t be controlled” and “are already causing harm”. Professor Stuart Russell was one of more than 1,000 experts who last month signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause in the development of systems even more

When the world’s first photographic self-portrait was taken nearly 200 years ago by the pioneering American Robert Cornelius, the selfie was born. Now, millions of are taken every day and uploaded to social media sites such as Instagram, where audience engagement through clicks, likes and comments are assumed to be the snapper’s motivation. But researchers

Elon Musk has been ordered to be interviewed under oath to determine if he made specific statements about Tesla’s Autopilot feature after the carmaker threw their authenticity into doubt, saying the billionaire was often a target of online “deepfakes”. A judge in California made the tentative ruling after raising concerns that such arguments could be

Andrew Tate has gained more than six million followers in the five months since his Twitter account was reinstated. His profile spiked in popularity after he was detained in Romania and when he was put under house arrest. The controversial influencer had 38,400 followers when his profile was brought back to the platform in November.

A black hole has been pictured expelling a powerful jet for the first time. The image shows a glowing circle at the centre of a galaxy known as Messier 87 (M87), around 55 million light-years from Earth. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, which is 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion kilometres).

Astronomers have solved the mystery of how quasars – the brightest and most powerful objects in the universe – are ignited. These celestial objects of very high luminosity are found in the centres of some galaxies and can be a trillion times brighter than the sun, according to NASA. Although first discovered 60 years ago,

An early warning system for tsunamis and underwater earthquakes – powered by artificial intelligence – has been developed by scientists. A team at Cardiff University has been able to monitor the movement of tectonic plates in real time, combining technology such underwater microphones with AI. Experts have already used sound recordings to detect 200 earthquakes

The most detailed images of Mars’ moon Deimos have been unveiled after a probe flew just 100km (62 miles) from its surface. The “unprecedented” high-resolution pictures, captured by the UAE Space Agency during a series of flybys, include a glimpse of areas on the far side of the moon which have never been observed in

Twitter has mistakenly verified an explicit, fake account claiming to be linked to Disney. The account, which has the handle @DisneyJuniorUK, was spotted with a gold verification tick on Monday, before it was later suspended by Twitter. “No f****** way,” the account tweeted after realising it had been assigned a gold tick. Image: The fake