Is Russia winning the disinformation war in Ukraine?

Russia has flooded social media with disinformation as part of its offensive on Ukraine, but unlike its previous campaigns to spread falsehoods, few people seem to be falling for it

AI driver can beat some of the world's best players at Gran Turismo

An AI trained to win the PlayStation 4 game Gran Turismo Sport has beaten some of the world's best players by learning to handle the most difficult parts of racing tracks

Birthday wishes inadvertently give away private information online

Thousands of tweets every day expose other users’ date of birth, which could help criminals access their private accounts

UK companies could face fines for failing to patch Log4j vulnerability

A security flaw discovered in December 2021 makes private data vulnerable to hackers – and the UK government could take action against firms that fail to fix it

Gentoo penguins found breeding further south due to climate change

A new colony of breeding Gentoo penguins has been discovered living on Antarctica’s Andersson Island, an unusually southern location for the generally more temperate birds.

Antibiotic resistance killed more people than malaria or AIDS in 2019

About 1.3 million deaths were directly caused by drug-resistant bacterial infections in 2019, a global study estimates

Kazakhstan unrest takes down a fifth of global bitcoin mining network

The second largest bitcoin mining nation in the world has cut off internet access, slashing the amount of computing power dedicated to the cryptocurrency

2021 in review: 'Right to Repair' campaigners claim iPhone victory

Groups campaigning for electronics manufacturers to make it easier for people to repair their own devices scored a surprise victory when Apple promised to sell parts and tools for fixing iPhones

Australia’s planned anti-trolling law may silence political critics

A law intended to tackle anonymous trolls on social media is unlikely to stop online bullying, but it could allow Australian government ministers to continue a trend of suing their critics

Boy finds 'extinct' frog in Ecuador and helps revive species

A citizen science prize of $1000 got one family looking for a once-common amphibian. Their rediscovery of it has led to tadpoles hatching in captivity

Silk modified to reflect sunlight keeps skin 12.5°C cooler than cotton

Silk has been modified through the addition of nanoparticles to reflect 95 per cent of sunlight, which means the material stays extra cool on a hot day

Electric cars expected to outsell diesel ones in the UK next year

For the first time ever, sales of electric cars are forecast to exceed those of diesel ones in the UK next year, thanks to a fall in up-front prices and improvements in public charging infrastructure

Why has Facebook changed its name to Meta and what is the metaverse?

Facebook has rebranded itself as Meta in an attempt to own the metaverse, a concept for a 3D version of the internet that a number of companies are working on

US military may get a dog-like robot armed with a sniper rifle

A four-legged robot made by Ghost Robotics and outfitted with a sniper rifle and night-vision cameras was displayed at a meeting of the Association of the United States Army

Will PayPal's adoption of bitcoin make cryptocurrency more mainstream?

PayPal will now allow customers to buy and sell four cryptocurrencies, which could make it more useful for everyday life. Is this the moment when cryptocurrencies become mainstream?

A maize meme shows why you shouldn't trust social media

There is an image circulating on social media looking at genetically modified corn, but its origins are extremely dubious, writes James Wong

EU votes to restrict AI use in law enforcement while UK rolls it out

Legislation working its way through the European Parliament could see a complete ban on the use of artificial intelligence in law enforcement

Futuristic farm may use 250 times less water than normal

This vertical farm in Copenhagen uses robots to grow leafy vegetables under LED lights. The company behind it says this results in a reduction of water and energy use

Why has El Salvador officially adopted bitcoin as its currency?

El Salvador is the first country to adopt the cryptocurrency bitcoin as legal tender, but other nations may follow suit