US-built biometrics equipment is falling into the hands of the Taliban

There are growing concerns about how the Taliban might use the data from a huge biometrics programme started by the US in Afghanistan

Earth will hit 1.5°C climate limit within 20 years, says IPCC report

Earth is expected to hit the critical threshold of 1.5°C warming due to climate change within the next 20 years, regardless of how deeply global governments cut greenhouse gas emissions under all five scenarios considered by a landmark scientific...

Even exorcists are now working remotely

Remote services for getting rid of remote junk, plus artificial intelligence gets awarded a patent and zero gravity chairs, in Feedback’s weird weekly round-up

Are we seeing an end to 'surveillance capitalism' on the internet?

Some of the world's largest technology companies are starting to offer a new type of privacy on their platforms. It will appease some customers' concerns around online advertising, but shouldn't be to the detriment of the companies

Dogs will ignore you if they know you are lying, unlike young children

Dogs tend to ignore suggestions from people who are lying, hinting that – unlike human infants and some other primates – they might recognise when a person is being deceptive

Some people can tell if you have an infection just by looking at you

People in different cultures – including hunter-gatherers in equatorial rainforests and city dwellers in Europe – can tell when someone else is in the early stages of infection by looking at them

Fish are becoming addicted to methamphetamines seeping into rivers

Methamphetamines and other drugs can enter freshwater rivers through wastewater, and lab tests show trout can become addicted, changing their behaviour by reducing their activity levels