The Loneliness of Donald Trump

Rebecca Solnit on the corrosive privilege of the most mocked man in the world.

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Technology is making the world more unequal. Only technology can fix this

The inequality of badly-run states is boosted by technology – but technology also makes it easier to destabilise them. So: which future will prevail?

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What Makes The Spelling Bee So Hard

This week, 291 children, ranging from a single kindergartner to 124 eighth-graders, will assemble in National Harbor, Maryland, for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Since 1996, young spellers have attempted to spell over 14,000 words — from abactor to zymurgy. Twenty-five percent of those words, over 3,500, have been misspelled. Oliver Roeder sifts through all 21 years’ worth of errors, looking for reasons that some of the best spellers in the world stumbled when the stakes were highest.

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US notifies world of possible ‘safeguard’ tariffs on imported solar cells, effective last week

‘On 25 May 2017, the United States notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards that it initiated on 17 May 2017 a safeguard investigation on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells.’ The official filing can be found here. There’s a good chance any solar panels imported to the United States after these date will have a tariff added, if the USA – on or before September 22nd – decides solar panel imports have harmed domestic solar panel makers.

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Elon Musk: Automation Will Force Universal Basic Income

At the World Government Summit in Dubai, our real-world Tony Stark, Elon Musk, was throwing around some big and important ideas about the future of humanity. Musk says that Universal Basic Income — or an economic idea where everyone gets a paycheck from the government to spend how they wish — is one of the only solutions to the rise of robotic automation.

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There’s a dark side to meditation that no one talks about

The practice is not all peace, love, and blissful glimpses of unreality.

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The Spider Web That Gets Stronger When It Touches Insects

Its threads reinforce themselves by sucking up chemicals from the victim’s own shell.

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Mars had water for longer than previously thought

High concentrations of silica point to the existence of groundwater long after lakes evaporated. This finding extends the potential window for life on the...

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Chocolate is not a super food

Listen: we all want to believe that we make good choices. It doesn't matter if I douse my lettuce in fatty salad dressing, it's still good for me. Yes, there is an awful lot of sugary granola in my yogurt but hey, it's Greek yogurt. And maybe I do eat a lot of chocolate, but so what? It's good for my heart!

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Trump targets ‘negative press covfefe’ in garbled midnight tweet

A puzzling midnight tweet from President Trump gets a lot of attention.

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Mummy DNA shows that the ancients don’t have much in common with modern Egyptians

Scientists have extracted and analyzed DNA from mummies that are thousands of years old, and they have found that the ancient Egyptians are actually more genetically similar to people living today...

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The Shadows Left by Invasive Plants

They change ecosystems quickly, and leave impacts even after they're removed.

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‘I knew they were sugar pills but I felt fantastic’ – the rise of open-label placebos

Placebos have a reputation problem. It is widely believed they are only effective when those taking them are deceived into thinking they are taking real drugs. As such, prescribing dummy or fake treatments is unethical. Yet in Buonanno’s case there was no deception. And she is not alone.

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British Airways meltdown: Compensation and other costs could hit $100 million

The computer system failure that grounded thousands of British Airways flights over the weekend could cost the airline more than $100 million. British Airways canceled all Saturday flights from London's two biggest airports following the tech meltdown. The outage was caused by a power surge that affected messaging across the airline's system, and there was no evidence that hackers were to blame, it said.

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How a dog's diet shapes its gut microbiome

Studies of the gut microbiome have gone to the dogs -- and pets around the world could benefit as a result. In a new paper, researchers report that the ratio of proteins and carbohydrates in a canine's daily diet have a significant influence on the balance of microbes in its gut. Researchers observed that dogs fed a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet had enriched microbial gene networks associated with weight loss in humans.

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NASA Plans To "Listen" to the Ice of Europa to Find out What's Beneath It

A mission to the icy moon of Jupiter Europa will be coming within the decade.

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Finland Has Finally Launched Its Universal Basic Income Experiment

The universal basic income trial will give out €560 ($587) a month, tax free, to 2,000 randomly-selected Finns. UBI is a potential source of income that could one day be available to all adult citizens, regardless of income, wealth, or employment status.

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An experimental treatment: Doctors in Brazil use fish skin to treat burn victims

Researchers in Brazil are experimenting with a new treatment for severe burns using the skin of tilapia fish, an unorthodox procedure they say can ease the pain of victims and cut medical costs.

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Your steak isn’t leaking blood — here’s what that red liquid really is.

Stop being grossed out over that red liquid leaking from your steak.

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Scientists accidentally helping poachers to find rare species

Scientists have sent out a warning about publishing the location and habitat of endangered animals in scientific journals. Wildlife poachers are trawling online publications to target rare and exotic species as soon as the animals are described online.

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Alaska’s tiny, restless Bogoslof volcano erupts again -- and researchers won't be going there anytime soon

The volcano, on a tiny island on the southern edge of the Bering Sea, is so active that researchers have halted plans to visit this summer.

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The reasons you can't be anonymous anymore

In today’s hyper-connected world, it is becoming harder and harder for anyone to maintain their privacy. Is it time we just gave up on the idea altogether?

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The Antikythera mechanism is a 2,000-year-old computer

115 years ago, divers found a hunk of bronze off a Greek island. It changed our understanding of human history. By Brian Resnick.

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Two Missing WWII B-25 Bombers Found in the Pacific Ocean

Using a sonar-equipped underwater robot, a team of scientists has discovered the debris of a missing World War II-era B-25 bomber plane off the coast of Papua New Guinea. By Knvul Sheikh.

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Meet the Top 10 Newfound Species of 2016

The annual list highlights the top 10 newly discovered and named species of the previous year. This year’s list includes new species with bizarre names, unique diets, and more. By Kimberly Schwartz.

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U.S. might ban laptops on all flights into and out of the country

The United States might ban laptops from aircraft cabins of all flights into and out of the country, John Kelly, Secretary of Homeland Security, said on Sunday.

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NASA Is About to Make a Big Announcement About a New Mission to "Touch The Sun"

This Wednesday, NASA will officially announce its intention to launch a probe that will dip inside the Sun's atmosphere, calling it the first ever mission to "touch the Sun". The Solar Probe Plus mission will have to cope with temperatures and radiation unlike any other probe, but the data it will collect in the process will help astronomers predict solar storms and provide clues on some of the deepest mysteries surrounding our closest star. In 1976, a 370-kilogram (815-pound) block of instruments called Helios 2 came within about 43 million kilometres (27 million miles) of the Sun's surface in its mission to study...

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How Do Children Become Narcissists?

I am often asked “What type of parenting leads children to grow up with a Narcissistic Personality Disorder?” Or “Are the children of Narcissistic parents at risk of becoming Narcissists themselves?” I thought that I would use today’s post to shed some light on this issue. How Does Someone “Get” a Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

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The brain starts to eat itself after chronic sleep deprivation

Sleep loss in mice sends the brain’s immune cells into overdrive. This might be helpful in the short term, but could increase the risk of dementia in the long run

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Extremely Rare Albino Orangutan Found in Indonesia

The foundation nursing the primate back to health says they have never taken care of an albino orangutan and cannot find others like it in the wild. By Heather Brady. (May 18, 2017)

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China is now getting its power from the largest floating solar farm on Earth

China is one of the most polluted countries in the world, according to the World Health Organisation. Beijing in particular is known for its 'smog' or extreme pollution.  Recently, China's been on a mission to turn this around and become a leader in renewable energy.

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Brain-Altering Science and the Search for a New Normal

“The long-term question is, ‘Will somebody learn something about the brain that will be of use later?’” he says. “And the answer is, ‘Of course.’” By Sarah Scoles.

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When Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg sound the same dire warning about jobs, it’s time to listen

Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates built billion-dollar technology companies in two very different areas, but they both agree on the biggest threats to American jobs. At his Harvard University commencement speech on Thursday, Facebook FB, +0.11% chief executive Zuckerberg, had some tough words for the Class of 2017. “Our generation will have to deal with tens of millions of jobs replaced by automation like self-driving cars and trucks,” he said, adding, “When our parents graduated, purpose reliably...

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Ancient Chinese Medicine Blocks Sperm From Egg

It's safe, natural, has no side effects, and works — even after conception.

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I was struck by lightning yesterday—and boy am I sore

Ars technical director: "I, I, I... think we need to call 911."

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Muscular men less likely to support social and economic equality, study suggests.

Physically stronger men are less in favour of social and economic equality than weaker men, new research from Brunel University London indicates.

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Rare gene mutations inspire new heart drugs.

A rare group of people whose genetics make them virtually impervious to heart disease is guiding researchers to new drugs that may help the rest of us.

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Declassified memos show FBI illegally shared spy data on Americans with private parties

The FBI has illegally shared raw intelligence about Americans with unauthorized third parties and violated other constitutional privacy protections, according to newly declassified government documents that undercut the bureau’s public assurances about how carefully it handles warrantless spy data to avoid abuses or leaks. By John Solomon and Sara Carter.

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Male Fish Borrows Egg to Clone Itself

A fish created by spontaneous androgenesis is the first known vertebrate to arise naturally by this asexual reproductive phenomenon.

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The Secret Life of Secrets

Why does deception weigh so heavily on our minds? Psychologists may have an answer.

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World’s largest floating solar plant begins operations in China

China has announced that the World’s largest floating solar farm has finally been completed and connected to the local power grid. The plant, located on a coal mining subsidence area in Eastern China's Anhui province has a capacity of 40 megawatts.

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India Cancels Mega Plans To Build Coal Power Stations Due To Falling Solar Energy Prices

The huge plummet in prices of solar energy in India has helped leaders to walk away from its plans of building nearly 14 gigawatts of coal-fired power stations. Analyst Tim Buckley said this shift will have “profound” ramifications for global energy markets.

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British Airways: Computer problems hit passengers

"Following the major IT system failure experienced earlier today, with regret we have had to cancel all flights leaving from Heathrow and Gatwick for the rest of today, Saturday, May 27. "The system outage has also affected our call centres and our website but we will update customers as soon as we are able to.

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Leaked Documents Reveal Counterterrorism Tactics Used at Standing Rock to “Defeat Pipeline Insurgencies”

Internal TigerSwan documents provide a detailed picture of how the mercenary firm surveilled Dakota Access Pipeline opponents and infiltrated protest camps. By Alleen Brown, Will Parrish, Alice Speri.

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Waves Rippled Through Greenland’s Ice. That’s Ominous

A previously unobserved phenomenon has roiled the interior of one of Greenland’s glaciers. By Brian Kahn.

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The Promised Land

Canada’s thirst for oil pitted against its commitment to First Nations. By Patrick Michels.

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Testing the myth that global warming is leveling off

Has the Earth already reached peak warming? Has climate change leveled off, leaving us to adjust to a new, warmer normal? Not according to satellite measurements, say the authors of a paper published yesterday in the journal Scientific Reports.

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Do probiotics actually do anything?

The supplement aisles of most grocery stores and pharmacies in the United States are bursting with probiotics. These billions of bacteria stuffed into once-a-day capsules claim to provide digestive relief, among other benefits. They're extremely popular, with sales of $36.6 billion in 2015. And for good reason. For many people, various gastrointestinal issues come and go pretty much forever, causing chronic discomfort or worse. But according to gastroenterologists and other scientists, these tiny bugs might not be doing the jobs they claim to do.

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New Hair Growth Mechanism Discovered

In experiments in mice, UC San Francisco researchers have discovered that regulatory T cells (Tregs; pronounced “tee-regs”), a type of immune cell generally associated with controlling inflammation, directly trigger stem cells in the skin to promote healthy hair growth. Without these immune cells as partners, the researchers found, the stem cells cannot regenerate hair follicles, leading to baldness.

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Wolves need space to roam to control expanding coyote populations

Wolves and other top predators need large ranges to be able to control smaller predators whose populations have expanded to the detriment of a balanced ecosystem. That’s the main finding of a study appearing May 23 in Nature Communications that analyzed the relationship between top predators on three different continents and the next-in-line predators they eat and compete with. The results were similar across continents, showing that as top predators’ ranges were cut back and fragmented, they were no longer able to control smaller predators.

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