$10bn observatory manoeuvred into position at four times the orbit of the moon, with first images expected in JuneThe world’s largest and most powerful telescope has reached its final destination – an observation post one million miles away from Earth.Nasa’s $10bn James Webb space telescope launched on Christmas Day last year from French Guiana on a quest to behold the dawn of the universe....
The solution to today’s pro-o-o-o-o-oblemEarlier today I posted the following video, in which I asked Google Assistant to calculate the factorial of 100.The factorial of 100 is the multiplication 100 x 99 x 98 x … x 3 x 2 x 1 in which 100 is multiplied by every whole number below it. Continue...
Researchers say ‘wheeze honks’ are identity signals, with reactions ranging from calls to spraying dung linked to level of familiarityA call from a stranger may elicit myriad responses – panic, confusion, maybe even excitement – but it turns out that hippos have a rather more corporeal reaction: they spray dung.Researchers studying hippopotamuses in Mozambique have revealed that the...
Fiona Bruce has encouraged unvaccinated people to join the TV show’s debate. I have misgivings about this attempt to bridge a growing divideAt the start of 2020, I was working on a piece about Question Time, and how it had transformed over time from being an ambling, rather niche discussion show into politics’ answer to Jeremy Kyle, with an audience of incredibly angry people trash-talking...
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says Covid pandemic has proven that health is ‘an international issue’The head of the World Health Organization has warned member countries that the UN’s global health body is being “set up to fail” without a “paradigm shift” in the way that it is funded and supported.In stark language delivered to the WHO’s executive board, the organisation’s director...
There will be no ‘victory’ or ‘armistice day’ – the reality of how pandemics end is far more complicated than thatThe Covid pandemic has entered a perplexing phase, challenging our beliefs about what the best responses are and how we should behave. Is Omicron now “just like the flu”, meaning we can relax – or does that overlook the continuing crisis in hospitals, the record...
Obscure, generations-old theorems have been transformative in tech, and there are still plenty out there to be usedIn 1998, a computer science PhD student called Larry Page submitted a patent for internet search based on an obscure piece of mathematics. The method, known today as PageRank, allowed the most relevant webpages to be found much more rapidly and accurately than ever before. The patent,...
Are you smarter than Google Assistant?“Hey Google, what’s the factorial of 100?”There are several clips doing the rounds of what happens when you ask Google Assistant this question. The response is both hilarious and terrifying. Continue...
MPs urge support for workers after data shows extent of ongoing illness in first 18 months of pandemicCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageNHS trusts in England lost nearly 2m days in staff absences due to long Covid in the first 18 months of the pandemic, according to figures that reveal the hidden burden of ongoing illness in the health service.MPs on the all-party...
'Highly predatory’ animals emerge from hibernation and move to areas with reindeer and moose calves, finds studyBrown bears switch habitats in the spring so they can hunt reindeer and moose calves, research suggests.After emerging from hibernation, the animals embark on an active hunting strategy to take full advantage of the calving period. Continue...
Guardian Australia’s summer wrap of brilliant writing and juicy journalism selected by our lifestyle editor, Alyx GormanSign up to receive Five Great Reads as an emailHappy morning tea. For those who have returned to work this week, well done on making it through the first few hours of Monday. Welcome to Five Great Reads, your summertime, weekday wrap of fantastic features, selected by me,...