By Jacob Aron AI chatbots and a weight-loss drug swept the world, temperature records tumbled and India landed on the moon in a year of astonishing science news. Environment The number of […]
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Study suggests the paradoxical enjoyment of horror media serves an evolutionary function
Research published in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences presents evidence that the enjoyment of horror has evolved as a means of preparing for real-world encounters with danger. The study found that high enjoyment of horror involves […]
One in twenty workers are in ‘useless’ jobs – far fewer than previously thought
The so-called ‘bullshit jobs theory’ – which argues that a large and rapidly increasing number of workers are undertaking jobs that they themselves recognise as being useless and of no social value […]
Intensive agriculture could drive loss of bees and other tropical pollinators
Across the globe, lower levels of land use intensity are good for pollinators, finds the new Nature Communications paper which shows the importance of sustainable land management in cities and agricultural regions. As insect […]
Psychological safety
Every day, occupational safety professionals deal with the perception of risk – or lack thereof – and its consequences for human behavior and safety outcomes. But they might not consider some of […]
Kelp, maggots and mycoprotein among future foods that must be mass-farmed to combat malnutrition
Researchers at the University of Cambridge say our future global food supply cannot be safeguarded by traditional approaches to improving food production. They suggest state-of-the-art, controlled-environment systems, producing novel foods, should be […]
Smartphones have led to the ‘death of proximity’
The most in depth study ever to look at how adults use smartphones reveals how we are ‘homeless’ when we lose them because they are where we increasingly express our personalities, interests […]
Remote working: why some people are less productive at home than others
Has working at home during lockdown made people more productive or not? This has been the subject of some lively debate recently. Many companies do not routinely measure productivity. A large number will have traditionally assumed […]
Eye-tracking research sheds light on how background music influences our perception of visual scenes
According to a new study, the mood of background music in a movie scene affects a person’s empathy toward the main character and their interpretation of the plot, environment, and character’s personality […]
Is Social Media Changing Your Life?
When you pull out your phone to take a photo, are you planning to share it on social media? Why is it so important that people – most of whom you’ve never […]
Commuting Hurts Productivity and Your Best Talent Suffers Most
Many of us have been there: mired in rush-hour traffic, listening to music or news to take our minds off the grind, wishing we didn’t feel so stressed before we’ve even reached […]
Editing the DNA of human embryos could protect us from future pandemics
Hollywood blockbusters such as X-men, Gattaca and Jurassic World have explored the intriguing concept of “germline genome editing” – a biomolecular technique that can alter the DNA of sperm, eggs or embryos. If you remove a gene […]
Why partnering with your closest rival can work so well
Google and Facebook have become huge rivals in the digital ad space with the tech giants hoovering up 70 per cent of online advertising in the US between them, according to Marketwatch. While […]
When Algorithmic Fairness Fixes Fail: The Case for Keeping Humans in the Loop
As healthcare systems increasingly rely on predictive algorithms to make decisions about patient care, they are bumping up against issues of fairness. For example, a hospital might use its electronic healthcare records to […]