Neanderthal growth gene turns modern humans into muscle heads https://www.science.org/content/article/neanderthal-growth-gene-turns-modern-humans-muscle-heads People with DNA variant from our evolutionary cousins tend to have more lean muscle mass Original research here […]

Antimalaria pesticide may have backfired, helping mosquitoes find love https://www.science.org/content/article/antimalaria-pesticide-may-have-backfired-helping-mosquitoes-find-love Poison appears to have caused mutation that helps insects home in on mates in noisy cities

COVID-19 can wake up dormant viruses in the body, large study confirms https://www.science.org/content/article/covid-19-can-wake-dormant-viruses-body-large-study-confirms Virus reactivations by SARS-CoV-2 could worsen initial symptoms and increase risk of Long Covid

The experience of being chased by a murderous kamikaze drone, a flying machine that behaves as if it were alive, is not one that humans are equipped to understand: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

The Dystopian Future Dawns in Kherson

Putin’s human safari in Ukraine is the beginning of a grim new normal.

theatlantic.com

Every year the festival attracts thousands of people to Scotland’s capital, but is the city able to harness this and improve it as a place to live? https://theconversation.com/edinburgh-festival-how-the-citys-residents-could-benefit-after-the-crowds-leave-288891 No, the Fringe is entirely […]

The #AI #DemandBubble : “What #hyperscalers have actually done is demolish their free cash flow and purchased hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of GPUs, TPUs, and XPUs to support a customer base dominated by two customers that are now accounting for the vast majority of their revenue growth […]

Because what London really needs is lots more cars and especially empty ones cruising the streets. I don't remember Londoners being consulted on being used as guinea pigs. #motonormitivity

Torsten Bell@torstenbell.bsky.social · 5h ago

This is a big moment for one of the UK’s most promising start-ups

See also #Strava mileage. (original cartoon #Privateeye 7-20th August '26) #cycling #biketoot

The science papers that patents cite the most https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02386-8 Nature reveals the studies that are mentioned most often in patent filings — and why.

Exclusive: the science papers that patents cite the most

Nature reveals the studies that are mentioned most often in patent filings — and why.

nature.com

"The Arctic is cooking. Across northern Russia—a region that is famously bitterly cold—temperatures this week have routinely surpassed 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32.2 degrees Celsius), adding to the mountain of broken heat records this summer has racked up so far." […]

ESPC tenement timewarp of the day ⌛🌀

UK sees 'really unusual' rise in hummingbird hawk-moth sightings this summer https://www.itv.com/news/2026-08-05/uk-seeing-really-unusual-rise-in-hummingbird-hawk-moth-sightings-this-summer

EU releases €1.4 Billion to Ukraine from frozen Russian asset profits after Kyiv attacks https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/08/05/eu-releases-14-billion-to-ukraine-from-frozen-russian-asset-profits-after-kyiv-attacks European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that €1.4 […]

Political Science people - is there a word for rule by corporations, which seems to be where we are at the moment? It's not an oligarchy or plutocracy because they are not natural persons but legal fictions.

Ookla H1 2026 Study Names the Fastest Big UK Fixed Broadband Providers https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2026/08/ookla-h1-2026-study-names-the-fastest-big-uk-fixed-broadband-providers.html One other catch with this study is that it seems to deliberately exclude smaller providers and […]

UK to Overtake Spain as Europe’s 2nd Largest FTTP Broadband Market in 2028 https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2026/08/uk-to-overtake-spain-as-europes-2nd-largest-fttp-broadband-market-in-2028.html

UK to Overtake Spain as Europe's 2nd Largest FTTP Broadband Market in 2028

New research from telecoms analyst firm Point Topic has forecast that full fibre (FTTP) broadband subscribers in the 31 markets of Europe will reach 157.4 milli

ispreview.co.uk

Scotland Focused Broadband ISP Brawband Suffers Service Outage https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2026/08/scotland-focused-broadband-isp-brawband-suffers-service-outage.html Inverness-based UK ISP Brawband (HighNet), which primarily sells home broadband services over CityFibre’s full fibre […]

Forget it. The Caledonian Sleeper is not going to run through the Channel Tunnel https://jonworth.eu/forget-it-the-caledonian-sleeper-is-not-going-to-run-through-the-channel-tunnel/

Agricultural inputs unevenly boost crop yields but consistently reduce biodiversity on Mount Kilimanjaro https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2688-8319.70301

New plan for train from Scotland to mainland Europe https://www.thenational.scot/news/26437031.new-caledonian-sleeper-route-europe-way/ A new route between the Highlands and mainland Europe could be on its way, after a working group met for the first time to assess the feasibility of extending […]

Apple to Face $32.5 Billion Lawsuit Over Facial Recognition in Photos App https://uk.pcmag.com/security/166544/apple-to-face-325-billion-lawsuit-over-facial-recognition-in-photos-app Apple is accused of violating Illinois law by collecting users' biometric information without consent. After […]

What Happens When AI Clones Your Face? Inside the Terrifying Rise of Digital Doppelgängers https://uk.pcmag.com/ai/166545/what-happens-when-ai-clones-your-face-inside-the-terrifying-rise-of-digital-doppelgangers When AI copycats steal real creators' faces and content, social platforms do little […]

Microsoft Teams is such an abysmally bad product that it defies comprehension. Did you know you can't schedule a meeting involving two different teams at once? You have to create a third team or manually add the members from both teams. It’s absolutely absurd. It is impossible that this kind of […]

This must be the poshest entrance to a motorway services I've ever stopped at. 10 points for anyone who recognises it.

Need a New Laptop? Prepare to Pay Double Your Budget https://uk.pcmag.com/laptops/166237/laptop-tech-affordability-survey-2026 The surging costs of memory and storage make for bad news for back-to-school laptop shoppers and tech consumers as a whole.

Need a New Laptop? Prepare to Pay Double Your Budget

The surging costs of memory and storage make for bad news for back-to-school laptop shoppers and tech consumers as a whole. Our recent survey shows a disconnect between expectations and actual prices.

uk.pcmag.com

Tiny patch of Amazon probably holds 40,000 insect species — many new to science https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02350-6 Megaproject involving hundreds of sites is cataloguing rainforest insects from the ground to the canopy.

Tiny patch of Amazon probably holds 40,000 insect species — many new to science

Megaproject involving hundreds of sites is cataloguing rainforest insects from the ground to the canopy.

nature.com

This Scottish startup saves wild fish by replacing them with Omega-3 algae fed on whisky waste https://www.euronews.com/2026/08/03/this-scottish-startup-saves-wild-fish-by-replacing-them-with-omega-3-algae-fed-on-whisky-w Are farmed fish a sustainable choice? Many still depend on wild-caught […]

What a phenomenal example of using your platform to raise awareness of the risks of climate change and the need for action. 10 gold stars to Gary and his human! www.instagram.com/p/DblYgQUlGI...

Today's Low Quality Ad is for this Lighthouse Fire Pin. The lighthouse keeper was so focused on looking out to sea that he didn't notice his own home had caught on fire. There's a metaphor in there somewhere, but the lighthouse keeper is too busy screaming in […] [Original post on mstdn.social]

Investigating relationships between loneliness, social isolation and health https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-74758-7

Investigating relationships between loneliness, social isolation and health - Nature Communications

Loneliness and social isolation are associated with a range of health outcomes. Here, the authors find evidence of effects of loneliness and social isolation on poorer mental health and wellbeing, and effects of loneliness on poorer general health.

nature.com