Zoe Corbyn
@zoecorbyn.bsky.social
Freelance journalist writing about science, technology, research, higher education and ideas. Based in San Francisco. www.zoecorbyn.com // zoe@zoecorbyn.com
We've got the cars but ever wondered where the self-flying planes are? My BBC Technology of Business piece here: www.bbc.com/news/article...
Autonomous aircraft: Pilot-free crop dusters lead the way
Autonomous crop-spraying aircraft are leading the way in pilot-free flying.
bbc.com
Could humanoid robots be heading for the battlefield? www.bbc.com/news/article...
There's a lot of reasons but here's a business-focused take: Why does Amazon have no Western rivals? www.bbc.com/news/article...
Why does Amazon have no Western rivals?
The internet giant dwarfs other online retailers on both sides of the Atlantic.
bbc.com
Saddened to hear of the death of Craig Venter. I wrote this piece in 2013 after interviewing him in La Jolla. Venter was a maverick outsider and science needs those. www.theguardian.com/science/2013...
Craig Venter: 'This isn't a fantasy look at the future. We are doing the future'
The pioneering American scientist, who created the world's first synthetic life, is building a gadget that could teletransport medicine and vaccines into our homes or to colonists in space
theguardian.com
Craig Venter's prescription for science? Organise it around big goals and build teams to achieve them. "That is what we do – I have created 'team science' versus the university system with 200 prima donnas each with their own little space." www.theguardian.com/science/2013...
Craig Venter: 'This isn't a fantasy look at the future. We are doing the future'
The pioneering American scientist, who created the world's first synthetic life, is building a gadget that could teletransport medicine and vaccines into our homes or to colonists in space
theguardian.com
Inside the business of making quirky food-themed hair claw clips: www.bbc.com/news/article...
How a pivot to hair accessories led to business success
Jenny Lennick's colourful hair clips are sold across the US and around the world.
bbc.com
The welcome and needed alternatives to teak in luxury yachting: www.bbc.com/news/article...
The yachting industry searches for alternatives to teak
Prized for its beauty, teak is in short supply, forcing the yacht industry to look for alternatives.
bbc.com
‘Blokes cringe if you talk about it in the pub’ - my feature on the untapped power of menstrual blood published today. www.theguardian.com/society/ng-i...
‘A medical miracle’: is period blood ‘the most overlooked opportunity’ in women’s health?
Period blood has long been thought of as ‘stinky and useless’, but startups are exploring using the fluid to test for a wide range of health conditions – including difficult-to-diagnose endometriosis
theguardian.com
“There’s no need to be quite so ruthless with our own species, folks.” Natasha Lyonne chiding AI leaders at the TIME100 AI Impact Dinner in San Francisco last night. time.com/7322685/time...
AI Leaders Raise a Glass to Centering Humanity
The TIME100 Impact Dinner featured toasts from computer science professor Stuart Russell, Splice CEO Kakul Srivastava, artist Refik Anadol, and actor and Asteria Film Co. co-founder Natasha Lyonne.
time.com
“Swearing is what made people excited about it.” My interview with Cory Doctorow, campaigner against the enshittification of the internet, has just published in The Nerve! www.thenerve.news/p/cory-docto...
‘The platforms got worse because we let them!’: Cory Doctorow on his fight to save the internet from enshittification
The author and cyber-activist argues that the tech giants have ruined life online. The only thing that can save the virtual world now, he tells Zoë Corbyn, is its users
thenerve.news
Exciting new publication out of the UK and I have a piece coming out in it soon. www.thenerve.news/p/the-nerve-...
It's the Nerve's first weekend edition...
After a nail-biting and hugely successful launch week, we're wrung out but giddy with gratitude
thenerve.news
Move fast, kill things: the tech startups trying to reinvent defence with Silicon Valley values: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
Move fast, kill things: the tech startups trying to reinvent defence with Silicon Valley values
Venture capital-backed, $1bn companies are disrupting the way war will be waged with AI and futuristic weapons. Will they overthrow the traditional big military manufacturers, and what would that mean...
theguardian.com
"Not kissing [Trump’s] ring, like many others have, is probably an economic limiter – but it’s better to be principled." www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reid Hoffman: ‘Start using AI deeply. It is a huge intelligence amplifier’
The co-founder of LinkedIn and Democrat donor remains confident that AI can be good for all of us – if its introduction is handled in the right way
theguardian.com
This scientist treated her own breast cancer. But should the paper have been published? www.nature.com/articles/d41...
This scientist treated her own cancer with viruses she grew in the lab
Virologist Beata Halassy says self-treatment worked and was a positive experience — but researchers warn that it is not something others should try.
nature.com
Come get up close and personal with some driverless trucks in the Pilbara (in Western Australia). www.bbc.com/news/article...
Autonomous vehicles: How mines control driverless trucks
Big mining firms are switching to driverless trucks and other autonomous equipment.
bbc.com
Wildlife biologist Diane Boyd: ‘Wolf and human societies have intriguing parallels’ www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Wildlife biologist Diane Boyd: ‘Wolf and human societies have intriguing parallels’
The grey wolf expert on the incredible distances the predators travel, why dogs are a kind of dumbed down wolf – and her most hair‑raising close call
theguardian.com
AI scientist Ray Kurzweil: ‘We are going to expand intelligence a millionfold by 2045’ www.theguardian.com/technology/a...
AI scientist Ray Kurzweil: ‘We are going to expand intelligence a millionfold by 2045’
The Google futurist talks nanobots and avatars, deepfakes and elections – and why he is so optimistic about a future where we merge with computers
theguardian.com
‘We need other logics for our approach to nature’: Banu Subramaniam is uprooting colonialism in botany. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘We need other logics for our approach to nature’: the woman uprooting colonialism in botany
From plant names to notions of native species, many aspects of the natural world are shaped by empire. We need to decolonise, says the author of a new book – but not all experts agree
theguardian.com
Can we have our cake and eat it? Welcome to the world of sugar elimination www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
