Wolves with a taste for nectar? How we discovered the first large carnivore that pollinates flowers

| Insights & Views

Sandra Lai, Postdoctoral Researcher, Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme, University of Oxford Every year in the highlands of Ethiopia, when the rain returns after a parched dry season, a dazzling sight unfolds. Vast...

Biological computers could use far less energy than current technology – by working more slowly

| Insights & Views

Heiner Linke, Professor of Nanophysics, Lund University Modern computers are a triumph of technology. A single computer chip contains billions of nanometre-scaled transistors that operate extremely reliably and at a rate...

Sweden is a nearly cashless society – here’s how it affects people who are left out

| Insights & Views

Around the world, cards and apps are the default way to pay but nowhere is the transition away from cash more obvious than in Sweden. The Bank of Sweden notes that the amount of cash in circulation in the country has...

Ukraine war: what chemical weapons is Russia accused of using and why?

| Insights & Views

An arrest has reportedly been made after the killing of Igor Kirillov, a Russian general, in Moscow on December 17. Kirillov was the commander of Russias Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces, and is thought...

For enslaved people, the holiday season was a time for revelry – and a brief window to fight back

| Insights & Views

During the era of slavery in the Americas, enslaved men, women and children also enjoyed the holidays. Slave owners usually gave them bigger portions of food, gifted them alcohol and provided extra days of rest. Those...

Fifty years ago, Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin. The lessons from it have still not been learnt

| Insights & Views

It is hard to comprehend the force with which Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin early on Christmas Day, 1974. It was so ferocious that it killed 66 people, partly or completely destroyed 10,000 homes, and wiped out most public...

More than 1,300 Hajj pilgrims died this year when humidity and heat pushed past survivable limits. It’s just the start

| Insights & Views

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Muslims undertake the Hajj the sacred pilgrimage to Mecca. In 2024, the pilgrimage took place in mid-June, the start of the Saudi summer. But this year, more than 1,300 pilgrims never...