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Connecting with nature is good, but can apps help us do it better?

25 August 2021

Time spent in nature has huge benefits for our mental and physical health, and few of us get enough of it. A range of apps aim to help us do it better – but do they work?

NASA tests a new heat shield featuring Spiderweave

25 August 2021

Taken by photographer Patrick Viruel, this image shows a new type of fabric called Spiderweave being tested for NASA's Adaptable, Deployable, Entry and Placement Technology, an entry system it has designed for galactic mission

A sailor in the US Navy uses a long-range acoustic device on board a boat

Sneaky US Navy feedback device could stop people being able to speak

24 August 2021

A non-lethal device developed by the US Navy aims to surreptitiously render people unable to speak by beaming their own voice back at them with a tiny delay

Close up of digital data and binary code in network.

Apple's child abuse detection software may be vulnerable to attack

20 August 2021

Apple's soon-to-be-launched algorithm to detect images of child sexual abuse on iPhones and iPads may incorrectly flag people as being in possession of illegal images, warn researchers

An Independent Election Commission (IEC) official (L) scans a finger of a voter with a biometric device at a polling station in Herat on September 28, 2019. - Afghans voted in presidential elections amid tight security on September 28, even as insurgents attacked polling centres in a series of blasts and clashes across the country that left at least two people dead. (Photo by HOSHANG HASHIMI / AFP) (Photo credit should read HOSHANG HASHIMI/AFP via Getty Images)

US-built biometrics equipment is falling into the hands of the Taliban

19 August 2021

There are growing concerns about how the Taliban might use the data from a huge biometrics programme started by the US in Afghanistan

Diabetes implant is restocked by swallowing magnetic insulin capsules

18 August 2021

A stomach implant delivers insulin that can be refilled through capsules that are swallowed. If the device is approved for use in humans, it could revolutionise the treatment of type 1 diabetes

Mandatory Credit: Photo by CHINE NOUVELLE/SIPA/Shutterstock (12324544h) (210817) - KABUL, Aug. 17, 2021 (Xinhua) - Taliban fighters are seen on a military vehicle in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Aug. 17, 2021. Normality has returned to Kabul, capital of Afghanistan as the Taliban on Tuesday urged the government employees to return to work, two days after the group took control of the capital. Declaring a general amnesty, the Taliban urged all to start routine life with confidence. It also urged women to join its government. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted that the situation in Kabul was completely under control and law and order returned to the city. Afghanistan Kabul Taliban Situation - 17 Aug 2021

Afghan people face an impossible choice over their digital footprint

18 August 2021

The Taliban's rise to power has left many people in Afghanistan looking to delete their digital footprint, but there are few resources available and keeping it intact may be key to fleeing the country, writes Nighat Dad