Science & technology
The weather underground
What a Serbian cave tells you about the weather 2,500 years ago
Like ice cores, stalagmites preserve a long record of the climate
Unrolled at last
AI could help unearth a trove of lost classical texts
Computers could let archaeologists read hundreds of burnt scrolls from a Roman library
Sleep tight!
It’s not just Paris. Bedbugs are resurgent everywhere
Like bacteria, the insects are becoming resistant to the chemicals used to kill them
Neuro-philately
Scientists have published an atlas of the brain
Cataloguing its components may help understand how it works
It’s all academic
American and Chinese scientists are decoupling, too
That will be bad for both countries
Camp followers
Like human armies, army ants trail crowds of hangers-on
One insect’s leavings is another’s dinner
Meet George Jetson
A flying car that anyone can use will soon go on sale
No pilot’s licence will be necessary to fly the Helix
Scientific gong season
The 2023 Nobel prizes honour work that touched millions of lives
Besides mRNA vaccines, they celebrate ultra-fast lasers and tiny prisons for light
Don’t you see, it all makes sense!
Did bitcoin leak from an American spy lab?
No. But the theory is spreading online
What’s yours is mine
How plundered Gaulish silver ended up in Roman coins
Ancient monetary policy could be seriously aggressive
Prisons for light
A Nobel prize for quantum dottiness
Best known in high-end TVs, quantum dots could also end up in quantum computers