Following centuries of debate about "nature and nurture" the discovery of DNA established the idea that nature (genes) determines who we are, relegating nurture (environment) to icing on the cake.  Meer

The trend that began with ATMs and do-it-yourself checkouts is moving at lightning speed. Everything from driving to teaching to the care of the elderly and, indeed, code-writing can now be done by smart machines.  Meer

Free-roaming killer drones stalk the battlespace looking for organic targets. Human combatants are programmed to feel no pain. High-power microwave beams detonate munitions, jam communications, and cook internal organs.  Meer

To ordinary people, science used to seem infallible. Scientists were heroes, selflessly pursuing knowledge for the common good. More recently, a series of scientific scandals, frauds and failures have led us to question science s pre-eminence.  Meer

To ordinary people, science used to seem infallible. Scientists were heroes, selflessly pursuing knowledge for the common good. More recently, a series of scientific scandals, frauds and failures have led us to question science s pre-eminence.  Meer

Free-roaming killer drones stalk the battlespace looking for organic targets. Human combatants are programmed to feel no pain. High-power microwave beams detonate munitions, jam communications, and cook internal organs.  Meer

Neuroscience, with its astounding new technologies, is uncovering the workings of the brain and with this perhaps the mind. The 'neuro' prefix spills out into every area of life, from neuroaesthetics to neuroeconomics, neurogastronomy and neuroeducation.  Meer

Today, we are far less likely to die from infection than at any other time in history, but still we worry about epidemics, the menace of antibiotic resistance and modern 'plagues' like Ebola.  Meer