Blurs

Artificial intelligence is transforming the world, but behind the promises of technological progress lies a rapidly expanding demand for land, electricity and water.  Across Britain, communities are beginning to question whether the price of the AI revolution is being paid by the wrong people. A technological revolution with a physical footprint Artificial intelligence increasingly appears to exist everywhere and nowhere. It writes articles, generates images, analyses medical information, assists scientific research and influences decisions across business, government and everyday life.  Much of this activity takes place behind screens, creating the impression that the digital revolution has relatively little physical presence. But AI has a substantial physical footprint. Behind every sophisticated AI model sits an enormous network of computer processors, storage equipment, cooling systems, electricity infrastructure and buildings.  These facilities are known as data cent...

From the birth of television to the foundations of quantum physics, 1926 was a year that helped shape the modern world.  But a century ago, scientific confidence often exceeded scientific understanding. What will future generations think of the science we believe in today? A Century Between Two Worlds Imagine travelling back to 1926 and telling a scientist that, within a century, humans would walk on the Moon, transplant organs, edit DNA, communicate instantly across the planet and carry devices with more computing power than entire rooms of machinery. They might believe some of it. Much of it would sound like science fiction. Now imagine travelling in the opposite direction. A scientist from 2126 arrives today and examines our hospitals, laboratories, computers and scientific textbooks.  What would astonish them? What would they admire? And which of our most confidently held beliefs would make them smile in disbelief? The year 1926 offers an unusually revealing starting point...

Space exploration has always been associated with advanced materials, precision engineering and extraordinary technological complexity.  Satellites are typically constructed using aluminium alloys, specialised composites and other materials designed to survive the extreme conditions beyond Earth's atmosphere. Yet one Japanese research team has pursued an unexpectedly different approach: building a satellite using wood. In November 2024, Japan launched LignoSat, an experimental satellite incorporating magnolia wood into its structure. Developed by researchers at Kyoto University in collaboration with Sumitomo Forestry, the project set out to investigate whether a material used in construction for thousands of years could have a role in modern space technology. The satellite was not a wooden spacecraft in the traditional sense of the word. Its electronics, power systems and other essential components remained technological products of the modern space industry.  However, its woo...