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Comics

How sustainable are fake meats?

Marketed to meat lovers, plant-based burgers like Impossible and Beyond claim to taste like the real thing and to have far lighter environmental footprints. Here’s what the numbers have to say.

Do patents invent innovation?

They're a common index of technological creativity, but research finds they can impede rather than encourage it

Hi, robot: Why robotics and language need each other

Machines might better understand our commands if they experienced our physical worlds, researchers say. That enhanced perception could sharpen their listening skills and improve performance.

The science of better beer

Advances in the lab are adding variety, efficiency and precision to age-old brewing traditions

Genetics extends the long arm of the law

In an evolving branch of forensic science, genealogists help solve crimes, sometimes identifying suspects with the DNA of distant relatives they’ve never met. As cold cases yield, concerns about privacy issues persist.

3-D printing finds a custom foothold in manufacturing

From rocket thrusters to shoe soles, additive technologies expand their sights

Information apocalypse: All about deepfakes

VIDEO: Doctored images, fake videos and computer-generated news are easier than ever to create and distribute. Here’s why you should worry and what you can do.

Design for recycling

A major headache for recyclers is complex packaging that incorporates multiple materials. So why not consider the end point in the first place?

Sell-by dates | Things to Know

VIDEO: Time stamps on packaging prompt consumers to toss a lot of food, but what do they actually say about safety?

Pig organs in people: The future of cross-species transplants

Can genetically modified animals help ease the shortage of organs? After years of research into xenotransplantation, the field is at a turning point — yet risks and ethical issues remain.

The next evolution of digital money? It’s happening now

OPINION: After cryptoassets, a wave of central bank digital currencies is set to revolutionize our ideas about what money is and how to manage it

One bin future: How mixing trash and recycling can work

Instead of asking consumers to remember what is and isn’t recyclable — and to sort items into the correct bins — why not just take the rubbish and sort it centrally?

Can you believe the polls? It depends

A veteran of survey research explains why high-quality polling matters — and warns of the proliferation of shoddy gimmicks

The unmet promise of Big Data in policing

Today’s astounding computing power offers great potential for reducing crime, but a criminologist says law enforcement has yet to find ways to fully tap it.

Why do thieves keep stealing catalytic converters? It’s elemental

COMIC: Rhodium is one of several precious metals that put the catalyst in catalytic. And right now it’s worth more than gold.

A toast to the pope

Professor Charlie Bamforth is retiring. But he still fizzes with strong opinions on good beer, solid brewers and – Ptooey! – wine.

Take this job and . . . gig it

A few hours here, a few hours there. At home, or somewhere else. Alternative work can be a great deal or it can leave you unprotected, as management scholar Lindsey Cameron explains in a Q&A.

AI for better crops

The technology could transform how growers protect their harvests, by detecting plant diseases very early on. But the challenge is to develop tools that are as affordable as they are effective.

The dating game: When food goes bad

New technologies to predict spoilage time could slash the massive waste between farm and fork

Humans beat robots, hands down

We can readily manipulate all kinds of objects; for them, versatility is a huge struggle. They need better mechanics — and a lot more of the intelligence that goes into handling things.

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