During adolescence, friends and classmates or leisure time – the child’s “peers” – take an increasingly important place in his life, which destabilizes the balance of the relationships he maintains with his parents. These people of the same age offer him other points of reference and have a growing influence on his tastes, encouraging him to […] … learn more→

How would you react if ChatGPT revealed your phone number and home address? Among the data on the web that the language model behind ChatGPT trains on, some information is personal and is not intended to be revealed. However, this risk is very real, as a team of researchers demonstrated by pushing ChatGPT to reveal a large […] … learn more→

One of the best-known facts in biology is that, in sexual species like ours, to generate a new living being, a female and a male gamete are necessary. That is, an egg and a sperm. The theory is simple: during fertilization, the sperm penetrates the egg or oocyte and activates it. The oocyte is the one that […] … learn more→

The Australian government is going all in on quantum computing. After investing more than $100 million on “quantum technology” in 2021, it is now reportedly considering spending up to $200 million on purchasing a “quantum computer” from a US company. Is this a sensible decision? You might think so, if you read reports from media, industry and government predicting that quantum […] … learn more→

A mayor, a karate instructor, a former cop, an award-winning journalist and a pastor. All five of these individuals in positions of authority or trust made headlines within the past year in connection with childhood sexual abuse. Beyond the headlines and whatever punishments are meted out, each heinous case is alleged to involve a child who endured unjustifiable suffering and is […] … learn more→

It’s a phone call most journalists dread to make. A woman in her 20s has died after she was struck by a car while riding her bicycle. “What is your favourite memory of Eleanor?” a journalist asks the woman’s father in an interview. The man’s voice quivers. “I don’t have a favourite,” he says. “Every […] … learn more→

Technology yes or technology no? That is the big question. In our daily lives, and often through mobile devices themselves, we receive a barrage of messages that contribute to a polarized view of technology . On the one hand, some studies warn about its negative effects such as depression , anxiety , stress , emotional exhaustion , sedentary lifestyle or poorer quality of sleep . But at the same time there are others who […] … learn more→

Late last year, a PhD student named Yuekang Li was refused a study visa to enter Canada. Why? Canada’s Federal Court was concerned he could be “targeted and coerced into providing information that would be detrimental to Canada”. Li wasn’t the only one. Earlier this month, Iranian computer engineering student Reza Jahantigh was denied a visa to study his PhD in […] … learn more→

A Kenyan vice-chancellor recently went public about the scarcity of university professors. There are fewer than 1,000 professors for the country’s 68 universities and 562,925 students. That is an average of around 563 students per professor. South Africa has around 4,034 professors and 1,112,439 students – around 275 students per professor. Professors occupy the highest teaching rank in the university. They […] … learn more→

Many people are wired to seek and respond to rewards. Your brain interprets food as rewarding when you are hungry and water as rewarding when you are thirsty. But addictive substances like alcohol and drugs of abuse can overwhelm the natural reward pathways in your brain, resulting in intolerable cravings and reduced impulse control. A popular misconception is […] … learn more→