UK firms exposed to AI are cutting junior jobs first
A King's College London study of millions of UK job postings finds entry-level roles shrink first, while Goldman Sachs finds AI also adds jobs.
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Explainer.
Every explainer in the edition.
Three usual causes of a slow computer, and how to spot each
Microsoft blames low storage, startup apps and ageing hardware, and Apple adds short memory. These checks show which one is slowing yours.
The NHS says food poisoning usually clears within a week
Most UK food poisoning passes within a week, but the germ sets the clock. Here is what the NHS and Cleveland Clinic say to expect.
Cat licking is usually affection, but a sudden rise needs a vet
Most licks signal affection, says the cats.org.uk blog. A sudden rise in licking, or licking with hiding or a change in appetite, calls for a vet visit.
The Empire State Building: New York's 13-month race to the sky
Crews raised the Empire State's steel 1,048 feet in 23 weeks as Lewis Hine took pictures. The tower later survived a bomber and lost the height record.
The roof that cost Jørn Utzon the Sydney Opera House
Nobody knew how to build Jørn Utzon's roof when work began. Costs soared, a new works minister stopped paying him, and he resigned in 1966.
A high tunnel can add weeks to the growing year at both ends
Penn State Extension says a high tunnel can start the crop up to eight weeks before the field season and carry it six weeks past the first frost.
Britain's allotments owe their survival to a century of law
A 1908 duty on councils and a 1925 Act gave Britain's allotments legal cover. Here is how that cover held as plots fell from 1.4 million to 300,000.
Irish immigrants swapped turnip lanterns for pumpkins in America
Irish immigrants carved turnips for Halloween. In America they found a bigger vegetable, and the old lantern lost out. Modern Farmer traces the switch.
One ambassador's speech, and 200 miles of ocean for every coast
A 1967 UN speech about seabed minerals began the process behind the 1982 Law of the Sea treaty, which gave coastal states a 200-mile economic zone.
Japan has had five prime ministers in five years
Japan's leader answers to the ruling party rather than to voters directly, so a bad poll or a scandal can end a premiership within a year.
Fear of spiders may trace back to scorpions
Psychologists find that spider fear can run in families, that spiders alone rarely cause it, and that scorpions may help explain why it is so common.
Conwy axe mould: why two halves count as treasure
A coroner in Wales ruled that the two halves of a 3,400-year-old axe mould are separate items, so both count as treasure under the Treasure Act.
A fight director turns Shakespeare's "they fight" into a story
Shakespeare often writes only that characters fight, so the fight director finds the story and sets every move so that both actors stay safe.
Cas9 follows a guide RNA to one spot and cuts the DNA there
Bacteria evolved Cas9 to shred viral DNA. In 2012 Doudna and Charpentier swapped its RNA guide so it cuts any chosen gene.
Past the Sagittarius dust sits a black hole of 4.3 million Suns
Stars orbiting Sagittarius A* point to a black hole of 4.3 million Suns. A 2026 proposal asks whether dark matter could explain the same orbits.
US lenders weigh a firm's credit, age and revenue
Before a US lender offers a business credit line, it reads credit reports, asks how long the firm has traded and tests revenue. Minimums vary widely.
A diamond cutter engraves a sound wave into a spiral groove
The groove's width and depth copy a sound's pitch and volume. A needle then turns those wiggles back into a weak electrical signal.
A 1945 magazine feature set off the Skinner baby-box myth
B. F. Skinner built a heated crib for his daughter Deborah. A 1945 magazine feature and a confusion with the Skinner box turned it into a false legend.
Who decides what goes on a book cover?
Publishers' design and marketing teams usually decide, working from what editors tell them. At Harlequin, it starts with a form the author fills in.
England's 1974 reform scrapped councils, not its old counties
The Local Government Act 1972 abolished England's old councils and named new areas counties. Yorkshire and Cumberland live on as historic counties.
Gaia, parked at L2, still fired thrusters to stay put
At a Lagrange point the pulls of two bodies balance, so a probe stays near it on little fuel. Gaia's controllers still planned a correcting burn every month.
Clownfish keep their anemones breathing at night
The anemone shields the fish with stinging cells. In return the fish cleans, feeds and, a 2013 study found, fans oxygen through its host after dark.
Red notices: Interpol's nearest thing to a global warrant
Interpol runs no manhunts of its own. It links police across 196 countries, and the Guardian found some regimes using that channel against critics.