Technology
How porn became so extreme – and how it’s shaping the sex lives of young people
A few years ago, the singer Billie Eilish opened up on the Howard Stern Show about how she began watching porn around age 11.
News
Editorial coverage from the Scotland Britain Wire newsroom.
- Business
What if we paid for electricity through taxes, not bills?
The UK government has announced that standing charges will be removed from gas bills and that it intends to also remove them from electricity bills. Standing charges are a fixed fee paid by every household, regardless of how much they use.
- Science
Is sexual objectification hard-wired? Our study used electrical brain stimulation to find out
When people view sexualised images of women, they tend to remember them less well than sexualised images of men; a quirk of memory that psychologists link to objectification.
- Government
When things go bump in the night: how our brains trick us into hearing things that aren’t there
It’s three in the morning. You’ve woken from a dead sleep because you’ve heard a thud in the darkness or a floorboard creaking downstairs. Or perhaps you’ve woken because you have the unmistakable sensation you’re not alone.
- Health
How London’s 1838 ‘great stink’ created the modern vampire
Long before modern medicine could name the invisible terrors ravaging Victorian Britain, the public found a face for contagion: the vampire.
- Culture
Werewolf mice, ghostly frogs and cockroach zombies: the animal versions of our Halloween horrors
Around this time of year, elaborate decorations featuring ghosts, vampires, zombies, witches and werewolves adorn front doors, gardens and shop windows across the country.
- Science
Scientists map a distant planet’s atmosphere for the first time – and it’s lopsided
When scientists study exoplanets, planets orbiting stars other than the Sun, they often lack three-dimensional information.
- Science
Budget 2026: experts on what John Healey’s ‘breathing space’ plan means for households
It was a “breathing space” budget from Chancellor John Healey. In the absence of big surprises or bold change, Healey’s trade-off appears to be small reliefs now in exchange for “fresh hope” in the future.
- Science
Vocational GCSEs: an evolution of existing technical learning for 14-year-olds in England
Teenagers in England will be able to take GCSEs in vocational subjects – that could include digital tech and building and construction – from September 2029.
- Technology
Five ways to find your personal style outside of trends and algorithms
Fashion is currently trapped in a hyper-accelerated trend loop. Every week there’s a new “core” or “maxxing” style to contend with – such as balletcore or whimsymaxxing.
- Community
Drones could help weather forecasters more accurately predict winter storms
Weather drones are being tested to help update forecasts of extreme weather more quickly, and could help us prepare earlier for upcoming winter storms.
EnvironmentKey Atlantic currents could collapse this century, but the risk is missing from almost all national climate plans – new study
Icelandic government officials recently met to discuss a dramatic scenario: what if the current that circulates Atlantic waters weakened significantly, or collapsed altogether?