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We bring news of a major development in the battle to defend seaside chips from seagull attacks. These birds may be agile, angry and able to snatch a saveloy without warning, but we’ve got the upper hand when it comes to technological innovation. And so a crack team of researchers has produced a weapon of the kind DARPA could only hope to invent – pretend eyes to stick on your snacks.
This might sound mad but the team has found that adding eyes to packaging confuses and deters gulls. It’s actually a practice already used by farmers in Botswana to keep predator birds away from their cattle. In that case, the eyes are painted on the cows’ behinds. Find out about the research behind this discovery before heading to the beach this weekend.
A new study of cactus flowers, meanwhile, is shedding new light on the evolutionary process. Why do some species evolve rapidly to produce different but related species while others lag behind? Cacti are the perfect plants to observe if you’re interested in this question because they grow very slowly but are incredibly diverse as a family – proof that they evolve quickly. It was previously thought that this was probably because of how well cacti adapt to the pollinators in their environment. But the new study suggests something else is at play.
One of our most read stories this week exposes what life is really like for many IT workers in India. These professionals keep some of the biggest companies in the world running but when required to work from home, they can find themselves covering the cost of their own electricity and being expected to send photos to their managers to prove they are online.
As the war continues in Iran, we’re looking at the various proxy groups associated with the regime there – Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis – to understand why some have been quick to join the conflict while others have held back. And as the UK considers sending mine-hunter drones to the Strait of Hormuz, we asked an expert what they would do there to help secure the waterway.
Also this week, why food and drink brands want you to replace caffeine with paraxanthine, how you could save money by paying close attention to your subscriptions – and were the peasants who revolted in 1381 really peasants?
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