Science & Technology
What it’s like to be a virus
They can hijack genes, spread exponentially and bring the world to a halt—but are they alive?
How to fix air travel
Even before Covid, climate worries shamed the airline industry. But we can still save the joy of flying
The dangerous rise of policing by algorithm
Minority Report-style predictive policing is not the answer to problems of police bias
Why the government’s integrated defence review risks sounding like “cyber-rattling”
Chest-beating about cyber war could detract from an otherwise welcome message about the realities of the new technological threat, says the UK’s former cyber chief
Why is there such anger over the pay offer to nurses?
The government’s contempt for NHS workers signals to the public what they already suspected: something is rotten in the state of Britain
How the TikTok generation is reinventing Classics
Amid heated debate over the future of the subject, new technologies are being used to democratise the subject
The government has long failed Britain’s disabled community—and it’s only getting worse with the pandemic
Do not resuscitate orders were intended to be used for patients too frail to benefit from CPR. But blanket use on disabled Covid patients is unnecessary and unlawful
The mind of God? The problem with deifying Stephen Hawking
A new biography argues the iconic physicist was shamelessly self-promoting and his reputation overrated
Why the UK should be worried about the standoff between Facebook and Australia
The saga shows how technology giants, with their almost limitless power, can warp our democracies
Vaccines alone will not eliminate Covid. We need a long-term post-lockdown vision
Johnson’s “road map” out of restrictions looks carefully considered. But further steps must be taken to prevent future outbreaks
The deadly story of lockdown libertarianism
The Tory press peddled cod epidemiology. And until recently, the Prime Minister refused to face them down. We are paying the cost in lives
How not to reform the NHS
Time and again what I found out in government is that pinpointed attention—and money—is what gets things done. Rewiring structures often produces nothing but harm