Deadly strandings of sea lion pups explained
A lack of food may have been behind the stranding of hundreds of sea lion pups last year, and it looks like this year's brood might have a similar fate
El Niño forecasters must not repeat mistakes of 1997
The effects of the huge El Niño of the 1990s were all the worse because cautious forecasts didn't allow people to prepare. It shouldn't happen again
Speech analyser monitors emotion for call centres
Software that listens to your voice to assess your mood gives call centre agents a dashboard that shows how the conversation is going
Rebirth of psychiatry will be slow and painful
Ripping up psychiatry's "bible" is one thing, finding a replacement quite another. It will be a long time before patients reap the benefits
Only known chimp war reveals how societies splinter
The four-year war that shattered a chimp society in the 1970s shows similarities between the ways chimpanzee and human societies break down
Silicon pill beams back body's response to medicines
Drugs work best when taken as prescribed. Take control with the help of a smart pill and skin patch that report back if you forget to take your meds
QBism: Is quantum uncertainty all in the mind?
The microscopic world described by quantum theory seems a strange, confusing place – but some physicists argue it's just us who are uncertain
World is unprepared for major El Niño later this year
Wild weather is coming in 2014, with floods, storms and droughts expected around the Pacific, but little is being done to protect the people on the front line
Psychiatry's scientific reboot gets under way
The diagnosis of mental disorders is stuck in the pre-scientific age – but a research programme into their neurological bases promises better treatments
Baby model cosmos grows up to look like the real thing
A supercomputer simulation tracks the universe from its early days to the present and is the first to produce realistic-looking galaxies by the thousands
Rapid Arctic melting is only partly our fault
Half the warming in the Arctic over the past few decades is the result of huge atmospheric waves emanating from the Pacific Ocean
Itsy bitsy bacterium gets a bigger genetic code
Synthetic biologists have built the first life form with new artificial letters added to its genetic code, allowing it to store more information than any other organism
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