Energy-saving networks that link smart devices, solar panels and batteries could regulate power demand and help avoid fossil fuel use at peak times

The new Climate Fiction prize aims to reward the best novels about climate change, because books can shift the narrative on global warming, says Tori Tsui

A virtual assistant for surgeons translates text prompts into commands for a robot, offering a simple way to instruct machines to carry out small tasks in operations

For the first time, astronomers have observed the area right at the edge of a black hole where matter stops orbiting and plunges straight in at near light speed

Artificial compound eyes made without the need for expensive and precise lenses could provide cheap visual sensors for robots and driverless cars

Ageism is a widespread global prejudice. It's about time we started acknowledging our unconscious bias towards old age – not least because our own future health depends on it