The Latest Breaking News from Observer Design

Painkillers without the addiction? The new wave of non-opioid pain relief

Pharma firms are developing drugs that avoid the brain’s opioid receptors to minimise the risks of dependence and overdoses, but not all experts are convinced

The Guardian - UK · Apr 5, 2025

Apple Intelligence is coming. Here’s what it means for your iPhone

Apple is about to launch a ChatGPT-powered version of Siri as part of a suite of AI features in iOS 18. What are the implications for how you use your phone – and for your privacy?

The Guardian - UK · Aug 24, 2024

‘Advergames’: how games platform Roblox became a corporate marketing playground

Advertising to children is strictly regulated – but household brands are flooding the gaming platform Roblox with interactive marketing. Is this a danger to young users?

The Guardian - UK · Jul 13, 2024

Could exercise pills help create a healthier society?

Finding drugs that mimic the benefits of a workout has long been a goal of science. As a new trial begins, the hope is to assist not just the time-poor or the lazy but elderly people and those with disease or disability

The Guardian - UK · Dec 31, 2023

Space race 2.0: why Europe is joining the new dash to the moon

The European Space Agency’s plan to build a cargo vessel that can convert to a crew ship is one giant step in its ambitions to compete with rival lunar exploration programmes

The Guardian - UK · Nov 26, 2023

‘Giving computers a sense of smell’: the quest to scientifically map odours

By digitising scents as we have images and sounds, researchers hope they can transform everything from food and agriculture to disease prevention

The Guardian - UK · Oct 28, 2023

Could superpowered plants be the heroes of the climate crisis?

Carbon-guzzling trees and crops, genetically altered to boost photosynthesis and store carbon in the roots, could absorb millions of tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere

The Guardian - UK · Oct 15, 2023

Can Paris clean up the Seine in time for next year’s Olympics?

Big promises accompanied the French bid for next year’s Games. Now politicians and hydrologists are pulling out all the stops to make the capital’s river fit for purpose. And cities around the world are watching…

The Guardian - UK · Oct 8, 2023

‘I couldn’t believe the data’: how thinking in a foreign language improves decision-making

Research shows people who speak another language are more utilitarian and flexible, less risk-averse and egotistical, and better able to cope with traumatic memories

The Guardian - UK · Sep 17, 2023

‘Very little yield’: has genetically targeted medicine really made us healthier?

Billions were sunk into the promise of treatments personalised to the individual. Now many believe the money might have been better spent on public health interventions

The Guardian - UK · Sep 9, 2023