The home appliance can easily generate as much as 500 grams of microplastics each year. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Fish gills may inspire an unexpected solution to one of our biggest sources of microplastics . According to researchers at Germany's University of Bonn, taking a cue from the animals' filtration systems might help remove the vast majority of harmful plastic particulates from washing machine wastewater. Microplastics are a huge problem.

An Garda Síochána (Irish police force) has launched an investigation after drones were detected in Irish skies on the night the Ukrainian president arrived in Ireland. Volodymyr Zelensky flew into Dublin late on Monday night for a one-day official visit with his wife, First Lady Olena Zelenska. Senior Irish government figures, including Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin, have been briefed on the issue. Martin confirmed it would be discussed at a National Security Council meeting later this month. In a statement, gardaí said its Special Detective Unit (SDU) is investigating the matter and will be liaising with the Defence Forces and international security partners.

'I don't want to be part of this war machine': Young Germans protest against military service plans Young people have taken to the streets of Berlin to protest against the German parliament's decision to introduce voluntary military service to boost national defences after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The change means that all 18-year-olds in Germany will be sent a questionnaire from January 2026 asking if they are interested and willing to join the armed forces. While the plan is for voluntary service, if the security situation worsens or if too few volunteers came forward, a form of compulsory military service could be considered. I don't want to be part of this war machine, one of the protesters said. Another person said, we as a youth do not want to die in wars because of Germany.

Time flows ever onwards with reassuring uniformity - at least, that's how it feels to mere mortals unplugged from the weirder parts of physics. But everyone knows that the exception to this rule is the period between Christmas and New Year, in which time behaves strangely, moving like molasses until it lurches forwards as you near your return to work. If you usually misspend the twilight days of the year sitting idly in a fog of libations, you might be wondering how to occupy yourself. Fear not: staff and contributors have crafted a bucket list of all-time cultural greats to fill the long hours of the holiday season. It is an eclectic mix of books, films, television, music, video games, board games and more, designed to highlight some overlooked classics that you simply must try. The only thing they all have in common is their celebration of science, technology, the environment or any other topic you might find in . We hope you enjoy our favourites - if you choose to give one a go, your time will pass in the blink of an eye. Released in 2019, it broke from a stale formula of largely linear plotlines and choreographed cutscenes in the middle of gameplay, instead opting for narrative experimentation. You begin as a spacefaring alien in a solar system moments from destruction, stuck in a 22-minute time loop that ends with a supernova. It is also a physics lover's paradise: the game wrestles with quantum entanglement, entropy and non-Euclidean spaces. Its simulation of light bending around black holes is among the most accurate ever rendered in media.

A fly-tipper dressed as a giant purple T. rex has been caught on camera dumping rubbish in a street. The brightly coloured rogue raptor was spotted checking for traffic before crossing a road in Southend, Essex. The prehistoric predator then looks around before slinging two black bin bags to the ground next to large black bin. Footage of the incident, first reported by Your Southend, was captured on a resident's CCTV just before 21:30 GMT on Tuesday. The city council told the BBC it had not received any reports of fly-tipping in relation to the incident.

What are freeze-dried sweets and why are they popular? When Savannah Louise West first tasted freeze-dried gummies, she was intrigued. I think the crunch is so satisfying, and I find it interesting to experience a candy I'm familiar with that has an entirely new texture, says the Toronto resident. Ms West is describing one of the main features of this spin-off candy that independent and major confectionary manufacturers have been releasing onto shelves, both online and offline, for the past three years. It's been largely a US phenomena, hence we'll use the US term candy, but for our UK readers, we're talking about sweets here.

Artificial intelligence is making a big mark in elite football, and England are at the cutting edge when it comes to using it in the men's international game. From penalty taking and powering players' wellbeing to targeting their rivals' tactical weaknesses, AI is underpinning the Three Lions' plans for next summer's World Cup. Could a technology which is beginning to change the world around us really help England to glory in North America? Could AI power England to World Cup glory? As well as the coaches and physios who sit alongside head coach Thomas Tuchel on the bench, England's staff includes groups of analysts, data scientists and in-house software development teams.

Meta is shifting some of its investments in the metaverse to AI glasses and wearables, hoping to capitalise on the momentum in that segment, a company spokesperson has said. Over the last decade, Meta has poured billions of dollars to build the metaverse, which lets people to interact in a virtual reality. However, the tech giant has struggled to convince investors of the viability of the nascent technology. Bloomberg first reported on Thursday that Meta would cut its metaverse investment by as much as 30%. Its shares climbed more than 3.4% following the news.

The government says it is to deport 60 takeaway-delivery riders found to be working illegally in the UK. The Home Office says the group are among 171 riders arrested over seven days in November in a national enforcement blitz in villages, towns and cities across the country. It comes as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has been targeting people working unlawfully in the gig economy. Border Security Minister Alex Norris has also met representatives from food-delivery firms to encourage them to do more to tackle the issue - such as using facial recognition checks to prevent riders sharing their identities with people who do not have permission to take up work in the UK. Norris said November's action ought to send a clear message: if you are working illegally in this country, you will be arrested and removed.

Waterstones would stock books created using artificial intelligence, the company's boss has said, as long as they were clearly labelled, and if customers wanted them. However, James Daunt, a veteran of the bookselling industry, said he personally did not expect that to happen. There's a huge proliferation of AI generated content and most of it are not books that we should be selling, he said. But it would be up to the reader. An explosion in the use of artificial intelligence, or AI, has prompted heated debate in the publishing industry, with writers concerned about the impact on their livelihoods.