It’s one of life’s biggest questions – are we alone in the universe?

Now, in good news for sci–fi fans, one of Britain’s top space scientists has declared she is ‘absolutely convinced’ there are aliens out there – and they will be found within the next 50 years.

Dame Maggie Aderin–Pocock, from University College London’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, said she expects a ‘positive detection’ of life on another planet by 2075.

And, while it could be something very primitive, it’s possible we could encounter a presence that has technology ‘far superior’ to ours.

‘In the whole of the universe there are approximately 200 billion galaxies,’ Dame Maggie told the Daily Mail.

‘And so although certain conditions were in place for life to start here on Earth, and this is the only example we have of life, I’m absolutely convinced that there’s life out there, because with so many stars, so many planets, why would it just occur here?’

Dame Aderin–Pocock made her prediction in an interview with the Daily Mail ahead of giving the Royal Institution Christmas lectures, which will air at the end of this month.

They are Britain’s most prestigious public science lectures, and this year’s focus is on the big questions space science still has to answer.

Dame Maggie Aderin–Pocock, from University College London’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, said she expects a ‘positive detection’ of life on another planet by 2075

An illustration of a Hycean world, which experts believe K2–18b could be, orbiting its red dwarf star. Dame Maggie said we are getting ‘tantalising glimpses’ of possible life on planets such as this

A theory first put forward in 1961 argues that there is a high probability life must exist somewhere else due to the sheer number of planets in the universe.

Dame Maggie said this ‘numbers game’, also known as the Drake equation, is why she believes we are not alone.

She explained that in just our galaxy – the Milky Way – there are 300 billion stars.

‘Each of those stars is a sun like our sun,’ she said, ‘and now we’re detecting planets going around those stars.’

We are already getting ‘tantalising glimpses’ of possible life from some of these planets, she added, referencing a recent discovery regarding exoplanet K2–18b, which is 124 light–years from Earth.

Earlier this year, scientists detected molecules in the planet’s atmosphere that can only persistently exist if there is some form of life.

The discovery was hailed as the most promising sign of life yet outside our solar system, with experts claiming the distant world is likely covered by an ocean and ‘teeming’ with living organisms.

When asked if she thinks we will find solid proof of life anytime soon, Dame Maggie replied: ‘I think that’s where the challenge lies – concrete evidence. But to put my money where my mouth is, in terms of getting a positive detection, I would say definitely in the next 50 years.’

The James Webb Space Telescope (pictured) is a powerful infrared observatory searching for signs of life on other planets

K2–18b is thought to be a a class of exoplanet possessing key ingredients for alien species because of their hydrogen–rich atmospheres and oceans of water

In September, NASA announced the discovery of what it believed to be the clearest sign of life ever found on Mars after findings unusual markings on mudstones in a dusty riverbed. 

Scientists think these features contain minerals produced by chemical reactions that could be associated with ancient Martian life.

But while aliens are, traditionally, depicted as little green men in a spaceship, the reality is likely very different.

‘Grey sludge is probably the most likely thing we’re going to find,’ Dame Maggie said. However, there’s a chance we could find something more sophisticated.

‘We might find something that does evolve and that can communicate – and of course, their technology might be far superior to ours,’ she added.

‘I love the idea of aliens on the other side of the moon looking back at us, hoping we’ll “grow up” soon.’

If – and when – we find life, we will have to be ‘incredibly careful’ about how we handle it, she warned.

‘If there is any form of life, we need to make sure it is totally isolated,’ she said. ‘It cannot come into contact with any sort of human presence.

While it’s likely any life discovered is microscopic, like marine phytoplankton (pictured), Dame Maggie said it’s also possible alien life is more sophisticated than us 

In 2024, NASA’s Perseverance rover spotted a vein–filled arrowhead–shaped rock on Mars that featured chemical signatures and structures that could have been formed by microbial life billions of years ago

‘But we’re building facilities to do just that so we can analyse them. Because it’s hard to take all our scientific equipment to Mars, for example, but if we can bring samples from Mars to Earth and analyse them here on Earth, we can get a lot more understanding.

‘Of course, the ultimate solution is to send me. Some people retire and potter around their garden, and my retirement plan is to potter around Mars.’

When questioned on the future of human space exploration – and possible settlement – Dame Maggie concluded: ‘I see us as a space–faring people – I see that as the way forward.

‘And I find that exciting that we won’t just be Earth–bound. We will expand outwards.

‘It’s the stuff of science fiction, literally, but science fiction does become science fact.

‘One of the things I love about space is when you look at planet Earth from space, you don’t see boundaries, you don’t see country borders. You just see our planet. And that’s what I would like space to be.

‘I think space might be a way that we unite.’

The 2025 Christmas Lectures from the Royal Institution – ‘Is there life beyond Earth?’, with Dame Dr Maggie Aderin–Pocock, will be broadcast on BBC Four and iPlayer on 28th, 29th and 30th December at 7pm.

KEY DISCOVERIES IN HUMANITY’S SEARCH FOR ALIEN LIFE

Discovery of pulsars

British astronomer Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell was the first person to discover a pulsar in 1967 when she spotted a radio pulsar.

Since then other types of pulsars that emit X-rays and gamma rays have also been spotted.

Pulsars are essentially rotating, highly magnetised neutron stars but when they were first discovered it was believed they could have come from aliens.

‘Wow!’ radio signal

In 1977, an astronomer looking for alien life in the night sky above Ohio spotted a radio signal so powerful that he excitedly wrote ‘Wow!’ next to his data.

In 1977, an astronomer looking for alien life in the night sky above Ohio spotted a radio signal so powerful that he excitedly wrote ‘Wow!’ next to his data

The 72-second blast, spotted by Dr Jerry Ehman through a radio telescope, came from Sagittarius but matched no known celestial object.

Conspiracy theorists have since claimed that the ‘Wow! signal’, which was 30 times stronger than background radiation, was a message from intelligent extraterrestrials.

Fossilised Martian microbes

In 1996 Nasa and the White House made the explosive announcement that the rock contained traces of Martian bugs.

The meteorite, catalogued as Allen Hills (ALH) 84001, crashed onto the frozen wastes of Antarctica 13,000 years ago and was recovered in 1984. 

Photographs were released showing elongated segmented objects that appeared strikingly lifelike.

Photographs were released showing elongated segmented objects that appeared strikingly lifelike (pictured)

However, the excitement did not last long. Other scientists questioned whether the meteorite samples were contaminated. 

They also argued that heat generated when the rock was blasted into space may have created mineral structures that could be mistaken for microfossils. 

Behaviour of Tabby’s Star in 2005 

The star, otherwise known as KIC 8462852, is located 1,400 light years away and has baffled astronomers since being discovered in 2015.

It dims at a much faster rate than other stars, which some experts have suggested is a sign of aliens harnessing the energy of a star.

The star, otherwise known as KIC 8462852, is located 1,400 light years away and has baffled astonomers since being discovered in 2015 (artist’s impression)

Recent studies have ‘eliminated the possibility of an alien megastructure’, and instead, suggests that a ring of dust could be causing the strange signals.

Exoplanets in the Goldilocks zone in 2017 

In February 2017 astronomers announced they had spotted a star system with planets that could support life just 39 light years away.

Seven Earth-like planets were discovered orbiting nearby dwarf star ‘Trappist-1’, and all of them could have water at their surface, one of the key components of life.

Three of the planets have such good conditions, that scientists say life may have already evolved on them. 

Researchers claim that they will know whether or not there is life on any of the planets within a decade, and said: ‘This is just the beginning.’ 

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Years ago, when venture capitalist Jon Medved took an interest in backing various health tech startups, he had no idea that one day, he would need them to improve his own quality of life. 

Israel tight-knit startup community received a blow in October when Medved, one of its most famous VCs, announced he was retiring immediately. He was forced to step down from the firm he founded, OurCrowd, after he was diagnosed with the debilitating disease of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS,) also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. 

“This has come rather sudden,” he told TechCrunch in an audibly hoarse voice — a symptom of ALS — on what could be his last interview. 

“I had been feeling a little weird before and they didn’t know what was ailing me,” he explained. “I was in the hospital for several weeks recovering, and that’s when they tested me and said, ‘You’ve got ALS,’ which is a horrible disease, the worst you can imagine.”  

ALS is a condition that degrades the brain’s motor neurons, leading to loss of muscle control, eventually impairing walking, talking, eating, and breathing. He didn’t have the classic symptoms, as his voice was attacked first, not his extremities, he said. But he knows that the condition will worsen, and there is no cure, only therapies. 

Medved is considered one of the fathers of Israel’s startup ecosystem — often called “Startup Nation” after the decades-old best-selling book of the same name. He helped usher it in, having moved from California to Israel in his 20s, then founding and selling several tech companies before turning to investing.  

In 2013, he founded OurCrowd. While Israel has many powerful home-grown VC firms, as well as branches of global firms like Bessemer, OurCrowd essentially invented crowdsourced venture capital, where a limited partnership was open to any accredited investor. 

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The firm’s roster attracted LPs from Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America, growing a network of 240,000 accredited investor LPs in 195 countries, the firm says. Many of them are doctors, lawyers, and ordinary people who not only help their investment companies, but would have otherwise been cut out of the wealth generation that VCs experience. 

OurCrowd has backed names like Anthropic, Beyond Meat and Lemonade. 

Medved describes OurCrowd as now a “significant player” backing about 500 portfolio companies with about 74 exits, including an exit a couple of weeks ago when its infrastructure planning startup Locusview sold for $525 million to Itron. 

Despite Israel’s conflict with Gaza, which has impacted its citizens and put the nation in global crosshairs over the Palestinian humanitarian crisis, its startup ecosystem has remained strong.  

As the “startup nation,” Israel remains a key player for cybersecurity and defense tech as well as AI, microchips, enterprise software, food tech, health tech — the whole tech stack. For example, in November, there was “$800 million invested in the Israeli venture ecosystem in one week,” Medved said. The country now has nearly 100 unicorns and over the year, he estimates that between $15 billion and $16 billion was invested in the country in venture deals. 

Now the tech of some of these startups will help him navigate life with an incurable condition. 

For instance, he’s had an avatar made of himself that preserves his voice, face and mannerisms. (The photo/video realistic digital twin is pictured and the full video can be seen here.) OurCrowd AI portfolio company D-ID, maker of agents and avatars, partnered with voice AI startup ElevenLabs and other companies through the ALS-focused Scott-Morgan Foundation to create an avatar system designed for people with ALS.

He just experienced this tech during a Zoom call with another person who has ALS who was using the avatar to communicate. 

“So this stuff has become very, very personal to me,” Medved said. “It will preserve my voice when it goes.” 

But he said there will be a variety of startups tech he will lean on. 

“We’ve made 60, 70 healthcare investments in good companies that help people. We’ve got a company called OncoHost, which uses AI to help select what kind of immunotherapy will actually work for you …  We have companies doing next-generation sequencing for the genome. We have companies doing chronic condition management,” he catalogs. 

“I tell you now as a once-healthy person [who took health for granted] I felt human pain and disease, but once you are actually engaged in one of these nasty diseases, it changes your perspective,” Medved shared.  

All of this means that, even though he’s given up his position running the company and may be retiring from the public eye, “I’m far from over, ok? I want to continue to contribute, both to OurCrowd and the overall ecosystem. So I fully intend to not go off [quietly] into this good night.” 

And in the end, he says “I’m very proud that in a small way, even though all we are is investors, to be part of this movement.” 

A video featuring Medved’s “digital twin” demonstrates just how realistic his avatar already is.

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Our smartphones are magical things – far more than dopamine drip providers and a way to keep in touch with friends and family. Using the built-in features and easily available additional apps, there are plenty of clever things you can do with your smartphone.

Turn your phone into a tape measure

The iPhone’s Measure app uses augmented reality and the device’s camera to calculate everything from ceiling heights to room dimensions – handy for those DIY tasks that require a quick decision. And, good news for parents, Apple also points out that you can use it to measure a person’s height: the digital equivalent of etched markings on the wall.

Become a detectorist

Metal detectors cost a pretty penny, but many modern devices have built-in magnetometers designed to help improve the accuracy of GPS within apps. Those magnetometers are also used in metal detectors, and some apps can harness that tech to detect metal. These apps are never going to be as accurate as tailor-made products, but if you are looking for a way to entertain the kids on a day at the beach, they will more than suffice in seeking out small bits of treasure.

Turn it into a remote control

Remote control … smartphones can operate your other connected media devices. Photograph: Maskot/Getty Images

Lost the television remote down the back of the sofa again? Many Android phones include an infrared blaster that can mimic the signals from your TV, set-top box or air-conditioning remote, while others can talk to smart devices over wifi or Bluetooth. Download a remote control app, point your phone at the screen, and you can adjust the volume, switch inputs or change channels. Link in smart lights, speakers and streaming sticks and your handset becomes a control centre for the whole living room … though it does make it easier for teenagers to prank you by changing channel mid-episode.

Digitise your old holiday snaps

Got a load of old photographic negatives that you never got round to having developed – or worse, lost the prints for? Apps such as FilmBox, available on iOS and Android, can turn your negatives into digital photos (provided you shine light through them). Even better, you can then use image-editing apps to fine-tune the colour balance on old, washed-out pics.

Don’t get stuck on hold to companies

Some companies now offer a callback service so you don’t have to stay on hold for ages, but if they don’t, you can use your phone to do the same thing. The Hold Assist feature, available on iPhones running iOS 26, gives you a notification when it hears a human voice on the other end of the line, so you can get back to work safe in the knowledge you won’t miss your turn.

Create 3D scans of objects

Newer iPhones and some Android handsets have depth sensors such as lidar (light detection and ranging) that can map the world in 3D. Install a scanning app, slowly walk around the object or room you want to capture, and your phone will stitch those readings into a detailed 3D model. You can then export it for 3D printing, game design or simply to keep a precise digital copy of bulky items before you sell or recycle them. It is also a neat way to document the contents of a rented flat for insurance purposes, or capture awkward corners when planning renovations.

Map and record hikes without mobile signal

If you are an outdoorsy type, phones can help keep you on key routes and out of danger. Make sure you download offline maps before you go somewhere remote, and your phone’s GPS will still work without reception. Hiking and cycling apps can track your route, elevation and distance, then save it so you can retrace your steps – or share it with friends later.

Create a stethoscope

Combined with smartwatches, smartphones have become a boon for those wanting to keep track of their health, but it’s possible to go even further. A 2022 trial to see whether a smartphone’s microphone could accurately measure heartbeats – similar to how a stethoscope works – demonstrated that “mobile technologies are a viable way of recording heart sounds”. A commercial “cardiac screening tool” app is already available in the US.

Help yourself get to sleep

Some people spend money on white noise machines and then cart them around in their suitcase when they are travelling. But it’s possible to achieve the same benefit with your iPhone. Simply go to the accessibility section in your device’s settings, then tap on audio & visual. You can then turn on a variety of sounds, from white noise to ocean waves to crackling fire, to lull you to sleep.

Match that tricky paint colour

Trying to repaint a wall without the original tin to hand can feel impossible. Instead of juggling paper swatches, use your phone’s camera and a colour-matching app to sample the shade directly from the wall, or cushion, or curtain, or whatever you like. The software will suggest the closest equivalents from major paint ranges, and some apps also let you preview those colours on a photo of your space, combining paint matching and augmented reality in one go.

Live translate menus, signs and handwriting

On a foreign holiday and not sure what to eat or where to go? Live translation capabilities in apps such as Google Translate mean that it need not all be Greek to you. A combination of image recognition and live translation tools can identify foreign symbols and transpose English-language translations over the top of them, so you should never end up with an unexpected surprise for dinner.

Identify unknown plants

Plant-spotter … apps can identify plants, animals and other objects. Photograph: Evgeniia Siiankovskaia/Getty Images

Not sure what is growing along your boundary wall, or what kind of cactus you have just bought? AI-powered insights from your smartphone’s camera lens can identify plants, animals and other objects, with surprising accuracy. Specialist apps abound for identifying plants, but the catch-all service provided by Google Lens is a surprisingly accurate way to distinguish your hydrangeas from your hosteas.

Amp up your webcam

Built-in cameras on all but the most expensive laptops and PCs are low-resolution and cope poorly in low-light conditions, meaning you’re blighted with the curse of blurry Zoom calls. Smartphone cameras are way more souped-up, and have automated processing that constantly tries to improve your image quality, making them ideal for replacing your webcam. On iPhones and Mac computers, you need to look for the Handoff feature. On Android devices and Windows, follow the instructions in the “Link to Windows” app to set it up.

Measure sound levels

If you have noisy neighbours or need to keep track of how much noise builders are subjecting you to, a slew of decibel-measuring apps are available. They are surprisingly accurate thanks to plenty of training, and some councils will even encourage complainants to download them and log intrusions if they are in dispute with neighbours.

Make an ad hoc smart home

Near-field communication (NFC) is mostly associated with tap-to-pay transactions, but cheap NFC stickers (you can get 50 for less than £10 online) can act as programmable buttons for your life. Stick one by the front door and set your phone to turn on the wifi and lights when you tap it; put another on your bedside table to start a sleep playlist and enable Do Not Disturb. With a little experimentation, you can build simple smart home routines without buying a hub.

Hang paintings straight

If you have ever hung a picture, stepped back and realised it is slightly wonky, your phone can spare you constant tinkering. Many handsets include a built-in spirit level tucked away in the compass or measurement tools. Lay your phone on the top edge of a frame or shelf and it will show when you have hit level, down to a fraction of a degree. It’s ideal, too, for levelling bookshelves, curtain poles and even sorting out a wonky table leg.

Scan documents

Buying a house or getting a mortgage often involves having to sign contracts. Some companies will let you do this digitally, but if you are someone who prefers putting pen to paper, you can still do so – with the help of your device. Even most entry-level smartphones now include functions that allow you to turn a photograph into a perfectly serviceable scan by pinpointing the corners of a document when you hover your camera over it.

Turn physical photos into animated ‘memories’

Family prints stashed in shoe boxes don’t have to remain static. Scan them into your phone and apps, including Google Photos and Apple Photos, and shots can automatically be grouped by people, places and dates, then stitched into short “memories” complete with music and transitions. Some tools even add subtle motion effects to still images, making them feel more like miniature films than dusty snapshots.

Measure your blood oxygen saturation and predict problems

Signalling issues … Sensors on your smartphone help health apps to estimate blood oxygen saturation. Photograph: Trevor Williams/Getty Images

Health apps increasingly tap into sensors on your phone or connected watch to estimate blood oxygen saturation, a useful signal for issues such as breathing difficulties or altitude sickness. While they aren’t a replacement for clinical-grade monitors, they can function as an early warning system, highlighting unusual trends over time and prompting you to seek medical advice if something looks off, rather than ignoring a nagging feeling.

Empower your PowerPoint presentations

Ditch the dodgy clickers and install the companion app for PowerPoint, Keynote or Google Slides, and you can control your presentation remotely, swiping between slides and seeing your speaker notes on your handset. Some apps turn the screen into a virtual laser pointer, letting you highlight key details on a big display while roaming the stage, instead of being tethered to a laptop. At a pinch, you can even mirror your phone’s screen to a TV or projector and present straight from the handset if your main computer misbehaves.

Share your live location to stay safe

Most phones let you share your real-time location with trusted friends or family for a set length of time through apps such as WhatsApp. It is a low-effort safety net when walking home at night, travelling alone, or meeting someone new, and beats the old “text me when you get there” ritual.

Keep track of your diet

Calorie counting … ‘Phones make food diaries far less of a faff’. Photograph: Sorrasak Jar Tinyo/Getty Images

For those who want to monitor what they are eating, phones make food diaries far less of a faff. Nutrition apps enable you to scan barcodes or search databases to log meals, automatically tallying calories and nutrients across the day. Many sync with your step counter or smartwatch, so you can see the balance between what is going in and what you are burning off, without being nose-deep in a spreadsheet. They are just as useful for people trying to eat more fibre, reduce salt or spot foods that trigger symptoms as they are for anyone counting calories.

Turn your phone into a mini podcast studio

With a cheap plug-in microphone and a basic editing app, your phone can record and trim surprisingly high-quality audio. It’s enough to start a podcast, capture interviews on the go or simply send better-than-voice-note updates to friends and family.

Control your phone with your voice

Want to take a photo just by saying “click”? You can create voice-activated commands for your iPhone in the accessibility section – although it’s not super-straightforward. Tap on voice control > commands > custom, then select “create new command”. From there, you can type in a voice trigger (such as “click”), which then takes you into a recording of your screen. Everything you tap (like jabbing where the camera button is) will then be repeated whenever you say that phrase. So now when you open your camera and say “click”, hey presto! This can be useful, for automating all manner of repetitive tasks, although it only works when voice control is activated.

Paper scribbles stuck to the fridge are no match for dedicated shopping list apps. Apps such as Bring!, AnyList or Listonic let you share a live list with housemates or partners, tick off items in real time as you walk the aisles, and even add products by scanning barcodes or importing ingredients directly from online recipes.

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If you ever overhear people’s conversations and wonder what on Earth they’re talking about, a new book may offer a lifeline.

Described as ‘a miscellany of secret languages’, Schott’s Significa by Ben Schott explores the secret words and phrases used by more than 50 modern subcultures.  

From Swifties (Taylor Swift fans), Las Vegas gamblers, bartenders, incels and dog walkers, these subdivisions of society all develop a private, secretive lexicon.

And their various words, signs, signals and oblique references are all designed to ‘bind its members closer while keeping strangers out’. 

Now, the Daily Mail’s quiz presents 10 different words or phrases, each one from a subculture in Schott’s book. 

For each round, you will see the word and four multiple choice options with possible definitions.

All you have to do is guess the correct definition.

So do you know your ‘donk’ from your ‘face card’? And does your ‘triskaidekaphilia’ keep you up at night? Scroll down for the answers!

From Swifties (Taylor Swift fans), Las Vegas gamblers, bartenders and dog walkers, the world is full of subcultures that have developed their own secret words and phrases – designed to keep outsiders none the wiser  

1. TAYLOR SWIFT FANS

‘Triskaidekaphilia’ 

a) A love for friendship bracelets

b) A love for the number 13 

c) A love for streaming Taylor Swift songs when asleep

d) A love for Taylor Swift songs that didn’t make the final album 

2. LAS VEGAS GAMBLERS

‘Donk’ 

a) A player who doesn’t tip the bar staff

b) A player who can’t afford to lose money

c) An unskilled player 

d) An unexperienced player

Do you know your ‘donk’ from your ‘steamer’? Las Vegas gamblers use little phrases to help speed up the process, safeguard staff and patrons and help minimise losses (file photo)

What is Schott’s Significa? 

‘Schott’s Significa’ by Ben Schott reveals the secret words and phrases used by more than 50 modern subcultures, including Swifties (Taylor Swift fans), Las Vegas gamblers, bartenders and dog walkers.

These subdivisions of society have a system of private, secretive words, signs signals and oblique references – designed to ‘bind its members closer while keeping strangers out’. 

Ben Schott is best known for his miscellanies published two decades ago that compiled hard-to-find but useful information. 

‘Significa’ represents a continuation of the miscellanies for the internet age – as the intricacies of how people talk is one of the things even Google Search and ChatGPT struggle to answer. 

3. INCELS (INVOLUNTARY CELIBATES) 

‘Wizard’

a) A man who has platonic friendships with women

b) A man who has had sex more than 50 times 

c) A man who is still a virgin at 30

d) A man who never marries

4. DOG WALKERS

‘Cujo’  

a) A very loyal dog

b) A very exotic dog breed

c) A very aggressive dog 

d) A very docile dog

5. BARTENDERS 

‘Campers’ 

a) Patrons who take their drink outside

b) Patrons who have stopped ordering/paid but show no signs of leaving 

c) Patrons who can’t walk properly because they are excessively drunk 

d) Patrons who have been a long time in the toilet

Starbucks staff have evolved an oblique language system that lets them potentially bitch about customers within hearing range

6. STARBUCKS STAFF

‘Gertrude’  

a) A female boss

b) A female staff member who deliberately writes the wrong names on customers’ coffee cups

c) A female customer who spills drink on the floor

d) An endlessly dissatisfied female customer 

7. GRAFFITI WRITERS

‘Burner’ 

a) A paint product containing volatile chemicals 

b) An especially impressive piece of graffiti 

c) A graffiti artist that paints over existing graffiti 

d) A graffiti artist that hides their painting materials when on-the-run

Schott’s Significa unlocks 53 of the most intriguing linguistic subcultures, including casinos, crypto, dog walkers, bartenders and typographers

8. LONDON BLACK CABBIES 

‘Oranges and lemons’

a) Main roads  

b) Multiple male passengers taking a trip together 

c) Bumps in the road

d) Hailstones 

9. INFLUENCERS 

‘Face card’

a) The photo on an influencer’s social media profile

b) A female influencer who seeks male attention   

c) An influencer whose looks are as valuable as a credit card 

d) Inactive or fake social media accounts that impersonate another

10. GYM-GOERS

‘Lunk’

a) A particularly heavy dumbbell

b) Sweat left on gym equipment  

c) An obnoxious, muscly gym-goer who is loud, rude and drops their weights when done

d) A member of gym staff who keeps interfering with people’s workouts 

So how did you do? Correct answers below 

1. Triskaidekaphilia: B – A love for the number 13. Taylor Swift was born on the 13th December and her first album went gold in 13 weeks. She said: ‘Basically whenever a 13 comes up in my life, it’s a good thing’ 
2. Donk: C – An unskilled player
3. Wizard: C – A man who is still a virgin at 30
4. Cujo: C – A very aggressive dog . Named after the eponymous rabid dog of the 1981 Stephen King novel of the same name
5. Campers: B – Patrons who have stopped ordering/paid but show no signs of leaving
6. Gertrude: D – An endlessly dissatisfied female customer. The male version is Gertdude or Gerard
7. Burner: B – An especially impressive piece of graffiti. A ‘burner’ burns the competition
8. Oranges and lemons: A – Main roads. Based on the respective colours of A- and B-Roads in the Geographers’ A-Z Map
9. Face card: C – An influencer whose looks are as valuable as a credit card 
10. Lunk: C – An obnoxious, muscly gym-goer who is loud, rude and drops their weights when done 

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The voicemail from your son is alarming. He has just been in a car accident and is highly stressed. He needs money urgently, although it is not clear why, and he gives you some bank details for a transfer.

You consider yourself wise to other scams, and have ignored texts claiming to be from him and asking for cash. But you can hear his voice and he is clearly in trouble.

However, the voicemail is the latest way in which criminals are using technology to defraud people. By taking a tiny snippet of real audio – just three seconds is enough – from a person, they can “clone” the individual’s voice using freely available AI technology. From there, they can make an recording of the synthesised voice saying exactly what they want.

The criminals can record a voice from videos on social media or by calling someone and saying nothing. A victim just needs to respond with words such as “hello, who is there?” to give them material for their hoax.

Oliver Devane, a senior researcher at the online security company McAfee, says this is a sophisticated example of spear phishing, or a personalised, targeted attack.

“Having tested some of the free and paid AI voice cloning tools online, we found in one instance, that just three seconds of audio was needed to produce a good match,” he says.

“Cybercriminals will often source this information from public social media profiles and other places online where people post about themselves, their families, their travels, and so on in an attempt to cash in.

“The cybercriminal is betting on a loved one or family member becoming worried, letting emotions take over, and sending money to help.”

What the scam looks like

A phone call or a voicemail, or even a voice note, will come through on your mobile and sound exactly like a loved one or friend.

They will have been involved in an accident or they may have been robbed or injured. They will be distressed and there will be a sense of urgency.

Whatever the circumstances, they will ask for money. They may not give details of why they need the money but they will say it is urgent. They may ask you to transfer it to an account that belongs to someone else.

What to do

As with many scams, if you get a call or voicemail that asks for money, take a moment to stop and think. Does it really sound like the person you know? Are there strange speech patterns that are not accounted for by the fact that there is an emergency.

Even if the phone number comes up as coming from one of your children, this is no assurance as the number can also be faked.

“Try to remain level-headed and pause before you take any next steps,” says Devane. “Remember that cybercriminals are betting on emotions running high. They will play on your connection to the loved one and create a sense of urgency to prompt you into action.”

Call the person who it seems left the message. They may pick up and be able to reassure you that they are OK. Remember the message has come by phone, so even if there is a real emergency they clearly can reach their device and get a signal.

To prepare for the possibility of such scams, you can set up a codeword between you and your children so you know for sure when they are in trouble.

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