The gargantuan intellect that is Stephen Hawking, who has more letters after his name than in it, and who retired  as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University only a year ago, has now more or less retired God as well.

US maker of anti-wrinkle treatment wriggles its way out of court by agreeing to a huge fine – almost half its 2009 sales of Botox - for making false claims about its flagship product and assorted dodgy marketing ploys.

Cannabis, LSD, ecstasy? First thoughts: illegal, crime, jail. In future, it may change, however, if new research is to be believed. 

Cyber-spooks look to super-programs to plug the holes in the intelligence dykes breached by Wiki-Leaks. And it’s not going to be a quick-in-quick-out guerrilla op either.

BMW’s Z4 is considered a glamorous roadster by some, and a poser special by others. Regardless of your point of view, what can’t be denied is that this latest Z4 is the largest and heaviest of its ilk. Which is perhaps why BMW has created a new flagship with more power and torque than ever before. It’s called the sDrive35iS. By DEON SCHOEMAN.

It would’ve made the perfect scenario for a Terry Pratchett science-fantasy novella - if the protagonists were not deadly serious and the potential damages involved not been the fate of our home planet, Earth. But such was the backdrop to the latest court case in the US aimed at halting the biggest and costliest scientific experiment in history.

Since the beginning of recorded history, poets and philosophers have suspected that language speaks us more than we speak language. Science tried in the twentieth century to prove the notion empirically, but ultimately failed. Now science is back – it appears our languages do make us think differently. Which is bad news for South Africa’s ‘we-are-one’-style marketing campaigns. By KEVIN BLOOM.

At this year’s Maker Faire Africa inventors from throughout the continent showed the world the vast talent that exists in Africa’s informal sectors. By MANDY DE WAAL.

To the 33 Chilean miners still trapped 700m underground, every bit of help is welcome. But this time help is coming from unexpected quarters, as the experience of Nasa astronauts is being used to predict and counter the mental and physical challenges they face.

It’s taken Ford Motor Company Southern Africa almost two years to finally introduce the performance flagship of its Focus hatchback range on local soil. However, that the SA launch of the Ford Focus RS coincides with the end of RS production in Europe makes one wonder whether this isn’t just another example of selling off old stock that nobody else wants.

The debris from Cape Town's iconic Athlone cooling towers, which were reduced to 21,600 tonnes of rubble this past weekend, will be recycled, made into bricks and reused for city development, a measure that may warm the hearts of those miffed by the demolition's early detonation.

In the past week, Iranian military and nuclear developments may be pointing towards a nuclear military future for that country – or maybe not. And that’s the problem – neither governments nor experts around the world can agree exactly what’s happening. And uncertainty about Iran’s nuclear intentions is exactly what the Middle East doesn’t need.

From human trafficking to organising scarce medical resources to mapping government shortfalls of essential drugs in Africa, FrontlineSMS is enabling activists, aid workers and NGOs to communicate effectively en masse. And all it takes is a computer, a mobile phone and a sliver of network presence.

On Friday, Facebook announced a new addition to its social networking site as part of its steady march to world conquest. And, as is often the case with the social networking behemoth, reactions ranged from dire warnings to loud applause.

The Jaguar brand may be celebrating 75 summers, but the British car maker’s history has been a chequered one, alternating glorious designs and evocative automobiles with troubled business strategies and red ink on the bottom line. Now supported by Mumbai money, Jaguar seems to be steering a more resolute course – as its latest flagship proves. But moguls beware: this is no fat-cat limo ...

From US secretary of state Hillary Clinton to Internet guru Clay Shirky, everybody has a story to tell about how Ushahidi is saving lives or impacting on the world with technology for citizens to report and map crisis incidents. Locally Ushahidi was used to track xenophobic violence, but now thanks to the roll out of a new version called Crowdmap, we’re crowdsourcing media freedom too.

The bad news is he’s serious. Eric Schmidt, the chief executive of the world’s most powerful Internet company, would like to do away with anonymity in cyberspace. The good news? You tell us.

The medium-size sedan segment is one of the toughest on the local car market – and not because there are a lot of competitors vying for the attention of buyers. In fact, quite the opposite: there are only a handful of models from which to choose. But there’s a good reason for this: Nobody wants to buy them.

On 6 August 1945, just after 8:15 in the morning, a silvery B-29 bomber flew over the Japanese city of Hiroshima and dropped only one bomb. It killed tens of thousands, grievously wounded many more and virtually annihilated the core of that ancient city. The world instantly knew that, from that moment on, nothing would ever be the same.

The problem with hybrid cars is that they lack outright sex appeal. Enter the Honda CR-Z: a hybrid that actually looks good. Even better, it feels every bit as keenly honed as it looks. Could this be the sport car of the future? Well, almost.

With no money, but a wealth of innovation, Bright Simons created an SMS-based system that is helping Nigeria fight a deadly onslaught of counterfeit medicines. The remedy is so successful it is now being tested in Ghana, and considered by other African states, to stem an avalanche that’s killing hundreds of thousands of people each year.

One could ask whether large, luxury cars still have a role in a society increasingly concerned about environmental issues. And one could query their relevance at a time when a display of ostentatious wealth isn’t exactly PC. But then, what would we give our ministers to drive? Fortunately, the new Audi A8 can count more than opulence among its many talents – and as flagship cars go, it’s pretty eco-aware too.

A quarter of a century is a long time to sustain the mystique and desirability of a nameplate. But the M3 has always counted among BMW’s adulated cars. And to celebrate its 25th, the Bavarians assembled pristine examples of all four M3 generations at the Ascari racing circuit in Spain – and announced a special, limited-edition M3 to mark the occasion.

Every two years, the cream of aviation gravitates to the Farnborough Airfield, southwest of London, to hawk, gawk, buy or just bathe in the beauty of flying machines. This year's show may also serve as a gauge of the global economy.

After two years of research, one of the world's remaining beacons of investigative journalism, The Washington Post, has started publishing a series that paints the most complete picture of the US’s counter-intelligence network after 9/11. The picture, built using only publicly available information, is far from pretty.

For the first time in years, Apple got real grief from the public. Problems with the iPhone 4 antenna design has made it look incompetent and uncaring. So how does Steve Jobs respond? By giving out free accessories, as expected – and saying Apple's phones are just like everybody else's. Huh?

With new research showing that anxiety and uncertainty fuel rabid religiosity and that smarter people don’t believe in a God, it’s a good thing the World Cup has made us more secure and hopeful.

Sir Alec Issigonis would not be a fan of the modern Mini – the BMW-built lifestyle car that doffs an aesthetic hat to Issigonis’ tiny original, but lacks the real Mini’s packaging genius. Where does that leave the Countryman – BMW’s latest, most outrageous variation on the Mini theme? Considering its dimensions, perhaps they should have called it the Mini Maxi instead.

Forget Amazon’s Kindle or the iPad, here's a novel project that’s making literacy fun and could just change the way teen literature is published in Africa. We spoke to Mobile for Literacy creator, Steve Vosloo.

The Mitsubishi and Pajero brands are synonymous with excellent all-terrain performance. After all, Pajeros dominated the gruelling Dakar rally for many years, until VW’s Touareg broke up the Mitsubishi party. The Pajero Sport, however, is not a true member of the Pajero clan – even though it’s a competent all-roader in most respects