Aeon

Some Aeon group stores, including the Maibasu convenience store chain, are temporarily unable to process credit card and WAON electronic money payments, according to an Asahi Shimbun report carried by Gunosy. Shoppers in Japan are being alerted to the payment outage, which could affect everyday purchases at the affected locations.

An essay in Aeon argues that the word 'cancer' should be used far more cautiously, since the term lumps together conditions of wildly different danger and leads to overdiagnosis and overtreatment. The author calls for a better vocabulary to describe what is often called cancer, arguing that language shapes how patients understand risk and choose treatment.

Green tree ants, a species long renowned across the tropics, are the subject of a new short documentary exploring how they have thrived for millions of years. The film also examines 'imposters' — other creatures that mimic or exploit the ants' colonies. Science and nature enthusiasts are sharing the piece, drawn to the ants' remarkable ecological success and unusual social behaviour.