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I gave Meta’s Muse and OpenAI’s Dots my passwords for a week
Meta’s and OpenAI’s new agents can streamline your life. Artificial intelligence researchers helped me test how far to trust them
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Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.
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Grief and tech collide in uneasily brilliant sci-fi film The Remotes
Shown at the New York Film Festival, John Torres’s film The Remotes tells of a mysterious app that seems to be controlling drivers' bodies, causing them to crash. It is challenging but worth it, says Karmela Padavic-Callaghan
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Only one workout helped older adults lose fat and keep muscle
A six-month study suggests that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) may offer older adults a powerful advantage: losing body fat while keeping their muscle. Unlike moderate-intensity workouts, which led to a small loss of lean muscle, HIIT preserved it while also improving body composition around the waist.
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Scientists find hidden materials that could improve batteries and solar fuels
Scientists have uncovered a hidden world of “in-between” materials that briefly form as chemical ingredients are heated, revealing structures that conventional methods can miss. Among the discoveries is a previously unknown form of bismuth vanadate, a material widely studied for using sunlight to help produce clean hydrogen. The new version has a different atomic structure and interacts with light in a strikingly different way, potentially opening new possibilities for solar fuels, catalysts, and electronics.
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Bronze ring with Lighthouse of Alexandria engraving discovered at palace on submerged island in Egypt
A bronze signet ring depicting the Lighthouse of Alexandria, a wonder of the ancient world, has been discovered underwater in the Mediterranean off Alexandria, Egypt.A joint team from the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM) and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities found the artifact in the remains of a palace on the now-submerged island of Antirhodos, marking the first time a signet ring featuring the image of the lighthouse has been found, the IEASM team said in a statement. The image on the ring is similar to depictions of the lighthouse that have been previously found on coins dating to the second century, representatives of IEASM said. "The discovery of the ...
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Feverish after a vaccine? The reason could be your gut microbiome
In a new study, people who had worse fevers after a COVID shot tended to have similar gut characteristics
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One doctor’s fight to make IUD placement better
A new study shows promising results in lowering pain during IUD placements
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Bacteria turn a virus’ own weapon against it
Researchers have uncovered a new way bacteria detect viral attacks: a virus-produced enzyme cuts a bacterial sensor protein, triggering a self-destructing immune response. The discovery could lead to more effective phage therapies against antibiotic-resistant bacteria and provide insight into ancient immune mechanisms shared with humans.
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South Korean 'robot dog' became first to run a marathon on a single battery charge — now we know how
A four-legged robot completed a full marathon on a single battery charge, covering 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometers) on a hilly public-road course in South Korea two years ago. Now we know a lot more about how it achieved this record-breaking feat.The dog-like robot, called RAIBO2, finished the 22nd annual Sangju Dried-Persimmon Marathon in just over 4 hours, 19 minutes. The bot's developers say it's the first quadruped robot to have completed an official marathon-distance event without stopping to recharge. They're commonly referred to as "robot dogs" because the movement of their joints in both front and hind legs resembles that of canines. The scientists outlined their findings about the robot...
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A 9-billion-year-old signal could help explain dark energy
A Canadian radio telescope has detected the faint glow of hydrogen from billions of years ago using only its own observations, proving a long-awaited way to map the distant universe can actually work. CHIME can use this hydrogen signal to trace how matter is spread across space and measure how the universe has expanded over time, offering a powerful new way to investigate dark energy.
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A quantum prediction from 1931 just came to life
Nearly a century after physicist Hans Bethe predicted them, scientists have created and directly observed unusual quantum states known as “Bethe strings” in an ultracold gas. By cooling cesium atoms to near absolute zero and trapping them in thousands of tiny one-dimensional tubes, researchers were able to make groups of atoms bind together without ordinary chemical bonds. These strange clusters could contain six or more particles and even collide with one another without falling apart.
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NASA astronauts splash down after 100 million miles in space
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 astronauts have returned to Earth after 237 days in space, traveling more than 100 million miles and completing over 3,792 orbits while conducting research to prepare for future missions to the Moon and Mars. The mission also made history with record-setting spacewalk achievements and experiments that could transform medicine both in space and on Earth.
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Scientists create new statewide surface geologic map of Nebraska
A new academic paper by Paul Hanson and Matthew Joeckel of the Conservation and Survey Division in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's School of Natural Resources contains a brief phrase—"new linework"—that looks innocuous but carries enormous meaning.
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Global analysis reveals how armed conflict erodes farmland and potential food production
Armed conflict accelerates cropland loss, and the effects can persist for years after conflict begins and vary substantially with conflict severity and social conditions, according to a new study published in Nature Food on Sept. 24.
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October’s night sky is full of cosmic tricks and treats
October’s skies are packed with celestial surprises, from Jupiter disappearing behind the Moon to two meteor showers lighting up the darkness. NASA highlights four must-see events, including shooting stars from Halley’s Comet and a glowing Hunter’s Moon just before Halloween.
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Nearly 30,000 people tested quit-smoking methods. One stood out
Nicotine e-cigarettes appear to help more smokers quit than patches, gum, and several other common approaches, according to a major review of 80 clinical trials. Researchers say regulated vaping products are not risk-free, but may be a significantly less harmful alternative for people who would otherwise continue smoking.
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Research shows how AI and mixed reality can enhance police work
How can AI provide police officers with better support in complex situations? In an interdisciplinary collaboration, researchers in police research and computing science at Umeå University have explored the opportunities and risks associated with using AI-based interactive systems in police work.
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Most trading card packs hide the odds of winning rare cards, study finds
Pokémon, sports and other physical trading and collectible cards have been around for decades but have surged in popularity since COVID. These cards are usually obtained through gambling-like packs containing random cards. Most packs do not offer any highly desirable cards, but a few packs will. Consumers, often including children, therefore buy many packs in the hope of obtaining rare chase cards.
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Introducing LGBT stories linked to more inclusive attitudes in primary schools
Can literature foster greater acceptance of LGBT people among elementary school students? This is the core question behind a study conducted by researchers Guillermo Soler, María Ribes and José Rovira-Collado from the Language and Literature Didactics area of the Department of Teaching Innovation and Training at the University of Alicante (UA).