Pot overflowing with gold coins discovered in ancient Greek city in Turkey
The coins were found beneath a home and were likely hidden by mercenaries.
TECH DEIYO
Science and Technolgy blog
Silicon plus perovskite solar reaches 34 percent efficiency
Enlarge / Some solar panels, along with a diagram of a perovskite’s crystal structure. (credit: Subhakitnibhat Kewiko) As the price of silicon panels has continued to come down, we’ve reached the point where they’re a small and shrinking cost of…
NZXT wants you to pay up to $169/month to rent a gaming PC
Enlarge / NZXT’s subscription program charges $169/month for this build. (credit: NZXT) NZXT, which sells gaming PCs, components, and peripherals, has a subscription program that charges a monthly fee to rent one of its gaming desktops. Subscribers don’t own the…
Meet ‘small diver’: One of the tiniest penguins ever discovered
A tiny extinct penguin from New Zealand is key to understanding penguin wing evolution, researchers say.
FLUX: This new AI image generator is eerily good at creating human hands
Enlarge / AI-generated image by FLUX.1 dev: “A beautiful queen of the universe holding up her hands, face in the background.” (credit: FLUX.1) On Thursday, AI-startup Black Forest Labs announced the launch of its company and the release of its…
Sam Altman accused of being shady about OpenAI’s safety efforts
Enlarge / Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAI, during an interview at Bloomberg House on the opening day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (credit: Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg) OpenAI…
James Webb telescope confirms the earliest galaxy in the universe is bursting with way more stars than we thought possible
The light from the most distant galaxy in the known universe suggests that there’s something off about our current cosmological models, a new James Webb Space Telescope study finds. The explanations remain elusive.
Volcano in Tanzania with weirdest, runniest magma on Earth is sinking into the ground
Tanzania’s outlandish Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano, the only volcano on Earth that is currently erupting carbonatite lava, has been sinking at a rate of 1.4 inches per year for the past decade.
Giant wildfires can create their own weather. Here’s how.
Wildfires can generate tornado-like fire whirls and other “unpredictable and erratic” weather. An atmospheric scientist explains how.
Metropolis 1998 lets you design every building in an isometric, pixel-art city
Enlarge / There is something so wonderfully obscene about having a town with hundreds of people living their lives, running into conflict, hoping for better, and your omnipotent self is stuck on which bookcase best fits this living room corner.…
US probes Nvidia’s acquisition of Israeli AI startup
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) The US Department of Justice is investigating Nvidia’s acquisition of Run:ai, an Israeli artificial intelligence startup, for potential antitrust violations, said a person familiar with discussions the government agency has had with third parties. The DoJ…
Alzheimer’s blood tests are getting better, but still have a ways to go
Blood biomarker tests could help doctors know if a person’s cognitive symptoms are due to Alzheimer’s or something else.
Human muscle cells come back from space, look aged
Enlarge / Muscle atrophy is a known hazard of spending time on the International Space Station. (credit: NASA) Muscle-on-chip systems are three-dimensional human muscle cell bundles cultured on collagen scaffolds. A Stanford University research team sent some of these systems…
Once-in-a-lifetime nova explosion from T Coronae Borealis will create a ‘new star’ in the sky
The T Coronae Borealis nova will soon burst into life above our heads for the first time in 78 years.
Classical music boosts language recovery and brain connectivity in stroke survivors
Listening to classical music could help stroke survivors recover language skills and increase brain connectivity, according to a new study published in the Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine. Stroke-induced aphasia, a condition that impairs language abilities (e.g. speaking, writing,…
Intel is offering extended warranties for crashing 13th- and 14th-gen desktop CPUs
Enlarge / Even mainstream CPUs like the Core i5-13400 could theoretically be affected by Intel’s crashing issues. (credit: Andrew Cunningham) Intel will be releasing a microcode update to prevent further damage to crashing 13th- and 14th-generation desktop processors sometime this…
Tycho Brahe dabbled in alchemy. Broken glassware is revealing his recipes
The shards contain nine metals that the famous astronomer may have used, including one not formally identified until 180 years after his death.
Minerals evolve under pressure in the same way life does, researchers find
Researchers say they’ve discovered evidence for the recently proposed ‘law of increasing functional information’ by proving that minerals evolve as life does.
A few weeks with the Pocket 386, an early-‘90s-style, half-busted retro PC
Enlarge / The Pocket 386 is fun for a while, but the shortcomings and the broken stuff start to wear on you after a while. (credit: Andrew Cunningham) The Book 8088 was a neat experiment, but as a clone of…
‘Screaming Woman’ mummy suffered a painful death in ancient Egypt, virtual autopsy finds
The mummy was well preserved with an expensive embalming material. Her organs were still intact, showing an unusual mummification technique, a CT scan revealed.
Genetic risk for neuroticism increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease
Could your personality influence your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease? An analysis of UK Biobank data showed that individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment who also have high genetic risk for neuroticism are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers…
Rocket Report: Falcon 9 is back; Starship could be recovered off Australia
Welcome to Edition 7.05 of the Rocket Report! The Federal Aviation Administration grounded SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket for 15 days after a rare failure of its upper stage earlier this month. The FAA gave the green light for Falcon 9…
Can we train AI to be creative? One lab is testing ideas
Artificial intelligence explores new ideas by tapping human intuition, a step toward humanlike intelligence.
Salar de Uyuni: The world’s largest salt desert and lithium reservoir surrounded by volcanoes
The Salar de Uyuni desert is famous for its gleaming surface waters and hexagonal salt crust patterns, but below this otherworldly landscape lie about 11 million tons of highly sought-after lithium.
The secret weapon of champions: Mastering cognitive expertise in sports
“Look for the gap!” “Move into space!” “Who’s free?” Sound familiar? From the sidelines to the field, court or pitch, no matter the team sport, looking for relevant information in the playing environment can be as important as any other…
CBD shows promise in reducing PTSD symptoms by targeting brain inflammation
In a new study published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, researchers have found that cannabidiol, a compound derived from cannabis, can significantly reduce symptoms resembling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in mice. This effect hinges on cannabidiol’s ability to curb neuroinflammation…
“Screaming Woman” mummy may have died in agony 3,500 years ago, study finds
Enlarge / CT scans and other techniques allowed scientists to “virtually dissect” this 3,500-year-old “Screaming Woman” mummy. (credit: Sahar Saleem/CC BY) There have been a handful of ancient Egyptian mummies discovered with their mouths wide open, as if mid-scream. This…
An Egyptian mummy’s silent ‘scream’ might have been fixed at death
A rare muscle-stiffening reaction could explain the open-mouthed expression of a mummy known as the Screaming Woman, scientists suggest.
Troubling bird flu study suggests human cases are going undetected
Enlarge (credit: Tony C. French/Getty) A small study in Texas suggests that human bird flu cases are being missed on dairy farms where the H5N1 virus has taken off in cows, sparking an unprecedented nationwide outbreak. The finding adds some…
Who are the two major hackers Russia just received in a prisoner swap?
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) As part of today’s blockbuster prisoner swap between the US and Russia, which freed the journalist Evan Gershkovich and several Russian opposition figures, Russia received in return a motley collection of serious criminals, including an assassin…
Testing shows “significant durability” problems with edge-lit LCD TVs
Enlarge / Samsung’s 2022 The Frame is one of the edge-lit TVs that RTINGs tested. (credit: Samsung) Thin LCD-LED TVs are appealing because they’re easy to find space for and are aesthetically pleasing. To stay slim, most thin TVs, like…
There are 2,000-plus dead rockets in orbit—here’s a rare view of one of them
Enlarge / Astroscale’s ADRAS-J spacecraft captured these views of the H-IIA rocket upper stage on July 15. (credit: Astroscale) There are more than 2,000 mostly intact dead rockets circling the Earth, but until this year, no one ever launched a…
NASA says it is “evaluating all options” for the safe return of Starliner crew
Enlarge / Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is seen docked at the International Space Station on June 13. (credit: NASA) It has now been eight weeks since Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft launched into orbit on an Atlas V rocket, bound for the International…
Apple reports record revenues despite stagnant iPhone sales
Enlarge / Apple CEO Tim Cook. (credit: Lionel Hahn/Getty Images) Apple reported its earnings results for the third quarter of the 2024 fiscal year, and it satisfied investors’ expectations at the top level with 5 percent growth year over year.…
Metal money wasn’t just for the rich in Bronze Age Europe, study finds
What did Bronze Age people do with all that bronze? New research revives old arguments about the nature of money
Auroras expected tonight and through the weekend as US braces from ‘cannibal’ solar eruption
The last gasp of a “cannibal” coronal mass ejection that slammed Earth on Tuesday will bring lovely auroras to parts of the northern US and most of Canada tonight, with more northern lights displays on the way this weekend.
San Francisco to ban software that “enables price collusion” by landlords
Enlarge / View of San Francisco with Russian Hill in the background. (credit: Getty Images | Terraxplorer) San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors this week approved a ban on software that is allegedly used by landlords to collude on rent prices.…
‘This is largely uncharted territory’: Scientists reveal the brain’s ‘fear circuit’ works differently than we thought
New methods applied in live mice suggest that molecules called neuropeptides, not neurotransmitters, play the main role in our response to danger.
Senators propose “Digital replication right” for likeness, extending 70 years after death
Enlarge (credit: Maria Korneeva via Getty Images) On Wednesday, US Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Marsha Blackburn (R.-Tenn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act of 2024. The…
Nvidia’s dominance puts AI industry in “dire danger,” groups warn DOJ
Enlarge (credit: David Tran | iStock Editorial / Getty Images Plus) Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has joined progressive groups—including Demand Progress, Open Markets Institute, and the Tech Oversight Project—pressuring the US Department of Justice to investigate Nvidia’s dominance in the…
New psychology research links art to a more meaningful life
Art can stir emotions, inspire awe, and sometimes even feel otherworldly. A recent study published in The Journal of Positive Psychology reveals that the way people engage with art is associated with their sense of meaning in life. Specifically, experiencing…
The 10 things car buyers say they want in their next car
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) A wireless charging pad is now the most-desired in-car feature among people intending to buy a new vehicle. Being able to forget about a USB cable and still not run down one’s battery topped the list…
NASA’s Lunar Gateway has a big visiting vehicles problem
Enlarge / A rendering of NASA’s proposed lunar gateway. (credit: NASA) Do you remember the Lunar Gateway? You could be forgiven if not, as the program continues to be tossed around by NASA planners, and it is still not entirely…
Now that decent Arm-powered PCs exist, Qualcomm’s CEO wants to make them cheaper
Enlarge / Microsoft’s Arm-powered Surface Laptop 7. We’re still waiting for Arm chips to make their way into cheaper PCs. (credit: Andrew Cunningham) For the first time in the decade-plus that Microsoft has been trying to make Arm-powered Windows PCs…
USA Basketball doctor shares what it’s like to treat athletes at the Olympics
An orthopedic surgeon explains what it’s like to support USA Basketball at the Olympics.
A moon of Uranus could have a hidden ocean, James Webb Space Telescope finds
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have found that Ariel, a moon of Uranus, has some of the most carbon dioxide-rich deposits in the solar system, hinting at a buried water ocean.
Scientists uncover microbes that destroy ‘forever chemical’ pollutants
Little is known about the fate of PFAS in our environment, but new research finds that bacteria in wastewater can degrade specific types of “forever chemicals.”
Loneliness has as strange relationship with trust, new research shows
A set of three studies showed that lonely individuals tend to trust others more, but expect those others to be less trustworthy. The situation was reversed in extraverted individuals, who also tended to be less lonely. The research was published…
Want to spot a deepfake? The eyes could be a giveaway
Reflections in the eyes of AI-generated images of people don’t always match up, researchers report.
Karaoke reveals why we blush
Enlarge (credit: Peter Muller) Singing off-key in front of others is one way to get embarrassed. Regardless of how you get there, why does embarrassment almost inevitably come with burning cheeks that turn an obvious shade of red (which is…
