Science and Technolgy blog
Microsoft said it has detected a new variant of XCSSET, a powerful macOS malware family that has targeted developers and users since at least 2020. The variant, which Microsoft reported Monday, marked the first publicly known update to the malware…
A recent study published in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law suggests that feelings of hopelessness and despair have significant consequences that extend beyond individual well-being, influencing how people participate in politics and engage with their communities. The…
Astronomers have detected over 5,800 confirmed exoplanets. One extreme class is ultra-hot Jupiters, of particular interest because they can provide a unique window into planetary atmospheric dynamics. According to a new paper published in the journal Nature, astronomers have mapped…
Researchers have long been fascinated by the female orgasm. It isn’t necessary for a woman to orgasm during sexual intercourse to become pregnant. By contrast, in men, orgasm and ejaculation are synchronized. It is almost always necessary for a man…
OpenAI is considering granting new voting rights to its nonprofit board in a move that could help it fight an unsolicited takeover bid from Elon Musk, the Financial Times reported last night. Citing people familiar with the discussions, the FT…
NASA has increased the chances of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth in 2032 to 1 in 32, or 3.1%, up from 1 in 42 as reported in previous calculations.
New scans of the bottom of the Japan Trench reveal extensive burrow structures and evidence of regular “reset” events that help sea creatures survive in the ocean’s deepest reaches.
Researchers estimate that recent abortion bans have driven a rise in infant death rates in affected states, especially among Black children and kids with congenital anomalies.
A recently published case report in the Journal of Psychosexual Health describes a surprising and unusual side effect experienced by a young woman taking a common antidepressant medication. According to psychiatrists in India, a 25-year-old female developed a sudden onset…
Spotting artifacts in the U.S. is common, but archaeologists want you to leave them in place.
Sagittarius A*, our galaxy’s supermassive black hole, is constantly producing strange eruptions. Astronomers are using the James Webb Space Telescope to find out why.
Scientists have uncovered a fascinating piece of the puzzle surrounding the origins of human language, suggesting that a variant of a protein found only in modern humans might have played a role in the development of our ability to speak.…
Public trust in science has been in the spotlight in recent years: After the US presidential election in November, one Wall Street Journal headline declared that “Science Lost America’s Trust.” Another publication called 2024 “the year of distrust in science.”…
Spread across NASA’s headquarters and 10 field centers, which dot the United States from sea to sea, the space agency has had a workforce of nearly 18,000 civil servants. However, by the end of today, that number will have shrunk…
Divers in Florida’s Steinhatchee River stumbled upon hundreds of pristine fossils from an obscure Ice Age period, including giant armadillos, ancient horses and possibly a new species of tapir.
Prospective ESA astronaut and former British Paralympian John McFall has passed the medical assessment needed for a long-term stay on the ISS. If selected for a future mission, he will become the first physically disabled person in space.
A small study of adults with severe generalized anxiety disorder in Lebanon found that these individuals had a lower daily antioxidant intake. After six weeks of antioxidant supplementation, their anxiety symptoms decreased. The paper was published in Nutritional Neuroscience. Generalized…
Specs at a glance: Asus ROG Flow Z13 (XS96 model) OS Windows 11 Pro CPU AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (16 cores, 3.0 GHz) RAM 32GB LPDDR5X-8000 (non-upgradeable; XS99 goes up to 128GB) GPU AMD Radeon 8060S (integrated) SSD 1TB…
High-pressure experiments generated the first direct observation of plastic ice, which has qualities of both crystalline ice and liquid water.
For decades, scientists assumed that life on Earth emerged through a chain of highly improbable flukes. But a new theory suggests it may have instead arrived just in time.
By combining digital and analog quantum simulation into a new hybrid approach, scientists have already started to make fresh scientific discoveries using quantum computers.
A new study published in Psychopharmacology suggests that while teenage exposure to THC, the main psychoactive component of cannabis, may have limited long-term effects on certain thinking skills, it could make individuals more susceptible to the cognitive impacts of stimulants…
Veggies pack lots of nutrients. But our bodies need some nutrients that can be found only in animal products, such as meat and milk. Now, researchers have tweaked the genes in leaves so that plants, too, can at last make…
Do you know a lot about the ancient Egyptian dead, or do you need to ask your mummy?
A study published in Political Research Quarterly has uncovered a notable link between antisemitism and conspiracy theories, with significant differences based on political affiliation. For supporters of Joe Biden, exposure to conspiracy content heightened their views of Jewish political and…
This Google Maps image captured in 2021 revealed a mysterious, triangular dark patch in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, sparking bizarre rumors about its origin. However, it turned out to be a small island with incredibly dense tree coverage.
If humanity is ever to spread out into the Solar System, we’re going to need to find a way to put fuel into rockets somewhere other than the cozy confines of a launchpad on Earth. One option for that is…
Remember the Lumia 1020? It’s back—in iPhone SE form. The Lumia 1020 was a lot of smartphone in July 2013. It debuted with a focus “almost entirely on the phone’s massive camera,” Ars wrote at the time. That big 41-megapixel…
Young adults who struggle with attention difficulties may be more prone to becoming addicted to social media, and a new study suggests a possible reason why. In a study recently published in Acta Psychologica, researchers found that the tendency to…
Presidents day sale: Get the Celestron NexStar 130SLT computerized telescope for under $500 at Amazon — that’s the cheapest we’ve seen it since the start of the year.
“I think both of us will be a little bit sad when that feeling of space sort of leaves us.”
An improvement to an existing AI-based brain decoder can translate a person’s thoughts into text without hours of training.
Kentucky is battling devastating floods after another powerful winter storm hit the eastern U.S. over the weekend, leaving at least 10 people dead.
In a media briefing held Monday, the South Korean Personal Information Protection Commission indicated that it had paused new downloads within the country of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek’s mobile app. The restriction took effect on Saturday and doesn’t affect South…
A new study published in The Journal of Sex Research has shed light on how different types of perfectionism relate to the intimate lives of couples. The research found that when individuals hold themselves to high standards, they are more…
The likely next leader of NASA, private astronaut and pilot Jared Isaacman, has kept a low profile since the announcement last year that he was President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the space agency. This is understandable, as Isaacman must…
X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, is seemingly blocking links to Signal, the encrypted messaging platform, according to journalist Matt Binder and other firsthand accounts. Binder wrote in his Disruptionist newsletter Sunday that links to Signal.me, a domain…
President Donald Trump’s freeze on federal funding shows little sign of thawing for climate, energy and environmental justice programs. Despite two federal court orders directing the administration to resume distributing federal grants and loans, at least $19 billion in Environmental…
Lidar has fully revealed a 600-year-old Zapotec city in southern Mexico.
Aimed at the nearby star PDS 70, the James Webb Space Telescope is watching newborn planets take shape before our eyes in uprecedented detail.
Protesters gathered outside Tesla showrooms across the US on Saturday to demonstrate against the drastic cuts Elon Musk, the billionaire adviser to President Donald Trump, is imposing on the federal government. Organisers cited 37 protests across the country as part…
In the second episode of The Deep End, listeners hear what it’s like to live with severe depression and the backstory of an experimental treatment.
A study examining the effects of harmine, a major component of ayahuasca, found that it produces no significant psychoactive effects in doses up to 500 mg. None of the participants experienced hallucinations or any notable psychoactive effects typically associated with…
Fossilized teeth from two ancient megafauna suggest they roamed Brazil 3,500 years ago. The find “opens the door to rewrite South American history.”
Scientists discovered that by adding 30 lines to the Linux operating system, they could dramatically reduce the amount of energy that data centers consume.
“There is reason to have confidence in upward trajectory of the space economy.”
The July 2024 attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump did not fuel a surge in support for partisan violence, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Instead, the findings indicate that Republicans,…
Large Language Model (noun, “LARJ LANG-wuhj MAH-del”) A large language model — or LLM — is an artificial intelligence computer program that can read text and write responses. LLMs power many modern artificial intelligence, or AI technologies, such as ChatGPT.…
A robot whirs along a library shelf. Instead of books, this shelf holds napkin-sized squares of flat, clear glass. The robot selects a piece of glass and brings it over to a microscope. The instrument peers deep inside the glass.…
NASA’s Curiosity rover photographed remnants of rippling waves in an ancient Martian lakebed, proving that the Red Planet had open water for longer in its history than previously thought.
