Science and Technolgy blog
A recent study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology suggests that psilocybin, the psychoactive compound found in certain “magic” mushrooms, could provide rapid and sustained antidepressant effects by promoting brain plasticity. The research shows that a single dose of psilocybin…
Enlarge (credit: Microsoft) Microsoft will begin rolling this year’s annual Windows 11 update out to consumers starting today, the company announced at a Windows- and Copilot-centric event today. The Windows 11 2024 Update, also known as Windows 11 24H2, will…
Enlarge / A male argali sheep in the wild. (credit: Getty Images) Readers of a certain age might remember Dolly, a Finn-Dorset sheep born in 1996 to three mothers and some proud Scottish scientists. Dolly generated global headlines just by…
African researchers are using Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies to advance studies of genetics, biomedicine, developmental biology, toxicology and more.
Researchers in Poland have developed a novel method to assess the severity of manic and depressive symptoms in individuals with bipolar disorder based on features of their speech. Using a smartphone app, the team collected voice data and analyzed its…
Researchers found the carcass in August 2020 in Russia’s Sakha Republic, and the discovery has revealed a never-before-seen characteristic of woolly rhinos: a fatty hump on the animal’s back.
How does the Sega Toys Homestar Matataki compare with the fan-favorite Homestar Flux? We put it to the test.
New research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health offers a nuanced view of how narcissistic and borderline personality traits shape emotional responses to romantic infidelity. The findings highlight the complexity of personality traits in romantic…
Enlarge / Nothing but respect for the clairvoyant landscape architect who designed this Wawa parking lot, knowing the discount EVs would one day arrive. It should not be so exciting to eat a breakfast quesadilla in your car. But this…
Two species of birds in Costa Rica build nests in trees defended by ants. Ants that encounter the horsehair fungus in the nests develop odd behaviors.
Yoshua Bengio played a crucial role in the development of the machine-learning systems we see today. Now, he says that they could pose an existential risk to humanity.
Looking for the best telescope deals? We’ve rounded up the best deals on the market — don’t miss the chance to save $$$’s off your next telescope.
Imagine it’s Friday evening. You’re about to watch a new Netflix drama, trying to unwind after a long week. Suddenly, your phone pings with a work email marked “urgent.” Your heart sinks; your stress levels rise. Even if you choose…
Enlarge / A rendering of NASA’s Lunar Gateway. (credit: NASA) Regardless of the outcome of this year’s election, the United States will have a new president in a few months. Although there are myriad issues of greater importance than spaceflight…
Simone Biles has nothing on this tiny backflipper. The globular springtail (Dicyrtomina minuta) is so small it could straddle the tip of a pencil. Yet this insect-like animal can vault itself 62 millimeters (2.4 inches) in the air, spinning backward…
A recent replication study published in iScience has confirmed previous findings that political ideology is associated with differences in brain structure, though with some nuanced updates. The study showed that conservative voters tend to have a slightly larger amygdala than…
Enlarge / Oil painting by Belgian marine artist François Etienne Musin depicting tje HMS Erebus trapped in Arctic ice. (credit: Public domain) Scientists at the University of Waterloo have identified one of the doomed crew members of Captain Sir John…
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | NurPhoto) A married couple can’t sue Uber over severe injuries they suffered in a 2022 car accident because of a mandatory arbitration provision in the ride-sharing company’s terms of use, according to a ruling issued…
Enlarge / The empty chair of Steward Health Care System Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ralph de la Torre who did not show up during the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Examining the Bankruptcy of Steward Health…
Finding a Viking Age burial ground of this size is rare, in part because Scandinavian soil doesn’t preserve skeletons well.
On Sunday, Sept. 29, Earth captured a new “minimoon” called 2024 PT5. The bus-size asteroid is expected to orbit our planet for 57 days, but is too small to be visible to amateur skywatchers.
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Public records systems that courts and governments rely on to manage voter registrations and legal filings have been riddled with vulnerabilities that made it possible for attackers to falsify registration databases and add, delete, or modify…
Enlarge (credit: Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images) Following site-wide user protests last year that featured moderators turning thousands of subreddits private or not-safe-for-work (NSFW), Reddit announced that mods now need its permission to make those changes. Reddit’s VP of…
Enlarge / I’ve had a soft spot for Audi’s RS7 for at least a decade now. Will Audi replace it, or is this the last in its line? (credit: Jonathan Gitlin) The arrival of competent electric vehicles is a boon…
A study conducted across the Netherlands, the United States, and Poland found that approximately 66% of the political content people are exposed to comes from non-news websites. People rarely visit news websites, and they search for political topics on these…
Enlarge / The Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant is set to shut down for good today. (credit: Ashley Cooper) On Monday, the UK will see the closure of its last operational coal power plant, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, which has been operating since 1968. The closure…
Enlarge / A Downdetector map showing where Verizon outages are reported. (credit: Downdetector) Wireless customers of Verizon and AT&T have found that they cannot make calls, send or receive text messages, or download any mobile data. As of this article’s…
Enlarge (credit: Getty) PlayStation 5 owners are reporting advertisements on the device’s home screen. Frustratingly, the ads seem to be rather difficult to disable, and some are also outdated ads and/or confusing content. The ads, visible on users’ home screens…
Enlarge / Waves roll ashore along Lake Michigan in Whiting, Indiana. (credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images) This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy, and the environment. It is republished with permission.…
Enlarge / The Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. (credit: Anadolu Agency | Getty) A few weeks back, it was reported that Apple was exploring investing in OpenAI, the company that makes ChatGPT, the GPT model, and other popular generative…
A recent study published in the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science has shed light on how people judge unfamiliar faces on dating apps, particularly when these faces are enhanced with photo filters. Subtle photo filters—those that make small, barely noticeable…
Enlarge / Installing the Epic Games Store on Galaxy phones is impossible with the “Auto Blocker” feature turned on. (credit: Getty Images) Following its antitrust win against Google last year, Epic is now going after both Samsung and Google for…
Enlarge / Hurricane Helene transported moisture from both the Gulf and Atlantic into the southeastern United States. (credit: NOAA) As of Monday morning, if one wanted to grasp the historic nature of flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Helene in…
Enlarge / Dish and DirecTV satellite dishes on the roof of an apartment building on April 15, 2013 in San Rafael, California. (credit: Getty Images | Justin Sullivan) DirecTV today announced an agreement to buy the Dish satellite TV and…
A new study published in Human Brain Mapping suggests that regular participation in choir singing can improve brain health by enhancing the structure of white matter, the part of the brain responsible for communication between different regions. The study indicates…
Enlarge / The Merlin vacuum engine on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket fired for six minutes to place the Crew-9 mission into low-Earth orbit. (credit: NASA/SpaceX) SpaceX is investigating a problem with the Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage that caused it to…
Betelgeuse has a sequel — in the form of a companion star that’s about the same mass as the sun, orbiting it about once every 2,100 days.
Mount Everest may be “taller than it should be” because of a river “capture” event 89,000 years ago.
Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images) This year marks the 50th anniversary of the tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). A game of creativity and imagination, D&D lets players weave their own narrative, blending combat and roleplaying…
Enlarge / California Governor Gavin Newsom, seen speaking to reporters after September’s presidential debate. (credit: Getty Images) California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed SB-1047, a controversial artificial intelligence regulation that would have required the makers of large AI models to…
Although quantum computing is a nascent field, there are plenty of key moments that defined it over the last few decades as scientists strive to create machines that can solve impossible problems.
A new study published in the journal Emotion has found that the more people try to avoid feeling negative emotions, the less likely they are to acknowledge the existence of systemic racism. The research suggests that interventions designed to reduce…
Starlink satellites unintentionally emit radio waves that appear more than 10 million times brighter than natural sources, as seen by ground-based radio telescopes.
At the core of a quantum computer is the quantum processor, but these technologies are vastly different from the CPUs found in conventional computers.
Parents’ mobile phone use for social media and gaming can disrupt family time, with mothers more likely to use social media and perceive it as interfering with family time, while fathers report higher levels of mobile gaming. This research was…
Campfire (noun, “KAMP FYRE”) Campfires are small eruptions on the sun’s surface. They are similar to massive explosions known as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, or CMEs. But campfires are only about a millionth or a billionth the size…
Clouds form when water molecules in the air stick to certain tiny particles — think of them as seeds. Scientists have now discovered an unexpected source of those seeds. When two layers of Earth’s atmosphere overlap, chemicals in each layer…
The Scythians were a nomadic group known for creating elaborate gilded artworks.
A recent study published in Emotion challenges the idea that people may find some satisfaction in having their pessimistic expectations confirmed, even if the outcome is negative. Contrary to the notion of “doomsayer’s delight,” the results indicate that people do…
Earth is round, but are there any planets in the universe that aren’t?
