A next-gen pain drug shows promise, but chronic suffers need more options
A new painkiller nearing approval called suzetrigine may prove to be an opioid alternative. But for many with chronic pain, treatment must go beyond pills.
TECH DEIYO
Science and Technolgy blog
Radical quantum computing theory could lead to more powerful machines than previously imagined
Scientists have just theorized how to connect quantum processors over vast distances to form a giant quantum computing network that acts as a single machine.
New study shows gut microbiome could play role in preventing cognitive decline
A new study published in Nature Communications suggests that a daily fiber supplement could improve brain function in older adults. Researchers found that in just 12 weeks, participants who took the supplement showed better performance in memory tests that are…
Want to avoid getting sick? Adopt these immune-boosting behaviors
After a summer with plenty of outdoor play, the school year brings a major shift. Students suddenly spend more of their days indoors surrounded by other students. It’s usually only a matter of weeks before someone gets the sniffles. And…
Twitter polls exhibit large pro-Trump bias — but these researchers have a fix
A recent study published in the Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media examined polls conducted on X (more commonly known as Twitter) during the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential campaigns. The findings reveal that polls on this platform—particularly those gauging…
Australian government trial finds AI is much worse than humans at summarizing
Enlarge / ASIC evaluators found AI summaries were often “wordy and pointless—just repeating what was in the submission.” (credit: Getty Images) As large language models have continued to rise in prominence, many users and companies have focused on their useful…
Ukrainian drones now spray 2,500° C thermite streams right into Russian trenches
Enlarge Wars of necessity spawn weapons innovation as each side tries to counter the other’s tactics and punch through defenses. For instance—as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has made drone warfare real, both sides have developed ways to bring down…
Zyxel warns of vulnerabilities in a wide range of its products
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Networking hardware-maker Zyxel is warning of nearly a dozen vulnerabilities in a wide array of its products. If left unpatched, some of them could enable the complete takeover of the devices, which can be targeted as…
Record measles outbreak in Oregon blamed on vaccine exemptions
Enlarge / A US child infected with measles during a 2024 outbreak. The child’s cheek shows the characteristic rash associated with this viral infection. (credit: CDC) With one of the highest vaccine exemption rates in the country, Oregon is experiencing…
Jack Black stars as expert crafter Steve in A Minecraft Movie teaser
Jason Momoa and Jack Black star in A Minecraft Movie. Minecraft is among the most successful and influential games of the early 21st century, winning many awards and selling over 300 million copies (so far) since its 2011 release. So…
Internet Archive’s e-book lending is not fair use, appeals court rules
Enlarge (credit: tunart | iStock / Getty Images Plus) The Internet Archive has lost its appeal after book publishers successfully sued to block the Open Libraries Project from lending digital scans of books for free online. Judges for the Second…
Generative AI backlash hits annual writing event, prompting resignations
Enlarge (credit: Jorg Greuel via Getty Images) Over the weekend, the nonprofit National Novel Writing Month organization (NaNoWriMo) published an FAQ outlining its position on AI, calling categorical rejection of AI writing technology “classist” and “ableist.” The statement caused a…
After Starliner, NASA has another big human spaceflight decision to make
Enlarge / The Artemis II Orion spacecraft being prepared for tests at NASA’S Kennedy Space Center in Florida in June 2024. (credit: NASA / Rad Sinyak) Now that NASA has resolved the question of the Starliner spacecraft and its two…
The Vega rocket never found its commercial niche. After tonight, it’s gone.
Enlarge / The final Vega rocket climbs away from its launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana. (credit: ESA-CNES-ARIANESPACE/Optique vidéo du CSG–S. Martin) The final flight of Europe’s Vega rocket lifted off Wednesday night from French Guiana, carrying an important environmental…
FTC urged to make smart devices say how long they will be supported
Enlarge / Spotify released the Car Thing to the general public in February 2022. It’s bricking them in December. (credit: Spotify) For some of us, few things are more infuriating than when a gadget stops working due to a software…
NASA’s newly unfurled solar sail has started ‘tumbling’ end-over-end in orbit, surprising observations show
A NASA spacecraft erected a large, foil solar sail in orbit around Earth last week, after a failed attempt days earlier. However, subsequent observations of the spacecraft show it is “tumbling or wobbling” through space, which may have also impacted…
Why are some people’s mosquito bites itchier than others’? New study hints at answer
A previously unrecognized type of immune cell may be responsible for the itchy feeling brought on by bug bites and other allergic reactions.
Vikings in Norway were much more likely to die violent deaths than those in Denmark
Viking Age skeletons in Norway were much more likely to bear signs of lethal violence than those in Denmark, possibly because society in Norway was less stratified and centralized.
Scientists uncover brain circuit that balances eating for necessity and eating for pleasure
Researchers have uncovered new insights into how the brain controls eating behavior, which could have significant implications for tackling obesity. Their study, published in Nature Metabolism, shows that certain neurons in the brains of mice can either promote eating due…
Microplastics discovered in human brains for the first time: What it means for our health
Plastic is in our clothes, cars, mobile phones, water bottles and food containers. But recent research adds to growing concerns about the impact of tiny plastic fragments on our health. A study from the United States has, for the first…
Humans are the exception: New research reveals surprising brain size trends across mammals
A recent study has upended a long-held assumption in biology: the idea that brain size increases proportionally with body size across all animals. While this relationship has been widely accepted for over a century, new research published in Nature Ecology…
Most, but not all, dogs play fetch, while cats do so more often than thought
Although more common in dogs, 4 in 10 pet cats also choose to play fetch with their owners. Credit: Mikel M. Delgado/CC-BY 4.0 Although more common in dogs, 4 in 10 pet cats also choose to play fetch with their…
I home-automated my garage door, finally, with a ratgdo
Enlarge / A ratgdo, version 2.53i. (credit: Ratcloud LLC) I live in suburbia, which means I’ve got a garage (or a carhole, if you’re not so fancy). It’s a detached garage, so part of my nightly routine when I check…
DOJ subpoenas Nvidia in deepening AI antitrust probe, report says
Enlarge (credit: BING-JHEN HONG | iStock Editorial / Getty Images Plus) The Department of Justice is reportedly deepening its probe into Nvidia. Officials have moved on from merely questioning competitors to subpoenaing Nvidia and other tech companies for evidence that…
Massive helium reservoir in Minnesota could solve US shortage
A helium reservoir with the highest concentrations ever seen could hold enough of the gas to address critical shortages in the U.S. affecting tech, medicine and space exploration.
Over 40% of pet cats play fetch — but scientists aren’t quite sure why
About 40% of cats play fetch with their owners, but it’s not clear why.
Parents’ concerns about future reproduction shape their reactions to a child’s sexual orientation disclosure
New research published in Archives of Sexual Behavior found that parental negativity toward their child disclosing a minoritized sexual orientation may be influenced by reproductive concerns. Previous research has shown that many parents respond negatively when their child comes out…
Massive underwater eruption may preview deep-sea mining destructionÂ
Enlarge / Following the 2022 Hunga volcano eruption, a nearby hydrothermal vent was seen coated with a white mat of bacteria and surrounded by a thick layer of ash. The vent usually supports animal life that survives using chemical energy…
Sutskever strikes AI gold with billion-dollar backing for superintelligent AI
Enlarge / Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI Chief Scientist, speaks at Tel Aviv University on June 5, 2023. (credit: JACK GUEZ via Getty Images) On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Safe Superintelligence (SSI), a new AI startup cofounded by OpenAI’s former chief scientist…
In an epic cosmology clash, rival scientists begin to find common groundÂ
Different measurements of the cosmic expansion rate disagree. The James Webb telescope could determine whether that disagreement is real.
Starlink relents to Brazil, agrees to block Elon Musk’s X platform
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | NurPhoto) Starlink said it is complying with Brazil’s order to block Elon Musk’s X platform, backtracking from its earlier position that it would not block X until Brazilian officials released Starlink’s frozen assets. In an…
Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 is serious heavy-metal shooting and slashing
Enlarge / There are different types of Space Marines. Some of them are traitors. All of them weigh as much as a Fiat 500. If you had given me, at age 15 or so, a game in which you can…
Family-based foster care reduces irritability in teens exposed to early psychosocial deprivation, study finds
A recent study published in the journal Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology has found that adolescents with a history of early psychosocial deprivation exhibit lower levels of irritability when placed in high-quality, family-based foster care. The study also found…
A nuclear clock prototype hints at ultraprecise timekeepingÂ
Nuclear clocks could rival atomic clocks and allow for new tests of fundamental physics. A new experiment demonstrates all the ingredients needed.
Ford starts deliveries of enhanced-range E-Transit electric vans
Enlarge / Refrigerated delivery with an E-Transit is now feasible, as the onboard power is now available while the van is in motion. (credit: Ford) America’s tradespeople have steadily been getting more van-curious over the years, helped no doubt by…
The DNA secrets of a medieval cave-dwelling community
Enlarge / View of the Las Gobas cave site. (credit: Miguel Sotomayor via Getty) In a new study, we have sequenced DNA from a Christian community in medieval Spain that lived in artificial caves carved into a rocky outcrop. This…
Neurofeedback training enhances emotional skills in alcohol rehabilitation, study finds
A recent study examined the impact of neurofeedback training when added to the standard rehabilitation treatment of individuals suffering from alcohol use disorder. The researchers found that individuals who received this training, along with the standard rehabilitation treatment, showed increased…
Qualcomm’s new 8-core Snapdragon chip is aimed at cheaper Arm Windows PCs
Enlarge (credit: Qualcomm) Windows-on-Arm is finally just about good enough to serve as your main PC, thanks to a combination of long-awaited Snapdragon X-series silicon from Qualcomm, Arm-specific improvements in the Windows 11 24H2 update, and third-party software developers that…
Fiddler crabs are migrating north to cooler waters
The crabs are climate migrants and could be a harbinger of changes to come as more species move in.
Boat-ramming orcas may be using yachts as target practice toys, scientists suggest
Orcas off the coasts of Spain and Portugal may be using boats as targets to practice hunting their favorite food, Atlantic bluefin tuna.
People with an evolutionarily-mismatched lifestyle are more likely to face several negative outcomes
Scientists have developed a new tool designed to measure how modern lifestyles differ from those of our ancestors and how these differences might impact health. The study, published in the journal Heliyon, introduced the Evolutionary Mismatched Lifestyle Scale (EMLS), a…
Relativity Space has gone from printing money and rockets to doing what, exactly?
Enlarge / The Terran 1 rocket made its only flight (a beautiful one) in March 2023. (credit: Relativity Space/John Kraus) A splashy California-based launch company named Relativity Space shared a photo of sleek-looking rocket hardware on its social media channels…
Python fangs inspired a fix for shoulder injuries common in sports
Each year, 2 million Americans injure their shoulder’s rotator cuff. That includes many teens, who may hurt their shoulder while participating in sports, such as baseball, volleyball and swimming. Many of these injuries are hard to treat. Only about one…
We now know why tarantulas are hairy — to stop army ants eating them alive
Tarantulas’ hairy bodies protect against the scavenging, spider-eating army ants that clean their nests, scientists say.
Specialist ‘carbon nanotube’ AI chip built by Chinese scientists is 1st of its kind and ‘1,700 times more efficient’ than Google’s
Scientists in China have developed a tensor processing unit (TPU) that uses carbon-based transistors instead of silicon – and they say it’s extremely energy efficient.
Mysterious ‘mustached’ burial mounds in Kazakhstan date to the Middle Ages
Archaeologists in Kazakhstan have discovered 10 kurgans, or burial mounds, dating to the Middle Ages, and some have “mustaches.”
Taylor Swift’s political endorsement: How powerful would it be? New study has a surprising answer
In a recent study published in American Politics Research, scholars examined whether Taylor Swift, one of the world’s most popular musicians, could influence young people’s views on a public policy issue. The study found that when Swift’s name was associated…
Bird flu reaches cows in California, the country’s largest milk producer
Enlarge / A cow grazes in a field at a dairy farm on April 26, 2024, in Petaluma, California. (credit: Getty | Justin Sullivan) The outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in US dairy cows has now spread to three herds…
50,000 ‘knots’ scattered throughout our DNA control gene activity
The mapping of 50,000 mysterious “knots” in the human genome may someday lead to the development of new cancer drugs, researchers say.
Horse domestication didn’t happen the way we think it did
New analyses of bones, teeth, genetics and artifacts suggest it’s time to revise a long-standing hypothesis for how humans domesticated horses.
