1st deadly case of H5N1 bird flu reported in US
The patient in Louisiana who contracted a severe case of bird flu has died, officials announced.
TECH DEIYO
Science and Technolgy blog
What’s the best way to kill norovirus, the ‘stomach bug’?
Only certain cleaners kill norovirus, a leading cause of vomiting, diarrhea and foodborne illness. Why is that?
AMD’s new laptop CPU lineup is a mix of new silicon and new names for old silicon
AMD’s CES announcements include a tease about next-gen graphics cards, a new flagship desktop CPU, and a modest refresh of its processors for handheld gaming PCs. But the company’s largest announcement, by volume, is about laptop processors. Today the company…
“I’m getting dizzy”: Man films Waymo self-driving car driving around in circles
The Waymo self-driving company says it has fixed a problem that caused a car to repeatedly circle a parking lot for about five minutes while its rider was trying to get to an airport. Last month, Mike Johns posted a…
Disney makes antitrust problem go away by buying majority stake in competitor
Disney is buying Fubo and plans to merge the sports streaming platform with its Hulu + Live TV service, gaining 70 percent ownership of the company that up until today was suing it over antitrust concerns and allegations of anticompetitive…
Scientists discover ancient ‘hotspot’ that birthed the Great Lakes 300 million years ago
A hotspot that now lies in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean was once under the Great Lakes, and may explain why they formed where they did.
Apple AirPods Max vs AirPods Pro: Which is better?
Which Apple headphones reign supreme?
New Radeon RX 9000 GPUs promise to fix two of AMD’s biggest weaknesses
Nvidia is widely expected to announce specs, pricing, and availability information for the first few cards in the new RTX 50 series at its CES keynote later today. AMD isn’t ready to get as specific about its next-generation graphics lineup…
The end of an era: Dell will no longer make XPS computers
After ditching the traditional Dell XPS laptop look in favor of the polarizing design of the XPS 13 Plus released in 2022, Dell is killing the XPS branding that has become a mainstay for people seeking a sleek, respectable, well-priced PC.…
AMD’s new Ryzen Z2 CPUs boost gaming handhelds, if you buy the best one
Nearly two years ago, AMD announced its first Ryzen Z1 processors. These were essentially the same silicon that AMD was putting in high-end thin-and-light laptops but tuned specifically for handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally…
AMD launches new Ryzen 9000X3D CPUs for PCs that play games and work hard
AMD’s batch of CES announcements this year includes just two new products for desktop PC users: the new Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D. Both will be available at some point in the first quarter of 2025. Both processors include additional…
Mysterious climate-changing eruption that turned the sun blue traced to remote Pacific island
Zavaritskii volcano in the Kuril Islands was responsible for the mysterious 1831 volcanic eruption that cooled the climate and turned the sun different colors, a new study finds.
What is thundersnow? The weird weather phenomenon rumbling through the East Coast and Midwest
The conditions needed to create thunderstorms are very rare, and can be dangerous, meteorologists warn.
Neuroscience study reveals shared processing of human and dog facial expressions
Researchers recently examined how human brains respond to emotional facial expressions from both humans and dogs, uncovering similarities in how these expressions are processed. Published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, the study found that the brain’s response patterns to…
Sam Altman says “we are now confident we know how to build AGI”
On Sunday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman offered two eye-catching predictions about the near-future of artificial intelligence. In a post titled “Reflections” on his personal blog, Altman wrote, “We are now confident we know how to build AGI as we have…
HDMI 2.2 will require new “Ultra96” cables, whenever we have 8K TVs and content
We’ve all had a good seven years to figure out why our interconnected devices refused to work properly with the HDMI 2.1 specification. The HDMI Forum announced at CES today that it’s time to start considering new headaches. HDMI 2.2…
Antarctica ice melt could cause 100 hidden volcanoes to erupt
More than 100 volcanoes lurk beneath the surface in Antarctica. Ice sheet melt could set them off.
Yellowstone’s ‘queen of the wolves’ killed by rival pack after living to 11 years old and having 10 litters of pups
Record-breaking Wolf 907F, the alpha of the Junction Butte pack, died after a confrontation with a rival pack at Yellowstone River on Christmas Day.
Ars readers gave over $39,000 in our 2024 Charity Drive
Last month, we asked readers to donate to a couple of good causes in our 2024 Charity Drive sweepstakes. And boy, did you deliver. With the drive now complete and the donations all tallied, we can report that Ars Technica…
Outgoing NASA administrator urges incoming leaders to stick with Artemis plan
After a long career as a politician from Florida, former astronaut Bill Nelson has served as NASA’s administrator for the last three and a half years. He intends to resign from this position in about two weeks when President Joe…
Study explores how culture shapes the stories we tell about adversity
Narratives of adversity differ significantly across cultures in their themes and relationship to well-being, according to a study published in the Journal of Personality & Social Psychology. Ariana F. Turner and colleagues investigated how cultural contexts influence the way adults…
Cold-weather range hits aren’t as bad for EVs with heat pumps
Andrew Garberson has a message for drivers in cold-climate states like Minnesota: Yes, you can still drive an electric car. Public scrutiny over how well EVs perform in cold weather has grown in recent years following high-profile incidents, like one…
Check out this awesome Street Fighter II car dashboard mod
The latest rage in automotive vehicle design is the so-called “software-defined vehicle.” Instead of dozens and dozens of discrete black boxes, each with its own legacy cruft, an SDV is a clean-sheet approach with a handful of powerful computers, each…
Velvet ants have the Swiss Army knife of venoms
A velvet ant bite like “hot oil from the deep fryer” delivers an array of peptides that inflicts pain on insects and mammals alike.
Pluto may have captured its moon Charon with a kiss
When Pluto met Charon, there was an instant connection, new simulations suggest.
fMRI neurofeedback shows promise for depression treatment
A systematic review of fMRI neurofeedback interventions in depression shows that this type of training can modulate neural activity related to depression in a single session. A learning effect is also evident over multiple sessions. The paper was published in…
Microsoft would really like you to replace your old Windows 10 PCs this year
Last January at CES, Microsoft Chief Marketing Officer Yusuf Mehdi declared 2024 the “year of the AI PC.” And whether you believe that prediction came true or not—many new PCs come with AI-accelerating neural processing units (NPUs) onboard, but far…
Same CPU, slower GPU and NPU: Meet the rest of Intel’s Core Ultra 200 laptop chips
Intel’s Core Ultra 200 series is currently bifurcated between two architectures: Lunar Lake, which powers the Core Ultra 200V series of laptop chips; and Arrow Lake, which is included in the Core Ultra 200S desktop processors. Both share the same…
The unique neural wiring of the human hippocampus may maximize memory
Living tissue from the memory centers of people’s brains reveals sparse nerve cell connections that provide strong, reliable signaling between cells.
Meet the man keeping hope, and 70-year-old pinball machines, alive
The pastime of pinball has lived a fraught existence. Whether due to public sentiment, hostile legislation, or a simple lack of popularity, the entire silver ball industry has repeatedly teetered on the brink of collapse. Yet it’s always come back,…
Prenatal cannabis exposure linked to early childhood behavioral and cognitive challenges
Cannabis use during pregnancy is on the rise, often viewed as a natural remedy for pregnancy-related symptoms. However, a study published in JAMA Pediatrics reveals potential developmental risks. Children exposed to cannabis in utero scored lower on attention and planning…
Explainer: How to identify tree species in the winter
Guides to identifying trees usually rely on leaves to distinguish between species. But if you live where it gets cold in winter, the trees around you may look a little barer at this time of year. Many trees shed their…
Scientists Say: Frost Quake
Frost Quake (noun, “Frahst Kwayk”) In winter, a sudden drop in temperature can trigger a frost quake. During one of these events, the ground splits with a loud boom and shakes like an earthquake but on a much smaller scale.…
Dancing dwarf: A 2,300-year-old ancient Egyptian statue of a godlike man with a muscular 6-pack
This marble statuette is emblematic of Ptolemaic-era art: a mishmash of styles with a decidedly Egyptian twist.
A simple psychological disposition might have profound impacts on your love life — here’s how
Perceiving the world as a fundamentally good or enticing place is associated with positive outcomes in romantic relationships, according to a new study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. The study found that individuals who believe the world…
What temperature is the moon?
An astronomer describes how the moon’s surface temperature changes.
Our ancient primate ancestors mostly had twins — humans don’t, for a good evolutionary reason
Twins are pretty rare, accounting for just 3% of births in the U.S. these days. But new research shows that for primates 60 million years ago, giving birth to twins was the norm.
Why time slows down in altered states of consciousness
In “time expansion experiences,” time typically appears to expand by many orders of magnitude.
New study challenges assumptions about social media’s harm to mental health
A new study published in Social Science & Medicine challenges widespread beliefs about the effects of heavy social media use on mental health. Contrary to popular opinion, the researchers found that the amount of time spent on platforms like Instagram,…
Roman Empire grew after catastrophic volcanic eruption, study finds
Research shows that A.D. 536 was not the worst year to be alive.
Honda promises solid-state batteries that could double EV range to 620 miles by 2030
Honda’s new facility could drive breakthroughs in solid-state batteries for electric cars, ultimately leading to batteries with more than double the range of existing EVs.
Dogs’ and owners’ hearts sync during interactions, research finds
Researchers have uncovered new insights into the relationship between dogs and their owners. A study published in Scientific Reports has found that a dog’s heart rate variability adapts to its owner’s heart rate variability during interaction. This physiological “co-modulation” suggests…
Polar Grit X2 Pro Titan review
Is the Polar’s flagship outdoor watch worth its premium price?
AI could crack unsolvable problems — and humans won’t be able to understand the results
AI promises to accelerate scientific discovery, but if scientists aren’t careful public trust may be left behind.
Panasonic Leica DG Elmarit 200mm f/2.8 POWER O.I.S lens review
The Panasonic Leica DG Elmarit 200mm f POWER O.I.S delivers professional image quality and functionality in a compact and lightweight package.
Testosterone spikes linked to stronger political opinions in men
A series of three studies on healthy men found that their political opinion changes were weakly associated with changes in testosterone levels. These changes were also somewhat associated with fluctuations in cortisol levels, though this relationship was more complex. The…
Scientists discover a fascinating fact about the brain’s of meditators
Researchers have found that mindfulness meditation practitioners exhibit distinct patterns of brain activity compared to non-meditators, even during rest. Using advanced electroencephalography (EEG) techniques, the study published in Mindfulness found that meditators demonstrated differences in brain wave activity across theta,…
2,100-year-old coin hoard dating to dynasty of Jewish kings discovered in Jordan Valley
A coin hoard dating back about 2,100 years, during the time of the Jewish Hasmonean kings, has been discovered at a site in the Jordan Valley.
Space photo of the week: Hubble celebrates 10 years of hunting giants
Behold, the giants! The Hubble Space Telescope has completed a decade of observing Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
Donald Trump’s tweets predicted bursts of violence during January 6 Capitol riot, study finds
A recent study published in the Journal of The Royal Society Interface sheds light on the connection between social media activity and the escalation of violence during the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. By analyzing thousands of live…
