Science and Technolgy blog
On Monday, Google announced an agreement with Kairos Power to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors (SMRs), marking the first deal of its kind. The partnership aims to bring Kairos Power’s initial SMR online by 2030, with additional…
NASA just launched a spacecraft the size of a basketball court towards Jupiter’s moon Europa. Here’s what will happen over the next 10 years.
Although it isn’t clear what the X-37B is used for, its new maneuver would help it to evade detection and perform undetected low-passes over Earth.
Sexual desire for a long-term romantic partner may be linked to increased desire for alternative partners, according to a study published in Human Nature. Traditional relationship science posits that sexual desire enhances relationship maintenance, reducing interest in alternative partners. However,…
Over her long career, Bonnie Buratti has seen the search for life in the solar system go from a joke to a flagship mission.
Researchers have discovered enormous tube worms and other creatures thriving in cavities beneath the seafloor on the East Pacific Rise, an ocean ridge near the Galápagos Islands.
Alzheimer’s disease may harm the brain in two distinct phases, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in Nature Neuroscience. Using advanced brain mapping techniques, researchers discovered that in the first phase, which…
A recent study published in Translational Psychiatry found that ketamine, a medication typically used as an anesthetic, may significantly reduce suicidal thoughts in individuals with recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD) compared to those prescribed more common antidepressants. The research shows…
Cats can flow like liquids through tall crevices, but they solidify a bit as they approach short crannies, new research shows.
Porsche provided flights from Washington to Stuttgart and accommodation so Ars could drive the Macan and Macan 4S. Ars does not accept paid editorial content. STUTTGART, Germany—Porsche made its reputation with its rear-engined sports cars, but today it’s the SUVs…
A longitudinal study of a racially and socioeconomically diverse group of girls found that those diagnosed with ADHD in childhood tend to become less conscientious, agreeable, and emotionally stable as they grow up. Girls from higher-income families tended to describe…
You’ve heard of jazz hands? These bats have glow toes. When ultraviolet (UV) light shines onto the Mexican free-tailed bat’s hairy toes, they light up. That glow is called photoluminescence. It happens when bristles on the toes absorb UV light,…
A new trial that compared acupuncture to a convincing placebo suggests that the treatment can help relieve sciatica pain.
The Taurid Meteoroid Stream, which is possibly responsible for the famous Tunguska and Chelyabinsk impacts, probably doesn’t hide a civilization-killing asteroid.
A recent study published in Genomic Psychiatry has unveiled a promising new therapy that may help improve memory and reduce anxiety. The study, conducted by scientists at Cognigenics, explores the potential of an innovative intranasal treatment known as COG-201. This…
This 2012 satellite photo shows a quartet of near-identical glaciers on Canada’s Ellesmere Island. The ice masses help to spark life in the otherwise barren Arctic environment.
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft lifted off Monday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, kicking off a $5.2 billion robotic mission to explore one of the most promising locations in the Solar System for finding…
For a while now, companies like OpenAI and Google have been touting advanced “reasoning” capabilities as the next big step in their latest artificial intelligence models. Now, though, a new study from six Apple engineers shows that the mathematical “reasoning”…
On Monday, Adobe announced Firefly Video Model, a new AI-powered text-to-video generation tool that can create novel videos from written prompts. It joins similar offerings from OpenAI, Runway, Google, and Meta in an increasingly crowded field. Unlike the competition, Adobe…
The Hubble Space Telescope has seen Jupiter’s Great Red Spot oscillating in width as it drifts around the planet. Could this be related to its overall shrinking?
A New York judge recently called out an expert witness for using Microsoft’s Copilot chatbot to inaccurately estimate damages in a real estate dispute that partly depended on an accurate assessment of damages to win. In an order Thursday, judge…
The Internet Archive has brought its Wayback Machine back online “in a provisional, read-only manner” as it continues to recover from attacks that took the site down last week, founder Brewster Kahle said in a post last night. The archive.org…
On Friday, Ward Christensen, co-inventor of the computer bulletin board system (BBS), died at age 78 in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Christensen, along with Randy Suess, created the first BBS in Chicago in 1978, leading to an important cultural era of…
A new study has found that individuals who prefer sweet foods and drinks are more likely to experience depression. Published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, the research revealed that people with a “sweet tooth” had a 31% higher likelihood…
Rebecca Ferguson returns as Juliette in the second season of Apple TV’s Silo. Apple TV’s dystopian sc-fi drama Silo, based on the trilogy by novelist Hugh Howey, was one of the more refreshing surprises on streaming television in 2023: a…
AeroGarden, which sells Wi-Fi-connected indoor gardening systems, is going out of business on January 1. While Scotts Miracle-Gro has continued selling AeroGarden products after announcing the impending shutdown, the future of the devices’ companion app is uncertain. AeroGarden systems use…
The world is full of people who have excessive confidence in their own abilities. This is famously described as the Dunning-Kruger effect, which describes how people who lack expertise in something will necessarily lack the knowledge needed to recognize their…
What if there was a way to sneak malicious instructions into Claude, Copilot, or other top-name AI chatbots and get confidential data out of them by using characters large language models can recognize and their human users can’t? As it…
Has your dentist ever told you that it’s recommended to get routine dental X-rays every year? My (former) dentist’s office did this year—in writing, even. And they claimed that the recommendation came from the American Dental Association. It’s a common…
One year from today, on October 14, 2025, Microsoft will stop releasing security updates for PCs that are still running Windows 10. Organizations and individuals will still be able to pay for three more years of updates, with prices that…
A fever and a nasty cough can be symptoms of a range of respiratory illnesses. An antigen test that narrows down the culprits can speed up diagnosis and recovery.
A study in Spain found that around 3% of schoolchildren exhibit symptoms of both autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Approximately 0.5% of children could be diagnosed with both disorders. About 33% of autistic children and 31% of those with autism…
Elon Musk’s X blocked links to the JD Vance dossier after hearing directly from the Trump campaign, according to a new report that describes Musk’s extensive efforts to boost Trump’s presidential campaign. A New York Times article titled “Musk Is…
OpenAI scientists have designed MLE-bench — a compilation of 75 extremely difficult tests that can assess whether a future advanced AI agent is capable of modifying its own code and improving itself.
Archaeologists have found the largest ever jade “dragon” made by the Neolithic Hongshan culture on record.
A new study published in Psychological Medicine sheds light on how childhood adversities, such as abuse and neglect, can affect brain development, even in children who do not show signs of psychiatric disorders. Researchers analyzed brain scans of nearly 1,000…
The speed at which our brain can tell smells apart is on par with color perception, a new sniff device shows.
Can you name everything from Ac to Zr? Test your knowledge of the periodic table and see if you can top the leaderboard
The human mind may find it difficult to conceptualize: a cosmic cloud so colossal it surrounds the Sun and eight planets as it extends trillions of miles into deep space. The spherical shell known as the Oort Cloud is, for…
There are more than twice as many females as males buried in an ancient cemetery in Spain, a new study finds — but no one knows why.
The first observations of China’s Qianfan satellites, which were launched in August, suggest that they far exceed the brightness limits suggested by astronomical authorities. Researchers warn that the growing “megaconstellation” could become a major problem unless swift action is taken.
Social media users are more likely to engage with posts that provoke rather than affirm their political beliefs, according to new research published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. This “confrontation effect” is driven by outrage, pushing people to…
Astronomers have discovered the earliest strongly rotating galaxy ever seen that’s well-organized rather than chaotic, challenging theories of cosmic evolution.
Choosing a partner is one of life’s most consequential decisions, profoundly impacting one’s future trajectory and quality of life. The search itself presents numerous challenges, from the time investment required to the risk of deception or misjudgment. So, it’s no…
Rare deep-sea creatures drift through a garden of sponges and corals that grow alongside an undersea mountain. Oceanographers explored the ecosystems in remote seas of the southeastern Pacific Ocean. The search has just turned up a never-before-seen seamount, or underwater mountain.…
None of the many interpretations of the Phaistos Disk’s inscriptions are universally accepted.
The Hunter’s Moon will be the first full moon of autumn when it rises on Oct. 17. It will also be the third and closest supermoon of the year.
A new study in Marriage & Family Review explores the long-debated effects of spanking on children’s development. The researchers found that spanking explained less than 1% of changes in child outcomes. This suggests that its negative effects may be overstated.…
Female gibbons appear to do robot dances for attention, scientists discover.
The Heiltsuk of British Columbia are using a mix of traditional principles and modern implementation to protect salmon and bears in their territory.
