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TECH DEIYO
Science and Technolgy blog
Female competition stress linked to disordered eating across the lifespan
Does rivalry among women influence eating habits? New research published in Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology suggests it might. According to the study, stress from female competition for status and male attention is linked to disordered eating attitudes and behaviors.…
As ABL Space departs launch, the 1-ton rocket wars have a clear winner
A 7-year-old launch company that has yet to have a rocket successfully lift off announced a radical pivot on Thursday. Its new plan? Focusing on missile defense. The founder and president of ABL Space Systems, Dan Piemont, announced the decision…
The world’s largest coral was discovered in the South Pacific
The behemoth coral, discovered in October in the Solomon Islands, is longer than a blue whale and older than the United States.
‘It invites us to reconsider our notion of shadow’: Laser beams can actually cast their own shadows, scientists discover
After discussing the quirks in 3D modeling software, where a laser beam is treated as a solid object that can cast a shadow, scientists decided to experiment in real life — and found that laser beams can indeed cast a…
World’s biggest coral — so big it can be seen from space — discovered by chance off Solomon Islands
The world’s biggest coral — an organism made up of about a billion polyps — is about three times bigger than the previous record-holder and was discovered by chance during an expedition off the Solomon Islands.
Mass child sacrifices in 15th-century Mexico were a desperate attempt to appease rain god and end devastating drought
The sacrifice of at least 42 children in Tenochtitlán, now Mexico City, was an effort to calm the anger of the Aztec rain god during a devastating drought, researchers have revealed.
FTC to launch investigation into Microsoft’s cloud business
The Federal Trade Commission is preparing to launch an investigation into anti-competitive practices at Microsoft’s cloud computing business, as the US regulator continues to pursue Big Tech in the final weeks of Joe Biden’s presidency. The FTC is examining allegations…
Ketamine study unearths surprising insights into PTSD, emotion regulation, and dissociation
A recent study on individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suggests that dissociation may not stem from excessive emotional suppression, as previously thought. The study, published in Psychopharmacology, explored how ketamine—a drug known to induce dissociative symptoms—affects brain connectivity between…
OpenAI accused of trying to profit off AI model inspection in court
Since ChatGPT became an instant hit roughly two years ago, tech companies around the world have rushed to release AI products while the public is still in awe of AI’s seemingly radical potential to enhance their daily lives. But at…
I played Half-Life 2 for the first time this year—here’s how it went
It’s Half-Life 2 week at Ars Technica! This Saturday, November 16, is the 20th anniversary of the release of Half-Life 2—a game of historical importance for the artistic medium and technology of computer games. Each day up through the 16th, we’ll be running…
50 years ago, U.S. drinking water sparked health and safety concerns
The discovery of potential cancer-causing agents in tap water led to the Safe Drinking Water Act — a law that continues protecting public health.
Review: Amazon’s 2024 Kindle Paperwhite makes the best e-reader a little better
I’ve never particularly loved Amazon, either as a retail behemoth or as a hardware and software company, but despite that I still probably get more excited about new Kindle releases than I do about most other gadgets at this point.…
El Ojo: The mysterious floating island in Argentina’s swampland that looks like a perfectly round eye
Argentina’s El Ojo is said to harbor UFOs and the ghosts of ancient deities, but as far as scientists can tell, the island is simply a fluke of nature that formed through erosion and water currents.
Genetic analysis reveals role of melatonin in ADHD symptom severity
New research published in Psychiatry Research Communications suggests that the hormone melatonin may be closely linked to the severity of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children. A study led by Hamamatsu University School of Medicine found that genetic…
I, too, installed an open source garage door opener, and am loving it
Like Lee Hutchinson, I have a garage. The door on that garage is opened and closed by a device made by a company that, as with Lee’s, offers you a way to open and close it with a smartphone app.…
Earthquakes upped the death toll at Pompeii
Nearly 2,000 years ago, a huge volcano in southern Italy suddenly, explosively woke up. Ash and gas from the eruption killed at least 1,500 people in the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. That event has gone down in history as…
Explainer: How volcanoes erupt
Some 640,000 years ago, a massive eruption rocked the land that, today, is Yellowstone National Park. The eruption spewed ash across much of the area that’s now the United States. It ejected 6,000 times the volume of the deadly 1980…
Where do fast radio bursts come from? Astronomers tie mysterious eruptions to massive galaxies .
Fast radio bursts — powerful and poorly understood cosmic eruptions — tend to occur in massive galaxies that host long-dead stars known as magnetars, a new study suggests.
‘Unique and extreme’: James Webb telescope detects possible alien world bubbling over with volcanoes
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have detected possible signs of gases released by volcanic activity on a distant exoplanet.
Scientists discover atypical brain connectivity in those with alcohol use disorder
In a recent study published in Translational Psychiatry, researchers discovered distinct patterns in how brain regions communicate in individuals with alcohol use disorder compared to healthy individuals. Using advanced imaging and analytical techniques, the study found altered connections in specific…
A first look at rocks from the lunar farside create a volcanic mystery
Rocks returned by China’s Chang’e-6 mission suggest volcanic activity just 2.8 billion years ago but lack telltale heat-generating elements.
Rare gladiator-shaped knife handle discovered by Hadrian’s Wall
It’s rare to find gladiator memorabilia from Roman Britain, but archaeologists by Hadrian’s Wall have just found a 2,000-year-old knife handle depicting a left-handed fighter.
Declassified spy satellite images reveal 1,400-year-old battle site in Iraq that set off the Muslim conquest
Historical texts that mentioned details about the battle site helped researchers match the images to the lost town of al-Qadisiyyah.
James Webb Space Telescope discovers mysterious ‘red monster’ galaxies so large they shouldn’t exist
The James Webb telescope has spotted three gigantic “red monster” galaxies that were spawned soon after the Big Bang. They’re so large they could rewrite the laws of galactic evolution.
‘The bottom line is, I told you so’: JWST observations upend standard model of how galaxies form, new study claims
The James Webb Space Telescope’s discovery of unusually bright and massive galaxies soon after the Big Bang has cast doubt on the standard model of galaxy evolution and bolstered a rival theory for how physics may work on large scales,…
Rare diseases — Medical conditions you may never have heard of before
Rare diseases — Medical conditions you may never have heard of before
Cyberbullying linked to extreme dieting and cosmetic surgery interests in teen girls
A study of adolescent girls in Australia found that 62% experienced cyberbullying related to their appearance. Girls teased or insulted about their body shape, weight, or physical features are more likely to resort to extreme dieting or consider cosmetic surgery.…
Microsoft finally releases generic install ISOs for the Arm version of Windows
For some PC buyers, doing a clean install of Windows right out of the box is part of the setup ritual. But for Arm-based PCs, including the Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X Plus and Elite chips in them, it hasn’t…
Trump team puts EV tax credit on the block, Tesla is on board: Report
Some electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are set to get less affordable from next year, it seems. As expected, the incoming Trump administration has set its sights on killing off the IRS clean vehicle tax credit, according to a report…
Are standing desks good for you? The answer is getting clearer.
Without question, inactivity is bad for us. Prolonged sitting is consistently linked to higher risks of cardiovascular disease and death. The obvious response to this frightful fate is to not sit— move. Even a few moments of exercise can have…
The dark dating strategies “Red Pill” men use, according to their exes
A recent study published in the journal Personal Relationships explored how personality traits associated with manipulation—known as the “Dark Triad”—are reflected in the dating practices of men in the “Red Pill” community. Women previously involved with Red Pill men described…
We’ve been wrong about Uranus for nearly 40 years, new analysis of Voyager 2 data reveals
Voyager 2’s 1986 flyby of Uranus, the main source of our knowledge of the icy planet, could have come at the same time as a weird plasma burst from the sun.
Teen sickened with Canada’s first human case of bird flu is in critical condition — and the source remains a mystery
A teenager in Canada is critically ill with the country’s first human case of H5N1 bird flu. Health officials aren’t sure how the youth was exposed.
It would be easier to find aliens in a parallel universe than in our own, new multiverse study claims
A new model based on the famous alien-hunting Drake equation suggests that some parallel universes within the hypothetical “multiverse” could have higher chances of containing extraterrestrial life than our universe.
ChatGPT’s success could have come sooner, says former Google AI researcher
In 2017, eight machine-learning researchers at Google released a groundbreaking research paper called Attention Is All You Need, which introduced the Transformer AI architecture that underpins almost all of today’s high-profile generative AI models. The Transformer has made a key…
Interdependent well-being in couples: evidence from American and Japanese spouses
A recent study in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin examined how married couples in both the United States and Japan influence each other’s well-being over time. The researchers found that spouses’ levels of well-being are positively associated with one another,…
22 pesticides show links to prostate cancer
The new finding comes from an analysis of pesticide use and prostate cancer incidence in over 3,100 U.S. counties.
Faulty Colorsofts have left some Kindle owners without an e-reader
The launch of the first-ever color Kindle isn’t going so great. Amazon’s Colorsoftbegan shipping on October 30, but shipments were paused after some customers complained about a yellow bar at the bottom of the screen and discoloration around the edges.…
EU fines Meta €800 million for breaking law with Marketplace
Meta has been fined nearly €800 million by Brussels after regulators accused Facebook’s parent company of stifling competition by “tying” its free Marketplace services with the social network. Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s outgoing competition chief, said on Thursday that by…
Economic development strengthens gender stereotypes on career and family, study finds
In a new study published in Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, researchers found that gender stereotypes associating men with career and women with family are more pronounced in economically developed countries, potentially explaining the gender equality paradox. This research aimed…
Six inane arguments about EVs and how to handle them at the dinner table
The holiday season is fast approaching, and with it, all manner of uncomfortable conversations with relatives who think they know a lot about a lot but are in fact just walking examples of Dunning-Kruger in action. Not going home is…
How Half-Life 2 helped sell Steam to a skeptical PC gaming market
It’s Half-Life 2 week at Ars Technica! This Saturday, November 16, is the 20th anniversary of the release of Half-Life 2—a game of historical importance for the artistic medium and technology of computer games. Each day leading up through the…
Stray DNA is all around us. It could revolutionize conservation
Environmental DNA harvested from the ocean, land and air can help scientists monitor wildlife. The challenge is figuring out how to interpret this eDNA.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard and the choices you make while saving the world
BioWare’s reputation as a AAA game development studio is built on three pillars: world-building, storytelling, and character development. In-game codices offer textual support for fan theories, replays are kept fresh by systems that encourage experimenting with alternative quest resolutions, and…
After working with a dual-screen portable monitor for a month, I’m a believer
Having two displays in a single device is a growing trend that appeals to people with limited desk space or who need extra pixels to work with when on the go. But often, dual-screen devices, like laptops, are loaded with…
‘Edge of chaos’ neuroscience theory could lead to superfast computing chips that behave like superconductors
By tapping into the enigmatic theory of how neurons transmit signals, scientists have proven they can one day build computer chips with near-zero electrical resistance.
Troubling study shows “politics can trump truth” to a surprising degree, regardless of education or analytical ability
A recent study by Stanford researchers has uncovered that people are more likely to believe and share news that aligns with their political views, regardless of whether it’s true. This “concordance-over-truth” bias was slightly stronger among supporters of Donald Trump…
Science works to demystify hair and help it behave
Michelle Gaines’ hair naturally curls into tight coils. Keeping it neat and healthy has proven a challenge for this busy polymer chemist. She’s read all those product promises and watched online videos about how to tame it. Her friends’ well-meaning…
Why you shouldn’t just brush off dandruff
Dandruff flakes on your hair or shoulders don’t look good. The itchy scalp that comes with it is no fun, either. In fact, although dandruff shows up on your hair, the condition actually starts with your scalp. Dandruff is a…
