After three years of record-breaking heat and yet another scorcher already underway, air-conditioning isn't going anywhere. That's good for our health, but bad for the planet: it already accounts for 7% of global electricity use and 3% of greenhouse-gas emissions. Feeling the heat, scientists and startups are hoping to amp up solid-state cooling. These systems move heat through conductive materials, which could cool spaces and surfaces with fewer messy side effects. The catch is whether it can match the efficiency of traditional AC.
In 2018, after nearly two decades working in Big Pharma, chemist Tim Cernak was ready to put his skills to a new use. As a lifelong nature lover, he had become concerned that animals are often treated with human pharmaceuticals that can be harmful or even lethal. He decided to address this with a new approach: “conservation chemistry.” Using AI tools and robots, he’s now rapidly designing and testing drugs for animals.
Anthropic has shut down access to its top models after a US directive barred foreigners from using Fable 5 and Mythos 5 on Friday. The company disabled access globally as it can’t filter users in real time. Talks with Amazon’s CEO apparently prompted the ban. Cybersecurity experts have called for the ban to end, but the White House’s war against Anthropic has previously backfired.
The UK is banning social media for under-16s, though details are scant. The measure is due to take effect in early 2027 and covers Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X. Many countries are curbing children's social media access.
New space data suggests black holes formed before galaxies, potentially resolving cosmology’s chicken-and-egg dilemma. Odd tricks have formed a massive black hole.
Skepticism around AI layoffs is increasing. There are growing doubts that AI is really the culprit, and we need a reality check on AI jobs hysteria.
A coalition of states has opened an investigation into OpenAI over matters including user data, child safety, and advertising.
Tesla has been accused of misleading regulators over “full self-driving” by exaggerating its safety statistics.
NASA’s “quiet supersonic” plane, the X-59, has hit critical new milestones, reaching 924 mph and 55,000 feet. It’s designed to take the boom out of supersonic travel for flying over populated areas.
Deepfakes are getting harder to spot - and weirder - in the midterms, thanks to improvements in free AI tools.
AI is revealing the secret lives of animals by tracing their movements, landmarks, and social practices.
Where did Earth get its oceans? Maybe it made them itself. Scientists now suspect that Earth’s waters are homegrown.
A little over 15 years ago, scientists at Kyoto University made a remarkable discovery. When they added just four proteins to a skin cell and waited about two weeks, some of the cells underwent an unexpected and astounding transformation: they became young again. Now, after more than a decade of developing this cellular reprogramming, biotech companies and research labs have tantalising hints that the process could be the gateway to an unprecedented new technology for human age reversal.