Science & Technology

Google and Meta are clashing over kids’ online safety, blaming each other while evading responsibility. The ongoing battle between Google and Meta over kids’ online safety has intensified, with both companies accusing each other of evading responsibility. Google recently called out Meta and other social media platforms for backing laws that shift the burden of age verification…

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully lifted off from Florida on Friday with four crew on board. It means Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams can finally come home after their eight-day mission was extended to nine months because of technical problems. A long-awaited rocket with a replacement crew for two stranded NASA astronauts has finally launched to…

Spotify paid the music industry $10bn (£7.7bn) in 2024, which the streaming service said was the highest annual payment from any single retailer in history. But the figures come as a heated debate continues about how much money artists and songwriters receive in royalties. Earlier this year, several Grammy-nominated songwriters boycotted an awards event hosted by Spotify…

Look, we all know AI has both its advantages (e.g. offering convenient assistance, quick content, and sometimes reliable information) and disadvantages (e.g. stealing our jobs and potentially replacing humans altogether, but I digress). However, one facet of AI that many people overlook is its impact on our cognitive abilities. A recent paper from researchers at Microsoft and…

Artificial intelligence (AI) has undergone a massive transformation over the past decade, evolving from narrow applications in machine vision and predictive modelling to the more complex and versatile world of generative AI (GenAI). The recent popularity of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and the emergence of similar GenAI models since then, has made this space more competitive. Leading this shift…

Ice could be present at more locations right beneath the Moon’s surface at the poles than previously thought, a study of data collected by the Chandrayaan-3 mission has suggested. Large, yet highly local, changes in surface temperatures can directly affect the forming of ice, and looking into these ice particles can reveal “different stories about their origin…

When someone loses a hand, today’s prosthetic options force painful compromises. Rigid prosthetics offer strength but can’t handle delicate objects gently. Soft robotic alternatives provide gentleness but lack gripping power. And neither option lets users actually feel what they’re touching. A breakthrough from Johns Hopkins University researchers aims to finally solve these problems. In a newly published…

We’ve all been there. You’re in a meeting, your phone buzzes with an Instagram notification, and suddenly your fingers itch to check it. But what’s actually happening inside your body during that moment of craving? A new study from Durham University has finally mapped the physiological rollercoaster we experience during those quick Instagram checks—and more importantly, what…

Scientists trying to bring back the woolly mammoth have created a woolly mouse. Colossal Biosciences unveiled plans in 2021 to revive the woolly mammoth – and later the dodo bird – attracting investors, headlines and critics alike. The Texas-based biotech company has since focused on identifying the key traits of extinct animals with the goal of genetically…

Computers are hungry beasts. They devour vast amounts of power, especially when writing data to memory—a process that traditionally uses electric currents and generates wasteful heat. But what if we could control magnetic information storage with voltage instead? This approach is gaining traction as researchers seek more energy-efficient computing solutions for our data-hungry world. In a paper…

Of course, we all need to be concerned about young people’s exposure to social media, and recent research adds another concern – a link to eating disorders. A study published in Eating and Weight Disorders in September 2024 found that each additional hour of total screen time and social media use was associated with a greater incidence…

Pop star Katy Perry and journalists Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez, who is also billionaire Jeff Bezos’ fiancée, are set to blast off into space on a Blue Origin rocket, marking the first all-female flight crew in more than six decades. The New Shepard rocket, a 59-foot tall (18-meter) suborbital spacecraft, will carry the crew to the…

DeepSeek is looking to press home its advantage. The Chinese startup triggered a $1 trillion-plus sell-off in global equities markets last month with a cut-price AI reasoning model that outperformed many Western competitors. Now, the Hangzhou-based firm is accelerating the launch of the successor to January’s R1 model, according to three people familiar with the company. Deepseek…

NASA has issued a huge update on the “city-killer” asteroid hurtling in Earth’s direction – and the odds of a collision have changed drastically. After being discovered in December, YR4 shot to the top of Nasa’s asteroid risk list – and was judged to have an alarming 1-in-32 chance of smashing into us. But the odds constantly…

If you order up coffee on a mobile app while scrolling your social feeds, or can’t stop watching videos and reading news articles on your phone at bedtime, listen up! Researchers studied what happened when people agreed to block the internet from their smartphones for just two weeks. And turns out, 91% felt better after the break.…

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer for men living in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. Because of poor reporting, most cases are under-reported until they reach more advanced states. A new at-home urine test developed by Michigan researchers aims to encourage more men to undergo diagnostic testing. Testing for prostate…

Another threat to American teens has been identified: protein shakes, pre-workout concoctions and other supplements. These so-called muscle and body-building products are associated with muscle dysmorphia, according to a new study. Led by Dr. Kyle Ganson, assistant professor in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto, the study included mainstream staples found in…

Volvo has teased its upcoming ES90 sedan in the international market. The Volvo ES90 will make its debut on March 5 integrating advanced core computing and AI-driven safety features. The new all-electric sedan, built on the SPA2 architecture, is designed to evolve through software updates enhancing performance and safety over time. Volvo ES90: AI integration The ES90…

A new nationwide study suggests that a young woman’s location may play a significant role in breast cancer risk, with geographic differences comparable in magnitude to genetic risk scores. The research, examining data from all 50 states over two decades, shows that early breast cancer rates in women under 40 vary significantly depending on where they live.…

WATCH the haunting moment the world’s first humanoid robot Protoclone – complete with muscles and bones – twitches and spasms into life. The robot is a “clone” designed to look as human as possible – gristle, sinew and all – and its creators hope it’ll soon be lurking around our homes. The tech start-up behind the creation,…

Astronomers for the first time have deciphered the three-dimensional structure of the atmosphere of a planet beyond our solar system, revealing three layers like a wedding cake on a ferociously hot gas planet that orbits close to a star bigger and hotter than our sun. The researchers peered through the atmosphere of WASP-121b, a planet also called…

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI has introduced Grok-3, the latest iteration of its chatbot, as it looks to compete with Chinese AI firm DeepSeek, Microsoft-backed (MSFT.O), opens new tab OpenAI, and Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O), Google. Grok-3 debut comes at a critical moment in the AI arms race, just days after DeepSeek unveiled its powerful open-source model and…

Forget hurricanes and heat waves—on WASP-121b, the weather is on another level. Astronomers have mapped, for the first time, the three-dimensional structure of an exoplanet’s atmosphere, revealing ferocious winds that accelerate to record-breaking speeds as they cross the planet’s scorching-hot dayside. Located about 900 light-years away in the constellation Puppis, the planet WASP-121b (nicknamed Tylos) experiences weather…

Elon Musk said his startup xAI will release its Grok 3 chatbot on Monday (Feb 16) and billed it as the “smartest AI on Earth” in a fiercely competitive market. The company’s flagship artificial intelligence product will go live with a demonstration on Monday night at 8:00pm Pacific time (0400 GMT), the tech billionaire wrote Saturday on…

Billionaire Elon Musk’s bid to buy OpenAI, which wants to be a for-profit entity, clashes with his lawsuit arguing that assets of the ChatGPT maker should not be for private gain, OpenAI wrote in a letter it submitted to a federal court on Wednesday. On Monday, a consortium of investors led by Elon Musk offered $97.4 billion…

Scientists have long wondered how sea turtles navigate vast ocean distances with remarkable precision. Now, research shows these ancient mariners can actually learn and remember magnetic “signatures” of specific geographic locations, essentially creating their own internal GPS system using Earth’s magnetic field. Recently published findings from researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill demonstrate…

Humans appear to have a dangerous blind spot when it comes to trusting artificial intelligence. New research from UC Merced and Penn State shows that people are highly susceptible to AI influence even in life-or-death situations where the AI openly acknowledges its own limitations. A series of experiments simulating drone warfare scenarios suggests we may be falling…

In the Second World War, the physician Henry Beecher observed that some of his soldier patients, despite being injured on the battlefield, required no strong painkillers to manage their pain. In some cases, the injury was as severe as losing part of a limb. A truly remarkable phenomenon had come into play – the effects of fear,…

Microsoft-owned LinkedIn is reportedly down for thousands of users worldwide. Tracking website DownDetector started noting reports of problems after 11:35 pm. Users are getting errors when trying to log in, which is causing frustration. According to Downdetector, 82 per cent of LinkedIn users are having issues with the website, 17 per cent are facing problems with the…

The rocky object called Bennu is classified as a near-Earth asteroid, currently making its closest approach to Earth every six years at about 186,000 miles (299,000 km) away. It might come even closer in the future, with scientists estimating a one-in-2,700 chance of a collision with Earth in September 2182. So what would happen should Bennu strike…

Google is ending its previous goals for increasing diversity in hiring, marking a major shift in the company’s approach to workforce representation. In an internal memo, Google-parent Alphabet’s Chief People Officer, Fiona Cicconi, informed employees that the company will no longer set aspirational hiring goals for underrepresented groups. “In 2020, we set ambitious hiring goals and aimed…

At any given moment, thousands of pieces of space debris orbit Earth, and some are heading back toward us. According to new research from the University of British Columbia, there’s a 26% annual probability that one of these massive objects will reenter Earth’s atmosphere over a region with high air traffic density, potentially disrupting hundreds of flights…

Artificial Intelligence has just helped astronomers discover a new crater on the surface of Mars that has revealed a long-hidden secret. New findings reveal that meteoroids striking Mars produce seismic signals that can reach deeper than previously known. The details are the result of joint work by Nasa Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and the now-dead InSight lander,…

The plastic pollution crisis just got personal. A new study from the University of New Mexico reveals an unsettling truth: microscopic plastic particles are accumulating in human brains at significantly higher concentrations than in other organs – and these levels have surged 50% in just eight years. Scientists examining postmortem brain tissue found microplastic concentrations were about…

India’s biggest news organisations are seeking to join a lawsuit against OpenAI, the US startup behind ChatGPT, for alleged unauthorised use of their content. The news organisations include some of India’s oldest publications like The Indian Express, The Hindu, The India Today group, billionaire Gautam Adani-owned NDTV, and over a dozen others. OpenAI denies the allegations and…

Something is off with tonight’s talent at Temple Nightclub. Blue lights obscure the DJ’s face, but from the back of the crowded dance floor, you can make out an uncanny silhouette of an almost impossibly thin neck and unusually small, square head. The DJ’s arms move in smooth, steady arcs. Although the transitions are precise, the fist…

Finance Ministry has issued an advisory instructing its employees not to use AI tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek for official work due to concerns over the security of government data and documents, Reuters reported. Although the notification is reportedly dated January 29, news of it surfaced only recently, coinciding with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s India visit. Similar…

China announced a wide range of measures on Tuesday targeting U.S. businesses including Google (GOOGL.O), farm equipment makers and the owner of fashion brand Calvin Klein, minutes after new U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods took effect. Beijing also slapped tariffs on U.S. products such as coal, oil and some autos in a rapid response to the new…

Microsoft (MSFT.O) backed OpenAI said on Tuesday it will roll out an education-specific version of its chatbot to about 500,000 students and faculty at California State University as it looks to expand its user base in the academic sector and counter competition from rivals like Alphabet (GOOGL.O). The rollout will cover 23 campuses of the largest public…

In recent years, social media has turned ice baths from an athlete’s recovery tool into a mainstream wellness trend, with influencers and celebrities touting their supposed benefits for everything from mood enhancement to immune system boosting. Now, a new systematic review and meta-analysis cuts through the hype and reveals how cold-water immersion (CWI) actually affects the human…

ISRO’s landmark 100th mission has hit a setback as its navigation satellite, NVS-02, faces a technical glitch, raising concerns over its deployment. The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) milestone 100th rocket mission has encountered a setback, as its navigation satellite, launched on Wednesday, developed a technical glitch on Sunday. Providing an update, ISRO stated that “orbit raising…

Britain will make it illegal to use artificial intelligence tools that create child sexual abuse images, it said on Saturday, becoming the first country in the world to introduce the new AI sexual abuse offences. Possessing, taking, making, showing or distributing explicit images of children is a crime in England and Wales. The new offences target the…

In the harsh Arctic environment, where polar bears regularly plunge into freezing waters to hunt seals, a remarkable thing happens: unlike your car windshield on a winter morning, their fur resists turning into a frozen mass. Scientists have long wondered how these marine mammals keep ice from forming on their iconic white fur, and now an international…

For centuries, police departments have favored German Shepherds, search-and-rescue teams have relied on Bloodhounds, and military units have trained Belgian Malinois. We’ve long believed these breeds were specially developed to excel at their jobs, thanks to unique skull shapes that enhanced their abilities. But new research suggests we’ve been wrong all along. A new study published in…

Google might be one of the wealthiest corporations in the world, but that doesn’t mean the multi-trillion-dollar company won’t resort to downsizing. Over the last year or so, employees in the once-ironclad tech sector have watched in horror as waves of layoffs ravaged their offices and sent wages tumbling. Bracing for cuts after annual performance reviews on…

An official with Meta Platforms’ (META.O), opens new tab popular WhatsApp chat service said Israeli spyware company Paragon Solutions had targeted scores of its users, including journalists and members of civil society. The official said on Friday that WhatsApp had sent Paragon a cease-and-desist letter following the hack. In a statement, WhatsApp said the company “will continue…

After a phenomenal start on July 26 when bids worth Rs 1.45 lakh crore were received in a single day, the response has been tepid in the following days. The Centre received bids worth Rs 1,50,130 crore after a total of 37 rounds of bidding in the ongoing 5G Spectrum auction. The auction kicked off on July…

A Polish scientific institute has categorized domestic cats as an “invasive alien species.” The Polish Academy of Sciences has defined the house cat (felis catus) as “alien” as it was domesticated in the Middle East and has deemed cats as “invasive” due to the “negative influence of domestic cats on native biodiversity,” they explained in a statement.…