Merlin74 / Shutterstock A new study published in Nature Astronomy describes the most luminous object ever observed by astronomers. It is a black hole with a mass of 17 billion Suns, swallowing a greater amount of mass than the Sun every single day. It has been known about for severalContinue Reading
Across large parts of the UK, the native red squirrel has been replaced by the grey squirrel, a North American species. As well as endangering reds, grey squirrels pose a threat to our woodlands because of the damage they cause to trees. New research from my colleagues and I comparedContinue Reading
NicoElNino / Shutterstock In a week where national security has taken centre stage in Washington, the White House confirmed on Thursday that it had evidence that Russia was developing a space-based nuclear anti satellite weapon. John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesperson, informed reporters that the White House believe Russia’sContinue Reading
The Tridentinosaurus counterfeit Valentina Rossi, CC BY-NC-ND Fake fossils are among us, passing almost undetected under the eye of experts all over the world. This is a serious problem – counterfeited specimens can mislead palaeontologists into studying an ancient past that never existed. In a new study, my colleagues andContinue Reading
Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock Given the huge problem-solving potential of artificial intelligence (AI), it wouldn’t be far-fetched to think that AI could also help us in tackling the climate crisis. However, when we consider the energy needs of AI models, it becomes clear that the technology is as much a partContinue Reading
Artist's impression of the Blinkerwall: the ancient stone wall used as a hunting structure. Michał Grabowski, Author provided Archaeologists have identified what may be Europe’s oldest human-made megastructure, submerged 21 metres below the Baltic Sea in the Bay of Mecklenburg, Germany. This structure – which has been named the BlinkerwallContinue Reading
pio3 / Shutterstock The New York Times’ (NYT) legal proceedings against OpenAI and Microsoft has opened a new frontier in the ongoing legal challenges brought on by the use of copyrighted data to “train”, or improve generative AI. There are already a variety of lawsuits against AI companies, including oneContinue Reading
Dream Chaser would ferry cargo, and eventually crew, to low-Earth orbit. Ken Ulbrich / NASA Nasa’s space shuttle operated in low-Earth orbit for 30 years before its retirement in 2011. However, the US space agency’s replacement for this vehicle, Orion, returned to the conical capsule design familiar from the ApolloContinue Reading
Google DeepMind / Unsplash, Author provided There are lots of proposed ways to try to place limits on artificial intelligence (AI), because of its potential to cause harm in society, as well as its benefits. For example, the EU’s AI Act places greater restrictions on systems based on whether theyContinue Reading
Pungu X / Shutterstock Artificial intelligence (AI) tools aimed at the general public, such as ChatGPT, Bard, CoPilot and Dall-E have incredible potential to be used for good. The benefits range from an enhanced ability by doctors to diagnose disease, to expanding access to professional and academic expertise. But thoseContinue Reading
