Far beyond Pluto, where sunlight is faint and temperatures remain extremely low, countless icy bodies drift through the outer reaches of the Solar System. These distant objects, known as trans-Neptunian objects, have long been viewed as frozen relics left over from the Solar System’s formation. Most are thought to be too small to hold onto…
Scientists Invented a Disease to Test Whether A.I. Knew It Was Fake. Then, Chatbots Started Saying It Was Real A made-up eye disease has exposed a real problem with artificial intelligence.Researchers in Sweden deliberately invented a condition called bixonimania to see whether popular AI chatbots could recognise false medical information. Instead, several large language models…
Joseph Weizenbaum realized that programs like his Eliza chatbot could “induce powerful delusional thinking in quite normal people” Joseph Weizenbaum set out to prove that computers could imitate conversation. Instead, his experiment convinced him that people could become emotionally attached to machines far more easily than he had imagined. That discovery changed the course of…
“Gus” the T. rex—discovered on a cattle ranch in South Dakota—goes up for auction this summer, July 14, 2026. (Credit: Matthew Sherman / Sotheby’s) Owning one of the world’s largest Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons could soon become a reality. But there is a huge “if” factor to it. The buyer must having and willing to spend…
Most years, skywatchers have to wait patiently for different celestial events to arrive one at a time. An eclipse might dominate one month, while a meteor shower steals attention weeks later. This August, however, the calendar has produced a rare overlap. On 12 August 2026, a solar eclipse will unfold across parts of the Northern…
How Shrimp Shells Are Being Turned Into ‘Carbon Negative’ Fuel, Food and Construction Materials Discarded shrimp shells could soon become more than kitchen waste. Scientists in Singapore have developed a process that converts organic rubbish into hydrogen fuel, protein for aquaculture feed and calcium carbonate, a material used in products such as cement and antacids.The…
A 187-foot-tall dipterocarp tree For decades, scientists believed that the tallest trees faced one of nature’s toughest challenges: Getting water from their roots to leaves hundreds of feet above the ground. Now, a study of towering trees in Southeast Asia suggests some of the world’s tallest flowering plants have evolved specialised systems to overcome that…
Albert Einstein (Image: Wikipedia) Albert Einstein wrote, “Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.” The line is a straightforward claim about where genuinely original work actually comes from. Not from committees, not from rigid instruction, and not from people working under constant supervision, but from…
Strange Spheres Washed Ashore on an Australian Beach. Authorities Say They’re Probably ‘Space Balls’ What began as an ordinary day in a small Australian beach town turned into an unusual investigation after six large metallic spheres washed ashore. The discovery forced residents to evacuate and raised fears that the objects could be dangerous.The shiny objects…
Scientists have long relied on chemical traces locked inside ancient rocks to piece together the story of early life. Fossils from the deepest reaches of Earth’s history are rare, often fragmentary and difficult to interpret. Isotopes, by contrast, can survive for billions of years. Among the most informative are those linked to nitrogen, an element…
