Norway experiments with electric plane in real-life test
Oslo, Norway -- An electric plane took to the skies between the Norwegian airports Stavanger and Bergen on Thursday, simulating...
Science
AI helps UK woman rediscover lost voice after 25 years
London, United Kingdom -- A British woman suffering from motor neuron disease who lost her ability to speak is once...
Science
Science
Doubt cast on claim of ‘hints’ of life on faraway planet
Paris, France - When astronomers announced last month they might have discovered the most promising hints of alien life yet...
- Several recent studies looking into the same data have found that there is not enough evidence to support such lofty claims
- The debate revolves around the planet K2-18b, which is 124 light years away in the Leo constellation
Science
Experts seek to legitimize AI mental health care
Researchers at Dartmouth College believe artificial intelligence can deliver reliable psychotherapy, distinguishing their work from the unproven and sometimes dubious...
- Their application, Therabot, addresses the critical shortage of mental health professionals.
- The Dartmouth team recently published a clinical study demonstrating Therabot's effectiveness in helping people with anxiety, depression and eating disorders.
Geostrategy
AI companions present risks for young users, US watchdog warns
New York, United States -- AI companions powered by generative artificial intelligence present real risks and should be banned for...
- The watchdog, Common Sense, tested several of these platforms, namely Nomi, Character AI, and Replika, to assess their responses.
- While some specific cases "show promise," they are not safe for kids, concluded the organization, which makes recommendations on children's use of technological content.
Business
‘Something new for the honey market’: Austria trials DNA testing to uncover fraud
Voels, Austria -- At a laboratory in Austria's mountainous Tyrol province, scientists are DNA testing about 100 honey samples a...
- With fake honey flooding markets, and only a few European laboratories running such analysis, the small Austrian company Sinsoma began offering the tests two years ago.
- Between 2021 and 2022, 46 percent of the honey tested under an EU investigation as it entered the bloc was flagged as potentially adulterated, up from 14% in the 2015-17 period.
Science
Humanoid robots stride into the future with world’s first half-marathon
At the crack of the starter's gun, and as a Chinese pop song "I Believe" blared out from loudspeakers on...
- The 21-kilometre (13-mile) event held in the Chinese capital's E-Town is billed as a groundbreaking effort to test the limits of bipedal robots in real-world conditions
Science
Research on multiple sclerosis wins ‘Oscars of science’
Stephen Hauser and Alberto Ascherio were recognized for their decades researching the debilitating neurodegenerative disease, which affects nearly three million...
- Scientists knew the disease, which damages the central nervous system and leads to paralyzing cognitive and motor problems, was caused by the immune system turning on the body.
- But they thought the white blood cells known as T cells were the lone culprit. Hauser questioned that.
Science
‘I don’t have a voice in my head’: Life with no inner monologue
Paris, France - Mel May only realised she was different while reading a news article one day. "Wait, what? Some...
- The idea of not being able to have inner monologue is so new that a clinical name, anendophasia, was only proposed for it in a paper last year
- The inner monologue has proven extremely difficult to study because it relies on people being able to describe how they think
Science
World’s tiniest pacemaker is smaller than grain of rice
Paris, France -- Scientists said Wednesday they have developed the world's tiniest pacemaker, a temporary heartbeat regulator smaller than a...
- While still years away from being tested in humans, the wireless pacemaker was hailed as a "transformative breakthrough" that could spur advances in other areas of medicine.
- Millions of people across the world have permanent pacemakers, which stimulate hearts with electrical pulses to ensure they beat normally.
Geostrategy
First orbital rocket launched from Europe crashes seconds after blast-off
Oslo, Norway -- The first orbital rocket launched from continental Europe crashed seconds after blast-off Sunday, in a closely watched...
- Isar Aerospace, which had said it did not expect to reach orbit with the launch, said the two-stage rocket fell into the sea, adding that "the launch pad seems to be intact".
- The 28-metre (92-foot) tall, two-meter diameter rocket has a one-ton carrying capacity, but was unloaded for the test flight.
Science
‘Dark universe detective’ telescope releases first data
Paris, France - Europe's Euclid space telescope, which is on a mission to shed light on the mysteries of dark...
- The telescope launched in 2023, aiming to chart one third of the sky, encompassing 1.5 billion galaxies
- The huge amount of data - which was accompanied by 27 scientific papers - still only covers less then 0.5 percent of the sky
Norway experiments with electric plane in real-life test
Oslo, Norway -- An electric plane took to the skies between the Norwegian airports Stavanger and Bergen on Thursday, simulating...
Science
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The new generation of blockbuster weight-loss drugs
After France on Friday became the latest country to allow all doctors, rather than just specialists, to prescribe these drugs,...
Science
More microplastics in glass bottles than plastic
For water, both flat and sparkling, the amount of microplastic was relatively low in all cases, ranging from 4.5 particles...
Science
IBM claims ‘real world’ edge in quantum computing race
San Francisco, United States -- Technology veteran IBM on Tuesday laid out a plan to have a "practical" quantum computer...
Science
Most Read
US no longer recommends Covid shots for children, pregnant women
Washington, United States - The US will no longer recommend Covid-19 vaccines for children and healthy pregnant women, Health Secretary...
- The change follows last week's announcement by Food and Drug Administration officials that they would limit approval of Covid shots to adults aged 65 and older
- It comes as Kennedy who has long promoted misinformation about vaccines in general and the Covid shots in particular pushes to overhaul federal public health policy
Science
Doubt cast on claim of ‘hints’ of life on faraway planet
Paris, France - When astronomers announced last month they might have discovered the most promising hints of alien life yet...
- Several recent studies looking into the same data have found that there is not enough evidence to support such lofty claims
- The debate revolves around the planet K2-18b, which is 124 light years away in the Leo constellation
Science
Experts seek to legitimize AI mental health care
Researchers at Dartmouth College believe artificial intelligence can deliver reliable psychotherapy, distinguishing their work from the unproven and sometimes dubious...
- Their application, Therabot, addresses the critical shortage of mental health professionals.
- The Dartmouth team recently published a clinical study demonstrating Therabot's effectiveness in helping people with anxiety, depression and eating disorders.