Science & Technology

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> Anthropic researchers find leading AI models used in corporate applications may resort to malicious behavior when threatened, including blackmail and leaking sensitive documents (More) | Generative AI explained (1440 Topics)

> Vera C. Rubin Observatory expected to release first images today from world's largest digital camera before launching 10-year survey; primary goals include study of dark matter and energy, the structure and evolution of the Milky Way (More) | Who was Vera Rubin? (More)

> Stem cell treatment effectively cures severe Type 1 diabetes in small clinical trial; 10 of 12 patients no longer needed insulin a year after a single infusion of zimislecel (More) | Diabetes explained (More)

Human Genome Project: Tomorrow's 1440 Science & Technology newsletter explores the revolutionary effort that spawned numerous research and medical breakthroughs. Sign up here to receive!

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Camera Captures Cosmos

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile released its first images this week, offering a detailed look into the distant universe. Funded by the US, the telescope features the world’s largest digital camera and an almost 28-foot-wide mirror, enabling it to capture enormous amounts of light and spot objects billions of light-years away with remarkable clarity.   Highlights include a composite of 678 exposures taken over seven hours, revealing new details in the Trifid and Lagoon nebulae—star-forming regions thousands of light-years from Earth—and a panoramic view of the Virgo Cluster (see images here). In 10 hours of observations, Rubin identified 2,104 previously unknown asteroids, including seven near-Earth objects, none of which pose a threat. There are an estimated 25,000 near-Earth asteroids large enough to destroy a city, fewer than half of which have been found.   Later this year, Rubin will launch a mission to scan the southern sky nightly for the next decade. The project is expected to shed light on dark matter, map the Milky Way, and create an inventory of our solar system.

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> Study reveals rare genetic mutation that delays the onset of Alzheimer's works by tamping down inflammation in the brain; findings may lead to new treatments for the disease (More) | Alzheimer's explained (1440 Topics)

> Engineered E. coli bacteria turns plastic waste into acetaminophen, the key ingredient in painkillers like Tylenol; molecule is currently made from fossil fuels via chemical reaction discovered in 1872 (More)

> The physical structure of food, including whether cells are intact or have been broken apart, influences what types of hormones are released in the gut; study sheds light on natural production of insulin, GLP-1, and more (More)

Human Genome Project: Today's 1440 Science & Technology newsletter explores the revolutionary effort that spawned numerous breakthroughs. Email comes out at 8:30 am ET—sign up here to receive!

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Tectonic forces may create a new ocean in Africa.

British university researchers say pulsing waves of molten rock deep beneath Ethiopia’s Afar region are slowly stretching and thinning Africa's crust; the motion is guided by the tectonic plates above. Although the continent isn't expected to split for millions of years, growing insights into the relationship between deep Earth pulses and tectonic activity could enhance understandings of surface volcanism and earthquakes. 

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> Tesla provides first demonstration of a fully self-driving car leaving the factory and driving to the new owner's home without human assistance; Tesla Model Y traveled 30 miles in Austin (More, w/video) | Tesla explained (1440 Topics)

> Engineers develop smart pill that can monitor glucose, temperature, serotonin levels, and more after ingestion; approach may provide a cheap method for real-time monitoring of gut health (More)

> Chemists discover new spontaneous reaction that produces urea, a highly reactive molecule, from carbon dioxide and ammonia; researchers theorize process may have been involved in the origin of life on Earth (More)

Firework science: Tomorrow's 1440 Science & Technology newsletter explores the history and chemistry powering the iconic holiday explosives. Sign up here to receive!

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> Meta formally announces Superintelligence Labs, focusing on AI models that rival human intelligence (More) | Meta explained (1440 Topics) | Microsoft researchers say new AI tool correctly diagnoses diseases at an 85% rate, four times higher than experienced doctors (More)

> Genetic ancestry linked to risk of contracting severe cases of dengue fever; findings partially explain the wide variability in cases, disease kills around 20,000 people annually (More)

> Researchers discover switching on a single dormant gene enables mice to regrow ear tissue; discovery may lead to treatments for a variety of degenerative diseases (More)

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> Web infrastructure firm Cloudflare announces it will block bots and AI crawlers by default, provide an option for per-page-crawl payment; company services about 20% of the open internet (More)

> New imaging analysis reveals how quickly the human brain is aging from a single MRI scan; tool can assess risk of dementia and chronic disease, motivate lifestyle changes to improve brain health (More) | Aging explained (1440 Topics)

> Engineers develop technique to reconstruct 3D images of hidden objects using reflections from millimeter radiation (the same frequency as Wi-Fi); approach achieved 96% accuracy with common household objects (More)

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> First complete human genome from Ancient Egypt sequenced; 4,800-year-old DNA reveals ancestry was 80% North African, 20% Mesopotamian (More) | Ancient Egypt explained (1440 Topics)

> New study reveals how plants heal damage to their protective outer layer; oxygen and ethylene in the wound trigger cellular repair mechanism; findings may lead to new varieties of resilient crops (More)

> Air pollution and other environmental factors, including some traditional herbal medicines, may lead to lung cancer in never-smokers; heavy pollution linked to 400% increase in the same mutations seen in smokers (More) | Cancer explained (1440 Topics)

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> Astronomers detect the third interstellar object ever observed; the roughly 20-mile-wide comet will pass around 150 million miles from Earth, travel past the sun, and eventually exit the solar system (More)

> Neanderthals crushed and boiled bones in "fat factories" to access bone marrow and other nutrients as early as 125,000 years ago, evidence suggests (More)

> Researchers discover microbe with one of the smallest genomes known to date; findings raise questions around what constitutes life in single-celled organisms (More)

Memory: Tomorrow's 1440 Science & Technology newsletter explores what we know about this core piece of human identity. Sign up here to receive!

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> Twitter and Block founder Jack Dorsey launches Bitchat, a WhatsApp-style messaging service that works entirely over Bluetooth; application doesn't use centralized servers or require personal information (More)

> Researchers enhance a key molecule involved in photosynthesis in plants, boosting its chemical reaction efficiency by up to 25%; results may lead to improved crop yields in certain species (More) | 1440 Science & Technology: Today's deep dive on memory comes out at 8:30 am ET (Join here)

> Oldest known pterosaur in North America discovered; the reptiles coexisted with dinosaurs, current specimen pushes their timeline back to about 209 million years ago (More)

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> Meta poaches Apple's top AI executive, Ruoming Pang, with a compensation package reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars annually; hire follows Meta's recent hiring surge to fill its new Superintelligence Lab (More)

> NASA's Parker Solar Probe measures first direct evidence of the sun's "helicity barrier;" phenomenon is linked to the superheating of the solar atmosphere and creating supersonic solar wind (More) | NASA explained (1440 Topics)

> Engineers build and test largest-ever steel-framed building built on top of an earthquake simulator; platform may lead to new methods to safely make taller buildings in quake-prone regions (More, w/video)

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> xAI releases Grok 4, the latest version of its flagship large language model; CEO Elon Musk says model was trained on the company's Colossus supercomputer (More) | Large language models explained (1440 Topics)

> New bionic knee, which integrates directly into bone and muscle tissue, restores natural movement in patients with above-the-knee amputations; users in clinical trial report device feels like a natural extension of the limb (More, w/video)

>  DNA analysis of Greenland sled dogs—the world's oldest known breed, known as "Qimmeq"—reveals Inuit communities arrived as early as 1,200 years ago; estimate is hundreds of years earlier than previously thought (More)

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> Tesla adds Grok chatbot to newer vehicles in software update; follows the release of xAI's latest version of its flagship large language model, chatbot not yet capable of issuing commands to the vehicle (More)

> Some gut microbes are capable of processing PFAS, or "forever," chemicals from the body; study may lead to probiotics to replace bloodletting or drug therapies (More) | PFAS 101 (More)

> Archaeologists discover royal burial tomb belonging to the first known ruler of the ancient Mayan city of Caracol; once a major metropolis in modern Belize, city was abandoned about 1,000 years ago (More)

Microplastics: Tomorrow's 1440 Science & Technology newsletter explores the tiny particles found everywhere on Earth. Sign up here to receive!

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> Defense Department awards contracts worth up to $200M to Google, Anthropic, xAI, and OpenAI to develop AI systems for unspecified national security applications (More)

> Astronomers detect the largest merger of two black holes to date via measuring gravitational waves; collision produced a single black hole roughly 225 times the mass of the sun (More) | What happens if you fall into a black hole? (1440 Topics)

> Photonic quantum device—systems that use light to perform quantum computing tasks—integrated into a commercial electronic chip for the first time; marks a key step toward manufacturing light-based quantum computers (More) | Einstein's insight underlying quantum computing (1440 Topics)

Microplastics: Today's 1440 Science & Technology newsletter explores the tiny particles found everywhere on Earth. Email comes out at 8:30 am ET—sign up here to receive!

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> AI startup Anthropic launches Claude for Financial Services; platform uses the company's flagship AI model to analyze market trends from a wide range of sources (More) | Google to invest $25B in AI data centers and infrastructure, including a 20-year, $3B contract to purchase Pennsylvania hydropower (More)

> Researchers 3D print biomaterial that mimics living lung tissue; advancement could allow development and testing of treatments for lung diseases without requiring living patients (More)

> Geologists link a meteor impact to a landslide in the Grand Canyon that created a dam and lake along the Colorado River roughly 56,000 years ago (More)

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> Researchers confirm a slight difference in the decay of certain types of subatomic particles, a phenomenon known as breaking charge-parity symmetry; may help explain why the universe is filled with matter instead of antimatter (More) | Inside CERN's antimatter factory (1440 Topics)

> The brain utilizes channels in the lining of its blood vessels to direct blood flow to regions requiring more energy, depending on the task; new study may lead to preventive treatments for neurodegenerative diseases (More)

> Toxic algae blooms release "antivitamins" into the surrounding environment, inhibiting the growth of other algae species and allowing them to spread more quickly (More)

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> OpenAI debuts ChatGPT Agent that can control multiple applications on a user's computer to carry out complex tasks such as making purchases, planning trips, creating slide decks, and more (More)

> Surgeons perform world's first pediatric heart transplant using a technique that restarts the heart outside the donor's body; procedure saved the life of a 3-month-old patient, could increase organ donor pool by 20% (More)

> Researchers discover unique electrical patterns that occur as the brain transitions from sleeping to being awake; findings may help lead to new treatments for sleep disorders (More) | Breaking down the different stages of sleep (1440 Topics)

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> Environmental Protection Agency to shutter research and development arm, carry out reduction in force targeting 23% of agency's overall staff (More)

> Engineers demonstrate 3D-printed stainless steel components that can withstand radiative environments found in nuclear reactors; milestone may help further innovative new reactor designs (More)

> British scientists begin study of Antarctic ice cores believed to be up to 1.5 million years old; analysis expected to shed light on temperature and climate conditions during the period (More) | What was the Mid-Pleistocene Transition? (More)

DNA discovery: Tomorrow's Science & Technology newsletter explores the life and legacy of Rosalind Franklin, the uncredited force behind the discovery of the double helix. Sign up here to receive!

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> Japan proposes first new nuclear power plant since the deadly 2011 Fukushima disaster; meltdown followed a tsunami that left more than 2,300 people dead post-evacuations (More) | Nuclear provides about 20% of US electricity; learn more (1440 Topics)

> Brain scan study suggests the COVID-19 pandemic caused brains to age roughly five and a half months faster than prepandemic era; effect was seen regardless of infection status, more pronounced in older subjects (More)

> Octopuses can be tricked into thinking rubber tentacles are part of their body; findings suggest the creatures have a sense of "body ownership," similar to humans (More)

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> OpenAI to release GPT-5, the latest version of its flagship large language model, in August; reports suggest upgrade will include a new version of its video generator, Sora (More)  | The neural network that preceded OpenAI's models (1440 Topics)

> Grand Canyon fossil discovery reveals a number of new complex species; discovery helps fill in the fossil record during the Cambrian explosion, roughly 500 million years ago (More)

> Researchers identify genes that, when "turned off," inhibit the ability of the Ebola virus to infect hosts; findings may lead to new treatments for emerging diseases (More) | What makes Ebola so deadly? (1440 Topics)

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> Johns Hopkins University to license its books to AI firms to train large language models; press arm publishes around 150 books annually, authors would receive a reported $100 per title per license (More)

> Researchers snap first image of thermal vibrations in quantum materials (More) | 1440 Science & Technology: Tomorrow's newsletter takes 101 level look at quantum mechanics; sign up now to receive! (Join here)

> Neanderthals ate maggots alongside fermented meat as a source of additional nutrients, study suggests; diet helped avoid protein poisoning despite a highly carnivorous diet (More) | What is "rabbit starvation"? (More)   > Google updates its early earthquake warning system after failing to notify as many as 10 million people ahead of Turkey's deadly 2023 quake; network uses the accelerometers of more than 2 billion phones to detect seismic activity (More)  > Physicists demonstrate famous double-slit experiment using individual atoms to scatter light; experiment, first performed in 1801, confirms light is both a particle and a wave (More) | 1440 Science & Technology: Sign up 8 am ET to get this week's deep dive into quantum mechanics (Join here) > New technology delivers vaccines via dental floss; prototype approach was found to stimulate additional antibodies in the lining of the nose and lungs (More)

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> OpenAI unveils Study Mode, using ChatGPT with instructions tailored by educators to provide information structured in a way similar to classroom teaching (More) | Everything you need to know about OpenAI (1440 Topics)

> Jewel wasps are capable of slowing down their rate of aging as larvae, significantly extending their life span and decelerating their biological clocks (More) | Can aging be reversed? (1440 Topics)

> Scientists capture first image of the sugar coating surrounding individual cells with atomic-scale resolution; results may lead to new drug delivery techniques (More)

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> Joint US-India mission to deploy satellite capable of capturing changes on the Earth's surface with resolution of a single centimeter; NISAR mission can image the same spot on Earth every 12 days (More) | The history of NASA (1440 Topics) > Chronic disrupted sleep modifies blood vessels in the brain known as pericytes, can lead to impaired cognitive function and higher dementia risk (More)  > Dormant cancer cells can be reawakened by viral respiratory infections, including the flu or COVID-19; study suggests acute inflammation in the lungs may trigger cells to reactivate (More) | How alcohol leads to cancer (1440 Topics)

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> Google unveils Gemini Deep Think AI, a reasoning platform the company says can process multiple ideas at once (More) | Anthropic revokes OpenAI's license to the Claude large language model, claiming OpenAI engineers were using its coding tools to develop its next product (More)

> Sugar molecules used by cancer cells to evade the immune system may provide new treatment for type 1 diabetes; coating helps insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells evade autoimmune responses (More) | Type 1 diabetes explained (1440 Topics)

> Scientists build digital library of pollen from more than 18,000 plant species; archive will allow quick identification of pollen species, a task that typically takes hundreds of hours (More) | The evolution of flowers and bees (1440 Topics)

Climatology: Tomorrow's Science & Technology newsletter breaks down how we measure and study the Earth's climate. Sign up here to receive!

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> AI startup Perplexity accused of using techniques similar to those of malicious hackers to evade instructions not to crawl and scrape webpages (More) | OpenAI's ChatGPT nears 700 million weekly users, up 400% from March (More)

> Paleontologists discover new species of long-necked plesiosaur dating to roughly 180 million years ago; creature lived during a mass extinction known as the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (More) | Climatology 101: Our next Science & Technology newsletter comes out at 8:30 am ET today (Sign up here)

> Researchers discover RNA virus responsible for a mass die-off of British Columbia oysters in 2020; strain is a "mega" virus, with one of the largest viral genomes on record (More)