Life on alien planets probably wouldn’t experience day and night – here’s how that may change evolution

Do aliens sleep? You may take sleep for granted, but research suggests many planets that could evolve life don’t have a day and night cycle. It’s hard to imagine, but there are organisms living in Earth’s lightless habitats, deep underground or at the bottom of the sea, that give us an idea what alien life […]

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How AI features in smartphones are reducing their dependence on the cloud

New phones are being launched with features enabled by artificial intelligence (AI). The latest of these was Google’s flagship Google Pixel 9 phone. Samsung’s Galaxy S24 phone, released at the beginning of 2024, also features a range of AI-enabled photo editing features. The hidden story behind devices like these is how companies have managed to […]

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Belief in alien visits to Earth is spiralling out of control – here’s why that’s so dangerous

The idea that aliens may have visited the Earth is becoming increasingly popular. Around a fifth of UK citizens believe Earth has been visited by extraterrestrials, and an estimated 7% believe that they have seen a UFO. The figures are even higher in the US – and rising. The number of people who believe UFO […]

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Meet Phaethon, a weird asteroid that thinks it’s a comet – our new research may explain what’s going on

What’s the difference between an asteroid and a comet? A comet is basically a dirty iceball composed of rock and ice. The classic image is of a bright “star” in the night sky with a long curved tail extending into space. This is what happens when they approach the Sun and start emitting gases and […]

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First projects from UKRI’s new interdisciplinary scheme announced – UKRI

The projects are designed to stimulate exciting new interdisciplinary research. Treatment for bile duct cancer, degradation of toxic organic pollutants, historical accounts that inform marine ecosystem management, and techniques to protect children’s digital data are among the breakthrough projects being funded. Additionally, the second round of funding is launching today with a further £32.5 million […]

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Is there such a thing as an objectively beautiful building? Here’s the science

Some people assume that there’s a type of beauty that everyone can agree on. But did early humans really admire slender bodies the way we do today? After all, fashions come and go – there’s been plenty of fads throughout history that we find hard to understand today. The UK’s deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, […]

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STFC funds projects to improve understanding of climate change – UKRI

Further information The projects Sensing NO2 emissions to evaluate net zero initiatives (SNEEZI) Project lead: University of Edinburgh Funding amount: £498,916 Avoiding the worst impacts of climate change relies on measuring and reducing emissions of atmospheric greenhouse gases, including nitrogen dioxide (NO2). SNEEZI is a novel instrument designed to measure NO2 at high resolution from […]

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How we showed what happens to your body when you’re stressed

Your heart starts racing, your mouth goes dry and sweat beads on your forehead. We’ve all been there, caught in a moment of stress. When you encounter a situation that threatens your safety, your brain must make a critical decision – how to react to the danger at hand. This is a phenomenon my colleagues […]

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we’ve developed a coating which attracts and traps dangerous microbes

More than 2 billion people around the world do not have access to safe, uncontaminated drinking water. Around 418 million of them live in African countries. The problem is most acute in rural communities, where people’s primary water sources are rivers, lakes and hand-dug wells, which are often contaminated with harmful pathogens. This contamination is […]

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LinkedIn’s credibility crisis – The Jerusalem Post

In a concerning development, Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has agreed to pay a staggering $6.625 million to settle claims by advertisers that the platform had been overcharging them by presenting inflated user engagement metrics for video advertisements. This settlement, which requires the approval of a U.S. magistrate judge, has shaken the foundation of trust between LinkedIn and […]

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