For the many wondrous things humans can do, we can’t fly on our own. But if we could, how big would our wings be? Of course, the answer depends on the person’s size. But someone who’s about 155 pounds (70 kilograms) and at least 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall would have a wingspan of about … Read more
In the quest for a reliable way to detect any stirrings of a sentient “I” in artificial intelligence systems, researchers are turning to one area of experience — pain — that inarguably unites a vast swath of living beings, from hermit crabs to humans. For a new preprint study, posted online but not yet peer-reviewed, … Read more
Scientists say artificial intelligence (AI) has crossed a critical “red line” and has replicated itself. In a new study, researchers from China showed that two popular large language models (LLMs) could clone themselves. “Successful self-replication under no human assistance is the essential step for AI to outsmart [humans], and is an early signal for rogue … Read more
Chemists have invented a new material that could be the future of body armor — chainmail. But this isn’t the Middle Ages all over again; the new super-strong material is made of molecules that are interlocked on a nanoscale, scientists say. Researchers fused lines of molecules like links in a chain to create sheets of … Read more
There’s a lot more to Earth than meets the eye. Far from being just a roundish rock barreling through space, our planet is composed of several layers held together by intense forces of gravity. Our planet’s interior is much too deep and hot to explore with probes, so scientists rely on seismic waves to understand … Read more
A planet-size object that possibly once visited the solar system may have permanently changed our cosmic neighborhood by warping the orbits of the four outer planets, a new study suggests. The findings may shed light on why these planets’ paths have certain peculiar features. For decades, astronomers have debated how the solar system’s planets formed. … Read more
Scientists have just resurrected “ELIZA,” the world’s first chatbot, from long-lost computer code — and it still works extremely well. Using dusty printouts from MIT archives, these “software archaeologists” discovered defunct code that had been lost for 60 years and brought it back to life. ELIZA was developed in the 1960s by MIT professor Joseph … Read more
Chinese scientists have announced a plan to build an enormous, 0.6 mile (1 kilometer) wide solar power station in space that will beam continuous energy back to Earth via microwaves. The project, which will see its components lofted to a geostationary orbit above Earth using super-heavy rockets, has been dubbed “another Three Gorges Dam project … Read more
Time travel has long been dismissed as impossible due in part to the infamous “grandfather paradox.” This conundrum asks what would happen if someone traveled back in time and prevented their grandfather from having children, thus erasing the traveler’s existence. However, a new study may have resolved this issue. By combining general relativity, quantum mechanics, … Read more
The innermost Earth-like planet in the famous TRAPPIST-1 system might be capable of supporting a thick atmosphere after all, according to new research. Since the system of seven tightly-packed, Earth-sized worlds was discovered in 2017, huddled in remarkable harmony just 40 light-years from Earth, astronomers have tried to determine whether any support atmosphere, which is … Read more
