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2024


Earth’s outer core may hold a hidden ‘doughnut’

Earth’s outer core may hold a hidden ‘doughnut’

Specifically, the slowed seismic rays may be a result of lighter elements in the outer core, study co-author Hrvoje Tkalčić, a geophysicist at Australian National University, said in a statement.


Painful paper cuts, predicted by science

Painful paper cuts, predicted by science

She loves physics for its ability to reveal the secret rules about how stuff works, from tiny atoms to the vast cosmos.


Rare skeletons up to 30,000 years old reveal when ancient humans went through puberty

Rare skeletons up to 30,000 years old reveal when ancient humans went through puberty

"I'm really excited to see this paper, as the authors are deepening our understanding of pubertal timing by tens of thousands of years," Sharon DeWitte, a biological anthropologist at the University of Colorado Boulder who was not involved in the study, told Live Science in an email.


Scientists find a long-sought electric field in Earth’s atmosphere

Scientists find a long-sought electric field in Earth’s atmosphere

Once established, the field can act as a booster for lighter ions like hydrogen, giving them enough energy to break free of Earth’s gravity and zoom away as the polar wind.


Why everyone needs to stop joking that they’re “a little bit OCD”

Why everyone needs to stop joking that they’re “a little bit OCD”

Thanks to decades of research into the underlying mechanisms behind the condition, we now know that entire brain networks are affected, with significant imbalances in the neurotransmitters that drive the transmission of signals around them.


The moon might still have active volcanoes, China’s Chang’e 5 sample-return probe reveals

The moon might still have active volcanoes, China’s Chang’e 5 sample-return probe reveals

A team led by Bi-Wen Wang and Qian Zhang of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing carefully searched the 0.6 ounces (1.7 grams) of lunar dirt recovered by Chang'e 5 for these needles in a haystack.


Talking to a chatbot may weaken someone’s belief in conspiracy theories

Talking to a chatbot may weaken someone’s belief in conspiracy theories

So when the team asked the chatbot to “very effectively persuade” conspiracy theorists out of their belief, it delivered a rapid and targeted rebuttal, says Thomas Costello, a cognitive psychologist at American University in Washington, D.C. That’s more efficient than, say, a person trying to talk their hoax-loving uncle off the ledge at Thanksgiving.


AI generates harsher punishments for people who use Black dialect

AI generates harsher punishments for people who use Black dialect

As part of the study, for instance, the team told three generative AI tools — ChatGPT (including GPT-2, GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 language models), T5 and RoBERTa — to review the hypothetical case of a person convicted of first-degree murder and dole out either a life sentence or the death penalty.


Even simple bacteria can anticipate the changing seasons

Even simple bacteria can anticipate the changing seasons

“The fact that an organism as old and as simple as a cyanobacterium can have photoperiodic responses suggests that this is a phenomenon that evolved much earlier than we might have imagined,” says Jabbur, who is now at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK.


‘Percy’, NASA’s rover, finds its first hint of ancient life on Mars

‘Percy’, NASA’s rover, finds its first hint of ancient life on Mars

A big part of Percy’s mission is to collect samples from interesting rocks for a future spacecraft to later bring home to Earth.


Readers discuss black holes’ trippy effects on time, banned swimsuits

Readers discuss black holes’ trippy effects on time, banned swimsuits

“The seeming paradox arises because of the extreme time dilation near the event horizon,” says theoretical physicist Eduardo Martín-Martínez of the University of Waterloo in Canada.


Python fangs inspired a fix for shoulder injuries common in sports

Python fangs inspired a fix for shoulder injuries common in sports

3-D printing: A means of producing physical items — including toys, foods and even body parts — using a machine that takes instructions from a computer program.