Science & Tech

Kepler Data Reveal a One-Transit Candidate: An Earth-Size Planet on a Near-Earth-Year Orbit

A single dip in Kepler’s K2 data points to an Earth-size planet candidate with a ~355-day orbit around a bright nearby orange dwarf—if it transits again.

#exoplanets, #nasa, #kepler, #astronomy, #jameswebb

NASA’s TESS and Hubble Capture Best Look Yet at Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

A rare January alignment let TESS track 3I/ATLAS for days and Hubble image its backlit dust and jets, yielding the best profile yet of an alien comet.

#nasa, #hubble, #tess, #comet, #interstellar

Nvidia opens ‘Earth-2’ AI weather models, promising faster forecasts on smaller GPU clusters

Unveiled at the AMS meeting in Houston, Nvidia’s open Earth-2 models aim to speed forecasting and cut costs—raising new reliance questions.

#weather, #ai, #nvidia, #forecasting, #climate

EU targets Google’s Android AI and search data in new Digital Markets Act proceedings

EU regulators launch proceedings to force Google to open Android AI access points and share anonymized search data, tightening DMA enforcement.

#eu, #google, #dma, #android, #ai

Malawi launches cholera vaccine drive in Blantyre as rains raise fears of renewed outbreak

Blantyre begins a targeted three-day cholera vaccination drive as cases rise and heavy rains threaten to spread the disease in high-risk townships.

#cholera, #malawi, #vaccination, #publichealth, #water

James Webb Telescope Watches Baby Star Forge Crystals and Blow Them Toward Comet Zones

Webb tracked a young star’s outbursts as they turned dust into crystalline minerals and lofted them outward—explaining crystals found in icy comets.

#jwst, #astronomy, #protostars, #comets, #planetformation

NASA’s Artemis II Moon Mission Faces Crucial Wet Dress Rehearsal at Kennedy Space Center

NASA will fuel its SLS rocket in a high-stakes wet dress rehearsal that could set—or slip—the Artemis II crewed lunar flyby launch date.

#nasa, #artemis, #moonmission, #spacelaunchsystem, #orion

Waymo Robotaxi Hits Child Near Santa Monica School, Prompting Federal Safety Probe

A low-speed collision near an elementary school has prompted NHTSA to investigate how Waymo’s driverless cars handle school zones and children.

#waymo, #robotaxi, #selfdriving, #nhtsa, #schoolsafety

Two Nipah Cases in West Bengal Spur Airport Screening Across Asia

India says a two-case Nipah cluster is contained, but airports from Bangkok to Hong Kong revived thermal screening and health forms amid COVID-era jitters.

#nipah, #india, #airportscreening, #publichealth, #outbreak

China team captures first direct images of the Migdal effect, opening a new path in dark-matter searches

Six rare events recorded in a Beijing-area lab provide the first direct observation of the Migdal effect, bolstering strategies to detect light dark matter.

#darkmatter, #particlephysics, #quantumphysics, #chinascience, #detectors

Fortinet disables FortiCloud SSO worldwide after critical cross-tenant login flaw is exploited

A critical FortiCloud SSO bug let attackers cross into other customers’ Fortinet devices. Fortinet flipped off SSO globally, then rushed patches.

#cybersecurity, #fortinet, #vulnerability, #sso, #cisa

Measles outbreak in South Carolina’s Upstate reaches 789 cases, largest U.S. surge since 2000

A fast-growing measles outbreak centered in Spartanburg County has sickened 789 people, mostly unvaccinated children, prompting quarantines and national concern.

#measles, #vaccines, #southcarolina, #publichealth, #outbreak

When AI Pitches the News: A Politics Desk Spikes Six Plausible Stories That Never Happened

Editors killed six AI-assisted politics leads after basic checks found no documents or corroboration—highlighting the newsroom’s verification line.

#ai, #journalism, #factchecking, #disinformation, #unitednations

A neuroscientist wants to train AI on brainwaves—and privacy law may be the biggest obstacle

A Swiss researcher proposes training foundation models on fMRI and EEG signals to align AI with human reactions, raising new stakes for neural privacy.

#artificialintelligence, #neuroscience, #privacy, #neurotechnology, #regulation

Intel Ships First U.S.-Made 18A Laptop Chips as ‘AI PC’ Push Hits Stores

Intel’s Panther Lake Core Ultra Series 3 debuts Jan. 27, bringing 18A chips made in Arizona—and Copilot+ ready AI—to premium laptops.

#intel, #aipc, #chipsact, #semiconductors, #laptops