Science & Tech

Jury Finds Instagram and YouTube Addictive for Minors, Awards $6 Million in Landmark Design-Defect Case

A Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google negligently designed Instagram and YouTube to hook minors, awarding $6 million to a woman harmed as a teen.

#socialmedia, #metaplatforms, #google, #youthmentalhealth, #section230

Inside the Canterbury nightclub linked to Britain’s meningitis B outbreak

A meningitis B cluster tied to nights out at a Canterbury club killed two and hospitalized dozens—raising questions about detection, communication and vaccine policy.

#meningitis, #publichealth, #vaccines, #uk, #outbreak

Global ‘evolution gardens’ show plants can adapt to warming—until heat pushes them past a tipping point

In a five-year global experiment, Arabidopsis evolved fast in many climates—but populations in the hottest sites collapsed, revealing limits to adaptation.

#climatechange, #evolution, #plantscience, #biodiversity

WHO races to finalize pathogen-sharing annex meant to prevent ‘vaccine apartheid’ in the next pandemic

Negotiators in Geneva have six days to lock in rules for sharing dangerous pathogens—and guarantees that poorer countries get vaccines and treatments in return.

#who, #pandemic, #vaccines, #globalhealth, #treaty

Newly Found Sungrazing Comet Could Flare Brighter Than Venus—or Disintegrate at the Sun

Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) reaches a perilous April 4 sun-skimming perihelion. Astronomers say it could blaze briefly—or vanish in a breakup.

#comet, #astronomy, #sun, #space, #nasa

ARC-AGI-3 Ignites a Benchmark Battle Over What Counts as AI Progress

A new interactive AI test claims frontier models score under 1%—but startups and researchers report 36% and “human-level” results, sparking debate.

#ai, #benchmarks, #arcagi3, #agents, #kaggle

Apple Taps Google Veteran Lilian Rincon to Market AI Push as Siri Overhaul Nears

Apple hires ex-Google executive Lilian Rincon to lead marketing for AI products as it prepares a delayed Siri overhaul and broader Apple Intelligence reset.

#apple, #ai, #siri, #google, #marketing

PAHO: Bird Flu Spreads Widely in Animals Across the Americas, but Human Cases Remain Rare

PAHO says H5N1 is entrenched from Canada to Argentina and in dozens of mammals, but human infections have stalled at 75 cases since 2022.

#birdflu, #h5n1, #paho, #publichealth, #surveillance

Astronomers confirm second newborn giant planet in ringed WISPIT 2 system

Interferometer data confirm a second forming gas giant around young sunlike star WISPIT 2, offering a rare view of how solar systems take shape.

#exoplanets, #astronomy, #planetformation, #eso, #vlt

QualDerm cyberattack triggers 3.1 million patient breach notices across 17 states

A cyberattack on dermatology manager QualDerm may have exposed data on 3.1 million patients, raising questions about delays, oversight and PE consolidation.

#cybersecurity, #healthdata, #hipaa, #dermatology, #privacy

Japan Clears First iPS Cell Therapies for Sale, Launching a High-Stakes Test of Regenerative Medicine

Japan grants conditional approval to the first iPS cell therapies—one for Parkinson’s and one for heart failure—despite limited trial data.

#stemcells, #ips, #parkinsons, #heartfailure, #japan

A Superluminous Supernova Blinked Four Times—And May Reveal Einstein’s Frame-Dragging at Work

Astronomers report a rare “chirping” supernova whose four accelerating flares may trace frame-dragging around a newborn magnetar, testing relativity.

#astronomy, #supernova, #magnetar, #generalrelativity, #timedomain

Meta Turns Its AI Assistant Into a News Gateway With New European Publisher Deals

Meta AI will now summarize and link to reporting from News Corp, Prisa, Le Figaro and Süddeutsche Zeitung, deepening its paid news-licensing push.

#meta, #ai, #journalism, #europe, #licensing

When Fact-Checking AI Gets It Wrong: A Newsroom Memo That Flagged Real Headlines as False

An AI-assisted newsroom review rejected major 2026 stories—from the Iran war to EU elections—highlighting how anti-hallucination tools can mislabel reality.

#ai, #journalism, #factchecking, #misinformation, #newsrooms

Micron’s Gujarat chip plant nears first output as India rolls out Semiconductor Mission 2.0

Micron’s Sanand facility is set to ship its first commercial chips as India launches ISM 2.0—though a much larger 1-trillion-rupee fund remains unapproved.

#india, #semiconductors, #micron, #gujarat, #budget