Science

The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS shed the building blocks of life as it flew past Earth last year, according to new data from NASA's SPHEREx space telescope.From its position in orbit, SPHEREx watched the rare interstellar visitor swing around the sun and make its closest approach to Earth in December, before the comet began its long journey back out of our solar system.The organic molecules seen emanating from the comet include methanol, cyanide and methane. These molecules are fundamental for biological processes on Earth, but can also be the product of non-biological processes, according to a statement released by NASA. In other words, organic doesn't mean aliens. You may like The SPHEREx researchers published their findings in the February issue of the Research Notes of the AAS (Amer...

After a two-year hiatus, Sony finally announced a new pair of flagship wireless earbuds. The WF-1000XM6 arrive on the scene as the replacements to the WF-1000XM5, and Sony is confident that these are its best earbuds to date. So what’s new? Sony is bringing an updated version of its Integrated Processor V2, which now features 32-bit audio processing, up from the XM5’s 24-bit depth. Thanks to this change, Sony claims the XM6 offers improved clarity, dynamic range and detail. WF-1000XM6 in black The buds are equipped with 8.4mm dynamic drivers and get custom sound tuning from Sony’s acoustic engineers in collaboration with several Sony Music-affiliated recording studios. You get support for the AAC, SBC, LC3 and LDAC audio codecs as well as Sony’s DSEE Extreme, which us...

Hastings Center Report Published February 12, 2026February 12, 2026 Without clear oversight, AI agents risk creating a dangerous ”responsibility gap,” experts warn. Artificial intelligence agents are beginning to transform scientific research, with systems now capable of working autonomously to generate hypotheses, run experiments, and draft full manuscripts. But widespread use of AI agents could create a “responsibility gap” in science, warns a new essay in the Hastings Center Report. The authors argue that heavy reliance on AI systems may leave no clear human responsible when errors, biased outputs, or fabricated information cause harm—particularly in a high-stakes area like medicine. They also warn that automating routine research tasks could erode ...

The Digital Foundry team share their first impressions on initial trailers for the two massive Bethesda games. Nintendo's latest Direct delivered a welcome array of new Switch 2 ports and - in the form of Oblivion Remastered and Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition - an initial look at what are effectively eighth and ninth generation console ports onto the new Nintendo hybrid. It's early days for one of these titles, but the results aren't quite what we expected. Oblivion Remastered looks technically ambitious but some way off the quality seen on existing versions of the game. Meanwhile, Fallout 4 clearly needs work: based on what's been revealed so far, we're looking at a last-gen game that falls short of last-gen standards. A monster hit when it was released last year, Oblivion Remastered is a ...

Life is hard. We are all going to have to face crises, conflicts, disappointments — sometimes even terrible events that can feel overwhelming, leading to depression, anxiety, sometimes even trauma. And while these stresses can test our emotional equilibrium, it turns out that most of us will be OK. Our guest, psychologist George Bonanno, says we have overestimated the debilitating power of post-traumatic stress disorder and underestimated our own ability to recover from adverse events. He joins us to talk about how we already possess the tools and skills to take on life’s many challenges. Bonanno wrote a book a few years ago, The End of Trauma: How the New Science of Resilience Is Changing How We Think About PTSD. Source link

Refresh 2026-02-12T21:00:13.557Z Are you excited for Marathon? (Image credit: Sony / Bungie) Scott, stepping in for Tony.I'm curious, I am a Destiny apologist, even the current messy model that is Destiny 2. It's one of the best feeling shooters available even if the surrounding story has gotten insane. Though perhaps we've just gotten back to the "that wizard came from the moon" era.Anyway, I am willing to give Bungie a try despite the mess. And I am excited for Marathon.What about you? 2026-02-12T20:40:14.002Z A Heretical appearance? (Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment) I just looked it up, and I can't believe it's been over a year since we saw our first glimpse of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophecy. While some say the game will release at the end of 2026, I'm w...

When funders support groundbreaking life science research, they are investing in discoveries that could save lives. But what if that same research, in the wrong hands or under unsafe conditions, could cause harm? It’s a question every funder of infectious disease research should be asking—and now there’s a straightforward tool to help answer it. The Challenge: Balancing Innovation with Safety and Security Life science research moves quickly. From studying pandemic pathogens to developing new vaccines, the work is vital. But here’s the reality: research settings vary in terms of their ability to uphold safety standards, and not all research carries the same level or type of risk. Some studies involve pathogens with the potential to spread rapidly. Others might generate knowledge that could ...

YouTube was one of the biggest apps missing from the Vision Pro platform at launch in February 2024. That changes today, however, with the launch of an official YouTube app for visionOS. YouTube for Vision Pro is here When Vision Pro first launched, Google said that a Vision Pro app was on its roadmap, but suggested that people use Safari in the meantime. In the absence of an official YouTube app for Vision Pro, third-party options quickly popped up on the App Store. Many of those, however, were ultimately removed after Google complained to Apple that the apps violated its YouTube guidelines. Starting today, Vision Pro users finally have a way to watch YouTube in a native app on visionOS. The YouTube app for Apple Vision Pro includes access to standard YouTube features ...

WWD Click to expand the Mega Menu Menu Read Next: Giorgio Armani Designed Costumes for Vienna Opera Ball’s 2026 Opening Ballet Performance Click to Expand Search Input Plus Icon Click to Close Search Input Account Welcome Manage Account Log Out Log In Sign Up Source link

Amid its ongoing promotion of AI’s wonders, Microsoft has warned customers it has found many instances of a technique that manipulates the technology to produce biased advice. The software giant says its security researchers have detected a surge in attacks designed to poison the "memory" of AI models with manipulative data, a technique it calls "AI Recommendation Poisoning." It's similar to SEO Poisoning, a technique used by miscreants to make malicious websites rank higher in search results, but focused on AI models rather than search engines. The Windows biz says it has spotted companies adding hidden instructions to "Summarize with AI" buttons and links placed on websites. It's not complicated to do this because U...