New secret math benchmark stumps AI models and PhDs alike

FrontierMath’s difficult questions remain unpublished so that AI companies can’t train against it.

AI Companies Hit Development Hurdles in Race for Advanced Models

After years of pushing out increasingly sophisticated AI products at a breakneck pace, three of the leading AI companies are now seeing diminishing returns from their costly efforts to build newer models.

Canada Passes New Right To Repair Rules With the Same Old Problem

No mention of how to get the tools to bypass software locks means owner still legally beholden to OEMs.

New Thermal Material Provides 72% Better Cooling Than Conventional Paste

It reduces the need for power-hungry cooling pumps and fans.

VMware Makes Workstation and Fusion Free For Everyone

Broadcom will no longer provide users with support ticketing for troubleshooting.

The US Has a Cloned Sheep Contraband Problem

After a Montana man illegally cloned and bred an endangered giant sheep species, government agencies must now contend with the illicit offspring.

Growth of AI Adoption Slows Among US Workers, Study Says

If AI’s rapid adoption curve slows or flattens, a lot of very rosy assumptions about the technology — and very high market valuations tied to them — could change.

==??
== actual bloomberg article paywalled
Retailers Explore Radio-Emitting Threads To Combat Surging Theft

A conductive ink that emits radio signals is drawing interest from merchants like Zara, eager to outsmart thieves.

Lights under surfboards could deter shark attacks - study

Even sharks think modern LED lights are just too damn bright.

== yjc
14 dramatic moments from the 2024 Nature’s Best Photo Awards

A mother tiger, feisty foxes, and wildflower fireworks.

The Open Source Project DeFlock Is Mapping License Plate Surveillance Cameras All Over the World

DeFlock has mapped the locations of more than a thousand ALPRs around the United States and thousands more around the world.

LG’s New Stretchable Display Can Grow By 50%

This stretchable display unlocks an infinite number of possibilities.

SpaceX To Attempt Orbital Refueling Test of Starship

The in-flight propellant transfer is a crucial step in reaching the Moon and Mars.

Somebody Moved UK’s Oldest Satellite, No-One Knows Who or Why

The half-tonne Skynet-1A satellite was launched in November 1969.

SpaceX Alums Find Traction On Earth With Their Mars-Inspired CO2-To-Fuel Tech

The pair originally wanted to sell reactors to SpaceX that could turn carbon dioxide into methane for use on Mars.

Dalhousie researchers design low-cost device that can help fight water scarcity

Desalination device powered by sunlight uses recycled tires.

Biden Administration To Support Controversial UN Cyber Treaty

Critics fear it could be used by authoritarian states to try to pursue dissidents overseas or collect data from political opponents.

== yjc
Mysterious flower pressed into WW I soldier’s last letter home identified a century later

Battlefield flowers a recurring motif in soldiers’ diaries and letters home, says historian.

Self-Experimenting Virologist Defeats Breast Cancer With Lab-Grown Virus Treatment

Virologist Beata Halassy says self-treatment worked and was a positive experience — but researchers warn that it is not something others should try.

How ChatGPT Brought Down an Online Education Giant

Suddenly students had a free alternative to the answers Chegg spent years developing with thousands of contractors in India.

New study on moons of Uranus raises chance of life

Uranus and its five largest moons had been thought to be inactive and sterile.

OpenAI and Others Seek New Path To Smarter AI as Current Methods Hit Limitations

AI companies face delays and challenges with training new large language models.

Can AI-Enabled Thermostats Create a ‘Virtual Power Plant’ in Texas?

Three of the biggest names in US home energy automation are coming together to offer some relief to the beleaguered Texas electrical grid.

Free transit actually is a thing, and you might be surprised where

Small Ontario community joins cities going fare-free. Will others follow?

== yjc
China roads blocked by thousands of cyclists in night quest for dumplings

The social media trend was initially encouraged by local goverment state media.

How Gophers Restored Plant Life to a Volcano-Ravage Mountain - in One Day.

A paper details an enduring change in the communities of fungi and bacteria where gophers had been, versus nearby land where they were never introduced.

== paywall?
Generative AI Doesn’t Have a Coherent Understanding of the World, MIT Researchers Find

Researchers show that even the best-performing large language models don’t form a true model of the world and its rules, and can thus fail unexpectedly on similar tasks.

This Elephant Learned To Use a Hose As a Shower. Then Her Rival Sought Revenge

Behaviors reveal sophisticated tool use—and possible “pranking”—among pachyderms,

NASA Investigates Laser-Beam Welding in a Vacuum for In-Space Manufacturing

The project seeks to understand the physical processes of laser beam welding in a combined vacuum and reduced gravity environment.

America’s First Sodium-Ion Battery Gigafactory Announced. Cost: $1.4 Billion

Sodium-ion batteries are cheaper than lithium-ion batteries — and they’re also more environmentally friendly.

Why luxury cheese is being targeted by black market criminals

Food-related crimes – which include smuggling, counterfeiting, and out-and-out theft – cost the global food industry between US $30 to 50 billion a year (£23-£38 billion).

== British persepective, but expect this is pretty much true everywhere
Disease spread in dog poo could be ‘disaster’ for cows

Neospora has been branded a “silent killer” but is easily avoided if dog walkers bag and bin their pets’ faeces.

Is There New Evidence for a 9th Planet - Planet X?

Are there hidden planets in our solar system? New technologies, like the powerful Rubin Observatory, brings us closer to answers.

How the Majority of Strokes Could Be Prevented

Stroke was the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2023.

B.C. investigating 1st presumptive human avian flu case acquired in Canada

Teenager from Fraser Valley region in hospital as sample sent to lab for confirmation.

Vancouver high school students create intelligent garbage cans to help sort waste

Bin Genius recognizes waste put in the wrong place using odour sensors and AI.

ChatGPT’s Monthly Usage May Now Rival Google Chrome

So many people are visiting the AI chatbot that its figures are rivaling browser market share.

Are Microbes Increasing Levels of Methane in the Atmosphere?

Though it breaks down faster than CO2, methane is a greenhouse gas over 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide.

== opinion piece, but probably correct, paywall?
Democrats join 2024’s graveyard of incumbents

Governments across the world are struggling in this period of economic and geopolitical turmoil.

How an alleged Russian plot suddenly upended Canada’s air cargo rules

Harsh new regulations for 55 countries after discovery of incendiary devices.