== wonder if this affects my early play on the squash court after driving 1/2 - 1 hour in fairly heavy traffic to get to the squash club
Air Pollution Reduces People’s Ability To Focus on Everyday Tasks, Study Finds

Even brief exposure to particulate matter found to impede selective attention and emotional recognition.

The 30-plants-a-week challenge

You may see gut health benefits even if you don’t meet this goal.

Gut microbes’ surprising connection to anxiety point toward a potential probiotic solution

The research suggests that microbial metabolites—specifically indoles—play a direct role in regulating brain activity linked to anxiety.

Web-based app identifies insects around the world and around the farm

InsectNet is backed by a dataset of 12 million insect images.

Meteorite discovery challenges long-held theories on Earth’s missing elements

Understanding where Earth’s essential elements came from—and why some are missing—has long puzzled scientists.

Asteroid impact simulation reveals climate and ecological disruptions

The effect of the collision is represented by a massive injection of several hundred million tons of dust into the upper atmosphere.

Scientists solve the mystery of sea turtles’ ’lost years’

Using satellite trackers, scientists have discovered the whereabouts of young sea turtles during a key part of their lives.

Specialized sponge can suck up stormwater pollution

The sponge, coated with nanoparticles that have an affinity for pollutants, can collect metals like zinc and copper, as well as phosphate, and in previous iterations has successfully pulled lead from water, and microplastics and oil from lakes and oceans. It then releases these valuable resources when it is exposed to different pH levels.

Researchers Created an Open Rival To OpenAI’s o1 ‘Reasoning’ Model for Under $50

The team behind s1 said they started with an off-the-shelf base model, then fine-tuned it through distillation.

== yjc
The Enshittification Hall of Shame

Ars staffers take aim at some of the web’s worst predatory practices.

== somewhat lengthy
A flooded quarry, a mysterious millionaire and the dream of a new Atlantis

An innovative mission on the Welsh border, funded by an anonymous private investor, has begun work to create a ‘permanent human settlement’ under the sea.

Grand Canyon-Sized Valleys On the Moon Formed Within 10 Minutes

Bullet-fast moon rocks carved 2 lunar gorges deeper than the Grand Canyon.

Another bird flu strain found in U.S. dairy cattle, USDA says

Detection came through national milk testing program.

== paywall?, lengthy
The Long Quest for Artificial Blood

One of the most valuable substances in the world has never been replicated. Are we close?

Temperatures at north pole 20C above average and beyond ice melting point

Scientists say unusually mild temperatures linked to low-pressure system over Iceland directing strong flow of warm air towards north pole.

Quantum machine simulates universe’s potential false vacuum decay

Quantum annealer has simulated the fundamental process of false vacuum decay, opening the window to the understanding of interactions between true vacuum bubbles.

Playing classical music can smooth variations in fetal heart rates

Classical music can affect fetal heart rates, making them more regular and predictable, possibly stimulating fetal development.

Half a degree rise in global warming will triple area of Earth too hot for humans

Under these conditions, they also warn that the area of land where the over 60s will be at risk will increase to about 35%.

Archaeologists uncover gold and silver ritual offerings at a 7th century cult site

The discovery of Hezingen in the eastern Netherlands provided a unique opportunity for researchers to better understand cult rituals in the area.

Drones are now launching drones to attack other drones in Ukraine

Under the pressure of war, the pace of innovation is quick.

== opinion piece?
Climate Change Target of 2C Is ‘Dead’

Prof James Hansen says pace of global heating has been significantly underestimated, though other scientists disagree.

== have had previous artilce on this form of magnetism
Physicists Confirm The Existence of a Third Form of Magnetism

Using an X-ray-producing synchrotron to image the material, they not only produced a clear visualization of altermagnetism in action, but showed how it can be manipulated.

UK Team Invents Self-Healing Road Surface To Prevent Potholes

Researcher at Swansea University says tiny plant spores mixed into bitumen can extend surface lifespan by 30%

Why Canada is safe, for now, from very high egg prices

Smaller farms here less affected by avian flu’s devastation than in the U.S.

Climate disasters lead to billions in insurance losses. Could they trigger a financial crisis?

Canadian insurance payouts in 2024 exceeded $8.5 billion.

== yjc
Mosul’s landmarks rise again after IS destruction

The project, organised and funded by Unesco, began a year after IS was defeated and driven out of the city, in northern Iraq, in 2017.

== had articles on this work before
First glimpse inside burnt scroll after 2,000 years

In the past, some of the documents, which are made from a thick paper-like material called papyrus, were prised open but they crumbled into pieces.

== yjc, some great photographs, definitely not a talent of mine
Natural History Museum’s 2024 Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award.

Badger admiring Banksy-style image wins hearts in wildlife photo competition

Bonobos Can Tell When They Know Something You Don’t

Recognising that someone lacks information you possess is key for effective communication and cooperation, and bonobos seem to share this skill with humans.

== think we’ve seen something on this site before
Carbon dating puts Sask. Indigenous archeological site at almost 11,000 years old

A piece of charcoal unearthed at a Saskatchewan archeological site and tested in a lab suggests the site is 11,000 years old and was likely used as a long-term settlement by Indigenous people.

Why scientists are counting tiny marine creatures, from Space

Krill are just a few centimetres long fully grown, but are one of the most abundant animals on Earth.

Why Even Physicists Still Don’t Understand Quantum Theory 100 Years On

Quantum mechanics depicts a counter-intuitive reality in which the act of observation influences what is observed — and few can agree on what that means.

Anthropic Makes ‘Jailbreak’ Advance To Stop AI Models Producing Harmful Results

Week-long public test follows 3,000+ hours of unsuccessful bug bounty claim attempts.

== seen some of this before, but…
Levels of Microplastics in Human Brains May Be Rapidly Rising, Study Suggests

Research looking at tissue from postmortems between 1997 and 2024 finds upward trend in contamination.

== British perspective, little info
‘Self-healing’ roads aim to solve pothole crisis

A new type of asphalt made from biomass waste can mend its own cracks without the need for maintenance or human intervention.

The oceanic plate between Arabian and Eurasian continental plates is breaking away

The sinking oceanic plate that is still attached to the Arabian plateis pulling the region downward from below.

Ancient DNA analyses bring to life the 11,000-year intertwined genomic history of sheep and humans

As well as meat, their domestication led to humans being nourished by their protein-rich milk and clothed by warm, water-resistant fabrics made from their wool.

Newly discovered fungal species makes zombies of cave spiders on island of Ireland

These normally reclusive spiders left their lairs or webs and migrated to die in exposed situations.

Largest study ever done on cannabis and brain function finds impact on working memory

Study explores the effects of both recent and lifetime cannabis use on brain function during cognitive tasks.

Colossal squid: The eerie ambassador from the abyss

The world’s largest invertebrate remained hidden from humanity until a tantalising glimpse 100 years ago. It would take decades, however, before we finally came face to face with the colossal squid.

== a year old but I can’t remember seeing it before
How tracking animal movement may save the planet

Researchers have been dreaming of an Internet of Animals. They’re getting closer to monitoring 100,000 creatures—and revealing hidden facets of our shared world.

== I thought it a touch short on meaningful info
AI to revolutionise fundamental physics and ‘could show how universe will end’

These are not incremental improvements – these are very, very, very big improvements people are making by adopting really advanced techniques.

FDA approves first non-opioid pain medicine in more than 20 years

The drug inhibits an ion channel in peripheral nerves.

ChatGPT’s Deep Research tool can create reports from hundreds of online sources

This sure sounds familiar.

Endangered frog dads travel 7,000 miles to ‘give birth’

Endangered male frogs with an unconventional approach to child-rearing have ‘given birth’ to 33 tiny young in the UK as part of an urgent mission to rescue the species from a devastating fungal disease.

=== paywall?
OpenAI releases its new o3-mini reasoning model for free

OpenAI just released o3-mini, a reasoning model that’s faster, cheaper, and more accurate than its predecessor.

Mozilla Adapts ‘Fakespot’ Into an AI-Detecting Firefox Add-on

Want to find out if the text you’re reading online was written by an real human or spat out by a large language model (LLM) trying to sound like one?

Could Earthquake Sensors Help Detect Falling Space Junk?

On average, objects heavier than 1,000 pounds came down about every 8 days.

Key protein that intensifies psoriasis identified

Psoriasis flares up from the activity of disease- and infection-protecting immune cells.

Scientists test space device to detect elusive dark matter

For years, experts have been baffled by the puzzling force, which is invisible and yet makes up about 85% of all mass in our known cosmos.

Viral protein Nef enables a step toward off-the-shelf CAR T cell therapy for cancer

CAR T cell therapy is one of the most promising new cancer treatments to emerge in recent years.

The fracking frenzy in B.C and Texas is leading to record-breaking earthquakes

‘The more fracking we do … the more earthquakes we will have,’ says one expert