Science & Technology

Stargazers and skywatchers have been treated to a stunning show of celestial events already in 2024: the total solar eclipse, the return of the ‘devil comet,’ and multiple nights colored by the northern lights have undoubtedly topped the list for some. But if that wasn’t enough for you, space experts say we’re due for another stellar sighting:…

Even in your 80s, it’s not too late to adopt healthy habits that could help you live to 100 and beyond. That’s the encouraging message from a groundbreaking new international study, which found that older adults who maintained healthier lifestyles had significantly better odds of becoming centenarians. The research, published in JAMA Network Open, suggests that simple…

In its quest to unravel the mysteries of Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover has stumbled upon an intriguing find: a peculiar, light-colored boulder that stands out among the darker rocks surrounding it. The speckled rock, affectionately nicknamed “Atoko Point” by the mission’s science team, measures 18 inches wide and 14 inches tall and has piqued the interest of…

SoftBank Group (9984.T), opens new tab CEO Masayoshi Son said on Friday that the group’s mission was to help in humanity’s progress by realising artificial super intelligence, which he said would exceed human capabilities by a factor of 10,000. “SoftBank Group has done many things until now that have all been a warm up for my great…

Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s co-founder and former chief scientist, is starting a new AI company focused on safety. In a post on Wednesday, Sutskever revealed Safe Superintelligence Inc. (SSI), a startup with “one goal and one product:” creating a safe and powerful AI system. The announcement describes SSI as a startup that “approaches safety and capabilities in tandem,”…

The ozone layer in the Earth’s atmosphere absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, which can cause skin cancer on exposure and even disrupt crop yields and food production. Internet satellite networks like Elon Musk’s Starlink could be depleting the Earth’s ozone layer, researchers from the University of Southern California have claimed. The research published in the…

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently joined Zerodha founder Nikhil Kamath for the debut episode of Kamath’s podcast series “People by WTF.” During their 30-minute conversation, Gates discussed a range of topics from his early days at Microsoft to the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on various industries, particularly software engineering. Gates expressed optimism about AI’s potential,…

NASA has set its sights on the Moon, aiming to send astronauts back to the lunar surface by 2026 and establish a long-term presence there by the 2030s. But the Moon isn’t exactly a habitable place for people. Cosmic rays from distant stars and galaxies and solar energetic particles from the Sun bombard the surface, and exposure…

Nasa has confirmed audio shared widely on social media of astronauts in distress was a simulation broadcast on its YouTube channel in error. In the clip, intended to be used for training purposes, a voice said an astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS) had a “tenuous” chance of survival. The broadcast of the clip on Wednesday…

Voters can talk to AI Steve, whose name will be on the ballot for the U.K.’s general election next month, to ask policy questions or raise concerns. An artificial intelligence candidate is on the ballot for the United Kingdom’s general election next month. “AI Steve,” represented by Sussex businessman Steve Endacott, will appear on the ballot alongside…

The SC on Tuesday issued a notice to the Centre and NTA over a petition seeking to cancel the results of the NEET-UG 2024, a competitive entrance test for undergraduate medical courses, amid allegations that the paper was leaked. Physics Wallah chief executive Alakh Pandey has moved the Supreme Court (SC) against random awarding of grace marks…

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote has come to a close — and the company had a whole lot to share. We got our first look at the AI features coming to Apple’s devices and some major updates across the company’s operating systems. If you missed out on watching the keynote live, we’ve gathered all the biggest announcements…

AMAZING footage shows the moment the first humanoid robot climbs the Great Wall of China. The video, released earlier this week, featured the XBot-L exploring the iconic tourist site. In a chilling display of the advancement of AI and technology, the robot displays remarkable navigating skills and intelligence as it walks over the uneven and broken pavement…

Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab unveiled a long-awaited AI strategy on Monday, integrating its new “Apple Intelligence” technology across its suite of apps including Siri and bringing OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT to its devices. In the nearly two-hour long presentation at Apple’s annual developer conference, executives including CEO Tim Cook touted how voice assistant Siri would be able…

When Apple first launched Siri in 2011 alongside the iPhone 4S, the company made a series of very compelling ads showing how you might use this newfangled voice assistant thing. In one, Zooey Deschanel asks her phone about delivering tomato soup; in another, John Malkovich asks for some existential life advice. There’s also one with Martin Scorsese…

“GPT- 4, for instance, exhibits deceptive behavior in simple test scenarios 99.16% of the time.” AI models are, apparently, getting better at lying on purpose. Two recent studies — one published this week in the journal PNAS and the other last month in the journal Patterns — reveal some jarring findings about large language models (LLMs) and…

The 90-year-old former astronaut who took one of the most famous pictures of all time in a daring mission to orbit the moon has died. The plane he was piloting crashed into waters. The astronaut who captured the famous first colour photo of the Earth from space has died in a plane crash in the US. William…

‘Benjamin Button’ effect allows astronomers to better calculate ‘last big crash’ TROY, N.Y. — A stunning new study may upend everything we know about our cosmic home — the Milky Way galaxy. According to researchers from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, our galaxy may have collided with another galaxy billions of years later than scientists previously thought. In…

Apple is planning to introduce a new app called Passwords to help users manage their login information, according to a report from Bloomberg. The company will reportedly introduce the device at its Worldwide Developers Conference event next week. Apple already lets you save your passwords across your iPhone, iPad, or Vision Pro using iCloud Keychain. The new…

AI is going to take away many jobs and even become a big threat to humans very soon. But it’s not all doom and gloom with the technology as it could actually help millions from working too hard. Zoom is one of the many applications that is moving into the AI era and the platform believes that…

ChatGPT has said Joe Biden won the 2024 presidential election, given specific figures for European Parliament seats and said Labour won – all elections that have yet to take place. A game-changing generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot used by hundreds of millions will now stop answering questions on future election results following Sky News reporting. ChatGPT will…

Nvidia’s (NVDA.O), opens new tab rallied to record highs on Wednesday, with the artificial intelligence chipmaker’s valuation breaching the $3 trillion mark and overtaking Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab to become the world’s second most valuable company. Nvidia is preparing to split its stock ten-for-one, effective on June 7, a move that could increase its appeal to…

A group of current and former employees at artificial intelligence (AI) companies, including Microsoft-backed (MSFT.O), opens new tab OpenAI and Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google DeepMind on Tuesday raised concerns about risks posed by the emerging technology. An open letter by a group of 11 current and former employees of OpenAI and one current and another…

Elon Musk ordered thousands of Nvidia-made AI chips destined for Tesla to be diverted to his social media company X, according to emails from the chipmaker obtained by CNBC. The move has the potential to delay Tesla’s acquisition of $500 million worth of processors by months, the outlet reports. Tesla is supposed to be stocking up on…

The planets are aligning in a rare celestial parade but you are going to need stargazing equipment if you want to see them. Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus are aligning overnight on 3 June – but if you want to see it, you will need stargazing equipment. The planets will line up in a diagonal…

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), opens new tab unveiled its latest artificial intelligence processors on Monday and detailed its plan to develop AI chips over the next two years in a bid to challenge industry leader Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab. At the Computex technology trade show in Taipei, AMD CEO Lisa Su introduced the MI325X accelerator, which…

Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab and NASA said on Sunday that their teams are preparing to launch the new Starliner space capsule on June 5 after scrubbing its inaugural test flight launch attempt on Saturday. The Starliner capsule had stood ready for blast-off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday before a ground system computer…

The launch was automatically halted mere minutes before liftoff due to a computer abort system, marking another indefinite delay for the project. Boeing’s Starliner space capsule was set for its inaugural test flight with NASA astronauts, including Indian-origin Sunita Williams, on board. However, the launch was automatically halted mere minutes before liftoff due to a computer abort…

Earlier this month, Google’s cloud platform deleted the entire customer account, including some backups, of UniSuper. Why it matters: Fortunately for the $135 billion Australian pension fund’s 647,000 members, some of UniSuper’s backups on Google Cloud’s servers and elsewhere were salvageable, and the fund was able to recover its data, teaching us all a lesson about having multiple redundancies. What they’re saying: This was…

After a phenomenal start on July 26 when bids worth Rs 1.45 lakh crore were received in a single day, the response has been tepid in the following days. The Centre received bids worth Rs 1,50,130 crore after a total of 37 rounds of bidding in the ongoing 5G Spectrum auction. The auction kicked off on July…

A Polish scientific institute has categorized domestic cats as an “invasive alien species.” The Polish Academy of Sciences has defined the house cat (felis catus) as “alien” as it was domesticated in the Middle East and has deemed cats as “invasive” due to the “negative influence of domestic cats on native biodiversity,” they explained in a statement.…