Understand

IN RECENT years artificial intelligence (AI) has undergone a revolution. After decades of modest progress that never quite lived up to its promise, a different approach—relying on big data and stats, not clever algorithms—made huge strides in solving real-world problems like voice- and image-recognition and self-driving cars. Also in the past ten years, a lot of books have been published that aim to explain what AI is, where it’s going and why it matters. Books by AI academics do well at explaining the technology but are…

The James Webb space telescope has captured data that could help us better understand how Earth formed billions of years ago. According to the new data, James Webb has detected water vapor in planet-forming disks, which adds more credence to a long-standing theory on how planets like Earth are formed. Webb detected the water vapor in two different compact disks of gas and dust, which surround two different starts – both of which are between two and three million years old. That’s actually pretty young in the…

Credit: Timothy Sandstrom, Luis Fernandes/NASA Ames Research Center Airplane engines are loud—just ask anyone who lives near an airport. Increased air traffic from next-generation aircraft has the potential for even more disruptive noise. Researchers and engineers at NASA are working to reduce noise generated by turbofan engines, but each new design requires certification and testing to understand how much noise it will…

Even with the help of micro-phenomenology, however, wrapping up what’s going on inside your head into a neat verbal package is a daunting task. So instead of asking subjects to struggle to represent their experiences in words, some scientists are using technology to try to reproduce those experiences. That way, all subjects need to do is confirm or deny that the reproductions match what’s happening in their heads. In a study that has not yet been peer reviewed, a team of scientists from the University of Sussex, UK,…

Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica: Humane's Ai Pin seems like a bizarre cross between Google Glass and a pager, the lack of apps feels extremely limiting, and the $699 price is hard to understand — The Humane AI pin has no screen, no apps, and a creepy in-your-face camera. — Not since Magic Leap has a “next-generation” … Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica: Humane's Ai Pin seems like a bizarre cross between Google Glass and a pager, the lack of apps feels extremely limiting,…

The conversation around diabetes has predominantly revolved around an energy surplus: if a person takes in more energy than they expend, over time, they may become obese and develop its associated metabolic disorders, such as type 2 diabetes. Most treatments approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration aim to limit calorie intake or suppress the appetite. Researchers have, however, rarely discussed the effect of malnutrition on insulin. In recent decades, a more nuanced picture of diabetes has emerged that shows the…

It’s been three years since the Laser Interferometric Gavitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) went down for some major upgrades. Now, LIGO is finally up and running again, and this time it’s ready to help fully decipher the mysteries of gravitational waves. But what exactly is LIGO, and what mysteries can it help us solve? Tech. Entertainment. Science. Your inbox. Sign up for the most interesting tech & entertainment news out there. By signing up, I agree to the Terms of Use and have reviewed the…

by Emma Shie Nuss, Audrey Casper, Christine M. Baker, Melissa Moulton and Walter Torres, The Conversation Pink dye exits the surf in a flash rip current (yellow arrow) during large-scale wave tank experiments. Credit: Christine Baker, CC BY-ND If you've ever waded into the ocean for a swim and suddenly realized that the shore is getting farther away, not closer, you may…

The pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason, 27, has an international career as a soloist and chamber musician, with forthcoming concerts in Lucerne, New York, Seoul and elsewhere. A regular duo partner with her cellist brother, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, she grew up in Nottingham, the eldest of seven siblings, all musicians. Her third solo album, Childhood Tales (Decca), was released in May. On 1 August she will make her BBC Proms solo debut at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.You’re about to play your first…

What happens to the body when a human gets heatstroke? How can we protect ourselves in a warming planet? To answer these burning questions, Arizona researchers have deployed a robot that can breathe, shiver and sweat.The southwestern state's capital Phoenix is currently enduring its longest heat wave in history: on Friday, the mercury exceeded 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) for the 22nd day in a row, an ominous demonstration of what's to come in a world impacted by climate change. For humans, such heat…