January 25, 2024 4 min read Big-headed ants are invading new territories in Kenya—and the consequences are rippling through the whole ecosystem, scientists have found By Meghan Bartels Young female (left) and male lions stalk prey within a “pristine” (uninvaded) savanna. The whistling-thorn trees in the foreground provide cover used by lions to stalk and… Continue reading Lions Are Changing Their Hunting Strategy because of Ant Invasion
Category: Quantum Stuff
64,000 Pregnancies Caused by Rape Have Occurred in States with a Total Abortion Ban, New Study Estimates
January 25, 2024 4 min read Researchers calculated the number of pregnancies resulting from rape in states where abortion was banned throughout pregnancy after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision By Tanya Lewis Abortion rights protesters rally outside of the Texas State Capital in 2022. A new study estimates the number of rape-related pregnancies in states with abortion… Continue reading 64,000 Pregnancies Caused by Rape Have Occurred in States with a Total Abortion Ban, New Study Estimates
Scientists Find Optimal Balance of Data Storage and Time
The team built their hash table in two parts. They had a primary data structure, in which the items are stored without any wasted bits at all, and a secondary data structure, which helps a query request find the item it’s looking for. While the group did not invent the notion of a secondary data… Continue reading Scientists Find Optimal Balance of Data Storage and Time
NASA’s Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Ends Mission on the Red Planet after 3 Years
January 25, 2024 4 min read NASA’s enterprising Mars helicopter and its remarkable 72 flights offered a new vision of planetary exploration By Meghan Bartels NASA’s Perseverance rover checks out Ingenuity on August 2, 2023. After nearly three years soaring through the red skies of Mars, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter is permanently grounded. The agency launched… Continue reading NASA’s Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Ends Mission on the Red Planet after 3 Years
To See Black Holes in Detail, She Uses ‘Echoes’ Like a Bat
And on the flip side, which black holes stand out to you as particularly extreme or particularly weird? I like to study the normal guys, and then I like to crank things up and see where things break. What’s also really fun are the oddball systems that just keep you up at night wondering: How… Continue reading To See Black Holes in Detail, She Uses ‘Echoes’ Like a Bat
How Quickly Do Large Language Models Learn Unexpected Skills?
Two years ago, in a project called the Beyond the Imitation Game benchmark, or BIG-bench, 450 researchers compiled a list of 204 tasks designed to test the capabilities of large language models, which power chatbots like ChatGPT. On most tasks, performance improved predictably and smoothly as the models scaled up — the larger the model,… Continue reading How Quickly Do Large Language Models Learn Unexpected Skills?
How Far Away Is the Horizon?
When most of us go to the beach, we like to play in the sand, frolic in the surf and people watch. I like all those things, too. But I am also a massive science nerd, and that means that despite the distractions, I cannot tear my attention away from the horizon. Oh, that line… Continue reading How Far Away Is the Horizon?
A ‘Lobby’ Where a Molecule Mob Tells Genes What to Do
That’s why well-controlled experiments like those of the Stanford team are so useful, Kuhlman added. Usually, when researchers need to measure weak interactions like these, they have two choices: They can make a few very detailed, extremely precise measurements and generalize from them, or they can take a great many quick-and-dirty measurements and use mathematically… Continue reading A ‘Lobby’ Where a Molecule Mob Tells Genes What to Do
AI Audio Deepfakes Are Quickly Outpacing Detection
Experts have long warned of a future where artificial intelligence makes it impossible to tell digital fact from fiction. Now that future is here. A recent case of a recording that sounds like a high school principal making racist comments shows the risk that widely available generative AI tools can pose and the difficulty of… Continue reading AI Audio Deepfakes Are Quickly Outpacing Detection
Cleaning Water Naturally the Ancient Maya Way
Water is life. That’s why we need to take care of it. Even plentiful water supplies are moot if they are undrinkable. Climate change, pollution and growing populations only add to the urgency of maintaining adequate water supplies and water quality for humanity. After doing archaeology for 35 years in Belize, focusing on the ancestral… Continue reading Cleaning Water Naturally the Ancient Maya Way