Many models are better than one for COVID-19 scenario projections, study finds
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub generated look-ahead projections for COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths under specific, policy-relevant scenarios. Those projections were provided to federal agencies such as t.....»»
OpenAI announces o3 and o3-mini, its next simulated reasoning models
o3 matches human levels on ARC-AGI benchmark, and o3-mini exceeds o1 at some tasks. On Friday, during Day 12 of its "12 days of OpenAI," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced its latest.....»»
Here’s everything OpenAI announced in the past 12 days
OpenAI has unveiled a slew of new products, models, features, and services over the past two weeks as part of its "12 Days of OpenAI" live-stream event. Here's everything the company announced......»»
12 Days of OpenAI ends with a new model for the new year
OpenAI announced o3 and o3-mini AI models......»»
Study reveals right whales live 130 years—or more
New research published in Science Advances reveals that right whales can survive for more than 130 years—almost twice as long as previously understood......»»
Inequality weakens local governance and public satisfaction, study finds
Local governments in developing countries are crucial for providing public services that promote human development and address challenges like extreme weather, unemployment and crumbling infrastructure. Yet, they often face difficulties in implementi.....»»
Researchers take "significant leap forward" with quantum simulation of molecular electron transfer
Researchers at Rice University have made a meaningful advance in the simulation of molecular electron transfer—a fundamental process underpinning countless physical, chemical and biological processes. The study, published in Science Advances, detai.....»»
Next-gen CarPlay’s first models should still ‘arrive in 2024,’ per Apple’s site
Holiday breaks are starting to kick off, when Apple and other companies tend to not make many new announcements. But there’s one big update we’re still expecting, according to Apple’s website: the arrival of the first next-gen CarPlay models......»»
Louisiana bars health dept. from promoting flu, COVID, mpox vaccines: Report
Staff worried they were no longer helping people and the ban would lead to deaths. Louisiana's health department has been barred from advertising or promoting vaccines for flu, CO.....»»
Heterogeneous host populations drive evolution of more virulent pathogens, modeling study shows
The evolution of pathogens has received attention in a wide range of scientific fields, such as epidemiology, demography, and evolutionary ecology. Understanding pathogen evolution is particularly urgent for rapidly evolving pathogens, such as SARS-C.....»»
Global study reveals phenological divergence between plants and animals under climate change
A collaborative study reveals the distinct mechanisms by which plants and animals respond to climate change in their life-cycle phenology. This research, led by Piao Shilong's team and Zhang Yao's team from the Institute of Carbon Neutrality at Pekin.....»»
Programming cells: New RNA tool enhances precision in synthetic genetic circuits
Researchers have successfully developed a modular synthetic translational coupling element (SynTCE), significantly enhancing the precision and integration density of genetic circuits in synthetic biology. Their study was recently published in the jou.....»»
Why AI language models choke on too much text
Compute costs scale with the square of the input size. That's not great. Large language models represent text using tokens, each of which is a few characters. Short words are repr.....»»
Latest gravitational wave observations conflict with expectations from stellar models
Almost 300 binary mergers have been detected so far, indicated by their passing gravitational waves. These measurements from the world's gravitational wave observatories put constraints on the masses and spins of the merging objects such as black hol.....»»
Chang"e-6 farside basalts reveal a reinforced lunar dynamo
The evolution of the lunar dynamo is crucial for understanding the moon's deep interior structure, thermal history, and surface environment. A study by Chinese scientists conducted paleomagnetic analyses on basalts returned by the Chang'e-6 mission a.....»»
Active particles reorganize 3D gels into denser porous structures, study shows
Colloidal gels are complex systems made up of microscopic particles dispersed in a liquid, ultimately producing a semi-solid network. These materials have unique and advantageous properties that can be tuned using external forces, which have been the.....»»
Your black plastic kitchen utensils aren"t so toxic after all: But you should still toss them, group says
A recent study that recommended toxic chemicals in black plastic products be immediately thrown away included a math error that significantly overstated the risks of contamination, but its authors are standing by their conclusions and warn against us.....»»
Russia-Ukraine War"s unexpected casualties: Hungry people in distant nations
The war in Ukraine is causing hunger thousands of miles from the battlefields, according to a study in Communications Earth & Environment. Nearly three years of war in the "breadbasket of the world" has left croplands destroyed and forced laborers wh.....»»
New research finds that your smartwatch band is laced with toxic forever chemicals
A study has revealed the presence of dangerous forever chemicals in bands sold by top brands. Interestingly, the more expensive they are, the higher the risk......»»
Not to be outdone by OpenAI, Google releases its own “reasoning” AI model
Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking is Google's take on so-called AI reasoning models. It's been a really busy month for Google as it apparently endeavors to outshine OpenAI with a blitz of.....»»
Research reveals an inexpensive fix for California"s struggling wildflowers
California's native wildflowers are being smothered by layers of dead, invasive grasses. A new UC Riverside study shows that simply raking these layers can boost biodiversity and reduce fire danger......»»