GoKawiil
Tech News
Researchers studying black hole jets observed that the jets produce a halo effect in the surrounding gas, according to a report published on nature.com. The findings detail how energy from the jets interacts with nearby material to create this observable structure.
Merriam-Webster has added a batch of artificial-intelligence and computing terms to its online dictionary, including 'agentic', 'AGI', 'compute', 'vibe coding' and 'natural language processing'. Lexicographer Peter Sokolowski said the words were selected after appearing repeatedly in mainstream media, with specialist 'definers' writing definitions aimed at general readers.
The editors have retracted a paper claiming that a CCR5 mRNA sequence drives programmed -1 ribosomal frameshifting regulated by miRNAs and nonsense-mediated decay. A re-investigation found the original dual luciferase reporter contained a cryptic splice site that produced artefactual splice variants mistaken for frameshifting activity. When tested with an improved reporter lacking that splice site, the CCR5 sequence showed no detectable frameshifting, a result independently replicated by at least two other research groups.
A group led by historian Jürgen Renn has published a paper in Earth's Future alleging that unpublished documents show the 2024 vote by the International Union of Geological Sciences to reject formally naming a new Anthropocene epoch was improperly conducted and never clearly explained. The authors are calling on the IUGS to release the relevant records and commission an independent review of the voting process. Geologist Adele Bertini, who co-chaired the subcommittee that oversaw the vote, says the process was fair and has previously published a technical justification for the rejection.
Ali Alobaidly's composite of the Shark Nebula, built from 28 hours of observation in the Kuwait desert, won the 2025 ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. Category winners included Miguel Claro's sunspot image from Portugal, Stefano Pellegrini's star-trail shot from Botswana, Petr Horalek's Moon-Venus timelapse from the Czech Republic, and Radoslav Sviretsov's aurora photo over an Icelandic church.
Researchers led by Kanako Hayashi at Washington State University modified niclosamide, an existing anti-parasitic drug, to target cells involved in endometriosis lesions and tested it in mice. The study, published in Advanced Healthcare Materials, found the altered compound reduced disease activity without relying on surgery or hormone therapy, the two main current treatment approaches.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 947, the 'No Robo Bosses Act,' which bars California employers from relying solely on automated systems to fire or discipline workers. Companies that primarily use AI for such decisions must have a human reviewer confirm them using other evidence like managerial evaluations, and must notify affected employees in writing, disclose what data was used, and give them a human contact to explain the decision.
Google has launched Gemini 4 Argon, a new AI model it says excels at defensive cybersecurity work, including autonomously finding, validating and patching software vulnerabilities. The model is being made available initially only to select partners through Google's Fairwind security program, while Google staff are already using it internally for coding tasks like debugging and codebase migrations. Google says Argon also handles video and chart analysis and outperforms rival models from OpenAI and Anthropic on benchmarks cited from the startup Vals.
Nikon is reviewing the winning video in its Small World In Motion microscopy contest after scientists alleged it was partly AI-generated. The clip, submitted by Dr Ning Xu of Tsinghua University, purports to show cilia moving in a child's airway, but critics flagged structures appearing and vanishing oddly and a possible AI-generation watermark on the source image. Xu has denied breaking contest rules, acknowledging AI was used only to enhance grayscale images, not to generate the cilia or their motion.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Project Meridian during a 'State of the Force' address, tapping Elon Musk, Anduril founder Palmer Luckey, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to co-lead a study on future warfare technology under CTO Emil Michael. The team has 120 days to recommend technologies for the military to develop, test, and field, and Hegseth also unveiled a new Autonomous Warfare Command to accelerate drone and autonomous systems deployment.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has selected Newt Gingrich, Palmer Luckey and Elon Musk to contribute to a report examining the future of warfare. The exact scope, timeline and format of their involvement were not detailed.
Okanagan Specialty Fruits, which farms over 1,250 acres of apple orchards in Washington State, is testing camera-based AI from Canadian firm Vivid Machines to forecast crop yields and optimal harvest dates. The cameras, mounted on tractors, capture images of trees so AI can identify buds, flowers and fruit, producing crop estimates alongside weather-informed harvest timing. Company representative Joel Carter says the system catches small flower buds humans might miss, though forecast accuracy depends on the quality of historical data fed into it.