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Researchers examined brain tissue from 338 former NFL players who died recently and found that the vast majority showed signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma. The new findings suggest the condition is more widespread among professional football players than previously estimated.
Northwestern University postdoc Reese Richardson discovered that images used by lab supply companies to demonstrate antibody performance had been digitally altered, including removed background noise and copy-pasted data meant to fabricate results. His broader search identified these manipulation issues across marketing materials for more than 17,000 commercially sold antibodies.
A Congressional Research Service report cited by the Library of Congress estimates US data centers consumed 17 billion gallons of water in 2023, about triple the 2014 level. Over 80% of that footprint comes indirectly from electricity generation needed to power the facilities, rather than from onsite cooling systems.
A National Bureau of Economic Research survey found that more than 90 percent of executives reported no impact from AI on their firm's employment over the past three years, and 89 percent saw no gains in labor productivity. Despite this, companies are continuing to cut jobs while citing AI as justification, according to University of Pittsburgh professor Mark Ma.
Northwestern University researcher Reese Richardson expanded his earlier investigation into Thermo Fisher's antibody catalogue and found over 18,000 questionable validation images spanning 15 supply companies, publishing the findings in a public database on August 25. Many of the western blot images used to prove antibody quality show signs of digital manipulation, according to his analysis.
Evolutionary ecologist Daniel Blumstein and his UCLA team launched a free OnlyFans account called OnlyMarms to raise money for their long-running yellow-bellied marmot research at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. The family-friendly page shares wildlife camera footage of marmots and relies on viewer tip donations, having already brought in over $4,000 and roughly $100 daily.
Researchers running UCL's chemistry department fellowship support scheme have published guidance drawn from helping more than 40 early-career researchers win independent fellowships. The advice covers assessing whether a candidate's track record fits a target fellowship, shaping a competitive research proposal, and choosing the right host institution. The authors stress that early planning during a PhD and postdoc, including mapping publication milestones, is critical to building a strong application.
Researchers studying mice found that rising testosterone levels during puberty appear to suppress the type of lung inflammation associated with asthma. This offers a possible biological explanation for why many boys who suffer from asthma in childhood see their symptoms diminish or disappear after puberty, a pattern long observed but poorly understood.
A Nature opinion piece argues that scientific publishing's peer-review system is strained by rising submissions, more complex manuscripts and a shortage of willing, timely reviewers. While most journals currently prohibit reviewers from using AI tools over confidentiality and accountability concerns, the author contends these blanket bans are difficult to enforce and only partially solve the underlying problems.
A Pew Research Center poll of 3,488 US adults found roughly a quarter have used AI chatbots to diagnose symptoms, mostly for convenience and cost savings, with nearly all reporting the information was at least somewhat helpful. The same survey found Americans express greater unease about AI being used by their doctors and providers than about using it themselves, and want to be told when it's involved in their care.
A finalized feasibility study for Chilean telecom regulator Subtel, conducted by Salience Consulting and Pioneer Consulting and funded by CAF with partial backing from China's MCDF Finance Facility, concludes that a fiber-optic cable across the Drake Passage to Antarctica is technically achievable. The study proposes either a minimum build connecting three facility clusters near King George Island for about $370 million, or a nine-landing optimal build linking bases run by Chile, Argentina, Brazil, the US and the UK for roughly $620 million.
Pew Research analyzed 500,000 English-language webpages using an AI detection tool and found that 10% of all sampled pages showed significant signs of AI authorship. Among pages published after ChatGPT's release, that figure jumps to more than one-third, with .com domains showing roughly double the AI-signal rate of .org sites and ten times that of .edu or .gov domains.