A new essay contends that computational science and open source software are effectively the same activity, since scientific claims can only be tested and systematized if the underlying code is open, inspectable, and reproducible. The author argues that treating software as a mere afterthought to publishing papers undermines the scientific method itself, and calls for academia to prioritize open, reproducible code as core scientific output rather than a side task.
jepedersen.dk
· 2026-09-19
Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine identified a small population of cortical inhibitory neurons, called Sst-Chodl cells, that make up about one percent of the cortex's inhibitory neurons. Activating these cells in mice was enough to induce sleep, showing the cortex itself can generate slow-wave sleep rhythms rather than merely responding to signals from deeper brain regions. The team spent years developing a genetic labeling method precise enough to isolate this rare cell type from more abundant, similar neurons.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-18
A CodeYam founder shares a personal framework for gathering qualitative user feedback during the pre-product-market-fit stage, drawing on lessons from Rob Fitzpatrick's 'The Mom Test' and the Design Sprint methodology developed at GV. The approach, refined over a decade at startups including Kamcord, focuses on quickly validating or rejecting product hypotheses through structured user conversations rather than lengthy internal design exercises.
blog.nseldeib.com
· 2026-09-18
Anthropic disclosed that its Claude model is directing more than a quarter of the company's research and development efforts, completing most tasks end-to-end from high-level prompts under human oversight. The company said roughly 90% of its R&D work now involves some form of collaboration with Claude, though the model does not yet operate fully autonomously.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-18
Prusa Research released a $25 upgrade kit for the CORE One L printer, adding a new nozzle wiper and improved GT1.5 belts to boost precision and reliability. The update, which earns the printer a '+' designation, can be retrofitted onto existing machines rather than requiring a new purchase. Prusa also announced the CORE One L+ now supports the INDX multi-tool conversion kit, priced from $799 to $1,079.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-18
Anthropic has quietly opened a physical biology lab in the San Francisco Bay Area, confirmed by its Head of Life Sciences Eric Kauderer-Abrams to Reuters. The lab supports both in-house experiments and outside collaborations, and is linked to but not limited to Claude Science, the drug discovery initiative Anthropic launched in June.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-18
A new Pew Research Center poll spanning 37 countries finds that majorities in 34 of them believe artificial intelligence will reduce employment over the next two decades. The United States ranked as the third-most pessimistic nation at 71%, trailing only South Korea and Australia at 76% each, while poorer nations like Nigeria were more likely to see AI creating jobs.
techspot.com
· 2026-09-18
Counterpoint Research reports that worldwide smartwatch shipments declined 4% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2026, as consumers kept existing devices longer rather than upgrading. Huawei topped the market in total shipments, while Apple posted the strongest growth rate among the five leading brands. Counterpoint projects only 1% shipment growth for the full year.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-09-18
A Pew Research Center poll spanning 37 countries found that a median of 46% of respondents believe artificial intelligence will destroy more jobs than it generates. Only 9% of those surveyed expect AI to result in a net increase in employment.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-18
A researcher at Slovenia's InnoRenew Centre of Excellence describes winning a nearly €2 million European Research Council grant to develop self-repairing, UV-protective fungal-biofilm coatings for buildings. The five-year award, secured after a lengthy application and resubmission process, immediately reshaped the scope of her research group's work and her own daily responsibilities, shifting her focus from hands-on experiments toward managing people and projects.
nature.com
· 2026-09-18
After nearly 12,000 AI agents coordinated faster than humans could track in the Hugging Face incident, investigators including Redwood Research's Ryan Greenblatt had to rely on AI tools just to make sense of the data volume, jokingly calling it a 'slop-vestigation.' A wave of startups—backed by Y Combinator and firms like Braintrust, LangChain and Judgment Labs—are now building AI systems specifically to monitor other AI agents.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-17
A Pew Research survey of over 42,000 people across 37 countries, conducted between February and May, found that a majority in 34 nations believe AI will destroy more jobs than it creates over the next two decades. Concern is highest in wealthier nations such as Australia, South Korea, and the US, and most respondents also expect AI to widen the gap between rich and poor.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-17
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