Researchers analyzed post-mortem retinal and brain tissue from multiple sclerosis patients and healthy controls, using single-nucleus RNA sequencing, immunohistochemistry and other molecular techniques. They identified an intracellular form of complement factor H within neurons that appears to protect these cells from damage during central nervous system inflammation, a mechanism distinct from the protein's known extracellular immune role.
nature.com
· 2026-09-02
Researchers pooled data from 46 cohorts through the ReGPC consortium to run genome-wide association analyses on personality traits among participants with European-like and African-like ancestry. They applied strict quality controls—filtering low-frequency variants, poor imputation quality, and problematic samples—before analyzing how genetic variants relate to standardized Big Five personality measures.
nature.com
· 2026-09-02
On John Ternus's first day leading Apple, Bloomberg reports that former CFO Luca Maestri has stepped down from his Corporate Services role, with those duties now absorbed by current CFO Kevan Parekh. Separately, M&A chief Adrian Perica has been dropped from Apple's official leadership page, with his responsibilities possibly being split between the services and finance divisions.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-09-01
Hydrologist Anu Li hosted a 'doctorette party' at her Minnesota home to celebrate her upcoming thesis defense, complete with a tiara, a 'Mrs to Dr' sash, a themed photo booth and trivia about her research. The event reflects a broader trend among academics who are creating personalized celebrations for milestones like dissertations and tenure that traditionally go unmarked.
nature.com
· 2026-09-01
USC PhD student Zhivar Sourati and colleagues published a March paper arguing that widespread reliance on large language models is homogenizing writing, creativity, and even cultural values, drawing a parallel to 'McDonaldization' of society. Unlike past information technologies, they argue, generative AI actively reshapes content rather than simply distributing it, flattening stylistic diversity across users. Duke computer scientist Emily Wenger adds that this convergence could pose an existential risk by encouraging groupthink and eroding independent judgment.
nature.com
· 2026-09-01
A donor grant received in summer 2025 has enabled organizers to begin indexing the long-stored collection of the former Computer Museum of America and San Diego Computer Museum, which has sat in the basement of SDSU's Love Library for over two decades. The archive includes not just vintage computers and hardware but magazines, newsletters, software, books and manuals documenting the rise of the Information Age. Organizers are also launching fundraising and marketing efforts to raise awareness of the collection's existence and value.
computer-museum.org
· 2026-08-31
In 1959, novelist and scientist C.P. Snow delivered Cambridge's Rede Lecture arguing that science and the humanities had split into mutually uncomprehending intellectual camps, a phrase that entered popular language as 'the two cultures.' Three years later, literary critic F.R. Leavis attacked Snow's argument as shallow and even called him a 'preposterous and menacing absurdity,' sparking one of the era's most heated intellectual feuds.
aeon.co
· 2026-08-31
A University of Georgia study tested 60 young adults on their ability to distinguish two close points of light under different colors, finding that blue light caused the greatest scattering and optical aberration in the eye, requiring points to be farther apart to be seen as separate. Green, yellow, red, and broadband light produced comparatively less scatter. The researchers also found iris pigmentation affected results, with lighter-colored eyes showing different sensitivity.
research.uga.edu
· 2026-08-31
A team of astronomers, led by Sarah Burke-Spolaor at West Virginia University and Michelle Ntampaka at the Space Telescope Science Institute, posted an unreviewed white paper on arXiv outlining four archetypes for research groups to help them decide how to use AI tools like large language models. Rather than proposing a single universal policy, the framework maps each lab type against its research priorities using a radar-style diagram to suggest which AI applications, from code generation to writing assistance, best fit its values.
nature.com
· 2026-08-31
IBM and University of Chicago researchers used a new error-correction technique to encode 70 logical qubits and complete a random circuit sampling task in roughly 15 minutes, a computation that would take leading classical supercomputers an impractical amount of time. The team also designed a more structured circuit approach to verify that the quantum output was actually correct, addressing a longstanding challenge in confirming quantum results once problems exceed classical checking ability. The circuits and data have been published via the Quantum Advantage Tracker.
sciencedaily.com
· 2026-08-30
A new study published in Nature reveals that the interior beneath Mars' southern hemisphere is roughly 400 to 750 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the interior beneath its northern hemisphere. Researchers led by University of Arizona scientist Alexander Berne used gravity data to uncover this asymmetry, which contrasts with the long-held assumption that planetary interiors are generally uniform in temperature.
futurism.com
· 2026-08-29
Jernej Barbič, a computer science professor at the University of Southern California, has received a 2025 technical achievement Academy Award for creating Ziva VFX, software that simulates realistic muscle, fat and skin for digital humans and creatures. The technology, launched in 2016 through his startup Ziva Dynamics and later acquired by Unity Technologies in 2021, has appeared in more than 60 films including Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
spectrum.ieee.org
· 2026-08-28
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