News
Your own voice could be your biggest privacy threat. How can we stop AI technologies exploiting it?
1+ hour, 24+ min ago (862+ words) Voices contain countless cues about their owners, and new research suggests that computers might use them to facilitate a range of bad behaviors. If you know what to listen for, a person's voice can tell you about their education level,…...
Microsoft can now store data for 10,000 years on everyday glass thanks to laser breakthrough
2+ day, 6+ hour ago (398+ words) Quick, fun science challenges. Improvements to the data writing and reading techniques, alongside a new way to store data, mean the technology is more accessible than before. Breakthrough improvements to Microsoft's glass-based data-storage technology mean ordinary glassware, such as that…...
'DNA origami' could be key for making an effective HIV vaccine, early study hints
1+ week, 1+ day ago (1051+ words) Quick, fun science challenges. A new vaccine design uses folded DNA to steer the immune system toward producing the rare immune cells needed to make protective antibodies against HIV. A vaccine designed using "DNA origami" activated more of the key…...
The 'mono' virus raises the risk of MS and cancer in some. 22 genes hint at why.
2+ week, 1+ day ago (704+ words) Your membership journey starts here. Keep exploring and earning more as a member. Quick, fun science challenges. An infection with Epstein-Barr virus is a nonevent for most people. But for a subset, the virus can contribute to chronic conditions and…...
Next-generation AI 'swarms' will invade social media by mimicking human behavior and harassing real users, researchers warn
3+ week, 2+ day ago (633+ words) Artificial intelligence experts have warned that AI "swarms" are poised to infiltrate social media by deploying agents that mimic human behavior and exploit our tendency to follow the herd. Swarms of artificial intelligence (AI) agents could soon invade social media…...
Viruses that evolved on the space station and were sent back to Earth were more effective at killing bacteria
1+ mon, 1+ day ago (716+ words) Near-weightless conditions can mutate genes and alter the physical structures of bacteria and phages, disrupting their normal interactions in ways that could help us treat drug-resistant infections. Bacteria and the viruses that infect them, called phages, are locked in an…...
Why is flu season so bad this year?
1+ mon, 2+ day ago (1068+ words) Flu season in the U.S. is particularly bad this year, and a new branch of the flu family tree may be to blame. If it feels like everyone around you has come down with the flu, you're not imagining it. As…...
Ötzi the Iceman mummy carried a high-risk strain of HPV, research finds
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (552+ words) Two renowned prehistoric individuals were likely infected with a human papillomavirus that has been linked to several cancers. The 5,300-year-old "tzi the Iceman mummy and a prehistoric man who lived in Siberia 45,000 years ago both carried a cancer-causing strain of…...
DNA from ancient viral infections helps embryos develop, mouse study reveals
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (690+ words) A stretch of viral DNA in the mouse genome gives cells in early-stage embryos the potential to become almost any cell type in the body. A stretch of DNA in the mouse genome left by ancient viral infections is crucial…...
Widespread cold virus you've never heard of may play key role in bladder cancer
2+ mon, 1+ week ago (772+ words) Scientists uncovered how childhood BK virus infections may set off cancer-causing mutations decades later: by activating a host immune system enzyme that attacks DNA. Scientists think a very common childhood infection may be linked to bladder cancer " and now, they're…...