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Forecasters predict #wildfires, #floods, severe #heatwaves from incoming #ElNiño
Ocean heat plus human-caused #globalwarming is a grim recipe for deadly #climate extremes.
El Niño is the warm phase of a semi-regular temperature oscillation in the tropical Pacific Ocean, during which massive amounts of heat stored in the ocean are released into the atmosphere, temporarily raising the average annual global surface temperature by as much as 0.3 Fahrenheit.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/05/forecasters-predict-wildfires-floods-severe-heatwaves-from-incoming-el-nino/
#climatechange -
#Tech groups score win on clean energy rules for gas-powered #datacentres
Corporate #climate watchdog drops stricter proposal on net zero claims after heavy #lobbying
The Science Based Targets initiative has decided to drop proposed rules that would have made it harder for a #datacenter group, running mostly on #fossilfuels, to claim its energy needs were entirely met by #renewable power to reach its climate goals.
https://www.ft.com/content/2ed922bb-266f-45cc-8930-c4ab5422bf95
https://archive.ph/Sbc6d -
#Chevron Wants a School District #TaxBreak for a #DataCenter Power Plant
#Oil company seeking tax break in Texas worth hundreds of millions of dollars to build massive power plant. Energy go to residential customers. Instead, gas plant will be used to power data center whose eventual tenant could be #Microsoft.
Potential tax abatement for project comes as big tech companies are battling rising public fury about #datacenters and electricity costs.
https://www.wired.com/story/chevron-wants-school-district-tax-break-data-center-power-plant-texas/
https://archive.ph/jygur -
#BYD has overtaken #Tesla to become the world’s largest #battery energy storage system (#BESS) integrator, capturing 13% of the global market in 2025 compared to Tesla’s 10%, according to new data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
#BYD shipped over 60GWh versus Tesla’s 46.7GWh
The shift marks the end of Tesla’s reign as the top energy storage deployer — a position it held in 2023 and 2024 — as #China manufacturers now dominate rapidly growing stationary storage market.
https://electrek.co/2026/05/13/byd-surpasses-tesla-energy-storage-bess-benchmark-2025/ -
Why are some people #mosquito magnets? Clues are emerging
It's not a misconception -- mosquitoes are attracted to some people more than others," Frederic Simard of France's Institute of Research for Development told AFP. "But we are not all magnets all the time," the medical #entomologist added.
A range of sensory cues can cause #mosquitoes to pick one human over another—mainly the smell and heat our bodies give off, and the carbon dioxide we exhale.
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-people-mosquito-magnets-clues-emerging.html -
Prices for these #grocery items have spiked highest since the war began
Relentlessly climbing energy costs, coupled with tariffs and ongoing agricultural and farming issues, mean grocery bills are rising quickly and might continue for months. Costs spiked especially for a few key staples of Americans’ diets, including produce and beef.
#Supermarket prices climbed at fastest rate in nearly four years putting increased pressure on Americans’ wallets.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/05/12/prices-these-grocery-items-have-spiked-highest-since-war-began/
https://archive.ph/cMirO -
#AI #datacenter #bans are rapidly multiplying across the #US — 69 jurisdictions block new builds, with four permanent
Number of bans enacted against #datacenters is increasing across US, with one tracker listing 14 new bans from March to April. According to the U.S. Data Center Moratorium Tracker, there are currently 50 active bans across different jurisdictions. #Hyperscalersare rushing to build data centers, especially as they rush to become the dominant force in AI.
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/ai-data-center-bans-are-rapidly-multiplying-across-the-us-69-jurisdictions-block-new-builds-with-four-moves-noted-as-permanent -
How #AI foundation models trained on #DNA could transform #plant #biology
Instead of training models on text or images, researchers are now turning to DNA, #RNA, and other biological data, treating #genetic sequences as information systems that can be analyzed at scale.
The challenge is no longer gathering genetic information, but understanding how different sequences interact and influence real-world outcomes.
https://www.techradar.com/pro/every-living-thing-on-earth-runs-on-the-same-programming-language-how-ai-foundation-models-trained-on-dna-could-transform-plant-biology -
J. #CraigVenter, Scientist Who Decoded the #Human #Genome, Dies at 79
A risk-taking outsider, he brought speed, competition and controversy to one of science’s biggest races.
Dr. #Venter, a risk-taker and intense competitor, made a bold move when he decided that the #HumanGenomeProject, a $3 billion government program for decoding the human genome, was moving slowly enough that he could enter the race late and beat it with a much faster method.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/30/science/j-craig-venter-dead.html
https://archive.ph/ACJEt -
In #Texas, #CorpusChristi’s #watercrisis may be a glimpse into the future
5yr #drought, a failed desalination plant, and poor planning may force the city to choose between residents and #oil and #gas industry.
Corpus Christi is one of largest petrochemical hubs in US, oil, gas, and other industrial facilities account for between 50 to 60% of city’s #water usage. One enormous plastics plant owned by #ExxonMobil and #SaudiArabia, used just under 5B gallons of water in 2024
https://grist.org/drought/corpus-christi-water-crisis-texas-drought/ -
#MinIO Is Done With #OpenSource, What Are Your Options?
MinIO is one of the most widely used #selfhosted #objectstorage solutions out there. It is #S3-compatible, lightweight, and runs as a single binary, integrating with pretty much everything in the #cloudnative stack.Here are the three open source alternatives worth looking at. 👇
#SeaweedFS
#Garage
#RustFSI have heard good things about Garage but haven't kicked the tires yet.
https://itsfoss.com/news/minio-moves-away-from-open-source/ -
#SUSE Unveils #AIFactory with #NVIDIA, Highlights Enterprise Sovereignty Gap
The stack integrates several NVIDIA components, including NIM microservices, open Nemotron models, NeMo for #AIagent development and management, Run:ai for GPU orchestration, NVIDIA Kubernetes Operators, OpenShell for secure agent runtime support, and NemoClaw, which uses SUSE #K3s as part of a reference architecture for more secure autonomous agent deployments.
https://www.storagereview.com/news/suse-unveils-ai-factory-with-nvidia-highlights-enterprise-sovereignty-gap #AI #SovereignAI -
Pace of #NIH Funding Slows Further in Trump’s Second Year
Spending on new #medical #research fell roughly $1 billion behind pace of years past, delaying thousands of scientific projects and raising concerns within agency that it may struggle to pay out money it was allotted by Congress.
NIH awarded only about 1900 new and competitive grants from October to late March, less than half the number it tended to give out by that point in the fiscal year.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/science/trump-nih-funding-research.html
https://archive.ph/uyyjP -
#ExtremeHeat is cutting the time people can safely be active #outdoors
Using #globalheat, #humidity and demographic data, scientists found that sweltry conditions now limit light physical activity for #adults ages 18 to 40 for about 50 hours a year, on average. That’s double what young adults faced from 1950 to 1979. Meanwhile, adults over 65 now experience an average of about 900 hours of activity-limiting conditions each year.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/extreme-heat-outdoor-activity-unsafe
https://archive.ph/GTkYK -
#OakRidge spawns institute to curb #AI #datacenter power surge
#ORNL aims to link power, cooling, and workload management to ease strain on the US grid
As an internal "institute within an institute," NGDCI aims to bring together the laboratory's facilities and expertise spanning energy, high-performance computing, cybersecurity, and grid technology. The ultimate goal is to ensure that #America's rapidly growing AI infrastructure remains secure, efficient, and reliable.
https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/27/oak_ridge_datacenter_power/ -
#Mozilla introduces #cq: '#StackOverflow for agents'
According to Wilson, "agents run into the same issues over and over," causing unnecessary work and token consumption while those issues are diagnosed and fixed. Using cq, the agents would first consult a database of shared knowledge, as well as contributing new solutions.
https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/24/mozilla_introduces_cq_stack_overflow/Mozilla all in on #AI again
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Single Dose of #DMT Rapidly Reduces Symptoms of Major #Depression
Unlike #psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (#LSD), whose effects last for hours, intravenous DMT has half-life of around five minutes. Its #psychedelic effects are correspondingly brief, potentially making it more practical to administer in clinical settings.
Two weeks after the first dose, participants who received DMT scored about seven points lower, on average, than those who received a placebo.
https://www.sciencealert.com/single-dose-of-dmt-rapidly-reduces-symptoms-of-major-depression -
#ProtonMail Helped #FBI Unmask Anonymous ‘#StopCopCity’ #Protester
A court record shows privacy-focused #email provider Proton Mail handed over payment data related to a Stop Cop City email account to Swiss gov, which handed it to the FBI.
The records provide insight into the sort of data that Proton Mail, which prides itself both on its end-to-end encryption and that it is only governed by Swiss #privacy law, can and does provide to third parties.
https://www.404media.co/proton-mail-helped-fbi-unmask-anonymous-stop-cop-city-protestor/
https://archive.is/20260306122845/https://www.404media.co/proton-mail-helped-fbi-unmask-anonymous-stop-cop-city-protestor/ -
#Oxide plans new rack attack with #Zen5 #CPU, #DDR5
Upcoming gear will include new compute blades powered by #AMD's #Turin #EPYC, boasting core counts of up to 192 cores and support for faster DDR5 6400 MT/s memory — big upgrade over comparatively glacial DDR4 3200 MT/s memory shipped in OG Oxide rack
Cantrill says Oxide will offer GPUs at some point, but argues ompany has plenty of work left to do with regard to CPU, storage, and networking to keep it busy for now.
https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/13/whats_next_for_oxide_computer/ -
#Virginia's #datacenter #taxbreaks cost state $1.6B in #2025
Trillion-dollar internet giants don't need freebies, watchdog warns, as giveaways double in a year
The #US state of Virginia forfeited $1.6 billion in #tax revenue through #datacenter exemptions in fiscal 2025 – up 118 percent on the prior year – as the AI-driven construction boom accelerates.
https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/07/datacenter_tax_breaks_virginia/ -
#Teargas and #pepperspray can have lasting #health effects
Evidence is mounting for longer-term impacts beyond immediate pain and tears
“These are chemical weapons that are harmful to the human body and harmful to particularly vulnerable folks, like children,” says Asha Hassan, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota. “We know that tear gas causes tears, but it also causes other things that are a lot more severe,” she says — even death.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/tear-gas-pepper-spray-health-effects
https://archive.ph/Wgonw -
#Narwhals become quieter as the #ArcticOcean grows louder
As global temperatures continue to rise, the acoustic world narwhals depend on is rapidly shifting throughout their range, from northeastern #Canada and #Greenland to #Norway’s #Svalbard archipelago and #Arctic waters in #Russia. It’s getting louder. Increasing shipping traffic is interfering with the #whales’ ability to hunt and communicate.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/02/narwhals-become-quieter-as-the-arctic-ocean-grows-louder/ -
‘It’s not too late to fix it’: web inventor #TimBernersLee says he is in a ‘battle for the soul’ of the #internet
Founder of #worldwideweb says commercialisation means net is ‘optimised for nastiness’, but collaboration and compassion can prevail
It wasn't until polarization of 2016 election that he had enough with Web's toxicity, something that reportedly left him "devastated." He acknowledges #socialmedia does not represent entire web, but is "optimized for nastiness"
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/29/internet-inventor-tim-berners-lee-interview-battle-soul-web -
#Arctic Is in Dire Straits, 20yr of Reporting Show
Arctic has changed dramatically in 20yr, report shows, as temps skyrocket and ice rapidly melts.
About 95% of oldest, thickest sea ice is gone—sliver that remains is collected in an area north of Greenland. Even central #ArcticOcean is becoming warmer and saltier, causing more ice melt and changing how much heat is released into the atmosphere in a way that affects weather patterns around the world
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-arctic-is-in-dire-straits-20-years-of-reporting-show/
https://archive.ph/QC6k8 -
#US to lose ground in #Antarctica after pulling out last research #ship, scientists say
#Scientists said the loss hinders their work and diminishes America’s leading presence on the continent. The #NSF said it continues to support Antarctic research.
U.S. Antarctic Program has had at least one dedicated research vessel in the #SouthernOcean for almost six decades.
NSF said in its 2026 budget request it would terminate lease of Palmer #icebreaker.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/12/11/antarctica-research-ship-nathaniel-palmer/
https://archive.ph/Ypf3W -
#PlugInHybrids Now Outsell #Diesel in #Europe
Europe has hit a historic milestone: plug-in #hybrids now outsell diesel #cars. With incentives rising and diesel demand collapsing, #PHEV are becoming the continent’s preferred transition technology.
https://www.autoblog.com/news/plug-in-hybrids-now-outsell-diesel-in-europe -
#idSoftware released its first game 35 years ago today — #CommanderKeen title showcased #JohnCarmack’s breakthrough side-scroller engine
Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons - Episode 1: Marooned on Mars: This #DOS #game might be somewhat lost in the sands of time obscured by stellar PC gaming achievements soon to follow, but its success was important as it led directly to the establishment of id Software. You know, folks behind Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and FPS titles https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/id-software-released-its-first-game-35-years-ago-today-commander-keen-title-showcased-john-carmacks-breakthrough-side-scroller-engine -
#Neuralnetwork finds an #enzyme that can break down #polyurethane
A completely new enzyme that researchers developed to break down polyurethane, the #polymer commonly used to make #foam cushioning, among other things. The new enzyme is compatible with an industrial-style recycling process that breaks the polymer down into its basic building blocks, which can be used to form fresh polyurethane.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/10/polyurethane-is-the-latest-polymer-broken-down-by-designer-enzymes/ -
#NASA and #CNES's #SWOT #satellite captures the first detailed look at a massive #tsunami
Instead of a single neat crest racing across the basin, the image revealed a complicated, braided pattern of energy dispersing and scattering over hundreds of miles.
Results go well beyond a pretty picture. They suggest physics we use to forecast tsunami hazards – especially assumption that largest #ocean-crossing waves travel as largely “non-dispersive” packets – need a revision.
https://www.earth.com/news/satellite-captures-the-first-detailed-look-at-a-giant-tsunami/ -
Ancient #DNA reveals #China’s first ‘#pet’ #cat wasn’t the #housecat
A new genetic analysis offers evidence that between 5,400 and 1,900 years ago, it was the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) that pounced on the rats and mice of ancient China, researchers report November 27 in Cell Genomics. The finding offers hints as to why some animals end up in our homes and hearts, while others stay wild and free.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dna-china-first-cat-leopard-rodent
https://archive.ph/ywpUN -
#ASML Opens Its First Training Facility in #Arizona to Bolster America’s Push for a More Resilient Chip #SupplyChain
Features 14 classrooms and a cleanroom where engineers will interact with ASML's cutting-edge #DUV and #EUV. Bridges gap in talent that the American #semiconductor market faces. Project is currently intended for ASML's engineers, it's still a significant achievement, considering they previously had to travel to Europe or other regions to acquire expertise.
https://wccftech.com/asml-opens-up-the-first-u-s-training-facility-in-arizona/ -
#CambridgeUniversity launches project to rescue data trapped on old #floppydisks
On October 9, Cambridge University Library opened its doors to anyone with an old floppy disk and a question: What’s on here? The public “Copy that Floppy” session marked the launch of #FutureNostalgia, a year-long project dedicated to rescuing data from obsolete magnetic media before time and oxide decay make it impossible.
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/storage/cambridge-university-rescues-data-from-old-floppy-disks -
How #RCA's #VideoDisc Failure Became a #Semiconductor Success Story. This #HomeVideo Wannabe launched a scanning #microscope. RCA expected the VideoDisc to capture half of the home video market, but instead it lost out in a big way to #VHS. But the exquisitely sensitive capacitance sensors used in the VideoDisc players were capable of measuring capacitance differences on the scale of attofarads (1 × 10-18 farad), perfect for the scanning capacitance microscope (#SCM)!
https://spectrum.ieee.org/rca-videodisc -
The #Intel #i386 turns 40 years old — 275,000 transistors running at 16MHz changed personal computing forever
Intel's i386 brought 32-bit registers to x86 and paved the way for Windows 3.0 and Linux.
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/intel-386-at-40 -
The #Chatbot #CultureWars Are Here
Conservatives, including President Trump, are accusing #AI companies of left-wing #bias, following a playbook that worked well against #socialmedia platforms.
This fight is over #artificialintelligence, and whether the outputs of leading A.I. chatbots like ChatGPT, #Claude and #Gemini are politically #biased.
Mr. Trump himself joined the fray, issuing an #executiveorder on what he called “woke A.I.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/technology/trump-ai-chatbots-bias.html
https://archive.ph/AS3u2 -
#Science confirms what we all suspected: Four-day weeks rule
As long as you get paid like a 5-day gig
The research, led by Boston College associate professor of sociology Wen Fan and economics professor Juliet Schor, also found that changes to #working patterns led to better #jobsatisfaction and fewer #sleep problems.The research found that switching to a four-day #workweek led to an actual reduction in average working hours of around five hours per week.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/22/4_day_week_study/ -
#US #Senate Might Kill Automotive #FuelEconomy Rules
Senate Weighs Effectively Killing Rule That Drove Rise of Fuel-Efficient #Cars
#Automakers split over measure to eliminate fines for failing to meet #mileage standards that helped launch fuel-efficient mainstays like Toyota’s #Prius
Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, has saved two trillion gallons of #gasoline over the past 50 years, according to the journal Energy Policy.
https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/senate-weighs-effectively-killing-rule-that-drove-rise-of-fuel-efficient-cars-86312e0b
https://archive.ph/BpNuv -
#Senators to #Noem: Axing review board puts 'lives at risk'
A group of Democratic senators has urged #HomelandSecurity Secretary #KristiNoem to reestablish the Cyber Safety Review Board (#CSRB), which had been investigating how #China's #SaltTyphoon hacked US government and telecommunications networks.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/02/senators_to_noem_reestablish_csrb/ -
#ChrisKrebs loses #GlobalEntry membership amid Trump feud
President's campaign continues against man he claims covered up evidence of electoral fraud in 2020 https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/01/chris_krebs_global_entry/
#CISA #ITSec -
#EFF Leads Prominent #Security Experts in Urging Trump Administration to Leave #ChrisKrebs Alone
Political Retribution for Telling the Truth Weakens the Entire #Infosec Community and Threatens Our #Democracy; Letter Remains Open for Further Sign-Ons
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-leads-prominent-security-experts-urging-trump-administration-leave-chris-krebs
#ITSecurity #ITSec #CISA -
The #babyboom in seven charts
Baby boom reshaped family life and drove population growth in many countries. In this article, we explore the key patterns in seven charts.
#Birthrates in #US had been falling in early twentieth century, and decline began to slow down at end of 920s. Then, in the late 1930s, they turned around and began to rise, and this continued during parts of World War II. At the end of the war, they surged, but this was part of a multi-decadal increase.
https://ourworldindata.org/baby-boom-seven-charts -
#Shopify #CEO says staffers need to prove #jobs can't be done by #AI before asking for more #headcount
Lutke also said there's a "fundamental expectation" across Shopify that employees embrace AI in their daily work, saying it has been a "multiplier" of productivity for those who have used it.
The company, which sells web-based software that helps online retailers manage sales and run their operations, will factor AI usage into #performancereviews, he added.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/07/shopify-ceo-prove-ai-cant-do-jobs-before-asking-for-more-headcount.html -
During confirmation hearings in the US Senate for the role of deputy director of the Dept of #HomelandSecurity, the nominee #TroyEdgar said #CISA has had the wrong management and needed to be "reined in."
Cyber Safety Review Board (#CSRB) had been probing #China's #SaltTyphoon campaign, in which telecommunication networks in America and beyond had been compromised by Beijing to snoop on potentially millions of people, though now CISA has taken over that role, Edgar said.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/26/dhs_cisa_doge/ -
#TSMC #Arizona Set to Begin #4nm Production in H2 #2025, Costs Expected To Be Up to 30% Higher Than In Taiwan
#TSMCArizona facility is reportedly set to initiate mass production of the 4nm process by H2 2025, with clients such as Apple, NVIDIA, AMD, and Qualcomm being the primary beneficiaries.
https://wccftech.com/tsmc-arizona-set-to-begin-4nm-production-in-h2-2025/ -
#DOE #LBNL Releases Report on #DataCenter #Electricity Demand
Report estimates data center load growth tripled over past decade and is projected to double or triple by 2028. Report finds #datacenters consumed about 4.4% of #US electricity in 2023 and are expected to consume approximately 6.7 to 12% by 2028. The report indicates that total data center electricity usage climbed from 58 TWh in 2014 to 176 TWh in 2023 and estimates an increase between 325 to 580 TWh by 2028.
https://insidehpc.com/2024/12/doe-releases-report-on-data-center-electricity-demand/ -
#Trump administration fires members of #cybersecurity review board in 'horribly shortsighted' decision
The #CSRB was made up of both private sector and government cybersecurity experts.
Another person familiar with the matter pointed out that “it’s interesting that the rationale is ‘misuse of resources’ because all advisory board members get an excitingly rich salary of…$0.”
https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/22/trump-administration-fires-members-of-cybersecurity-review-board-in-horribly-shortsighted-decision/ -
#TSMC's #Fab21 in #Arizona is gradually ramping up production, and recently it began to manufacture some of #AMD's #Ryzen 9000-series processors for client PCs as well as some ingredients of #Apple's S9 system-in-package (SiP) for smart watches and Apple's A16 Bionic system-on-chip for iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus smartphones
All of the said processors are made using TSMC's #4nm-class #N4 and #N4P technologies.
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/tsmc-arizona-allegedly-now-producing-amds-ryzen-9000-and-apples-s9-processors-report -
Why #US General In Charge of #NuclearWeapons Said He Needs #AI
“We are also developing #artificialintelligence or AI-enabled, human led, decision support tools to ensure our leaders are able to respond to complex, time sensitive scenarios,” #AirForce General Cotton said October 27. Cotton is the head of America’s Strategic Air Command (#STRATCOM), the portion of the U.S. #military that handles the country’s #nuclear #bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles (#ICBM).
https://www.404media.co/why-the-us-general-in-charge-of-nuclear-weapons-said-he-needs-ai/ -
#AMD crafts custom #EPYC #CPU with #HBM3 memory for #Microsoft #Azure – CPU with 88 #Zen4 cores and 450GB of HBM3 may be repurposed #MI300C, four chips hit 7TB/s
#HBv series of Azure #VM are focused on delivering high amounts of memory bandwidth; Microsoft calls it “biggest #HPC bottleneck.” Previously, Microsoft had used #MilanX and #GenoaX with AMD 3D #VCache to provide extra bandwidth, but for latest #HBv5 VMs, Microsoft clearly wanted something even more performant.
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/amd-crafts-custom-epyc-cpu-for-microsoft-azure-with-hbm3-memory-cpu-with-88-zen-4-cores-and-450gb-of-hbm3-may-be-repurposed-mi300c-four-chips-hit-7-tb-s -
#TSMCArizona achieves production yields similar to those at #TSMC fabs in #Taiwan, says report
#Fab21's #4nm chip mass production is due to begin in 2025
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/tsmc-arizona-achieves-production-yields-similar-to-those-at-its-fabs-in-taiwan-says-report #CHIPSAct