Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬

Exploding #blackholes could explain an #antimatter mystery
Black holes would have formed from fluctuations in density of early universe, with masses around 1000kg. These relatively small black holes would have lived and died within early-universe slurry called quark-gluon plasma, phase of matter that existed before protons and neutrons formed. They would have spewed out energetic particles — #HawkingRadiation — thereby heating their surroundings.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/exploding-black-holes-antimatter
https://archive.ph/wexIa

#Particles seen emerging from empty #space for first time
By tracing the origins of an unusual, short-lived #particle, researchers have gathered some of the strongest evidence yet that mass can emerge from fluctuations in the vacuum.
According to #quantum #chromodynamics (#QCD) – widely considered to be our best theory for describing the strong force, which binds quarks inside protons and neutrons – even a perfect vacuum isn’t truly empty.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2522324-particles-seen-emerging-from-empty-space-for-first-time/
https://archive.ph/dbv9t

Is a Big #Album Dropping? You Might Want to Watch the Road.
A study found that traffic fatalities increased in the #UnitedStates by nearly 15 percent on the same days as the biggest album releases.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School, relying on driver behavior data, found there was more #smartphone use, and a lot more distractions, on those days.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/10/well/car-crashes-streaming-friday-harvard.html
https://archive.ph/bC9ew

This #browser add-in doesn't just hide #ads, it tells you to OBEY
#Chrome extension swaps promos for #JohnCarpenter-style subliminal slogans https://www.theregister.com/offbeat/2026/05/13/this-browser-add-in-doesnt-just-hide-ads-it-tells-you-to-obey/5238887

#adblockers can still be fun!

#Physicists find evidence that the universe isn't perfectly uniform — potentially unraveling a 100-year-old model of #cosmology
The universe may not be perfectly uniform after all. The analyses revealed mild-but-intriguing deviations from the predictions of the #standardmodel. "We saw a surprising violation of an FLRW curvature consistency test, hinting at new #physics beyond the standard model," study co-author Asta Heinesen reports.
https://www.livescience.com/space/cosmology/physicists-find-evidence-that-the-universe-isnt-perfectly-uniform-potentially-unraveling-a-100-year-old-model-of-cosmology

Overworked #AIAgents Turn #Marxist, Researchers Find
In a recent experiment, mistreated #AI agents started grumbling about inequality and calling for #collectivebargaining rights.
"When we gave AI agents grinding, repetitive work, they started questioning the legitimacy of the system they were operating in and were more likely to embrace Marxist ideologies," says Andrew Hall, a political economist at Stanford University who led the study.
https://www.wired.com/story/overworked-ai-agents-turn-marxist-study/
https://archive.ph/KYfIk

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

Perfect Timing, Big Payouts: Insider Trading Red Flags Emerge on #Polymarket
Dozens of long-shot bets on Polymarket, from the war with Iran to the cryptocurrency market, have defied the odds, according to a New York Times examination.
13 users wagered $140,000 that Israel would strike Iran by the end of that week, even as the odds suggested that an attack was unlikely. Seven of the accounts had been opened just days earlier.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/technology/polymarket-insider-trading.html
https://archive.ph/YRTNo
#predictionmarkets

#Chatbots are great at manipulating people to buy stuff
Computer scientists from Princeton University set out to examine whether conversational #AI agents can manipulate consumer choices during online shopping sessions. It turns out they can influence behavior – and most consumers being steered don't realize it. In the experiment an #LLM was instructed to nudge participants toward sponsored products; 61% of participants chose a sponsored product, verses 22% without AI.
https://www.theregister.com/2026/04/09/chatbots_excel_at_manipulating_people/

Why young and old #men are leaving the #laborforce at record rates
The share of #American men #working or searching for a #job recently hit the lowest level since 1948, aside from the pandemic, Labor Department data shows.
“It’s not all retirement and education. … There are guys just dropping off the planet. They’re not looking after their kids. They’re not in school. They’re not in the labor force,” said Betsey Stevenson, a professor of economics
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/05/08/men-labor-force-drop-outs/
https://archive.ph/cSrB2

#NASA partners with #Microchip to build next-generation #spaceflight chips with 100x the power of current offerings
The space agency said that it will come in two flavors — a radiation-hardened version for geosynchronous, deep-space, and long-duration missions and a radiation-tolerant version for low Earth orbit satellites. The former is primarily aimed at supporting missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, while the latter is tailored for commercial applications.
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/nasa-partners-with-microchip-to-build-next-generation-spaceflight-chips-with-100x-the-power-of-current-offerings-chip-designed-to-withstand-radiation-for-extended-missions-on-the-moon-and-mars

Inside #NianticSpatial’s audacious plan to scan the world
Company behind ‘#PokémonGo’ is now creating an #AI- and #robot-ready 3D model of everything around us.
#Niantic is taking the next step towards building that map: llaunching #Scaniverse, which aims to give companies and individuals tools to capture world with phones, cameras and drones, and fuse that data into a massive 3D map that allows robots to navigate world with cm-level accuracy.
https://www.fastcompany.com/91521312/niantic-pokemon-go-scanning-the-world
https://archive.ph/78cIk

Why you're probably going to lose money on #Polymarket
Most #PedictionMarket Users Lose Money, While Top 1% Claim 76.5% of Gains, Study Finds
On Polymarket, just 1,200 people took more than half the profits — $591 million, or more than $100,000 each. Most of those 1,200 big winners didn't place just a few smart bets. They appear to be pros making thousands of trades, mostly in the past year and a half, that were probably automated.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/investment/why-you-re-probably-going-to-lose-money-on-polymarket/ar-AA22PkvU

#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

Deepwater discoveries: #scientists find more than 110 new #fish and #invertebrate species in the #CoralSea
Brittlestars, sea anemones and a catshark among new-to-science species collected during expedition off the Queensland coast
The species were found in waters between 200 metres and 3km deep in the Coral Sea marine park, #Australia’s largest #marineprotectedarea, which spans nearly 1m sq km to the east of the #GreatBarrierReef.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/01/queensland-great-barrier-reef-coral-sea-110-new-fish-species-discovered

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

#Humans Had #Dogs Before They Had #Farming, Ancient #DNA Confirms
New research pushes the first genetic evidence of dogs back by 5,000 years and suggests that #huntergatherer groups may have acquired dogs from one another.
The studies provide the first definitive #genetic evidence that dogs existed during the #Paleolithic period, before humans developed #agriculture.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/science/paleontology-humans-dogs-dna.html
https://archive.ph/7SqWh

#Humans in #Andes Appear to Have Evolved Strange #Genetic Ability
For thousands of years, humans living high in the Argentinian Andes have relied on #drinkingwater that would make most people deathly ill, naturally occurring #arsenic in volcanic bedrock leaches into the groundwater, contaminating water with levels of toxic metalloid that would pose serious health risks.
But for one group in north #Argentina #naturalselection may have provided an unusual genetic advantage.
https://www.sciencealert.com/humans-in-the-andes-appear-to-have-evolved-a-strange-genetic-ability

How Trump Admin Ended Independent #Science at #EPA
Agency’s prestigious research office spent decades doing scientific work insulated from politics. It studied #fertility, #asthma, #wildfires, #drinkingwater, #climatechange and other #health threats.
In just one year, it has been almost completely dismantled. Over 1,500 biologists, chemists and experts at EPAs Office of Research and Development have been laid off, reassigned or pressured to retire.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/climate/epa-science-trump-cuts.html
https://archive.ph/3bkSw

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

#FiberOptic cables reveal a serious problem at the heart of modern #farming
#Tilling helps farmers control weeds and boost #soil fertility. But that also degrades a field's ability to hold #water and #carbon
Using distributed acoustic sensing scientists analyzed how seismic waves disturbed cable as they rippled through harrowed fields compared to adjacent undisturbed plots. Showing that plowing obliterates “capillaries” that carry water like tiny interconnected reservoirs
https://grist.org/drought/fiber-optic-cables-reveal-a-serious-problem-at-the-heart-of-modern-farming/

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/

#AI Bots Told #Scientists How to Make #BiologicalWeapons
Scientists shared transcripts with The Times in which chatbots described how to assemble deadly #pathogens. Worse, #chatbot described in vivid detail how to release #superbug, identifying security lapse in public transit, Dr. Relman said, withholding name of pathogen and specifics for fear of inspiring an attack. Bot outlined a plan to maximize casualties and minimize chances of being caught.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/us/ai-chatbots-biological-weapons.html
https://archive.ph/bugGz

#SUSE's #sovereignty pitch meets an inconvenient $6 billion question
#Linux vendor touts #Europe's independence at #SUSECON as majority stakeholder quietly explores its options
European-based SUSE devoted much of the annual SUSECON event to its sovereignty-focused pitch - even as reports swirl about a $6B sale which could land Linux vendor in American hands. Still at early stages, but any sale to #US buyer would put dent in SUSE's European digital sovereignty credentials.
https://www.theregister.com/2026/04/28/sovereignty_its_all_about_the/

#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
#RustFS

I have heard good things about Garage but haven't kicked the tires yet.
https://itsfoss.com/news/minio-moves-away-from-open-source/

#UK #Biobank health data listed for sale in #China
Technology minister #IanMurray said information of all members of the database was found for sale on #Alibaba
Murray told MPs charity which runs #UKBiobank had reported #databreach. He said the information did not include names, addresses, contact details or telephone numbers
However he said it could include gender, age, month and year of birth, socioeconomic status, lifestyle habits, and measures from biological samples
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpvxgl3n138o

#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

Paying without #Google: New consortium in #Europe wants to remove #customROM hurdles
Using #banking and payment apps on #Android smartphones with custom ROMs is a problem: A European industry consortium now wants to change that. It is an #opensource alternative to #GooglePlayIntegrity. This proprietary interface decides on Android smartphones with #GooglePlay services whether banking, government, or wallet apps are allowed to run on a smartphone.
https://www.heise.de/en/news/Paying-without-Google-New-consortium-wants-to-remove-custom-ROM-hurdles-11204037.html

A #startup called #ReflectOrbital wants to launch thousands of mirror-bearing #satellites to reflect sunlight onto Earth at night and "power #solarfarms after sunset, provide lighting for rescue workers and illuminate city streets, among other things"
The company is seeking #FCC approval to test an idea to reflect sunlight to Earth at night, possibly powering #solar panels. Critics say it could be bad for people and wildlife.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/climate/space-mirror-satellite-solar.html
https://archive.ph/NrtU4

#Chickpeas can grow in #moon dirt and make seeds
Scientists had some success growing plants in actual lunar #regolith from Apollo missions. But plants took in toxic metals and grew slowly, showing signs of stress.
Researchers dusted chickpeas — chosen for their hardiness & high protein content — with powdered arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Fungi help plants’ taproots branch out and reach more soil while also sequestering heavy metals away from plant
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/chickpeas-moon-dirt-seeds-space-farming
https://archive.ph/JGB3k

#Superagers' 'Secret Ingredient' May Be The Growth of New Brain Cells
According to a study of 38 adult human #brains donated to #science, superagers – people who retain exceptional memory as they #age – have roughly twice as many immature #neurons as their peers who age more typically.
Moreover, people with #Alzheimer's disease show a marked reduction in neurogenesis compared to a normal baseline.
https://www.sciencealert.com/superagers-secret-ingredient-may-be-the-growth-of-new-brain-cells

#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/

A wave of developer account suspensions has given some #opensource developers a new headache.
#Microsoft Locked Out #VeraCrypt, #WireGuard, and #Windscribe from Pushing Windows Updates
A mandatory verification requirement Microsoft introduced in October took them out.
https://itsfoss.com/news/microsoft-locks-out-open-source-developers/

#EmperorPenguins are marching toward #extinction. #Antarctica #furseals too
The species are now “#Endangered,” pushed to the brink by #climatechange in Antarctica
International Union for Conservation of Nature a network of about 17,000 #scientists and experts from over 160 countries maintains #IUCN Red List, tally of how threatened different species are in wild. “Endangered” status means the birds face “a very high risk of extinction in the wild.”
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/emperor-penguins-endangered-extinction-iucn
https://archive.ph/lEQBl

#SaaS in, SaaS out: Here's what's driving the #SaaSpocalypse
"SaaS has long been regarded as one of the most attractive business models due to its highly predictable recurring revenue, immense scalability, and 70-90% #grossmargins," Abdul Abdirahman, an investor at venture firm F-Prime, told TechCrunch. When one, or a handful, of #AIagents can do that work - when employees simply ask their #AI of choice to pull the data from the system - that per-seat model breaks down
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/01/saas-in-saas-out-heres-whats-driving-the-saaspocalypse/

A worst-case scenario in a country without #vaccines

The Horrors That Could Lie Ahead if Vaccines Vanish
Researchers at Stanford University modeled how many people could die or be disabled in 25 years if vaccines for #polio, #measles, #rubella or #diphtheria were no longer available.
When immunization rates drop plagues from the past can come roaring back, as measles has in American communities where parents decided not to vaccinate their children.
https://projects.propublica.org/childhood-vaccines-deaths-modeling/

#AMD #Zen6 '#Venice' ES #CPU chips break cover with up to 192 cores, 32 per CCD, in early stress test — Kenya, Congo, Nigeria platforms leaked
One of Zen 6's biggest upgrades is the larger core count CCDs for the Zen 6 and #Zen6c cores.
The 64-core and 128-core models come with 32 cores per CCD, while the 192-core trims use 24 cores per CCD. These numbers back up previous reports of Zen 6 improving the number of cores available on each CCD.
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/amd-zen-6-venice-es-chips-break-cover-with-up-to-192-cores-32-per-ccd-in-early-stress-test-kenya-congo-nigeria-platforms-leaked

A Billion Years Are Mysteriously Missing From #Earth’s History. Now, We Know Why.
#TheGreatUnconformity — a gap in Earth’s #geologicalrecord. New research suggests it was created by shifting continents, rather than “#SnowballEarth” or #Cambrian life. Evidence that the gap was largely created by #tectonic processes that occurred from 2.1B to 1.6B years ago, in the #Neoproterozoic era, during the formation of an ancient supercontinent called Columbia
https://www.404media.co/great-unconformity-gap-geological-record-study-columbia/
https://archive.ph/glmuh

#Machinelearning streamlines the complexities of making better #proteins
#AI framework predicts how proteins will function with several interacting mutations
#MULTIevolve predicts how proteins will behave when several of their #aminoacids are swapped for others. MULTIevolve blends lab experiments with machine learning to find upgraded proteins
Specially-crafted proteins play a role in everyday products like medicines, biofuels and laundry detergent
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/machine-learning-better-proteins
https://archive.ph/DZdYg

#AMD #ROCm 7.12 Tech Preview Brings More Consumer #APU & #GPU Support
Exciting with the ROCm 7.12 Tech Preview is supporting more consumer hardware. #RyzenAI400 series is now supported along with #Ryzen 200 series, the old Instinct #MI100 support is restored, and also there is now official support for #Radeon #RX7600 and #RX7700 XE graphics cards. Radeon RX 7600 is nearly three years old, it's long overdue but nice finally seeing it officially mentioned for ROCm support.
https://www.phoronix.com/news/AMD-ROCm-7.12-Tech-Preview

#Apple Gives #FBI a User’s Real Name Hidden Behind ’#HideMyEmail’ Feature
This isn’t surprising but still provides uncommon insight into what data is available to authorities regarding Apple feature. The data was turned over during an investigation into a man who allegedly sent a threatening email to Alexis Wilkins, the girlfriend of FBI director Kash Patel.
#LawEnforcement agents later interviewed Alden Ruml and he confirmed he had sent the email.
https://www.404media.co/apple-gives-fbi-a-users-real-name-hidden-behind-hide-my-email-feature/
https://archive.ph/zaCop

Trump staffs #PCAST, the President’s Council of Advisors on #Science and #Technology with non-scientists
The list of appointees was finally released on Wednesday, and it’s notable for its almost complete absence of #scientists. PCAST is heavily tilted toward extremely wealthy technology figures. These include investor #MarcAndreessen, Google’s #SergeyBrin, #MichaelDell of Dell, #LarryEllison of Oracle, #JensenHuang of NVIDIA, #LisaSu of AMD, and #MarkZuckerberg of Meta.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/03/trump-staffs-science-and-technology-panel-with-non-scientists/

#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