OpenAI announced a breakthrough achievement for its new o3 AI modelRokas Tenys / AlamyOpenAIs new o3 artificial intelligence model has achieved a breakthrough high score on a prestigious AI reasoning test called the ARC Challenge, inspiring some AI fans to speculate that o3 has achieved artificial general intelligence (AGI). But even as ARC Challenge organisers described o3s achievement as a major milestone, they also cautioned that it has not won the competitions grand prize and it is only one step on the path towards AGI, a term for hypothetical future AI with human-like intelligence.The o3 model is the latest in a line of AI releases that follow on from the large language models powering ChatGPT. This is a surprising and important step-function increase in AI capabilities, showing novel task adaptation ability never seen before in the GPT-family models, said Franois Chollet, an engineer at Google and the main creator of the ARC Challenge, in a blog post. AdvertisementWhat did OpenAIs o3 model actually do?Chollet designed the Abstraction and Reasoning Corpus (ARC) Challenge in 2019 to test how well AIs can find correct patterns linking pairs of coloured grids. Such visual puzzles are intended to make AIs demonstrate a form of general intelligence with basic reasoning capabilities. But throwing enough computing power at the puzzles could let even a non-reasoning program simply solve them through brute force. To prevent this, the competition also requires official score submissions to meet certain limits on computing power.OpenAIs newly announced o3 model which is scheduled for release in early 2025 achieved its official breakthrough score of 75.7 per cent on the ARC Challenges semi-private test, which is used for ranking competitors on a public leaderboard. The computing cost of its achievement was approximately $20 for each visual puzzle task, meeting the competitions limit of less than $10,000 total. However, the harder private test that is used to determine grand prize winners has an even more stringent computing power limit, equivalent to spending just 10 cents on each task, which OpenAI did not meet.The o3 model also achieved an unofficial score of 87.5 per cent by applying approximately 172 times more computing power than it did on the official score. For comparison, the typical human score is 84 per cent, and an 85 per cent score is enough to win the ARC Challenges $600,000 grand prize if the model can also keep its computing costs within the required limits. The latest science news delivered to your inbox, every day.Sign up to newsletterBut to reach its unofficial score, o3s cost soared to thousands of dollars spent solving each task. OpenAI requested that the challenge organisers not publish the exact computing costs.Does this o3 achievement show that AGI has been reached?No, the ARC challenge organisers have specifically said they do not consider beating this competition benchmark to be an indicator of having achieved AGI.The o3 model also failed to solve more than 100 visual puzzle tasks, even when OpenAI applied a very large amount of computing power toward the unofficial score, said Mike Knoop, an ARC Challenge organiser at software company Zapier, in a social media post on X.In a social media post on Bluesky, Melanie Mitchell at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico said the following about o3s progress on the ARC benchmark: I think solving these tasks by brute-force compute defeats the original purpose.While the new model is very impressive and represents a big milestone on the way towards AGI, I dont believe this is AGI theres still a fair number of very easy [ARC Challenge] tasks that o3 cant solve, said Chollet in another X post.However, Chollet described how we might know when human-level intelligence has been demonstrated by some form of AGI. Youll know AGI is here when the exercise of creating tasks that are easy for regular humans but hard for AI becomes simply impossible, he said in the blog post.Thomas Dietterich at Oregon State University suggests another way to recognise AGI. Those architectures claim to include all of the functional components required for human cognition, he says. By this measure, the commercial AI systems are missing episodic memory, planning, logical reasoning and, most importantly, meta-cognition.So what does o3s high score really mean?The o3 models high score comes as the tech industry and AI researchers have been reckoning with a slower pace of progress in the latest AI models for 2024, compared with the initial explosive developments of 2023.Although it did not win the ARC Challenge, o3s high score indicates that AI models could beat the competition benchmark in the near future. Beyond its unofficial high score, Chollet says many official low-compute submissions have already scored above 81 per cent on the private evaluation test set.Dietterich also thinks that this is a very impressive leap in performance. However, he cautions that, without knowing more about how OpenAIs o1 and o3 models work, it is impossible to evaluate just how impressive the high score is. For instance, if o3 was able to practise the ARC problems in advance, then that would make its achievement easier. We will need to await an open-source replication to understand the full significance of this, says Dietterich.The ARC Challenge organisers are already looking to launch a second and more difficult set of benchmark tests sometime in 2025. They will also keep the ARC Prize 2025 challenge running until someone achieves the grand prize and open-sources their solution.Topics:

Could we build a secure quantum internet with the cables we already use?Shutterstock/Connect worldCaught in a traffic jam with the internet, quantum teleportation persists. An experiment demonstrating that the two can share an optical fibre may point towards an easier way to build an unhackable quantum internet.For many years, Ive had the thought of how can we share quantum information over the same fibres that carry classical communication signals? says Prem Kumar at Northwestern University in Illinois. Now, he and

TikTok is a video-sharing social media platformAnatolii Babii / AlamyA US law banning the popular video-sharing app TikTok is set to take effect at the start of 2025 but the US Supreme Court has agreed to hear TikToks legal challenge to this. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump has hinted he might take action against the law, raising new questions about whether it will stand.What would the TikTok ban actually do?Starting on 19 January 2025, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act would block US companies such as Google and Apple from allowing users to access or update TikTok through their app stores unless TikToks Chinese owner ByteDance sells the app to a US company. It would also require internet service providers to block the platform on US internet browsers. It was approved with bipartisan support by the House of Representatives and Senate before being signed into law by President Joe Biden in April 2024.If the ban is implemented, it would be practically impossible for new users in the US to download the TikTok app, says Kate Ruane at the Center for Democracy & Technology, a non-profit organisation based in Washington DC. For the 170 million existing TikTok users in the US, the app might remain on their phones. Without access to updates, however, its functionality would degrade over time.AdvertisementPeople in the US could still potentially access TikTok using a virtual private network (VPN) service that disguises a users location. But the experience of using the app could still worsen, says Ruane: because TikTok content would no longer be housed on nearby US servers, it would load more slowly.These restrictions stem from concerns about privacy and security. US lawmakers have stated that TikTok is a national security threat because Chinas government could force ByteDance to hand over TikTok users data or pressure the app to modify its algorithm, presenting content that could manipulate public opinion. However, no firm evidence has been provided to support these claims. TikTok has said it has invested heavily to keep US data safefrom outside influence and manipulation. Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox.Sign up to newsletterIts very concerning that a country like the United States, which has consistently led on the global stage in defending the free, open and interoperable internet, is now taking a step to ban access to an entire platform within its borders that is an extraordinary measure, says Ruane.Will the Supreme Court block the TikTok ban?Although judges in the lower DC Circuit Court of Appeals previously allowed the US law to stand, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear TikToks appeal. TikToks position is that the ban amounts to censorship that violates the free speech rights afforded to Americans under the US Constitutions First Amendment.I would like to see the court really grapple with how this law harms those rights, and how the government should account for the rights of social media users when it is attempting to regulate these speech platforms, says Ruane. The courts have not done that in the course of examining this particular law, even though there are users who are suing, claiming that the law violates their First Amendment rights, as distinct from TikTok.The most likely short-term impact is that the US Supreme Court will temporarily suspend implementation of the law while the justices are considering the case, says Ruane. That could delay the laws effects for months however long the Supreme Court requires to make its decision in 2025. TikTok has specifically asked for such a hiatus in its court filing.If the Supreme Court finds that the ban infringes First Amendment rights, and that the US government has less restrictive options at its disposal, it could issue an injunction that effectively makes it impossible for the government to justify such an outright ban, says Ruane. The Supreme Court may also require the lower DC Circuit Court of Appeals to reexamine its analysis of the case. Such decisions could force the government to find more narrowly tailored options for regulating TikTok.How could Trump prevent the TikTok ban?In his first term, President-elect Trump supported plans to ban TikTok, but he has since changed his stance. During the 2024 presidential campaign, he promised to save TikTok in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, as he encouraged US voters to back him. On 16 December, Trump met the CEO of TikTok and later, during a press conference, said his administration would take a look at the ban. Even if the Supreme Court eventually agrees to let the ban stand, Trump could change the impact of the law.For example, the president could go back to US lawmakers and ask them to change the national law by repealing or amending it, says Ruane. She also described a scenario where Trump could potentially direct his administrations US attorney general to not enforce the law although she cautioned that would be outside the norms of how the US government has typically operated.Even if Trumps attorney general announced that the US government wouldnt enforce the ban, US companies such as Google and Apple might still be reluctant to allow people to access the app through their platforms. If I am in charge of legal risk at one of these companies, I dont know whether I would say were going to trust that [decision], its fine for us to allow access to this app that has been banned, says Ruane.What would a US TikTok ban mean for the rest of the world?If it goes through, the US ban could have significant ripple effects across the world. For starters, people in other countries would no longer have access to new content from US-based TikTok creators and influencers. But more crucially, the US governments actions could encourage other countries eying similar restrictions.The US isnt the first nation to act against TikTok Indias government has blocked the app since 2020 but Ruane expressed concerns that a US ban could encourage authoritarian regimes to bar any app, including some developed in the US, by invoking similar national security justifications.I think it absolutely will be used as a justification for banning TikTok elsewhere, but also for banning access to other applications which have served as important speech platforms in countries where the internet might not otherwise be as open, says Ruane.Would the TikTok ban protect privacy?The ostensible goal of the ban is to protect the privacy of US TikTok users preventing their data from falling into the hands of another nation and to address concerns that Chinas government could manipulate content presented to app users in the US. But Ruane says there are many alternative actions US lawmakers could take before blocking TikTok entirely.For instance, the government could require TikTok to be more transparent about how it gathers and shares individual users data, and what measures it takes to protect their privacy. To alleviate concerns of manipulation, lawmakers might require the platform to share how its algorithms filter and manage the content that users see, says Ruane.The US government could also consider passing a consumer privacy law to provide better legal protections for how social media platforms can share individuals data with other companies or governments. Those options regarding consumer privacy and transparency are less extreme than banning an entire platform, says Ruane.Topics:

Particles in ship exhaust inadvertently cause cloud brightening some geoengineering projects would try to recreate this effectNASAs Earth ObervatoryHow would the world react if one country launched a solar geoengineering project to cool the planet without the permission of others? Would the sky change colour based on the type of particles injected into the upper atmosphere? Even if global average temperatures cooled in response, how would rainfall change over Africa? These are just some of the questions about solar geoengineering scientists grappled with at a December meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Washington DC, and they

The orange fur on the underside of Nepenthes pongoides leaves is why the pitcher plant was named after orangutansAlviana DamitA newly described species of pitcher plant, one of the largest and furriest ever found, has been identified on a wild mountain in Borneo, Malaysia.The underside of the leaves of Nepenthes pongoides are covered in thick, rust-coloured fur, inspiring the team who found the plant in May 2023 to name it after the local Borneo orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) who share the Meliau range in central Sabah. AdvertisementAdmittedly its not quite as hairy as an orangutan, its more like a really hairy-chested man, says Alastair Robinson at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. But the colour is almost the same as orangutan fur.He is proposing that the plants have the common name of orangutan pitcher plants. Robinson and his colleagues found just 39 plants over two expeditions, making it extremely vulnerable to extinction if it isnt protected from poaching by collectors.Robinson says even before they reached the site, there was evidence that poachers had been into the area and stolen specimens because plants had been posted online for sale. Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month.Sign up to newsletterNepenthes is a genus of carnivorous pitcher plants, found throughout the tropics of South-East Asia and in parts of the Pacific, comprising over 160 species. They are highly sought after by the black-market horticultural industry because their leaves form spectacular containers of water. In the wild, animals fall into these pitchers and drown before being consumed by digestive enzymes produced by the plants.Robinson says the mountain is essentially a pile of boulders so there is no running water above 300 metres, which means the pitcher plants are often the only source of water for local wildlife.Their pitchers can reach lengths of 45 centimetres and hold well over 2 litres of water. They are like a little ecosystem of their own, says Robinson.The new species had first been photographed in 2004, but was misidentified as a known variety. I have been studying Nepenthes in Borneo for years and this particular species is the hairiest I have ever encountered, says team member Alviana Damit at the Forest Research Centre in Sandakan, Malaysia. Naming it after the orangutan is a perfect tribute.Journal referenceAustralian Journal of Botany DOI: 10.1071/BT24050Topics:plants/endangered species

Small website owners say they may be forced to shut downPortra/Getty ImagesThe UKs new Online Safety Act may result in hundreds of community websites and forums being permanently shut down, as site administrators say they fear the law imposes onerous obligations and exposes them to potential million-pound fines.We fall firmly into scope, and I have no way to dodge it, says Dee Kitchen, who runs the cycling forum LFGSS for its 70,000 members. The Act is too broad.The Online Safety Act

NASAs Ingenuity helicopter on Mars, snapped by the Perseverance roverNASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSSA little helicopter finally met its end this year. NASAs Ingenuity drone made its 72nd and final flight on Mars in January, damaging one of its rotors on landing, concluding one of the most unusual space exploration experiments in recent decades.Having reached the surface of Mars on the Perseverance rover in 2021, the drone flew missions autonomously because the long delay in radio transmissions between Earth and Mars made direct control impossible.

Transmission electron micrograph of parts of the norovirus pathogenBSIP SA/AlamyA global international trial of an mRNA vaccine against norovirus is getting underway with the aim of reducing the health burden caused by the infamous winter vomiting bug. The trial has been complicated by the emergence of a new norovirus strain that is causing soaring numbers of cases in parts of the world, including England.Unfortunately, one of the strains which is most prevalent isnt in that jab, says Patrick Moore at the UKs National Institute for Health and Care Research, who is leading the UK branch of the trial. The high cases are probably

Is your favourite sci-fi short story in this list?Sometimes youre in the mood for a slice of science fiction but you havent got the time to embark on a Red Mars or a Dune. All hail, then, the sci-fi short story, bringing you a slice of the weird, the mind-expanding and the futuristic in pocket-sized format.Did you know thatHugo Gernsback, after whom science fictions biggest awards, the Hugos, are named, came up with the term science fiction (or scientifiction as he had it) as he launched the first edition of his sci-fi story magazine Amazing Stories, in 1926? By scientifiction I mean the Jules Verne, H G Wells and Edgar Allan Poe type of story a charming romance intermingled with scientific fact and prophetic vision, he wrote. Not only do these amazing tales make tremendously interesting reading they are also always instructive.Perhaps the stories in the selection below arent always instructive. They certainly arent comprehensive. But, chosen by New Scientist staff as their own personal favourites and arranged in order of publication, they are definitely a good read. Enjoy reconnecting with the ones you already know, dive into those you dont and tell us what weve missed on our Facebook page. We have provided links where these stories have been made available to read online.AdvertisementThe Time Machine by H. G. Wells (1895)Wellss Time Traveller tells us the story of his visit to the far future (the year Eight Hundred and Two Thousand Seven Hundred and One, A.D.), when the world is in a condition of ruinous splendour, peopled by the Eloi and the Morlocks. What has really stayed with me from the classic sci-fi novella, though, was his journey even further forward in time, to a terrifying future vision. I cannot convey the sense of abominable desolation that hung over the world. The red eastern sky, the northward blackness, the salt Dead Sea, the stony beach crawling with these foul, slow-stirring monsters, the uniform poisonous-looking green of the lichenous plants, the thin air that hurts ones lungs: all contributed to an appalling effect. So evocative and brilliant, this was published in 1895 (note the plentiful Trump-esque capitals) and is one of the earliest pieces of science fiction, says Britannica. Alison FloodThe Machine Stops by E. M. Forster (1909)Within the massive apparatus in E. M. Forsters take on the smart home, each individual lives in an underground room that meets all their physical needs and communicates with other humans via a technology akin to video calls. Most characters are perfectly happy to live out their days in isolation, although some insist on travelling through the hostile environment outside in order to meet face to face. Eventually, the first perspective wins out. But when the machine finally breaks down, its cosseted inhabitants face the end of the world.More than a hundred years after this story was first published, it feels incredibly prescient. In 2020, I sat in my apartment in front of a glowing computer screen, my friends and coworkers reduced to rectangles in a videoconference app, and I felt the walls of the machine surround me. I felt them again last year, when the air was so tainted with wildfire smoke that the horizon turned orange and any New Yorker who was able retreated indoors once again. As Forster predicted, the machine can be comforting in the face of an unsafe world and at the same time, its so stifling that it makes us long for even scraps of the open sky. Sophie BushwickNightfall by Isaac Asimov (1941)This fun and absorbing early story from Isaac Asimov is almost as if H. P. Lovecraft had ventured into science fiction, creating astronomy-based cosmic horror. It is a searing study of how humans react in the face of the unknown. Imagine a world lit by six stars, having them near enough that you are always bathed in light from at least one of these celestial orbs, making daylight an unassailable constant for more than two thousand years. This luminance is so much relied on that no one has ever needed to invent artificial lights. And then, in a rare astronomical event, the lights go out, and the eclipse lasts not a few minutes, but half a day. Yes, it would be darkness, but not darkness as we know it, which can be scary and full of the unknown. This is darkness for a civilisation that has never seen a night, that has never had to find a candle or torch during a power cut, or traverse a city park after dark, not knowing what threats might be hiding in the shadows. It is a story that compels you to make the intellectual leap to understand what life on another world might really be like and it is well worth reading for that exercise alone. Chris SimmsThe Lottery by Shirley Jackson (1948)Shirley Jackson is author of one of the scariest novels in the world (The Haunting of Hill House) and one of the most brilliantly unsettling (We Have Always Lived in the Castle). So it is only to be expected that she would also be the author of one of the most quietly disturbing speculative short stories ever written, The Lottery. It takes place in a nondescript rural village, where the locals are gathering for the lottery. It sounds like its going to be fun. Kids are collecting stones. Everyone knows what is going to happen; they dont think much of neighbouring villages who have got rid of their lotteries (Listening to the young folks, nothings good enough for them. Next thing you know, theyll be wanting to go back to living in caves). But a trickle of unease begins to spread, as the lottery draw looms nearer. If you dont know what the twist is, I wont spoil it, but I just read this again and I still feel a little shaky. Jackson is a stone-cold genius. Alison FloodThere Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury (1950)Theres a reason the smart home is a staple of science fiction (see my other pick, E. M. Forsters The Machine Stops, above). Who wouldnt dream of a house that doesnt merely protect you from the elements, but also caters to your every need? The smart home offers the luxury of having servants, without requiring any pesky interactions with other people. But once you remove the humans who serve from the domestic sphere, you start to wonder what would happen if you also eliminated the ones who are served. Thats the scenario that plays out in Ray Bradburys creepy, beautiful There Will Come Soft Rains. This story tracks the activity of a smart home devoid of its inhabitants. Still, the reader can figure out what must have been the rhythms of their daily lives, their taste in poetry and even the fate that befell them by observing the homes layout, decor and its ongoing automated processes. Without humans in the loop, however, the dwelling is revealed as a sterile, heartless place that destroys the lone living creature that enters and eventually devours itself. Sophie BushwickRay BradburySophie Bassouls / Sygma via Getty ImagesThe Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury (1951)If a dystopian story where cars dominate cities, people spend sedentary evenings gazing at screens and AI-powered police robots fail to grasp human motivations was published today it may come across as over-egged. But Bradburys The Pedestrian is 73 years old.Its protagonist, Leonard Mead, is hauled away to an institution by a driverless police car that cant fathom why hed be strolling at night with no purpose. The incident is mentioned in Bradburys later novel Fahrenheit 451, suggesting that they inhabit the same world, and the idea reportedly came to him when he was interrogated by police for walking in Los Angeles in 1949.Things dont get much more dystopian than reframing a post-dinner stroll as a rebellious act, but the story has valuable messages about the society we have since constructed that is increasingly difficult to navigate without technology and how we maintain humanity in the face of progress. And the unflinching AI that refuses to accept Meads explanation should give us all pause for thought as we entrench large language models into every aspect of our lives. Matthew SparkesThe Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C. Clarke (1953)This 1953 story from Clarke starts gloriously whimsically it is the first time, we learn, that anyones been asked to supply a Tibetan monastery with an Automatic Sequence Computer (they probably all have them these days). The monks want the computer to aid them in their quest to complete a list containing all possible names of God. What would have taken us fifteen thousand years it will be able to do in a hundred days. The engineers roll their eyes and comply but what will happen when if the computer fulfils its task? Short, clever and deliciously unsettling as it ends. Alison FloodAll You Zombies by Robert Heinlein (1958)Before stories such as Dark, Looper, Back to the Future and Doctor Who, Robert Heinlein delivered one of the most memorable time travel paradoxes ever conceived in his 1958 short story All You Zombies. But dont be fooled by the title there are no shambling hordes of the walking dead to be found. Instead, the story begins with a bartender serving up shots to a customer while coaxing the latter into sharing their personal circumstances and incredible life story. It is a standard storytelling scene with a twist that is telegraphed in the opening paragraph, because the bartender is actually a temporal agent recruiting the customer to join a shadowy organisation that manipulates the timeline through time travel. Before long, the conversation takes some unexpected but increasingly personal turns for both people. Heinlein supposedly wrote All You Zombies in a single day and you can read it within half an hour but dont be surprised if the story slithers into your subconscious and nests in its coils there for years to come. Jeremy HsuCliff Robertson in Charly, a 1968 adaptation of Flowers for AlgernonAlamy Stock PhotoFlowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (1959)Every so often, you come across a story that has such a simple yet brilliant idea that you wonder why no one else thought of it before. Flowers for Algernon charts the progress of Charlie Gordon, a man with an IQ of 68, who is given the same surgical treatment as Algernon, a lab mouse that has had its intellect tripled. Charlies rise in intellect is brilliantly portrayed through the standard of his diary entries. But alongside his intellectual development come painful and cruel realisations as Charlie begins to see people around him for what they really are. And then Algernon starts to decline. Will the same happen to Charlie? I read the award-winning novel version of this poignant and moving tale before I found the original short story it was expanded from, which itself won the 1960 Hugo Award for Best Short Story. If anything, the short version is better subtly taking you through sympathy, pity, outrage and sadness. Like all the best science fiction, although based in science, it is actually about the human condition. It puts a critical lens on how people judge others and makes you question what it means to fit in and whether intelligence and knowledge are more important than happiness. Chris Simms2 B R 0 2 Bby Kurt Vonnegut (1962)Vonneguts story is set in a world where old age has been conquered, and where there are strict population controls. If you want to have a baby, someone has to volunteer to die, by calling the telephone number of the municipal gas chambers of the Federal Bureau of Termination. Its 2 B R 0 2 B. (Try saying it the 0 is nought.) We are following the choices of a soon-to-be-father of triplets, as a doctor tells him he needs to line up three deaths if his kids are to survive. In the year 2000, said Dr. Hitz, before scientists stepped in and laid down the law, there wasnt even enough drinking water to go around, and nothing to eat but sea-weedand still people insisted on their right to reproduce like jackrabbits. And their right, if possible, to live forever. Written in 1962, it still feels very timely these days. Alison FloodWe Can Remember It for You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick (1966)If you ever daydream of escaping your mundane job and seeing something incredible, you might well empathise with Douglas Quail, who wakes up every morning wanting to see the wonders of another world. It might be an unobtainable dream for a low-earning clerk, but he wants to do what the rich and powerful can do and visit Mars. Why he yearns so strongly for it is a mystery that is slowly unveiled in this rollercoaster 19-page short story that inspired the two Total Recall films, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Colin Farrell, respectively. The ideas are the same, but dont expect the same plot. Its an inventive, irreverent ride, delving into wish fulfilment and reality and scattered with more than a soupon of humour. There is a rich vein of paranoia running through the tale as you realise that memories and thus reality arent to be trusted. And like the central red pill/blue pill dilemma of The Matrix, it leaves you realising we all have a choice to make: is it better to strive and fight for a dream, to make yourself matter, or to bob along as a salaried employee inside a world that somehow doesnt feel real, but is at least comfortable? Douglas Quail has to make that choice and so do you. Chris SimmsWhen It Changed by Joanna Russ (1972)A contemporary of Ursula K. Le Guin, Joanna Russ was one of the preeminent writers in the second-wave feminism era of science fiction. Her stories explored womens lives with an edge of anger that Russ owned to, proudly, in her conversations with other writers. When it Changed is a perfect, self-contained slice of that anger, laid out against the backdrop of an already-lost utopia. It takes place on a planetary colony called Whileaway, where two women named Janet and Katy live a happy married life. Thanks to a revolutionary technology that merges two ova into a single embryo, they have three daughters that are descended from them both. Katy is a talented machinist, while Janet alludes to a history of combat and necessary violence. Janet narrates as the pair joins the rest of their community in welcoming visitors from their long-forgotten homeland men.It turns out these are the first men on Whileaway seen since a plague killed the colonys entire male population generations earlier. It was a catastrophe the surviving women adapted to, even while mourning the lost. But what will happen as men from Earth, now suffering its own catastrophes, rediscover this planet? Theres not much to say of plot: this story spans a single afternoon, just a handful of conversations that slip back and forth across lines of power and feeling. Yet you know, by the end of it, that what you have witnessed is the beginning of a cataclysm. For whom, well, maybe you can guess. Christie TaylorUrsula K. Le GuinBeth Gwinn / Getty ImagesThe Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin (1973)It is the Festival of Summer in Omelas, and everyone is happy. Bells and birds, prancing horses and everywhere children cavort. Omelas is a city with red roofs and moss-grown gardens. It doesnt matter when in time we are, only that this place should be understood to be singular in the history of humanity. Because everyone, truly, is happy. Our narrator, positioned outside Omelas, speculates: perhaps in Omelas there might be technology the likes of which we could not understand. But definitely not cars, nor war. As they did without monarchy and slavery, so they also got on without the stock exchange, the advertisement, the secret police, and the bomb, writes Le Guin.The twist of this story is now famous I wont tell you. But even before we find the dark centre of this supposed utopia, the narrator is in conversation with you, the reader, as you look for a catch in all this rollicking joy. Surely the problem is that everyone is too happy, naive? Surely pain is the foundation of intellect? O miracle, the narrator responds, the citizens of Omelas are fully formed, mature and passionate adults. This distrust says more about the readers failure to imagine.Speculative fiction writers speak often about our need to dream up better worlds. But you are reminded, with Omelas, to question your imagination even as you nurture it. To find in every utopia someones dystopia. And to ask about those centred by this storys title: what exactly happens to those who walk away? Christie TaylorThe Screwfly Solution by Raccoona Sheldon (1977)Another of the feminist second wave, James Tiptree Jr. (writing here under the pen name Raccoona Sheldon) was in conversation with Russ and Le Guin literally, in fact, as the author corresponded in letters with both. Ten years into Tiptrees writing career, a determined fan discovered that Tiptree was in fact a woman named Alice Sheldon a former intelligence officer in the second world war and, later, an experimental psychologist. But even as Tiptree, Sheldon posed as a feminist man, whose works often touched on gender including another story about women learning to get along just fine when men are wiped off the face of the Earth.The Screwfly Solution is not that story (that story is Houston, Houston, Do You Read?). Instead, it is a series of letters: between a husband, Alan, and his wife, Anne, as Alan conducts research on parasitic flies far from their Michigan home. Meanwhile, an epidemic of violent misogyny is spreading with a strangely precise pattern will scientists discover the cause?Many things make this story great: the shifting narration, the assorted uselessness of journalism and research papers, the sinking dread as the end of the story approaches like a slow-moving but underailable train, even the entomological metaphor of the titles screwflies. But even more so, I think, is how timeless it remains. Even half a century later, the chill of reading it goes deep and lingers long. Christie TaylorSandkings by George R. R. Martin (1979)This slice of sci-fi horror from the author who is still writing The Winds of Winter (come on George!) opens as pet owner Kress goes out looking for a new animal. I want something exotic. Unusual. And not cute. I detest cute animals. At the moment I own a shambler. Imported from Cotho, at no mean expense. From time to time I feed him a litter of unwanted kittens. That is what I think of cute. Do I make myself understood? He ends up with a colony of sandkings, small, insectile alien creatures who share a hivemind and are fed by a maw that he keeps in his old piranha tank. Needless to say, things dont go to plan in this fun and disturbing tale. Alison FloodFire Watch by Connie Willis (1982)There is a popular what-if scenario of going back in time to assassinate Adolf Hitler before he can start the second world war. Connie Williss 1982 novelette Fire Watch takes a completely different tack by immediately plunging its time-travelling narrator into confusion as he appears in London during the Nazi German Luftwaffes bombing raids in 1940. The narrator is tasked with joining fellow volunteers in the seemingly Sisyphean task of putting out incendiary bombs on the roof of St Pauls Cathedral that threaten to burn down the hallowed landmark, even as he struggles with his real assignment of trying to figure out why his history professors have chosen to send him back to that harrowing period without adequate education or preparation. As an added complication, the narrator begins to suspect a fellow fire watch member of subversive wartime activities while he himself struggles to blend in and avoid blowing his cover with the locals. As the narrative follows a series of dated diary entries from the increasingly paranoid and exhausted narrator, Williss story shines by treating time travel as a tool used judiciously by historians to bear witness and deepen their understanding of humanity, rather than depicting it as a superpower for manipulating the past or future. Jeremy HsuBurning Chrome by William Gibson (1982)From the first line, It was hot, the night we burned Chrome, this story grabs you and drags you into cyberspace. William Gibsons vision of the future has always been stark. Its not a dreamily futuristic world of clean new technology, it is a perhaps more realistic mishmash of old and new, with hands-on people adapting to change by retrofitting and hacking devices together. Neon lights illuminate hard criminals and doomed love. In this fantastic story, we meet Bobby and Jack, two computer cowboys. Jack goes to buy the digital equivalent of a knife to help give them an advantage when hacking and comes home with a metaphorical neutron bomb. And it could change everything for them.Its a rollicking ride, and a great introduction to Gibsons Sprawl series, which established cyberpunk as a literary movement.That series kicks off with Neuromancer, still one of my favourite science fiction books ever. If you read Burning Chrome in Gibsons collection of short stories with the same name, you will also find two other Sprawl stories there, both worth reading and both of which have inspired films. In Johnny Mnemonic, you meet Molly Millions, the chillingly wonderful razorgirl or street samurai from Neuromancer, for the first time. She will have you wanting to don mirrorshades. And the other, New Rose Hotel, is a wonderful, high-tech, low-life tale of corporate espionage. All the Sprawl stories leave you with the nagging feeling that despite technology allowing people to connect so easily, people are still very much lonely, a dystopian outlook that TV shows like Black Mirror have more recently mined to great success. Chris SimmsBloodchild by Octavia E. Butler (1984)Octavia Butler is, in my opinion, one of the greatest science fiction writers (see my review of her novel Kindred here), but she didnt write many short stories. Those she did are excellent imaginative, thought-provoking and worth seeking out. My favourite is Bloodchild, which won the Nebula, Hugo and Locus awards and can be found in the book Bloodchild and Other Stories. A colony of humans have left Earth and now live on a planet inhabited by the Tlic. When the Tlic discovered that humans are the perfect host for their eggs, they let them stay on the proviso that each family provides a child to host Tlic eggs. This compelling story follows Gan as he works through his feelings and the reality about imminently becoming a host. There is a mixture of body horror Butler said she was partly inspired by the life cycle of a botfly love and tenderness, and I enjoyed the exploration of the idea of male pregnancy in an unexpected way. Bloodchild is a thoughtful look at relationships between species, and the pressures placed on young people to do what is in the best interests of their families. I think about it often. Eleanor ParsonsSwarm by Bruce Sterling (1982)I came across Bruce Sterlings short story Swarm after finishing his novel set in the same universe, Schismatrix. The short story appeared at the end of the novel and, craving more of Sterlings kaleidoscopic space society, I dived straight in. After just a few pages, I had this strange feeling of familiarity. A few pages later, it hit me. Swarm had been made into an episode of the Netflix show Love, Death and Robots of which I am a huge fan, and this episode was a particular favourite. The story is set in an alien nest located within an asteroid hurtling through space. The insect-like aliens live in a perfect society where the food is plentiful, the air is warm and everything works as it should. The human characters, Afriel and Mirny, attempt to steal the secrets of this utopia and use it for human purposes. However, their actions lead to the creation of a new insectoid alien designed for intelligence who is charged with preventing Afriel from exploiting the secrets of the swarm. This story has gore, philosophy, romance and aliens all rolled up into one. Read Swarm and then watch the Love, Death and Robots episode, or do it the other way around like me. Both would work. Finn GrantJason Winston George as Afriel and Rosario Dawson as Dr Mirny in a Love, Death & Robots episode adapted from Swarm 2022 Netflix, Inc.I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqeline Harpman (1995)The enigmatic dystopian novella I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqeline Harpman has haunted me since I finished it. It opens with 39 women and one girl who have been locked in a cage underground for an unknown number of years, closely watched by three guards at all times. None know how they got there. Then, one day, as the guards are delivering food, an alarm goes off and the guards run off in a panic, leaving a hatch unlocked. The women make their escape into well, I wont spoil it for you. The stark prose and use of repetition in the wrong hands would be dull, but Harpman uses them to great effect in this unsettling meditation on the meaning of life and community, hope and hopelessness and the effects of captivity. But be warned: if you like your fiction to be tied up in a neat bow, then this isnt one for you. Eleanor ParsonsCloud of Poems by Cixin Liu (1997)Better known as Cixin Liu may be for his groundbreaking novels like The Three-Body Problem the first translated novel to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel he has also written many rich and rewarding short stories. Cloud of Poems, which features in his To Hold Up the Sky collection, is probably my favourite of them. In some ways, it feels like a drug-induced trip, as it playfully combines the hard science of a hollowed-out Earth with debate between an all-powerful god, a measly human and a space-travelling dinosaur about the relative benefits of poetry and technology. Like many other stories by Liu, while being nested in futuristic technology and advanced science, it incites you to consider the relationship between art and technology and how they relate to humanity, all in a tale imbued with the rich cultural history of China. Chris SimmsThe Man Who Ended History: A Documentary by Ken Liu (2011)Many time travel stories explore the implications of manipulating past events to shape the future. Ken Liu chooses to illustrate how the act of merely bearing witness to past events can prove disruptive to governments and societies that selectively engage with history through preferred narratives. Lius story features an Asian-American couple that is determined to use an experimental physics breakthrough to help individuals witness the second world war atrocities committed by Unit 731 an Imperial Japanese Army unit that performed deadly experiments on thousands of primarily Chinese civilians and developed biological weapons used on thousands more. The storys documentary-style format swiftly presents a variety of both emotionally charged and apathetic reactions to the controversial proposal, while highlighting how government-backed narratives that flatter national pride often omit inconvenient truths and flatten the complexities of the past. This is not easy reading various perspectives recount in unsparing, clinical detail how Unit 731s medical personnel committed sexual assault and performed vivisections on living people without anaesthesia. But Lius story feels incredibly relevant in grappling with thorny questions of how both individual and collective understandings of history continue to shape our present-day world. Jeremy HsuWelcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience TM by Rebecca Roanhorse (2017)Rebecca Roanhorses short story won both the Nebula and Hugo short story awards, and it is easy to see why. I could feel my stomach twisting in knots, combined with a sense of subtle dreadas the Native American protagonist of the story is befriended, abused and then replaced by a White Wolf. The parallels with both the modern and historical Native American experience are obvious.Jesse Turnblatt (the protagonist) is a Native American pod jockey who works at a tourist centre that offers Indian virtual-reality experiences for Tourists. These experiences range from the depraved to the banal. Seemingly uninspired at work, Jesse breaks protocol and befriends one of his customers. What follows is a not-so-subtle critique of the appropriation of Native American culture and, in my eyes at least, the appropriation of Native American land by white European settlers over the past few centuries. It is written from the second-person perspective, making the funny parts feel funnier and the depressing parts devastating. Finn GrantAll Systems Red by Martha Wells (2017)This is the novella where we first meet Murderbot, the security cyborg chasing irritably after freedom, self-knowledge and spare time to binge-watch media not necessarily in that order. I wrote about this series for New Scientists round-up of our favourite science fiction, and All Systems Red introduces many elements also found in the other books, including technology that melds organic beings with inorganic parts (and vice versa), snarky narration and criticism of corporate power. But this novella is crucial because in it, for the first time, Murderbot makes friends or as it would probably put it, gains teammates who see it as a full person worthy of respect and independence. And then it kills its way across an alien planet to protect them. Sophie BushwickThe Ones Who Stay and Fight by N. K. Jemisin (2020)It is the Day of Good Birds in Um-Helat, and everyone is happy. Among the floating skyscrapers and mica-flecked walls, children frolic wearing hand-made wings.Yes, another utopia, in conversation with Le Guins, with similar cadence and telescopic view. Jemisin directly acknowledges Omelas, tick of a city, fat and happy. This is not that.If Omelas feels flat, a mass of smiling sameness, Um-Helat is a utopia of explicit difference. Special drones help children with mobility impairments enjoy the same play as their peers. You may be unhoused if you like, and sleep under well-swept bridges. If you dwell in delusions, society keeps you safe but still free. We have race, but not racism. This is not that barbaric America, Jemisin, a Black woman, writes.Where Le Guin urges us to consider whether joy can be wise, Jemisin holds court on whether human variety can be untroubled by hatred. You, the cynical reader, are brought in to insist that wealth requires poverty; health, illness; beauty, ugliness. Maybe you cant imagine a world without homophobia, or any of the many scarcities we deal in. Jemisins city offers evidence to the contrary.And then in this story too comes the pause, the yes, but. If you have already read Le Guins work, you are waiting for it. But you will still be surprised. You will be invited to consider, and feel deeply conflicted. But maybe, youll stay. Christie TaylorLena by qntm (2021)In my view, the perfect sci-fi short story must have one idea, done extremely well, while also hinting at the larger implications of that idea on a wider world. Lena by qntm does just that, telling the story of the first copy of a human brain uploaded to a computer, and the subsequent consequences, in under 2000 words. Written in the form of a Wikipedia article, it describes how the digital brain has been repeatedly copied and put to work and the horrifying lessons researchers have learned. While Lena was written in 2021, just before the current AI boom, the methods needed to cajole the brain into working are strangely reminiscent of the prompts used to manipulate large language models like the one behind ChatGPT, though euphemisms like red motivation conceal a much darker reality. Even the storys title is masterfully chosen, named for a picture of Swedish model Lena Forsn published in Playboy magazine in the 1970s and since widely reproduced by computer science researchers as a test image, perhaps becoming one of the most duplicated images in history. Jacob AronTopics:

Skeleton of Homo naledi, found in the Rising Star cave system in South AfricaJohn Hawks/ShutterstockAustralian Museum, University of Sydney, BreakThru FilmsIt is after 10pm and I am on a cycleway in Sydney returning from dinner with friends. It is a warm evening in the week before Christmas and people are still out on the streets, gathering for end-of-year drinks.As I cycle, Im using my Air Pods to listen to a podcast broadcast by Bluetooth from my smartphone. The podcast, downloaded from invisible Wi-Fi, is about the origins of humanity. It strikes me that,

HumansAround 3000 years ago, several empires and kingdoms in the Mediterranean collapsed, with a group of sea-faring warriors implicated as the culprit. But new evidence shows that many of our ideas about this turbulent time need completely rethinking 8 May 2024 Coke NavarroRamesses III was one of Egypts great warrior pharaohs. A temple he built at Medinet Habu, near the Valley of the Kings, highlights why. On its walls, carvings tell the story of a coalition of fighters that swept across the eastern Mediterranean 3200 years ago, destroying cities, states and even whole empires. No land could stand before their arms, this account tells us. Eventually, the invaders known today as the Sea Peoples attacked Egypt. But Ramesses III succeeded where others had failed and crushed them.In the 200 years since hieroglyphics were first deciphered, allowing us to read Ramesses IIIs extraordinary story, evidence has come to light to corroborate it. We now know of numerous cities and palaces across the eastern Mediterranean that were destroyed around that time, with the Sea Peoples often implicated. So widespread was the devastation that, for one of the only times in history, several complex societies went into a steep decline from which they never recovered. Little wonder, then, that this so-called Late Bronze Age collapse has fascinated scholars for decades. So, too, has the identity of the mysterious sea-faring marauders.Today, new genetic and archaeological evidence is giving us the firmest picture yet about what really went on at this dramatic time and who, or what, was responsible. This shows that many of our ideas about the Sea Peoples and the collapse need completely rethinking.

MindFeaturing everything from eggnog to uranium oxide, these 12 brain-twisting conundrums will get you in the festive spirit and test your scientific knowledge 11 December 2024 Kyle EllingtonHere are the questions. The answers can be found at the bottom of this page, but dont scroll down until youve given them a good go.1. Uncle Johannes has outdone himself this year, serving up an eight-course Christmas feast (though some of the dishes are a little unusual). In order, the first seven courses are: mousse, vol-au-vents, eggnog, milkshake, jelly, soup and upside-down cake. What might the final course be?2. This entity can be found travelling at near the speed of light under the Swiss-French border. Change one letter and you get the name of something it turns into. What are these two things?3. What does this code, which might be delivered to you upon opening your front door, represent? (Hint: 262 usually appears in the middle.)587 / 523 494 523 587 494 523 / 494 440 494 523 440 494 / 440 392 440 494 392 440 / 392 370 392 440 370 392 / 370 330 349 392 330 370 / 330 2944. After the frontal lobe makes a call and the limbic system sends a signal, 15 facial muscles contract, including the zygomaticus major. The muscles between the ribs spasm, forcing air out of the lungs. Speech may become strained and reach a higher pitch than normal. Tears may emerge. But there is no reason to be alarmed. Why?5. All three of the following describe different objects that share a name, and all might be seen during December at least in the northern hemisphere. What is the name? A mixture including emulsified vitellus, crystalline sucrose, alcohol and acid A

The stones that make up Stonehenge came from all over BritainHeritage Image Partnership Ltd /AlamyStonehenge may have been built to symbolise a unification in Stone Age Britain. The idea could explain why so many of the stones making up the monument were brought in over huge distances.Located on Salisbury plain in southern England, Stonehenge seems to have been built in phases between 3100 and 1600 BC. There is an outer ring of vertical sarsen stones topped by horizontal lintels; inside that is a smaller ring of vertical bluestones and a number of other stones, including a horizontal

Sugar cane growth can be increased using genetic tweaksPrzemyslaw Koch/Getty ImagesThe growth of maize, sugarcane and sorghum has been greatly boosted by modifying the plants to take advantage of higher carbon dioxide levels now found in the air.This was done by simply increasing the activity of two genes, says Coralie Salesse-Smith at the University of Illinois. The finding should lead to the creation of new varieties whose yields go up as CO2levels continue to rise.For most of the time that photosynthetic cells

LifeEndangered skates and kingfishers were brought back from the brink this year and scientists found a way to protect frogs from deadly infections 19 December 2024 A Guam kingfisher chickThomas Manglona KUAMAmid a torrent of gloomy news about the decline of nature, there have been a handful of inspiring success stories from the world of wildlife this year, including positive developments for frogs, tigers and pangolins.Conservation managers should cherish these moments, says Jayson Semmens at the University of Tasmania, Australia, who led a spectacular but precarious programme to bring Maugean skatesback from the brink. Take the time to celebrate the small wins along the way and acknowledge the incredibly special role you play, he says.

Colour, smell, taste and chemical constituents can all be used to distinguish whiskiesJane Barlow/PA Images/AlamyArtificial intelligence can tell Scotch whisky from American whiskey and identify its strongest constituent aromas more reliably than human experts by using data rather than tasting the drinks.Andreas Grasskamp at the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV in Germany and his colleagues trained an AI molecular odour prediction algorithm called OWSum on descriptions of different whiskies. AdvertisementThen, in a study involving 16 samples nine types of Scotch whisky and seven types of American bourbon or whiskey they tasked OWSum with telling drinks from the two nations apart based on keyword descriptions of their flavours, such as flowery, fruity, woody or smoky. Using these alone, the AI could tell which country a drink came from with almost 94 per cent accuracy.Because the complex aroma of these spirits is determined by the absence or presence of many chemical compounds, the researchers also fed the AI a reference dataset of 390 molecules commonly found in whiskies. When they gave the AI data from gas chromatographymass spectrometry showing which molecules were present in the sample spirits, it boosted OWSums ability to differentiate American from Scotch drams to 100 per cent.Compounds such as menthol and citronellol were a dead giveaway for American whiskey, while the presence of methyl decanoate and heptanoic acid pointed to Scotch. The latest science news delivered to your inbox, every day.Sign up to newsletterThe researchers also tested both OWSum and a neural network on their ability to predict the top five odour keywords based on the chemical contents of a whisky. On a score from 1 for perfect accuracy to 0 for consistent inaccuracy, OWSum achieved 0.72. The neural network achieved 0.78 and human whisky expert test participants achieved only 0.57.[The results] underline the fact that its a complicated task for humans, but its also a complicated task for machines but machines are more consistent than humans, says team member Satnam Singh, also at the Fraunhofer Institute. But thats not to say that humans are not needed: we do need them to train our machines, at least, right now.Neither model takes into account the concentration of molecules, only their absence or presence, which is something the researchers hope to rectify, and which may yield even greater accuracy.Grasskamp says such AI tools could be used for quality control in distilleries, or to help develop new whiskies, as well as detecting fraudulent ones. But they could also be used for anything that smells, such as other food and drink production or in the chemical industry.Journal referenceNature Communications Chemistry DOI: 10.1038/s42004-024-01373-2Topics:

From a fish with a tiny brain to the worlds oldest cheese, we have reported on plenty of strange and unusual science discoveries this year. Challenge yourself and see what you can remember in this fiendish set of questions from our quizmaster Bethan Ackerley

There may be more moon-born asteroids near Earth than we thoughtESA/P.CarrilA huge rock orbiting near Earth appears to have originated from the moon, the second such object known to exist, with maybe more than a dozen awaiting discovery.The asteroid, called 2024 PT5, is about 10 metres wide. Spotted in August, it was later snared by Earths gravitational pull, becoming a second moon of our planet, referred to as a mini-moon, between September and November.Re-examining the asteroid, Teddy Kareta at Lowell Observatory

Tree planting projects help tackle the climate crisis, but they can also impact water suppliesCostfoto/NurPhotoThe major environmental, social and economic crises facing the world today involving biodiversity, climate change, health, food and water are inextricably interlinked, and tackling them together has many benefits. Focusing on one issue alone, however, can make the other crises worse.That is the conclusion of a major report put together by 165 researchers from 57 countries over the past three years, and approved by the governments of 147 countries. AdvertisementThe UN conventions on issues such as biodiversity and climate focus on these problems individually. So what hasnt been done before that we now do in this report is to join all of that together and show looking at these crises individually not only is inefficient but actually has a real danger, says Paula Harrison at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, who co-chaired the assessment process for the report. Action is urgent, but if we dont act in a way that takes account of these interdependences, it will cause new problems or make existing problems worse.Harrison says the scientific studies assessed for the report provide strong evidence that there are many actions that can be taken that have beneficial effects in all five areas simultaneously. These include conserving and restoring mangrove forests, boosting soil health and carbon content, creating early warning systems for all kinds of hazards, reducing the risk of diseases spreading from animals to humans, universal healthcare and international cooperation on technologies related to these issues.There are trade-offs: the actions with wide-ranging benefits arent the same as the actions that are the most optimal solution to any one problem, she says. Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month.Sign up to newsletterWhat you cant do is get the highest possible value all at the same time, says Harrison. You cant optimise food production and not have negative impacts on everything else, but you can have a balanced approach across them all that benefits them all.Harrison gives the example of planting trees to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. If the focus is solely on climate, the trees chosen may be fast-growing exotic species that dont support any wildlife and impact water supplies by taking up too much water. But if projects take a more holistic approach, they would choose native tree species that use less water and boost biodiversity. They might not sequester quite as much carbon, but they will provide a lot of value for other aspects of the system, says Harrison.There are also economic benefits to an integrated approach that helps preserve biodiversity as well as achieving other goals. The Nexus report, as it is officially known, says that more than half of global gross domestic product $50 trillion is moderately to highly dependent on nature.It is estimated that the unaccounted-for costs of current approaches to economic activity reflecting impacts on biodiversity, water, health and climate change, including from food production are at least $10 to 25 trillion per year, Pamela McElwee of Rutgers University in New Jersey, the other co-chair, said in a statement.Theres a lot of evidence now if we carry on the way that we are, there are very strong and increasing biophysical risks to economic prosperity and financial stability, says Harrison.The Nexus report was put together by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), which is a non-UN body but works in a similar way to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report was officially approved on 16 December by representatives of the 147 member states of IPBES, meeting in Namibia.The report is very ambitious, says Anne Larigauderie, the executive secretary of IPBES. The aim is to provide the science and evidence needed to support the achievement of other international treaties, she says, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement on climate change.Topics:

Molecular testing can be used to assess drink qualityEvgenii Parilov/AlamyDrinks manufacturers and consumers may soon have a small, portable kit, not much bigger than a covid test, to check the quality and safety of alcoholic beverages.The device is being described as an artificial tongue because it can detect additives, toxins and the sweetness of the drink with just a few drops. AdvertisementShuo Huang at Nanjing University in China says that while this first generation of the new technology cant yet test for date rape drugs in spiked drinks or detect methanol contamination, which recently resulted in the deaths of six backpackers in Laos, future versions may.Current methods for analysing alcoholic drinks, such as liquid chromatography, involve expensive and cumbersome laboratory equipment, requiring expert technicians to operate and analyse samples.The artificial tongue relies on biological nanopore technology. This uses a modified organism such as a bacterium with a small hole or pore, just a few nanometres in diameter, in its cell membrane. By charging the membrane with electricity, small molecules of the substance being tested can be pulled into and through the pore. Get the most essential health and fitness news in your inbox every Saturday.Sign up to newsletterAs these molecules pass through the nanopore they create a unique electrical signature, which can be analysed to identify the chemicals present in the sample. Nanopores have already revolutionised DNA sequencing, allowing the almost-instant testing of genetic material with a device that can be easily transported.Huang and his colleagues used a nanopore already deployed in DNA sequencing, made with a bacterium called Mycobacterium smegmatis.The device uses artificial intelligence to identify the molecules passing through the nanopore, including flavour compounds and additives, says Huang. The sensor will immediately tell us what kind of alcoholic beverage it is, he says. It can provide a quantitative standard for the product and also easily spot counterfeit alcoholic beverage products as well.The nanopore detector only needs a source of electricity to operate, he says. This nanopore sensing assay can be carried out at home, in the office or by the roadside as well, as simple as a covid test, Huang says. The only thing you need to do is to add a drop of alcoholic beverage to the sensor and wait for the result. The machine learning algorithm will do the rest of the job for you.Journal reference:Matter DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2024.11.025Topics:

A reconstruction of the oldest known gorgonopsianHenry Sutherland SharpeThe oldest known sabre-toothed animal hunted large prey 270 million years ago and its newly discovered remains could help us unravel how early mammal relatives became warm-blooded.The first land-based predators typically hunted relatively small prey. But things changed about 273 million years ago, when an event known as Olsons Extinction shook up ecosystems around the world. Afterwards, much larger terrestrial herbivores began appearing and predators needed new weapons to dispatch such large prey, says Josep Fortuny at the Miquel Crusafont Catalan Institute of Palaeontology in Barcelona, Spain. AdvertisementThis might help explain why the fossilised partial skeleton of an ancient predator which Fortuny and his colleagues have just discovered on the Spanish island of Mallorca had sabre teeth. These fangs are better at injuring large prey, as opposed to grasping and holding smaller animals. It was the first opportunity to have this type of tool to prey on herbivores, says Fortuny.Dating back an estimated 270 million years, the predator is the oldest known member of a group of meat-eaters known as the gorgonopsians, which all had sabre teeth. The largest gorgonopsians grew several metres in length and had canine teeth 15 centimetres long. The Mallorca gorgonopsian was smaller, with a body length of about a metre and canines that were just 5-centimetres long. Fortuny says the researchers are waiting until they have analysed the bones and teeth in more detail before they give the new gorgonopsian a name.The ancient predator is significant for more than just its age. When it roamed Mallorca, the island was located in the tropics as part of a supercontinent called Pangaea, but all previously known gorgonopsian fossils come from areas of the world that were at high latitudes 270 million years ago. The new find suggests that the gorgonopsians actually originated nearer the equator. Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox.Sign up to newsletterIt is possible that the adaptations they developed there including their ability to hunt large prey efficiently allowed them to begin controlling their body temperature so they could spread into cooler habitats away from the equator.Understanding more about this process is important, says Fortuny, because the gorgonopsians belonged to the therapsids, an animal group that also includes mammals. Theres a lot of discussion about the first steps in thermoregulation for this group, he says.Journal referenceNature Communications DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54425-5Topics:

Many AI models are trained on copyrighted materialMetamorworks/Getty ImagesThe UK government has announced plans to allow artificial intelligence models to be trained on copyrighted content, settling one of the big uncertainties of the current AI revolution but the proposal has been criticised by campaigners who worry about the way AI companies already allegedly flout copyright rules.Theres nothing balanced about it, says Ed Newton-Rex, a musician and former executive at AI company Stability AI. It will hand most of the UKs creative work to AI companies, for free, letting them build highly scalable competitors to

A crosshatch pattern of wires created by self-assembling liquid metal particlesJulia Chang / North Carolina State UniversitySelf-assembling electronics made from liquid metal particles could provide a cheaper way of manufacturing computer chips, simply by harnessing the basic physics of how fluids flow through tiny structures.The cost of entry in manufacturing electronics and building new chip fabrication plants in the US right now, were talking billions of dollars, says Martin Thuo at North Carolina State University. Its not cheap.Thuo and his colleagues first created a mixture of

Plastic food packaging can expose people to chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA)Shutterstock/Trong NguyenHundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of cases of heart disease worldwide may be linked to chemicals in common plastic products, suggesting that more stringent regulations on such toxins could benefit public health.Maureen Cropper at the University of Maryland and her colleagues assessed the public health impact of exposure to three types of chemicals primarily used in plastics: bisphenol A (BPA), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). BPA and DEHP are found in plastic food packaging and PBDEs are flame retardants used in some household goods, such as furniture and electronics. AdvertisementDrawing on more than 1700 previously published studies, the team estimated peoples exposure to these three classes of chemicals across 38 countries, which represent roughly a third of the worlds population. Three of the countries the US, Canada and South Korea also have public databases that monitor levels of these chemicals in urine and blood samples, providing even more accurate data.In combination with medical records and toxicology reports, the researchers calculated health outcomes attributable to these chemicals. They found that in 2015, about 5.4 million cases of coronary artery disease and 346,000 strokes were associated with BPA exposure and that roughly 164,000 deaths in people between 55 and 64 years old may have been due to DEHP.Thanks to regulationsenacted in the late 2000s, the prevalence of these chemicals has since decreased in many countries such as the US, Canada and those in Europe. The researchers estimate that about 515,000 deaths could have been avoided if BPA and DEHP exposures in the US had been at post-regulation levels since 2003. This underscores the importance of governments and manufacturers limiting the use of toxic chemicals in plastic products before they reach consumers, says Cropper.However, it is important to remember these findings are only approximations. I think one of the real limitations, frankly, is the lack of exposure data on these substances, says Cropper, meaning estimates for some countries may be less accurate than others. It would be a good idea if more countries actually monitored [exposures to] these and other substances, which would improve our understanding of their public health burden, she says.Journal reference:PNAS DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2412714121Topics:

The vampire-like Hylomys macarong hedgehogAlexei V. AbramovAn extraordinary 234 new species were described by scientists in the Greater Mekong region of South-East Asia in 2023. The finds, announced in a report from conservation organisation WWF, include 173 species of plants, 26 reptiles, 17 amphibians, 15 fish and three mammals.Since 1997, more than 3500 new plant and vertebrate animal species have been identified in the area the report covers, which includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam an average of 130 a year.Here are six of the new species, including a furry hedgehog named after vampires, an almost invisible dragon lizard and a leafless orchid on the verge of extinction.AdvertisementHylomys macarongThe furry member of the hedgehog family pictured above is endemic to Vietnam. Hylomys macarong may look innocuous, but its name macarong means vampire in Vietnamese. It got its moniker thanks to its long, pointed fangs, which remain hidden in this picture.Hipposideros kingstonaeThe Hipposideros kingstonae batPipat SoisookThis tiny leaf-nosed bat can be found from Thailand to Borneo. DNA analysis confirmed that Hipposideros kingstonae was a new species in 2023. Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month.Sign up to newsletterIt isnt known where the diminutive bat, which weighs between just 4.9 and 7 grams, roosts. It has been sighted near large limestone caves, suggesting it could shelter inside them, but also in areas far away from any known caves, so it could roost in tree hollows.Laodracon carsticolaThe almost invisible Laodracon carsticola lizardSanti XayyasithSharp eyesight is required to spot this tiny lizard (Laodracon carsticola) high on the rugged karst pinnacles of Laos, which may explain why the species has been overlooked by scientists until now. One of the earliest known sightings of this lizard was by a guide on a zipline tour.The lizard is a member of the Agamidae (dragon lizard) family and has only been seen 50 to 70 metres high on limestone pinnacles. It is likely to have evolved unique traits to help it survive in its eroded, rocky microhabitat.Zhangixalus melanoleucusThe Zhangixalus melanoleucus tree frogParinya PawangkhanantThis lime-green tree frog (Zhangixalus melanoleucus) was discovered 2000 metres above sea level in the evergreen forests of Phou Samsoum mountain in northern Laos. The area is home to many other endemic species, yet is one of the least studied parts of Asia.Trimeresurus uetziA male Trimeresurus uetzi snakeH.T. LalremsangaThis vibrant snake was believed to be Trimeresurus albolabris, one of the most common species of pit viper in Asia, which is found from Nepal to Indonesia.But DNA studies of 25 specimens collected in Myanmar have revealed that it is a different species, now named Trimeresurus uetzi, that has so far only been seen in central and southern Myanmar.Chiloschista quangdangiiThe rare Chiloschista quangdangii orchidTruong Ba VuongThis leafless orchid of the Chiloschista genus, members of which are known as starfish orchids, has only ever been found at a single location near Lung Muoi, a tiny remote village in northern Vietnam. It is thought to be extremely rare.Yet the orchid is now sometimes found in the local plant market, which suggests that the local population of Chiloschista quangdangii is being depleted by the wildlife trade.Topics:

An adult skull from the Charterhouse Warren mass grave in the UK, featuring cut marks and a blunt force fractureIan R. Carwright/Institute of Archaeology Oxford UniversityAround 4000 years ago, at least 37 men, woman and children were brutally butchered, dismembered and possibly eaten by their enemies before their remains were tossed into a 15-metre-deep cave shaft with cattle bones.It is the largest and most extreme episode of mass violence known from prehistoric Britain. The archaeologists behind the discovery think the perpetrators did it to dehumanise, or other, the victims, possibly as revenge to send a political message.

MindAs families gather for festive time together, tensions can rise. David Robson delves into the science to find the best technique to stop arguments getting the better of us 11 December 2024 Shutterstock/Victoria 1As the end of 2024 approaches, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has shared their dilemmas with me over the past year. For my festive column, let us address a nearly universal complaint: holiday arguments.It should be no surprise that feelings run high over the holiday season. We may hope to spend the day bonding over our shared past, but life is more complicated than a Christmas movie, as old resentments bubble under the surface. Soak everyone in alcohol and it takes just one small spark to set the whole gathering alight with

SocietyFrom enshittocene to virome, science and technology's words of 2024Here are 10 words that entered our vocabulary this year, capturing discoveries at the cutting edge of science, elusive emotions and the various ways technology is changing our lives 11 December 2024 Andy smithStrembryoUntil recently, scientists studying the earliest moments of human development relied on embryos donated by people undergoing IVF, which in most countries including the UK and US must be destroyed after 14 days. In 2023, however, a team at the University of Cambridge created the first complete stem-cell based human embryo model.Stembryos, as they are known, can be studied for longer and they are expected to produce fresh insights into developmental conditions and the causes of early miscarriages, as well as improve IVF success rates. But consideration of the ethical questions inherent to this work hasnt kept pace. Which is why, in July, the UK published its first guidelines on the generation and use of stembryos in research, including the proposal that a committee be created to oversee all stembryo studies.ViromeWe are, all of us, riddled with viruses and thank goodness for that. The average human is host to as many as 380 trillion of them, collectively known as the virome. But while some viruses make us unwell, scientists now understand that the legions of viruses living inside us have a broader and more profound influence on our general health.Viruses make up a critical part of something we are more familiar with: the microbiome, that vast population of microorganisms that make camp both inside and on us. Scientists believe the virome regulates the

Psilocybe ochraceocentrata mushrooms, a new species found in Zimbabwe and South AfricaCathy SharpPsychedelic mushrooms growing in southern Africa have been identified as a new species that is the closest relative of Psilocybe cubensis, the most well-known magic mushroom species. The discovery brings scientists a step closer to understanding the evolutionary origins of these psychoactive fungi.Alex Bradshaw at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and his colleagues have named the newly described species Psilocybe ochraceocentrata, because of the ochre colour in the centre of the cap. It was collected from multiple sites across Zimbabwe and South Africa between 2013

Exercise has many health benefitsJane Williams/AlamyGetting a good nights sleep and other healthy habits could slow the biological ageing of your brain, potentially protecting against conditions like dementia.These habits, known as the Lifes Essential 8 checklist, were originally intended to help people boost their cardiovascular health. They include getting the equivalent of at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, per week and eating a healthy diet rich in nuts, fruits, vegetables and whole foods.The

A Red Cross worker spraying chlorine-based disinfectant in Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 2024MOISE KASEREKA/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockMpox surged in parts of East, West and Central Africa in 2024, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare it a public health emergency of international concern in August. This was just over a year after it said an earlier mpox emergency was over, marking the first time the WHO has declared two such alerts consecutively over the same infection.The emergency that ended in 2023 was driven by the clade IIb variant of mpox, formerly known as

Drill rig in Nebraska run by Natural Hydrogen Energy LLC, which established its first hydrogen borehole in 2019Viacheslav ZgonnikFor the past few years, companies and prospectors around the world have been hunting for underground reserves of natural hydrogen, spurred by estimates that Earth contains trillions of tonnes of the gas. If found, this geologic hydrogen could accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. But despite a few tantalising hints that vast reserves exist, the search has largely come up short.Until recently, most geologists

This relatively small solar flare from October the bright flash in the centre spotted by NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory would be dwarfed by a superflareNASA/SDOThe sun may produce extremely powerful bursts of radiation more frequently than we thought. Such superflares seem to happen as often as once a century, according to a survey of sun-like stars, and might be accompanied by particle storms that could have devastating consequences for electronics on Earth. As the last big solar storm to hit Earth was 165 years ago, we might be in line for another soon, but it is uncertain how similar the sun is to these other stars.Direct measurements of the suns activity only started towards the middle of the 20th century. In 1859, our star produced an extremely powerful solar flare, a burst of light radiation. These are often associated with a subsequent coronal mass ejection (CME), a bubble of magnetised plasma particles that shoots out into space.AdvertisementThat flare was indeed followed by a CME that struck Earth and caused an intense geomagnetic storm, which was recorded by astronomers at the time, and is now known as the Carrington event. If this happened today, it could knock out communication systems and power grids.There is also evidence on Earth of much more powerful storms long before the Carrington event. Assessments of radioactive forms of carbon in tree rings and ice cores suggest that Earth has occasionally been showered with very high-energy particles over periods of several days, but it is unclear whether these came from one-off, massive solar outbursts, or from several smaller ones. It is also uncertain if the sun can produce flares and particle storms so large in a single outburst.The frequency of these signs on Earth, as well as superflares that astronomers have recorded on other stars, suggested that these giant bursts tend to occur many hundreds to thousands of years apart. Voyage across the galaxy and beyond with our space newsletter every month.Sign up to newsletterNow, Ilya Usoskin at the University of Oulu in Finland and his colleagues have surveyed 56,450 stars and found that sun-like stars appear to produce superflares much more often than this.Superflares on sun-like stars are much more frequent than we thought before, roughly once per one or two centuries, says Usoskin. If we believe that this projection to the sun is correct, then we expect a superflare on the sun roughly every 100 to 200 years, and extreme solar storms, as we know them, occur roughly once per 1500 or 2000 years. There is a mismatch.Usoskin and his colleagues measured the brightness of the stars using the Kepler space telescope and detected a total of 2889 superflares on 2527 of the stars. The energies for these flares were between 100 and 10,000 times the size of the largest measured from the sun the Carrington event.We still dont know whether such large flares also produce large particle events of the sort we have evidence for on Earth, says Usoskin, but our current theories of the sun cant explain such large flares. This opens a question of what we are actually seeing, he says.As a stellar flare survey, it looks really impressive, says Mathew Owens at the University of Reading, UK. Theyve clearly got new methods for detecting flares with increased sensitivity.How much this tells us about the suns flaring activity is harder to discern, says Owens, partly because it is difficult to accurately measure the rotation rate of other stars. The devil is in the detail here, he says.The rotation rate is important because its linked to how a star generates a magnetic field, and the magnetic field is linked to flaring activity, says Owens.Journal referenceScience DOI: 10.1126/science.adl5441Topics:The sun

The US Navys Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS HamptonMC2 Chase Stephens/U.S. Navy/AlamyThe US Navy has a long wish list of applications for quantum computers, ranging from basic science understanding corrosion, a fleets constant enemy to more intriguing uses like war game simulations. Although quantum computers have rapidly improved in recent years, they are not yet capable of all these tasks, but that hasnt stopped the military from dreaming up ways to use them.We are committed to the axiom that whatever legacy model is now successful will lead to [our] demise if it does not

Quantinuums quantum computer uses ions trapped in a vacuum chamber like thisQuantinuumThe competition to build a useful quantum computer is heating up. In September, Microsoft and Atom Computing announced that they set a record for the largest number of entangled logical qubits. This result, which points towards a quantum computers ability to correct its own errors, has now been bested by the start-up firm Quantinuum. The company says it has made the most logical qubits yet.All computers make errors, and catching and

Illustration of NASAs Parker Solar ProbeNASA GSFC/CIL/Brian MonroeIn less than two weeks, a spacecraft will pass through the atmosphere of our nearest star as part of its mission to touch the sun.On Christmas Eve of this year, the Parker Solar Probe will be the closest human-made object ever to a star, Nour Rawafi at Johns Hopkins University said at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in Washington DC on 10 December. We are at the moment weve been waiting for for nearly 60 years.

More than just fossils show us how humans have evolved through timeIvan M / Alamy Stock PhotoThis is an extract from Our Human Story, our newsletter about the revolution in archaeology.Sign up to receive it in your inbox every month.This month, Our Human Story turns 50 (months old). For the 50th instalment, I thought I would do something a little different: take stock of whats happened, and look ahead. I emailed 10 researchers, asking them two questions:What has been the biggest advance in human evolution of the past five years? This could

Google says its new quantum chip is its most powerful yetGoogle Quantum AIGoogle has unveiled a new quantum computer and is once more claiming to have pulled ahead in the race to show that these exotic machines can beat even the worlds best conventional supercomputers so does that mean useful quantum computers are finally here?Researchers at the tech giant were the first in the world to demonstrate this feat, known as quantum supremacy, with the announcement of the Sycamore quantum computing chip in 2019. But since then, supercomputers have caught up, leaving Sycamore behind. Now, Google

HumansThe ancient board games we finally know how to play thanks to AIMany ancient board games have been discovered, but there are no rulebooks so we don't know how to play them. Now AI is bringing these games back to life by working out likely rules 9 December 2024 Bill McConkeyIn the 1970s, in a grave in a Bronze Age cemetery in Shahr-i Sokhta, Iran, an incredible object was unearthed next to a human skull: the oldest complete board game ever discovered. Around 4500 years old, it consists of a board with 20 circular spaces created from the coils of a carved snake, four dice and 27 geometric pieces.The Shahr-i Sokhta game is one of many ancient board games discovered around the world, such as the Roman game Ludus Latrunculorum and the Egyptian game Senet, found in Tutankhamuns tomb. But we have only been able to guess how to play these games. There are no preserved rulebooks with the notable exception of the Royal Game of Ur from ancient Mesopotamia, whose long-lost rules were deciphered in 2007 from a cuneiform tablet in the British Museum.Now, though, another tool is helping to bring these games back to life. In recent years, researchers have been harnessing artificial intelligence to assist in the hunt for likely rules. The goal is to make these forgotten games realistically playable again, while also gaining insights into the evolution of game types. These games act as a window into the past, offering glimpses into the social and cultural dynamics of the people who played them, says Eric Piette at the Catholic University of

The universe is even weirder than youd expectandrey_l/ShutterstockThe following is an extract from our Lost in Space-Time newsletter. Each month, we hand over the keyboard to a physicist or mathematician to tell you about fascinating ideas from their corner of the universe. You can sign up for Lost in Space-Time here.Does your workday ever include picking fights about whether empty space is actually empty or whether time is an illusion? Has a co-worker ever told you that youve caused them emotional pain by discussing concepts from quantum field theory? Welcome to the life of a