Researchers from King’s College London and Rutgers University in New Jersey created a modified enzyme (a protein that speeds up chemical reactions) that breaks down polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic 10 times quicker, using 10 times less enzyme. They accomplished this just by changing the liquid it works in and making small changes to the enzyme’s structure.

A review published in the International Journal of Managerial and Financial Accounting on the subject of greenwashing in financial services has found that financial institutions often claim environmental responsibility while continuing to finance high-carbon projects.

Should Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang be exonerated of any wrongdoing after his affair with an alleged spy? Maybe now that he has a morally upstanding character witness like president Donald Trump on his side. During a presser Monday night, Trump defended Huang as an “honorable guy” after revealing that Huang had personally told him that he didn’t know that the Chinese businesswoman he was cheating on his wife with with was allegedly a Beijing operative. “I asked him that question: ‘Did you have any idea that she was a spy?’” Trump told reporters at the White House, per the New York Times. “He said, ‘I had no idea that she was a spy,’ and I really believe him.” The geopolitical gravity of the situation appeared a distant concern to Trump, who expressed a greater concern for Huang’s wellbeing. “I did speak to him today just to see if he’s feeling all right,” Trump continued. “I believe he’s suffering greatly. I read his statement, and I believe he’s suffering greatly. More so because of his family, his wife who he loves and his family, but he is definitely suffering.” When Trump was asked whether he intended to bring up the matter…

New York is preparing to enforce its sweeping AI safety law, requiring major developers like OpenAI and Anthropic to register, disclose safety practices, and report critical incidents or face fines.

The genetic code determines the correspondence between genetic instructions and amino acids—the building blocks that form proteins. How this correspondence arose is one of the major open questions in evolutionary biology. A study led by Dr. Lluís Ribas de Pouplana, ICREA researcher at IRB Barcelona, and Dr. Paul Schimmel, with the participation of researchers from MIT and Scripps Research, has identified conserved signals in transfer RNAs that could help reconstruct the early stages of this system.

Former SignalFire investor Sahir Raoof raises $27.5M for new fund targeting AI in pharma

X-energy received a construction permit from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build four reactors in Texas.

Astronomers may have solved one of the biggest mysteries uncovered by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), using sophisticated simulations to show that enigmatic objects known as “little red dots” (LRDs) are likely the birthplaces of the first supermassive black holes.

Cells share small molecules with their neighbors through tiny tunnels made of proteins arranged in a ring. Research at Nagoya University suggests that the tails of the proteins must link up to form an inner ring for the tunnel to become evenly round—a previously unknown step in how these cell-to-cell connections are built.

Our modern world runs on math, from social media algorithms, package delivery, and weather prediction to medical imaging and machine learning. The rise of computers helped fuel its dominance, enabling us to work with increasingly large numbers that would otherwise be beyond the capacity of our finite human brains. But with the rise of large language models, AI chatbots, and, soon, quantum computing, so-called “big math” is beginning to outstrip its creators entirely. What that means, and how we might adapt, is the focus of a new book, Big Math: The Hidden Codes That Run Our World, by applied mathematicians Steven Strogatz and Alex Townsend. Strogatz is perhaps best known in his field for his co-authorship of a seminal 1998 paper with Duncan Watts on the collective dynamics of small-world networks. He has also studied chaos theory as applied to physics, the geometry of supercoiled DNA, and the biological collective oscillators, such as swarms of synchronously flashing fireflies and crickets that chirp in unison. In 2005, Strogatz extended his study of synchronicity to the crowds that caused the wobbling of London’s Millennium Bridge. An award-winning communicator, Strogatz wrote three series of columns on mathematics for The New York Times in…

An immune protein called perforin can turn iron against cancer cells in laboratory experiments, suggesting a possible route to more effective immunotherapy. The immune system can attack cancer cells by punching holes in their outer membranes and sending in enzymes that kill them. Research led by the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center shows […]

Yes, bears are big. Depending on the time of year and sex, the average black bear (Ursus americanus) weighs between 90 to 500 pounds. On average brown bears (Ursus arctos) can weigh between 600 to 900 pounds. However, one female black bear named Volverine is a true fat bear queen this year. The U.S. Forest Service team at Tongass National Forest in southeastern Alaska have awarded her with the 2026 Big & Beautiful Award for her heft.  The rangers say that this mother bear is a “true icon,” who will often pose on a rock for a long time, seemingly allowing the visitors to Anan Wildlife Observatory to take photos. She is regarded as one of the most beautiful bears at Anan, with a chest patch shaped like the letter V. Volverine is also on the bigger end of the black bear spectrum, with a potato-shaped body, and an especially round butt. Her fishing skills made her one of the largest bears of the 2026 season—and a dominant matriarch.  “Our rangers love to see a fat female bear because that could mean cubs next year!” the rangers write. “Bears have what’s called delayed implantation, meaning they mate in the spring,…

Men in treatment for domestic violence have an elastic view of what constitutes consent in their partner, an UdeM study has found.

The possibility of controlling “forbidden” excitations of vibrations in molecules could form the basis of extremely accurate clocks, quantum bits and precise tests of the fundamental laws of physics. Researchers at the University of Basel have now identified and controlled such “forbidden” transitions in single isolated nitrogen molecules without destroying them.

Each of the seven co-founders plans to sell exactly the same number of shares in the IPO, which would bring each of them about $250 million in cash at the midpoint of the price range while leaving the group in control of the company.

A genetic analysis of 2.8 million people points to specific brain cells that may influence Alzheimer’s, offering researchers new leads to investigate in the search for treatments. Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia, which is projected to affect more than 150 million people worldwide by 2050. Genes play a substantial role in Alzheimer’s […]

Permafrost in many of Earth’s northern regions is thawing, a process that unlocks greenhouse gases, threatens infrastructure, and could alter landscapes and ecosystems. The Arctic and subarctic are vast, and gaining a comprehensive picture of permafrost distribution is difficult, as it requires seeing under the ground. Now, with a new method that can map permafrost from the air, researchers may get a much more spatially cohesive view of permafrost thickness and distribution.

To encourage new investments in more effective reef restoration activities, Australian scientists are recommending a new way of measuring biodiversity on coral reefs. A team of Australian environmental scientists led by James Cook University’s distinguished professor Morgan Pratchett proposes the more rigorous and transparent framework in a paper published in the journal One Earth.

Amazon’s official Black Friday deals don’t start until November 19th, but you grab Bluetti portable power stations for very low prices right now. Bad weather is on the way, so now is the time to jump on one of these. These battery-powered backup devices are much quieter fix than a gas generator, and you can use them indoors without risking suffocation. The same boxes run a campsite or a van just as happily. Several of these deals are pre-orders, so check the ship date before you check out. We pulled every price in this post from Bluetti’s Amazon storefront Tuesday afternoon, November 10. Grab one before the next storm warning, because that’s when everyone else goes shopping for one. Top Bluetti deals on Amazon Bluetti Elite 100 mini portable power station $428.99 (was $799.00). Bluetti Elite 100 V2 portable power station $498.99 (was $899.00), a pre-order that Amazon lists for release on Nov. 12. Bluetti Elite 100 V2 and Charger 2 bundle $798.99 (was $1,199.00), a pre-order that Amazon lists for release on Nov. 12. Bluetti Elite 200 V2 portable power station $898.99 (was $1,399.00). Bluetti Apex 300 home backup power station $1,498.98 (was $1,699.00). Bluetti Charger 1 560W alternator…

Over the weekend, tech billionaire and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang publicly admitted that he had cheated on his wife with a suspected Chinese spy. The news sent markets rocking wildly, with investors worrying he could be forced to step down — a move that could trigger even more volatility. One person who was seemingly unsurprised by the revelation was president Donald Trump. As the New York Times reports, he knew about the affair since at least October 2025 — well over a year ago — and decided to do nothing with that information. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of a burgeoning scandal, as a number of federal agencies have since been implicated in the very literal affair. It’s a hair-raising web of ulterior motives, business dealings, and top Trump administration officials making questionable decisions that reportedly had government workers appalled. At the center of the story is the Commerce Department’s investigation into Singaporean data center company Megaspeed, which the US government suspected of smuggling Nvidia chips into China as early as September 2024, months before Trump took office for the second time. Part of the Commerce Department’s investigation was looking into Megaspeed executive Alice Huang — the woman…

Violent disputes between neighbors and a king named “Bat.” These and other new details about a recently rediscovered, ancient Maya city located in the remote tropical forests of southeast Mexico are beginning to come to light. The approximately 37-acre settlement is so inaccessible that archaeologists initially nicknamed the site Minanbé, or “there is no road” in Yucatec Maya. Despite a challenging journey to the site, researchers have identified multiple building remnants dating back at least 1,100 years. Historical records also indicate heated regional conflicts, and even a local chieftain’s animal-inspired name. The Mayan Late Classic community was only discovered in May 2026 in the Mexican state Campeche, which shares its southern border with Guatemala. Subsequent hieroglyphic translations from National Autonomous University of Mexico archaeologist Octavio Esparza Olguín, suggest the city’s residents called their settlement Sakil, a Maya term relating to “whiteness.” An aerial LIDAR scan of the Sakil archaeological site. Credit: INAH Located north of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Minanbé’s surviving structures include religious facilities, palace structures, plazas, water-management systems, and even a nearly 43-foot-tall pyramid. However, archaeologists identified more than architectural features here. After examining 14 pillars and altars, researchers uncovered hieroglyphic records of a violent conflict between Sakil…

Can gender-inclusive language weaken the deeply ingrained stereotype that a political leader is a man? A recent international study, conducted in 42 countries and involving researchers from SWPS University, shows that introducing such forms into language has little impact on how the public perceives political leaders.

The deal comes a few weeks after Oura postponed its up to $2.2 billion IPO indefinitely, citing “uncertainty in the IPO market.”

Astronomers have uncovered the elongated shape and unexpectedly warm surface of Comet Encke’s nucleus, revealing new details about a celestial object whose changing orbit has puzzled scientists for nearly two centuries. A 7-Kilometer Nucleus Hidden Beneath a Cloud of Gas and Dust For generations, Comet 2P/Encke has been known for its unusually short journey around the Sun. Completing an orbit approximately every 3.3 years, it regularly returns to the inner solar system, releasing gas and dust as solar radiation heats its surface. Yet the solid nucleus responsible for this activity has remained difficult to examine. Now, researchers from the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kyoto Sangyo University, and Photocross Co., Ltd. have used observations from Japan’s Subaru Telescope to reconstruct the nucleus’s shape and measure its temperature. Their findings, published in The Astronomical Journal, indicate that Encke’s nucleus resembles an elongated ellipsoid rather than a sphere. Its longest axis measures approximately 7 kilometers (4.3 miles), while its shorter axis spans roughly 3 kilometers (1.9 miles). The measurements came from mid-infrared observations collected in November 2003 using the telescope’s Cooled Mid-Infrared Camera and Spectrometer (COMICS). Unlike visible-light observations, which largely record reflected sunlight, mid-infrared instruments detect heat radiating from an…

Could a virus that infected chimpanzees millions of years ago help explain how the human brain became different? Researchers at Lund University have discovered that ancient viral DNA embedded in the chimpanzee genome silences a gene involved in early human brain development. Their study, published in Science Advances, found that the gene, LINC00662, remains active […]

PSI used an unreleased Anthropic model to answer a fundamental question about quantum computing that scientists have pursued for nearly two decades.

Almost two in three respondents surveyed in Australia’s remote First Nations communities did not have working free-to-air television, a study has found.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping research, economies, and everyday life at a remarkable speed. In this interview accompanying the new AI100 report, Iyad Rahwan reflects on the rise of generative AI, the growing concentration of AI power, and the challenges facing societies worldwide. He also explains why Europe must seize this “Sputnik moment” and why he remains optimistic about AI’s potential to accelerate scientific discovery.

The Danish town of Svendborg was once home to a Franciscan monastery. As at other monasteries in Denmark, it was considered highly prestigious to be buried as close to the monastery church as possible, preferably inside the church itself, for instance near the chapter house or along the cloister.

Newton accused Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, another mathematical giant of the time, of stealing the concept of infinitesimals. Here’s the real story

With a broad mandate to mop up the corrosive graft seeping out of Washington DC under Donald Trump’s second administration, Democrats are reportedly preparing to bring the legislative hammer down on prediction markets — tech moneymakers era with deep ties to the White House. That’s according to Politico, which reports that Democrats are preparing to curb what California representative Maxine Waters called “predatory lending and predatory platforms, including prediction markets, so that our constituents keep more of their hard-earned dollars in their pockets.” As Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley told Politico, “we need to rein in this gambling, and with Democrats taking back control of Congress, now is the time for long-overdue legislative action.” Beyond protecting consumers from predatory gambling companies, the agenda has the added effect of targeting a key source of income for the Trump family dynasty. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, has emerged as a strong supporter of prediction markets, earning him advisory roles on the boards of Polymarket and Kalshi at the same time that inside traders cashed in on advanced knowledge of Trump administration moves. And while prediction markets are still going strong currently, the looming crackdown has the attention of financial experts, one…

Low Ph.D. completion rates remain a challenge in higher education, reflecting a complex interplay of individual, supervisory and institutional factors. Despite extensive research, few reviews have investigated the factors related to Ph.D. completion, with most focusing on isolated aspects, such as supervision or mental health.

Scientists are always on the lookout for more efficient ways to make useful products and ingredients. Now, researchers from the University of Valladolid in Spain have successfully used a type of purple bacteria to make CoQ10 and carotenoid pigments from CO₂ and other ingredients found in industrial waste streams. The new study is published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

OpenAI is looking to make ChatGPT a more robust consumer discovery engine, and a host of new features seek to empower businesses to help it do that.

Google’s Pixel Tag lets you track lost items with your Android device, similar to Apple’s AirTag.

A “room filled with kindness” is opening at the Ojai Raptor Center in southern California. After the center’s staff cared for the beloved, internet-famous bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) mother Jackie before her death in August, they received thousands of letters, drawings, cards, and well-wishes from people all over the world. Now, they have taken them all and turned a room into a place where the staff can reflect and read these messages of support.  “We wanted to share this special space with you, because you helped create it,” the center writes. “From all of us at Ojai Raptor Center and our extended care team, thank you for your compassion, kindness, and support. Patient 26-519 (Jackie’s) journey brought people together from around the world through a shared love and concern for wildlife. We hope that same compassion continues to support wildlife rehabilitation centers everywhere.” View this post on Instagram The team at Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV), who run the 24/7 livestream of the nest that Jackie shared with her partner Shadow, thanked the center’s staff, medical team, volunteers, and all who sent in cards.  “Your kindness and caring means more than words can express,” FOBBV writes. “We have the…

Two of the solar system’s most recognizable planets will appear remarkably close together on November 15, 2026, creating a striking sight in the constellation Leo. Jupiter and Mars will shine near each other in the early morning sky, offering observers a chance to witness a planetary encounter visible without specialized equipment. Two Planets Will Appear Almost Side by Side in Leo Despite being separated by hundreds of millions of miles in space, Jupiter and Mars will appear unusually close from Earth’s perspective. Their closest apparent approach is expected at 9:04 p.m. EST on November 15 (2:04 a.m. GMT on November 16), according to Space.com. At that moment, both planets will be below the horizon for much of the United States. American skywatchers will instead have their opportunity later that night, when the pair rises above the eastern horizon around midnight local time. Jupiter will dominate the scene with its bright, steady glow, while Mars will display its characteristic reddish color nearby. The two planets will appear separated by slightly more than one degree, roughly equivalent to the width of a little finger held at arm’s length. The encounter will unfold against the stars of Leo, one of the zodiac’s most…

Paradium.AI, the recently-rebranded media company formerly known as The Arena Group, announced staggering third-quarter losses yesterday as it continues to go “all in” on AI. Paradium’s stock has been declining for years, though it experienced a drop of about 14 percent today after the company revealed that it had sustained a net loss of $3.6 million in the Q3 of 2026 — a dramatic shift from the same quarter last year, when its revenue was around 30 percent higher and it logged a $6.9 million net profit. Trading around $.077, the company’s shares are now firmly in the realm of penny stocks. The company’s quarterly report was the first since its August rebrand from The Arena Group to Paradium, a move that the company claimed marked a transition to becoming a “publicly traded AI company.” As part of its rebrand, the company announced its purchase of InfoSentience, an AI company described on Paradium’s homepage as a product that “turns live structured data into accurate, on-brand stories” to deliver “AI content at scale, running in production today.” It also launched an AI-powered video-editing and distribution tool called Cutter Studios. Paradium’s media portfolio includes its namesake brand Parade as well as TheStreet, Athlon…

In a study published in Agriculture, researchers from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) propose a policy roadmap for an AI-driven precision farming approach to further improve indigenous and other livestock breeds’ abilities to withstand extreme conditions in farming operations of all sizes and types.

The southern hairy-nosed wombat, a species long persecuted by farmers in South Australia, has been found to deliver key environmental benefits, and researcher Dr. Ruth Norris believes it warrants urgent protection.

A man who lost an astonishing $308,000 by making hundreds of separate sports bets on the prediction market Kalshi, is suing the company to recover his losses. In fact, he’s asking for $580,000 — even more than he frittered away. While a guy suing a gambling service after losing sounds like a punch line, there’s a lot at stake. The lawsuit strikes at the heart of a heated debate over whether prediction platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket amount to gambling — or, as the companies maintain, if they’re so-called “event contracts” that conform with federal regulations. Washington, where the suit was filed in September on behalf of Bellevue resident Scott Bright, has “prohibited Internet gambling since 2006,” per the filing. As Ars Technica reports, Kalshi brought forth a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on October 30, denying that betting on the outcomes of sports games on the platform amounted to “gambling.” “The contracts which Plaintiff mischaracterizes as gambling are event contracts offered on the Platform subject to the CEA [Commodity Exchange Act], in conformance with the rules and regulations of the CFTC [Commodity Futures Trading Commission], the federal agency which has statutory authority to oversee the CEA,” the motion reads.…

For the second time in a few weeks, we’re writing about research into the temperature gap between the sun’s surface and its corona. More and more data from various missions continue to feed this wave of discovery. A new paper by Katariina Nykyri of Embry-Riddle, recently published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, adds to this growing body of work. She argues that millions of tiny whirlpools scattered across the sun’s surface could be the energetic engine driving that temperature difference.

Permanent structures on the moon could start with something already there: lunar dust. New research from the University of Arkansas shows that pure regolith, the loose material that covers the moon, could be 3D-printed into LEGO-like bricks. Using it for construction could reduce what NASA needs to send from Earth as it works toward future lunar settlements.

Long before birds took to the skies, dinosaurs were already sporting feathers. But exactly how they evolved into the sophisticated structures that allow birds to fly remains something of a mystery. Now, the discovery of the longest feather ever found preserved in amber is providing some new clues.

As participants talk, Claude can draft the plan being discussed, map out a timeline on a whiteboard, answer questions in the meeting chat, and access connected work apps to retrieve information, such as last year’s figures.

Years after being officially eliminated, measles is rampant in the U.S. Could it be back for good?

A small asteroid racing through the inner Solar System is moving in ways scientists cannot fully explain. Now, a new study suggests that 1998 KY26, a 36-foot-wide space rock, may be too warm to contain the ice thought to be responsible for its unusual acceleration, challenging one of the leading explanations for its behavior. A Small Asteroid With a Motion Scientists Struggle to Explain Most asteroids travel along paths that astronomers can calculate using gravitational forces and the subtle effects of sunlight. 1998 KY26, however, presents a more complicated picture. Despite measuring only about 11 meters (36 feet) across, this near-Earth object exhibits an unusual acceleration that cannot be explained by gravity alone. The asteroid also spins at an extraordinary rate, completing one rotation every 5.35 minutes. Its rapid rotation and small size make it an unusual target for scientists studying the physical behavior of near-Earth objects. More puzzling is the direction of its additional acceleration, which includes a component perpendicular to its orbital plane. Such motion has encouraged researchers to investigate whether an invisible process might be influencing its trajectory. One possibility has attracted particular attention: 1998 KY26 could be a dark comet, an object that resembles an asteroid…

The affair could have ramifications for national security as the U.S. and China race to develop the most advanced AI infrastructure.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and their collaborators used lasers and neutrons to observe a long-lived quantum state in a magnetic material, opening a new way to study materials systems driven far from their equilibrium. Manipulation of quantum magnets is important for advancing quantum information science and could reduce loss of transported information, improve memory devices and benefit other quantum technologies.

Ocean risks are already severe and worsening, with the potential to become catastrophic without a change of course, according to a new report from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), the University of Exeter and The Ocean Race.