News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
Mounting evidence suggests humans are now a major driving force of evolution on Earth. From selective breeding to environmental modifications, we’re altering so much of our world that we’re not only now driving the climate, but the direction of life itself. Now, in a massive project involving 287 scientists across 160 cities in 26 … Read more
Sony’s Gran Turismo is one of the biggest racing game series of all time, having sold over 80 million copies globally. But none of those millions of players is the fastest. In a new breakthrough, a team led by Sony AI – the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) research division – developed an entirely artificial player … Read more
This visualization shows the Local Bubble with star formation happening on its surface. (Image credit: Leah Hustak (STScI)) Earth is surrounded by a vast bubble about 1,000 light-years wide whose borders drive the formation of all nearby young stars, a new study finds. For decades, astronomers have known the solar system lies within the so-called … Read more
A sugar additive used in several foods could have helped spread a seriously dangerous superbug around the US, according to a 2018 study. The finger of blame is pointed squarely at the sugar trehalose, found in foods such as nutrition bars and chewing gum. If the findings are confirmed, it’s a stark warning that … Read more
Psychologists call it the dark triad: an intersection of three of the most malevolent tendencies of human nature – psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism. But the truth goes deeper, and darker. There’s also egoism, sadism, spitefulness, and more. And behind this rogues gallery of all our worst inclinations on the surface, a central, common core of … Read more
The new Omicron variant of the pandemic coronavirus has provided an avalanche of mutations, many never seen before, for scientists to ponder. And as with earlier variants, Omicron researchers are focused on numerous changes to the spike protein, which studs the surface of SARS-CoV-2 and allows it to latch on to and invade human cells. … Read more
When COVID shut down life as usual in the spring of 2020, most physicians in the U.S. focused on the immediate physical dangers from the novel coronavirus. But soon pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris began thinking of COVID’s longer-term emotional damage and those who would be especially vulnerable: children. “The pandemic is a massive stressor,” explains … Read more
When COVID shut down life as usual in the spring of 2020, most physicians in the U.S. focused on the immediate physical dangers from the novel coronavirus. But soon pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris began thinking of COVID’s longer-term emotional damage and those who would be especially vulnerable: children. “The pandemic is a massive stressor,” explains … Read more
The proportion of drivers in New South Wales illegally using their mobile phones has dropped fivefold since AI cameras began catching offenders Technology 8 December 2021 By Alice Klein A driver using their phone in a photo captured by a mobile phone detection camera in New South Wales, Australia Uncredited/AP/Shutterstock World-first cameras in Australia that … Read more