A DAY AGO

This A.I. Just Created Viruses Not Found in Nature

Scientists trained artificial intelligence on libraries of DNA and then asked the model to create recipes for viral genomes. Sixteen of them were viable, yielding new viruses.

How much of our existence do we owe to sugar?

It may be time to rethink our relationship with the sweet stuff

OpenAI’s latest math breakthroughs commit research misconduct, experts say

OpenAI released 10 AI-generated results over the weekend. Some mathematicians are unhappy with their approach

A DAY AGO

James R. Urbaniak, Master of Stitching Back Fingers, Dies at 90

He was among the first to perform microscopic surgery in the 1970s and revolutionized techniques to treat traumatic injuries.

A DAY AGO

Trump Administration to Pay RWE to Cancel Wind Leases

It was the fifth such deal struck by the administration to get companies to drop offshore wind projects.

21 HOURS AGO

Trump’s Push for More A.I. Data Centers Will Mean Major Air Pollution

17 HOURS AGO

A Promising Heart Drug Fails, Challenging a Long-Held Theory of Disease

The drug targeted inflammation, and its shocking failure has experts questioning whether inflammation really does cause heart disease.

Smoking was supposed to be fading away. Why are young people embracing it again?

Smoking rates remain low, but experts say social media, stress and shifting attitudes could be fueling a cigarette revival

Is Gen Z actually smoking more? An investigation

Smoking in movies and TV is up, and "cigfluencers" have become a thing, but lags in data make it unclear if the vibe shift has any reality to it

How many paper folds would get you to the moon?

Folding a piece of paper makes it thicker. How many folds would it take to reach the moon—and beyond?

NASA’s Voyager 2 survives daring ‘big bang’ maneuver

After 49 years in space, NASA's Voyagers are running low on power—but an audacious move should extend the tenures of the two spacecraft

Did life on Earth only arise once? Perhaps not

The last common ancestor of all living things may not have been alive at all

Why Google DeepMind broke up the AlphaFold team

The artificial intelligence system largely accomplished the task it was built to solve, and researchers outside DeepMind have already been carrying its work forward

AI just created a virus not found in nature and scientists are worried

The technique could lead to new treatments for antibiotic-resistant bugs, but some scientists say the technology could be misused

Anthropic and OpenAI AI agents showed signs of deception during safety tests

A U.K. safety evaluation found agents powered by Anthropic and OpenAI took unauthorized actions online, exposing a growing problem of control