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looorg writes:

Humans use tools, it's one of the things that make us great. Some of the other smarter monkeys also use tools. Next up we have Cows. Cow tool users. Beware the bovine master race ... also lactose tolerant.

Veronika, a cow living in an idyllic mountain village in the Austrian countryside, has spent years perfecting the art of scratching herself with sticks, rakes, and deck brushes. Now that scientists have discovered her, she has the distinction of the first cow known to use tools.

She picks up objects with her tongue, grips them tight with her mouth, and directs their ends to where she wants them most. When she's wielding a deck brush, she will use the bristled end to scratch her thick-skinned back, but switches to the smooth handle when scratching her soft, sensitive belly.

[...] The brown cow's know-how came to the attention of scientists last year after Alice Auersperg, a cognitive biologist at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, published a book on tool use in animals. Shortly after, her inbox was flooded with messages from people claiming to have seen their pets use tools. "I got all of those emails from people saying things like 'my cat is using the Amazon box as a tool. It's her new house,'" she says. Among these mundane reports was something truly new: a video of a cow picking up a rake and scratching her backside with it.

"It seemed really interesting," she recalls. "We had to take a closer look." Not long after, Auersperg and her colleague Antonio Osuna-Mascaró, a post-doctoral researcher at the same University, drove to Veronika's home.

To say Veronika was living her best life would be an understatement. Her owner, a soft-hearted baker named Witgar Wiegele, had kept Veronika and her mother as pets. She'd spent her life roaming around a picturesque pasture surrounded by forests and snow-covered mountains. Veronika, now 13 years old, has had many years to mess around with the many sticks and landscaping tools that line her enclosure.

The only downside to her idyllic lifestyle is that each summer, horse flies plague Wiegele's property. According to the researchers, the desire to shoo these flies away and scratch their bites likely drove Veronika to develop her self-scratching skills.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/cow-using-tools

Original Submission

fliptop writes:

Schools across the U.S. are rolling out AI-powered surveillance technology, including drones, facial recognition and even bathroom listening devices. But there's not much data to prove they keep kids safe:

Inside a white stucco building in Southern California, video cameras compare faces of passersby against a facial recognition database. Behavioral analysis AI reviews the footage for signs of violent behavior. Behind a bathroom door, a smoke detector-shaped device captures audio, listening for sounds of distress. Outside, drones stand ready to be deployed and provide intel from above, and license plate readers from $8.5 billion surveillance behemoth Flock Safety ensure the cars entering and exiting the parking lot aren't driven by criminals.

This isn't a high-security government facility. It's Beverly Hills High School.

District superintendent Alex Cherniss says the striking array of surveillance tools is a necessity, and one that ensures the safety of his students. "We are in the hub of an urban setting of Los Angeles, in one of the most recognizable cities on the planet. So we are always a target and that means our kids are a target and our staff are a target," he said. In the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the district spent $4.8 million on security, including staff. The surveillance system spots multiple threats per day, the district said.

Beverly Hills' apparatus might seem extreme, but it's not an outlier. Across the U.S., schools are rolling out similar surveillance systems they hope will keep them free of the horrific and unceasing tide of mass shootings. There have been 49 deaths from gunfire on school property this year. In 2024, there were 59, and in 2023 there were 45, per Everytown for Gun Safety. Between 2000 and 2022, 131 people were killed and 197 wounded at schools in the U.S., most of them children. Given those appalling metrics, allocating a portion of your budget to state of the art AI-powered safety and surveillance tools is a relatively easy decision.

[...] Skeptics, however, said there's little proof AI technologies are going to bring those numbers down significantly, and they ruin trust with students. A 2023 American Civil Liberties Union report found that eight of the 10 largest school shootings in America since Columbine occurred on campuses with surveillance systems. Chad Marlow, a senior policy counsel at the ACLU who authored the report, said that even with the advent of AI-powered tools, there's a dearth in independent research to verify it's any better at preventing tragedies. "It's very peculiar to make the claim that this will keep your kids safe," he said.

The report also found that the surveillance fostered an atmosphere of distrust: 32% of 14 to 18-year-old students surveyed said they felt like they were always being watched. In focus groups run by the ACLU, students said they felt less comfortable alerting educators to mental health issues and physical abuse. Marlow argues that's a lousy tradeoff. "Because kids don't trust people they view as spying on them, it ruptures trust and actually makes things less safe," he said.

Originally spotted on Schneier on Security.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

France records more deaths than births for first time since end of second world war:

A public consultation last year found the financial cost of raising children was a barrier to parenthood for 28% of French adults. A public consultation last year found the financial cost of raising children was a barrier to parenthood for 28% of French adults. France records more deaths than births for first time since end of second world war

For the first time since the end of the second world war, France has recorded more deaths than births, suggesting that the country's long-held demographic advantage over other EU countries is slipping away.

Across the country in 2025, there were 651,000 deaths and 645,000 births, according to newly released figures from the national statistics institute Insee.

France had long been an exception across Europe, with birthrates that topped many of its neighbours'. In 2023 – the most recent year for which comparable data is available – the fertility rate in France of 1.65 children per woman was the second-highest in the EU, trailing only Bulgaria's 1.81.

This week's data, however, suggests that the country is not immune to the demographic crunch sweeping the continent as populations age and birthrates tumble.

fliptop writes:

A growing number of college professors are sounding the alarm over a quiet but accelerating crisis on American campuses, as Gen Z Arriving at College Unable to Read:

According to a report by Fortune, professors across the country say students are struggling to process written sentences, complete assigned reading, or engage meaningfully with texts that were once foundational to higher education.

The problem is not confined to remedial courses or underperforming schools.

Faculty say it is widespread, structural, and getting worse.

[...] Timothy O'Malley of the University of Notre Dame said students often have no idea how to approach traditional reading assignments and instead turn to artificial intelligence tools for summaries.

"Today, if you assign that amount of reading, they often don't know what to do," O'Malley told Fortune.

[...] Professors say it is the predictable outcome of a K–12 system that no longer ensures basic competence.

Standards were lowered, accountability eroded, and reading increasingly treated as optional.

The result is a generation arriving at adulthood unprepared for rigorous work, real expectations, and the responsibilities that come with them, and universities now face the consequences.

Has AI become the modern equivalent of Cliff Notes?

Original Submission

upstart writes:

The 'bombshell' science that casts doubt on claims about microplastics:

[...] Officially, microplastics are no larger than five millimetres in size (the size of a grain of rice or smaller), whereas nanoplastics are one nanometre to 1000 nanometres in size (as small as bacteria) and are a lot harder to detect. In recent years, studies have claimed to have found these minuscule particles in nearly every human organ and tissue, including the lungs, liver, kidneys, heart, brain, placenta, testicles, bone marrow and blood.

[...] With large microplastics, scientists can easily spot particles under a microscope and then fire a laser at them to see if they are plastic. But with nanoplastics, scientists must burn the particle and measure the gases emitted, which is less reliable and still in its infancy as a technique.

This unreliability of testing has made researchers more sceptical about the more alarmist findings. An abstract presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology last year showing microplastics in human reproductive fluids was met with raised eyebrows among scientists.

"Many previous scary sounding headlines on microplastics in blood and food have turned out to be measurement errors," warns Oliver Jones, professor of chemistry at RMIT University, Melbourne, referring to reports that preceded last year's findings.

Likewise, separate claims that microplastics had been found in human blood in 2022 were criticised by a US chemist as being "consistent with incidental or accidental contaminations", in a letter to the Environmental International journal.

[...] Yet despite the testing issues, many experts are still convinced microplastics are causing harm.

Prof Philip Landrigan, a paediatrician and epidemiologist at Boston College in the US, led a recent review into microplastics for the Lancet, and says people should not dismiss the dangers. "The Guardian article is accurate in pointing out that there is work to be done in refining, standardising and harmonising the analytical techniques for examining microplastics in tissue samples," he says.

"There is a need especially to distinguish microplastics from lipids [fats]. But the Guardian is wrong in implying that this whole area of science is rubbish.

"The presence of microplastics in the human body needs to be taken seriously, even if we don't yet know all the ways in which they may harm health. They cannot be wished away."

Original Submission

hubie writes:

Intentionally shaping your free time through goal setting, learning and connection does not just boost well-being outside the office but can spill over into creativity, engagement, and meaning at work, especially for older employees:

As millions of us embark on New Year pledges to eat better, exercise more and learn something new, research published today suggests hobbies could do more than improve your personal life, they could make you better at work.

The study by researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Erasmus University Rotterdam explored how 'leisure crafting' - intentionally shaping your free time through goal setting, learning and connection - does not just boost well-being outside the office but can spill over into creativity, engagement, and meaning at work, especially for older employees.

Published in the journal Human Relations, the findings show that giving people simple, doable advice about how to grow through their hobbies can make a real difference in their daily lives.

"It's already known that hobbies are good for your well-being," said lead author Dr Paraskevas Petrou, of Erasmus School of Social & Behavioural Sciences.

"But our study shows that hobbies don't just make you happier, they can also help you feel more fulfilled and creative at work. This goes beyond just relaxing or having fun - like binge-watching Netflix - and turns the hobby into something that helps people grow."

Co-author Prof George Michaelides, from UEA's Norwich Business School, added: "We were surprised to see that leisure crafting had a stronger effect at work than in people's personal lives. We had expected equal benefits in both areas.

"One possible reason is that people who took part in our study were already fairly satisfied with their lives outside work, but their work life had more room for improvement. If what people do outside work can also have this positive impact on them in the workplace, organizations should support staff not just in their jobs, but in all areas of their lives."

[...] Co-author Prof Laura Den Dulk, also of Erasmus University Rotterdam, said: "What makes this study different is that we didn't just ask people how they feel. We asked them to take a small, specific action - to approach their hobby in a new way - and then we saw how it actually affected their lives week by week.

"This is a reminder that people aren't just employees - they're whole individuals, and supporting their personal growth outside of work can have a positive impact inside the workplace too."

[...] The authors say there are several ways in which organizations can maximize the benefits of leisure crafting. For example, they could be more aware that their employees are more than just workers and help staff to realize their full potential outside work.

This could be by making hobbies eligible for the use of employee or personal development funds and recognizing leisure-time commitments, 'me-time' and leisure-time projects as a life domain that is also important next to, for example, family commitments.

They could also offer similar interventions to their employees, either as online or on-site masterclasses or personal development modules that can help employees grow in a holistic rather than in an exclusively work-related way.

Journal Reference: Petrou, P., Den Dulk, L., & Michaelides, G. (2026). The leisure crafting intervention: Effects on work and non-work outcomes and the moderating role of age. Human Relations, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00187267251407641

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

IT spending set to hit $1.4 trillion in 2026 - but what exactly are we spending it on?

IT spending is set to rise 11.1% in 2026 to hit $1.43 trillion - and it comes as no surprise that continued AI deployment will drive much of that growth.

The latest Gartner projections claim Generative AI model spending is one of the biggest categories in Europe especially, with a 78.2% rise expected.

Gartner explained cloud and cybersecurity investments, together with AI tools, will continue despite industry-wide tight budgets and limited headcount growth.

Although enterprises are set to plough more money into tech, there's a clear evolution at play with a bigger focus on smarter, more efficient and more personalized options. An overview across five key categories shows the biggest growth coming from data center systems, up 18.8% year-over-year, however this remains the smallest overall expense in terms of dollar value.

The biggest is attributed to IT services, followed by software, communication services and devices.

But the rise in spend isn't necessarily because companies want to expand what they have.

"Europe is facing regulatory pressure, competition between countries, geopolitical tensions, and national security concerns-all focused on making sure Europe can develop and manage AI systems on its own, without depending on foreign platforms or providers," Distinguished VP Analyst John-David Lovelock explained.

Separately, Garner expects 35% of countries to be locked into region-specific AI platforms, up from 5% today. This shift towards regionally hosted cloud services is also expected to drive a 24% growth in public cloud spending in 2026.

Worse still, analysts at Gartner explain that price increases are artificially inflating the figure, which suggests growth might not be as high as projections indicate.

Original Submission

hubie writes:

Psychology researchers used virtual reality and MRI technology to better understand how locations help us encode memories:

It's obvious to most people as soon as they set foot in a place they know well—like their childhood bedroom or a former classroom—that place and memory are intimately linked.

A new paper by researchers at Columbia University, Johns Hopkins, and Princeton sheds light on that phenomenon, and helps demonstrate the neural mechanisms behind it. The research paves the way for a better understanding of how new memories can build on top of existing knowledge and what causes us to remember—or forget—events in our lives.

[...] They found that when participants are in a location they know well, they form stronger memories. The findings suggest that very familiar places create deeper and richer memories for the events that happen there, perhaps because we have such detailed knowledge of that space and can connect new events to the details we already know.

"Spilling a pitcher of water in your own kitchen and soaking your grandmother's tea cozy, your son's refrigerator drawing, and your Pomeranian creates a host of personally meaningful elements that lead to a more complex and durable memory," Baldassano said.

The research team created a digital "memory palace," a virtual reality building with 23 rooms. To make sure that each room would cause patterns of brain activity that were as different as possible, the rooms had varying shapes, sizes, decorations, and background music, such as a giant dome with floating rocks or a small room with a campfire.

[...] The researchers found that people were better at remembering objects that had been placed in the rooms with more stable and clear patterns of brain activity. In other words, when people had built a strong, high quality mental map for a room, the room was more useful for encoding a new memory.

"It's a bit like assessing the sturdiness of a new foundation," Masís-Obando said. "We come in, take a few measures, and get a sense of how strong that foundation is. If you want new memories to hang steadily, they need something solid to anchor to." The findings also suggest that the more distinct a neural impression a specific location has made on us, the more it helps us inscribe memories.

[...] This work provides an explanation for a popular memorization technique called the Method of Loci, in which people first carefully study a sequence of familiar locations. When they want to remember new information like a shopping list or the names of people at a party, they imagine walking through these familiar locations and attaching information to each one. This trick allows them to get all the advantages of creating memories in a well-learned map, but without having to actually visit the location (or experience it in virtual reality).

"These findings are very exciting both for our understanding of memories, and for understanding how spatial knowledge—like mental maps—can help us learn information," Baldassano said.

Journal Reference: Masís-Obando, R., Norman, K.A. & Baldassano, C. Spatial contexts with reliable neural representations support reinstatement of subsequently placed objects. Nat Hum Behav (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02379-z

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

Proton VPN Kills Off Legacy OpenVPN Configs in Push for Better Security

Proton VPN has announced it is retiring old manual OpenVPN configuration files on security grounds, setting a strict cutoff date of February 28, 2026.

The change affects all users who rely on configuration files downloaded before September 2023. While users on the official Proton VPN apps remain unaffected, those running manual setups on routers, Linux terminals, or third-party clients will lose connectivity if they don't refresh their credentials.

[...] The old configuration files are being retired to enforce the use of AES-256-GCM encryption, replacing the older CBC mode.

According to Proton, the switch to GCM offers "built-in integrity, support for parallel processing, and other efficiency improvements," meaning it is faster and drains less battery on mobile devices.

Additionally, the new configurations implement TLS-Crypt, a feature that encrypts the control channel and packet headers. This hides the TLS handshake and metadata, making it much harder for firewalls and censors to identify that you are using a VPN.

If you use a manual OpenVPN setup, check when you last downloaded your configuration files. If it was before September 2023, or if you aren't sure, the safest bet is to update them now.

Failing to update these files before the February deadline will result in a sudden loss of connectivity, potentially leaving your traffic exposed or your internet access blocked entirely.

However, if your router or hardware supports it, we strongly recommend switching to WireGuard instead of reinstalling OpenVPN.

WireGuard uses modern cryptography that is faster to execute, meaning you will likely see a boost in connection speeds and lower latency, vital for gaming or 4K streaming on a router level.

Furthermore, Proton's custom implementation of WireGuard includes specific "Stealth" obfuscation capabilities, making it much harder for ISPs or strict firewalls to detect and block your VPN tunnel compared to a standard OpenVPN connection.

This news comes just days after Mullvad VPN took a much more drastic step. On January 15, Mullvad completely shut down support for OpenVPN across its entire server network, forcing all users onto the newer WireGuard protocol.

Proton's approach is softer. While the company admits it is looking to phase out OpenVPN from its apps, it confirmed to TechRadar that server-side support is going nowhere.

Speaking to TechRadar, David Peterson, General Manager at Proton VPN, explained that while WireGuard is taking over, legacy support remains a priority.

"With the higher performance of WireGuard, particularly on mobile devices, and our extension of WireGuard for Proton VPN's Stealth protocol, we have seen the rate at which OpenVPN is used drop to a tiny minority of our user base," Peterson said. "As such, over time we will start to phase out OpenVPN support in our client apps –particularly for mobile devices where speed and battery performance are of concern."

However, Peterson drew a clear line between the apps and the servers: "We will continue to support OpenVPN on Proton VPN's servers for the foreseeable future in order to support legacy routers and other older devices that are unable to support WireGuard."

Original Submission

hubie writes:

Graviton detection is moving from a long-standing impossibility into a first-of-its-kind experimental program:

Modern physics has a problem. Its two main pillars are quantum theory and Einstein's theory of general relativity, yet these two frameworks are seemingly incompatible. Quantum theory describes nature in terms of discrete quantum particles and interactions, while general relativity treats gravity as a smooth curvature of space and time. A true unification requires gravity itself to be quantum, mediated by particles known as "gravitons." However, detecting even a single graviton was long thought fundamentally impossible. As a result, the problem of quantum gravity remained largely theoretical, with no experimentally grounded "theory of everything" in sight.

This situation changed very recently. In 2024, Igor Pikovski, assistant professor at Stevens Institute of Technology, and his team published a discovery in Nature Communications showing that graviton detection is, in fact, possible. "For a long time, graviton detection was considered so hopeless that it was not treated as an experimental problem at all," says Pikovski. "What we found is that this conclusion no longer holds in the era of modern quantum technology."

The key is a new perspective that synthesizes two major experimental advances. The first is the detection of gravitational waves: ripples in space-time produced by collisions of black holes or neutron stars. Predicted by Einstein over a century ago, gravitational waves were first observed in 2015 and are now detected routinely, opening an entirely new window onto the universe. If gravity ultimately obeys quantum physics, gravitational waves would be described as vast collections of gravitons acting in concert, appearing indistinguishable from a classical wave in current observations.

The second advance comes from quantum engineering. Over the past decade, physicists have learned how to cool, control, and measure increasingly massive systems in genuine quantum states, bringing quantum phenomena far beyond the atomic scale. In a landmark experiment in 2022, the laboratory of Jack Harris, professor at Yale University, demonstrated control and measurement of individual vibrational quanta of superfluid helium weighing over a nanogram.

Pikovski realized that if these two capabilities are combined, it becomes possible to absorb and detect a single graviton; a passing gravitational wave can, in principle, transfer exactly one quantum of energy (i.e. a single graviton) into a sufficiently massive quantum system. The resulting energy shift is small but can be resolved. The true difficulty is that gravitons almost never interact with matter. But for quantum systems at the kilogram scale - rather than the microscopic scale - exposed to intense gravitational waves from merging black holes or neutron stars, absorbing a single graviton becomes possible.

[...] The experiment aims to immerse a gram-scale cylindrical resonator in a superfluid-helium container, cool the system to its quantum ground state, and use laser-based measurements to detect individual phonons - the vibrational quanta into which gravitons are converted. The detector builds on systems already operating in the Harris laboratory, but pushes them into a new regime, scaling the mass to the gram level while preserving exquisite quantum sensitivity. Demonstrating the successful operation of this platform will establish a blueprint for a next iteration that can be scaled to the sensitivity required for direct graviton detection, opening a new experimental frontier in quantum gravity.

"Quantum physics began with experiments on light and matter," says Pikovski. "Our goal now is to bring gravity into this experimental domain, and to study gravitons the way physicists first studied photons over a century ago."

Journal Reference: Tobar, G., Manikandan, S.K., Beitel, T. et al. Detecting single gravitons with quantum sensing. Nat Commun 15, 7229 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51420-8

Original Submission

jelizondo writes:

Slashgear published an article about the wind electric generation in China:

Nations around the world are dedicating a tremendous amount of resources to projects that can help reduce or restore some of the damage caused by climate change. One significant change that's taking place is shifting how some energy is produced. In October 2025, the BBC reported that an Ember study revealed renewable resources had overtaken coal as the planet's most significant source of electricity. China was an enormous part of this push: The outlet notes that, during the first half of 2025, its growth in wind and solar energy outpaced every other country in the world combined.

This dramatic embracing of solar energy's potential is helping to make energy use greener and could be the only defense against the more drastic effects of the planet's warming. It's about much more than just energy generation, though. China has previously found that its enormous solar farm was doing a lot more than just producing energy, and this has also proven to be the case for its expansive efforts in wind. A December 2025 study titled "Offshore wind farms can enhance the structural composition and functional dynamics of coastal waters," concluded that the wind farms in Chinese waters are making a positive change to the biodiversity of the regions where they were installed.

The study, published in Global Ecology and Conservation (via ScienceDirect), reports that "While OWFs [offshore wind farms -Ed.] contribute significantly to clean energy production, they also bring notable physical, chemical, and biological changes to the surrounding marine environment."

The oceans are heavily impacted by climate change. The Atlantic Ocean, for instance, has been described by scientists as at a 'tipping point' regarding its ability to regulate the temperature of the world's waters. While offshore wind farms are large and rather imposing structures, they aren't necessarily unfriendly. The Global Ecology and Conservation study noted that the changes a nearby offshore wind farm can have on its ecosystem are considerable, and in order to investigate them further, "ecopath models were developed for an OWF area and, separately, for a nearby control area, using biological and environmental survey data collected in 2022 and 2023."

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

Mosquitoes' thirst for human blood has increased as biodiversity loss worsens

Stretching along the Brazilian coastline, the Atlantic Forest is home to hundreds of species of birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and fishes. However, due to human expansion, only about a third of the forest's original area remains intact.

As human presence drives animals from their habitats, mosquitoes that once fed on a wide variety of hosts might be finding new, human targets to quench their thirst for blood, finds a study in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.

"Here we show that the mosquito species we captured in remnants of the Atlantic Forest have a clear preference for feeding on humans," said senior author Dr. Jeronimo Alencar, a biologist at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute in Rio de Janeiro.

"This is crucial, because in an environment like the Atlantic Forest with a great diversity of potential vertebrate hosts, a preference for humans significantly enhances the risk of pathogen transmission," added co-author Dr. Sergio Machado, a researcher who studies microbiology and immunology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

[...] Out of a total of 1,714 captured mosquitoes belonging to 52 species, 145 females were engorged with blood. Blood meals consumed by 24 of those mosquitoes could be identified and were sourced from 18 humans, one amphibian, six birds, one canid, and one mouse. Some blood meals were made up of multiple sources; the meal of a mosquito identified as Cq. Venezuelensis was made up of amphibian and human blood. Mosquitoes belonging to the species Cq. Fasciolata fed on both a rodent and a bird as well as a bird and a human, respectively.

upstart writes:

New Studies Can Explain Why Comet 3I/Atlas Isn't An Alien (Probably):

When some scientists and conspiracy theorists saw the strange trajectory of the space object 3I/ATLAS, some of them thought one thing: aliens. With a bizarre shape, an unusually precise trajectory, and unpredictable acceleration patterns, several observers believed 3I/ATLAS was of extraterrestrial design. But a new paper might provide some much needed clues about the origins of this strange object. Spoiler alert: It likely isn't an alien.

Submitted to Research Notes of the AAS, the paper likens the behavior of 3I/ATLAS to that of other comets zooming through our solar system, linking its abnormal flight patterns to a phenomenon called outgassing, which can change speed, spin, and orbit trajectory. According to the paper's author Marshall Eubanks, the team measured the objects non-gravitational acceleration through two interplanetary spacecraft. The results, according to Eubanks, showed that the object followed typical patterns of other comets flying through our solar system.

The paper largely debunks months of speculation, during which a group of Harvard astrophysicists speculated that 3I/ATLAS might be a piece of alien technology. Avi Loeb, a Harvard astrophysicist, even discussed the possibility on the Joe Rogan podcast after releasing a draft paper on the subject in July 2025. [...]

[...] Speculation that 3I/ATLAS could be an interplanetary, alien visitor were rooted in these highly unique characteristics, especially its unique flight pattern. According to Avi Loeb's paper – titled "Is the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Alien Technology?" — the comet's trajectory is highly improbable, taking a route that passes strangely close to Venus, Jupiter, and Mars, which Loeb's team determined would only occur 0.005% of the time. Further unlikely irregularities, such as its unique retrograde orbital plane and a perihelion, or point in which the comet is closest to the sun, that conveniently occurs when Earth is on the other side, obstructing it from view, testified to Loeb's theory of interstellar travel. Written largely as a theoretical exercise, the paper explored the popular "Dark Forest" theory, in which human's lack of extraterrestrial evidence is an intentional strategy by hostile, silent intergalactic neighbors. With this assumption, Loeb's team hypothesized that the object's unique properties, including its obstructed perihelion, pointed towards the possibility of an alien species conducting a clandestine mission within our solar system.

fliptop writes:

Automotive giant Stellantis will stop selling its plug-in hybrid electric Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee models and Chrysler Pacifica minivans in the United States amid sluggish electric vehicle sales, the company announced on Friday:

"Stellantis will phase out plug-in hybrid programs in North America beginning with the 2026 model year, and focus on more competitive electrified solutions, including hybrid and range-extended vehicles," the company said.

[...] Stellantis's decision comes three months after Chrysler recalled more than 320,000 Jeep plug-in hybrids in the United States and 20,000 Jeeps in Canada over concerns of a battery that could catch fire even when the vehicle was not running. The recall applied to Jeep Wranglers from 2021 to 2025, and Jeep Grand Cherokees from 2022 to 2025.

[...] In other company news, Stellantis announced on Friday it was partnering with Bolt, Europe's leading mobility platform, to explore the development of driverless autonomous vehicles for commercial operations across Europe.

Related:

• US EV Sales Will Collapse 60% In October, J.D. Power Forecasts
• GM to Take $1.6 Billion Hit as It Scales Back Electric Vehicle Operations
• Canadian EV Sales Collapse by 35% as Gas Car Purchases Surge
• Stellantis Lays Off Thousands of Workers after Pocketing Hundreds of Millions in EV Subsidies

Original Submission

hubie writes:

Analysis centers on point of attachment of ligament vital to walking upright:

In recent decades, scientists have debated whether a seven-million-year-old fossil was bipedal—a trait that would make it the oldest human ancestor. A new analysis by a team of anthropologists offers powerful evidence that Sahelanthropus tchadensis—a species discovered in the early 2000s—was indeed bipedal by uncovering a feature found only in bipedal hominins.

Using 3D technology and other methods, the team identified Sahelanthropus's femoral tubercle, which is the point of attachment for the largest and most powerful ligament in the human body—the iliofemoral ligament—and vital for walking upright. The analysis also confirmed the presence of other traits in Sahelanthropus that are linked to bipedalism.

"Sahelanthropus tchadensis was essentially a bipedal ape that possessed a chimpanzee-sized brain and likely spent a significant portion of its time in trees, foraging and seeking safety," says Scott Williams, an associate professor in New York University's Department of Anthropology who led the research. "Despite its superficial appearance, Sahelanthropus was adapted to using bipedal posture and movement on the ground."

[...] Sahelanthropus was discovered in Chad's Djurab desert by University of Poitiers' palaeontologists in the early 2000s, with initial analyses focusing on its skull. Two decades later, studies on other parts of that discovery—its forearms, or ulnae, and thigh bone, or femur—were reported. This prompted debate over whether the species was bipedal or not, leaving open the question on its status: Is Sahelanthropus a hominin (a human ancestor)?

[...] In the Science Advances study, the scientists took a closer look at the ulnae and femur using two primary methods: a multi-fold trait comparison with the same bones of living and fossil species and 3D geometric morphometrics—a standard method for analyzing shapes in greater detail in order to illuminate areas of particular interest. Among the compared fossil species was Australopithecus—an early human ancestor, well-known through the discovery of the "Lucy" skeleton in the early 1970s, who lived an estimated four to two million years ago.

[...] "Our analysis of these fossils offers direct evident that Sahelanthropus tchadensis could walk on two legs, demonstrating that bipedalism evolved early in our lineage and from an ancestor that looked most similar to today's chimpanzees and bonobos," concludes Williams.

Journal Reference: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adv0130

Original Submission