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Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://scitechdaily.com/a-2000-year-old-fingerprint-may-solve-mystery-of-scandinavias-oldest-wooden-boat/

Researchers have identified a fingerprint preserved in the tar used to seal the oldest known wooden plank boat in Scandinavia, offering a rare physical connection to the sea raiders who used the vessel more than 2,000 years ago. By closely examining the composition of the tar, scientists at Lund University are gaining new insight into the long-debated question of where these attackers originated.

During the 4th century BC, a small fleet of boats launched an attack on the island of Als off the coast of present day Denmark. The raiders, who may have traveled in as many as four vessels, were ultimately defeated. After the battle, the defenders placed their enemies' weapons into the bog along with one of the boats, most likely as a ritual offering to mark their victory.

"Where these sea raiders might have come from, and why they attacked the island of Als has long been a mystery," says Mikael Fauvelle, archaeologist at Lund University.

The vessel was first discovered in the 1880s in the Hjortspring Mose bog, excavated more extensively in the 1920s, and later became known as the Hjortspring boat. It remains the only prehistoric plank-built boat ever found in Scandinavia. Because it was deliberately placed in a bog as an offering, the boat survived in remarkably good condition. It has since been displayed at the National Museum of Denmark.

When researchers recently located sections of the boat that had never undergone chemical preservation, they were able to analyze them using modern scientific techniques.

"The boat was waterproofed with pine pitch, which was surprising. This suggests the boat was built somewhere with abundant pine forests," says Mikael Fauvelle.

Earlier theories proposed that the boat and its crew came from the area around present-day Hamburg in Germany. The new evidence instead points toward origins in the Baltic Sea region.

"If the boat came from the pine forest-rich coastal regions of the Baltic Sea, it means that the warriors who attacked the island of Als chose to launch a maritime raid over hundreds of kilometers of open sea," says Mikael Fauvelle.

As for where the fingerprint itself was left, that question remains open. The most definitive way to determine the boat's origin would be through tree year ring counting, which could link the wooden planks to the specific region where the trees were originally cut.

"We are also hoping to be able to extract ancient DNA from the caulking tar on the boat, which could give us more detailed information on the ancient people who used this boat," concludes Mikael Fauvelle.

The latest findings are the result of careful detective work by the researchers.

The team wanted to find material from the boat that had not yet been subjected to conservation. This involved going through the archive at the National Museum and reading old correspondence, detailing when and where materials had been shipped between different storage areas and museums in Denmark.

"When we located some of the boxes of materials, we were very excited to find that they contained samples from the original excavation that had not been studied in over 100 years," says Mikael Fauvelle.

How the researchers examined their findings

The team used a wide range of modern scientific methods to study the Hjortspring material. They were able to carbon date some of the lime bast cordage used on the boat, giving them the first absolute date from the original excavation material and confirming its pre-Roman Iron Age dating.

They also used X-ray tomography to make high-resolution scans of the caulking and cordage material found on the boat. This included making a digital 3D model of the fingerprint found in some of the caulking tar.

They used gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to study the caulking material and to see how it was produced. In addition, they worked with modern rope makers to create replicas of the ship's cordage to study the rope-making process used in the boat's construction.

Reference: “New investigations of the Hjortspring boat: Dating and analysis of the cordage and caulking materials used in a pre-Roman iron age plank boat” by Mikael Fauvelle, Boel Bengtsson, Olof Pipping, Mikkel Hollmann, Martin Nordvig Mortensen, Peter Toft, Sahel Ganji, Ashely Green, Christian Horn, Stephen Hall, Flemming Kaul and Johan Ling, 10 December 2025, PLOS ONE.

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0336965

Original Submission

hubie writes:

Research explores what happens when people face goal obstacles:

When it comes to our most important long-term goals in life, it is not uncommon to face obstacles that may lead us to doubt whether we can achieve our ambitions.

But when life hands you doubts, the answer may be to question your doubts, a new study suggests.

A psychology professor found that when people who were worried about achieving an identity goal were induced to experience what is called meta-cognitive doubt, they actually became more committed to achieving their goal.

"What this study found is that inducing doubts in one's doubts can provide a formula for confidence," said Patrick Carroll, author of the study and professor of psychology at The Ohio State University at Lima.

The study was published online recently in the journal Self and Identity.

Carroll was interested in what happens when people have what is called an "action crisis" while pursuing an identity goal – a long-term objective centered on who you want to become in life. Wanting to become a doctor, for instance, is an identity goal.

An action crisis is a decision conflict where you are not sure if you want to continue pursuit of the goal.

"When you're pursuing identity goals, bumps in the roads inevitably arise. There may come a point where the obstacle is big enough to evoke doubts about whether to continue," Carroll said.

Most research on the topic has focused specifically on these doubts and how they can impact whether people go forward with their goals.

But based on previous work done by other Ohio State researchers, Carroll decided to examine meta-cognitive doubt, which is the sense of certainty a person has in the validity of one's thoughts.

In the case of this research, a person can have doubts about whether they can achieve their goal. But what happens if you make the person wonder if their doubts are valid?

[...] "On some level, it may seem that doubt would be additive. Doubt plus doubt would equal more doubt," Carroll said. "But this study found the opposite: Doubt plus doubt equaled less doubt."

[...] On a practical level, it may be difficult for individuals to induce doubts about their doubts on their own, Carroll said. One reason it worked in this study is that participants were not aware that the doubt induction was related to their goal doubts.

This could be more effective if someone else – a therapist, a teacher, a friend or a parent – can help a person question their own thoughts and doubts.

"You don't want the person to be aware that you're getting them to question their doubts about their goals," he said.

Carroll also noted that this technique should be used carefully, because it could potentially undermine wise judgment if overused or misapplied.

"You don't want to undermine humility and replace it with overconfidence or premature certainty," he said. "This needs to be used wisely."

Journal Reference: Carroll, P. (2025). Increasing identity goal commitment by inducing doubt in goal doubts. Self and Identity, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2025.2597804

Original Submission

hubie writes:

A new study shows that star ratings of books are not always accurate:

You may have tried it yourself: to deselect a book because it "only" has about three stars on Goodreads. But according to a new study from the Center for Humanities Computing (CHC) and the Center for Contemporary Cultures of Text (TEXT), these books may well contain great literary value.

Goodreads is an international platform where millions of readers rate books between one and five stars. The average is often used as a quick indicator of quality – also by publishers, authors and researchers. But when a book ends up in the middle of the scale, the number says far less than you might think.

The researchers from CHC and TEXT have analyzed about 9,000 American novels published between 1880 and 2000. They have particularly focused on just over 2,000 books with average Goodreads ratings in the middle field. By comparing the readers' stars with other measures of literary quality, the researchers have investigated what is hidden behind the seemingly mediocre figures.

The results show that about 30 percent of these 2,000 "mediocre" books are rated as literary important or of high quality according to other criteria – for example, whether they are considered classics, are part of education or have had great cultural significance.

According to the researchers, the mediocre ratings are often not due to the fact that the books are boring. On the contrary.

[...] "For books that are considered to be of literary significance, we see that the more readers who rate them, the greater the disagreement between readers. Some give top marks, others are critical – and it is precisely this spread that characterises books that engage," says PhD student Pascale Feldkamp, who is behind the study together with colleagues from the Center for Humanities Computing and TEXT.

For books that are generally assessed as less important, the same correlation is not seen. Here, several assessments do not lead to major disagreement. This indicates that split ratings are not just an expression of random noise, but are linked to books that actually mean something to readers.

When disagreement grows as more people read along, it is not a sign of indifference – but of importance." The study thus challenges the notion that a book's value can be read directly in its average star rating. An average rating can cover very different situations. Sometimes it is an expression of a broad but lukewarm agreement. Other times, it hides strong and opposing reading experiences that cancel each other out on average," says Pascale Feldkamp

An average may look neutral, but can in reality be the sum of strong opinions that point in different directions.

The study's main conclusion is therefore that an average Goodreads rating does not automatically mean that a book is unimportant. On the contrary, it can point to works that are controversial, polarizing – or later recognized as literarily important.

According to the researchers, if reader data from platforms like Goodreads is to be used to say something meaningful about literary success or value, it requires a more nuanced approach. It is not enough to look at one number. You also have to look at how many people are assessing and how much they disagree.

Some examples given:

*SPOILER* (click to show) *SPOILER* (click to hide)

• James Joyce: Ulysses (stylistically experimental)
• Vladimir Nabokov: Lolita (provocative theme)
• William Faulkner: The Sound and the Fury (fragmented narrator's voice)
• Malcolm Lowry: Under the Volcano (complex style)
• Ayn Rand: The Fountainhead (politically controversial)
• Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins: Left Behind (Ideologically Polarizing)

The average rating can thus hide both fascination and frustration.

If you're a fan of one-star reviews, someone has accumulated a bunch.

Journal Reference: https://doi.org/10.17175/sb006_002

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://gizmodo.com/nasa-postpones-iss-spacewalk-over-medical-issue-considers-early-crew-return-2000707453

A medical issue affecting a Crew-11 astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has forced the agency to postpone Thursday's spacewalk indefinitely and consider bringing the crew home early.

In a statement issued Wednesday, NASA said the agency is monitoring a health concern affecting a member of Crew-11 that arose Wednesday afternoon aboard the orbital laboratory. An emailed update to Space.com received early Thursday morning stated that NASA is "actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11's mission." The agency has not disclosed what the health issue is nor which crew member is affected out of respect for their medical privacy.

LATEST

https://www.space.com/live/astronaut-medical-evacuation-on-iss-jan-10-2026

With NASA and SpaceX officially targeting a Jan. 14 undocking for the Crew-11 astronauts at the International Space Station, we now know the timeline for the medical evacuation of the four astronauts back to Earth.

NASA announced the undocking date late Friday, as well as a detailed timline of events for the ISS departure and landing. Here's a look at the timeline as it stands now:

Wednesday, Jan. 14 - all times in EST

• 3 p.m. - Hatch closure coverage begins on NASA TV and streaming platforms
• 3:30 p.m. - SpaceX Dragon hatch and ISS hatch closed for undocking
• There will be a break here between hatch closure coverage and undocking views.
• 4:45 p.m. - Undocking coverage begins
• 5 p.m. - Undocking and initial ISS departure
• There will be a break here in coverage between undocking and landing.

Thursday, Jan. 15 - all times in EST

• 2:15 a.m - Landing coverage begins on NASA TV and streaming platforms
• 2:50 a.m. - Dragon Deorbit burn
• 3:40 a.m. - Splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off California coast
• 5:45 a.m. - Post-landing return to Earth press conference

This current timeline could change as NASA and SpaceX monitor weather at the splashdown site.

"Mission managers continue monitoring conditions in the recovery area, as undocking of the SpaceX Dragon depends on spacecraft readiness, recovery team readiness, weather, sea states, and other factors," NASA wrote in an update. "NASA and SpaceX will select a specific splashdown time and location closer to the Crew-11 spacecraft undocking."

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/09/microbe_martian_habitats/

[...] With an extremely thin and mostly carbon dioxide atmosphere, air pressure less than 1 percent of Earth's, and temperatures ranging from -90°C up to 26°C, Mars might not be a hospitable place for most terrestrial life forms, but some microorganisms have been found to thrive in acidic lakes, volcanic soils, and deep caves.

Polytechnic University of Milan materials engineering postdoctoral researcher Shiva Khoshtinat and a multidisciplinary team focused on a partnership between two bacteria: Sporosarcina pasteurii – which makes calcium carbonate through the breakdown of urea – and Chroococcidiopsis, which can survive extreme environments, including simulated Martian conditions.

The researchers propose a system in which the two organisms work together. Chroococcidiopsis releases oxygen, which helps support Sporosarcina pasteurii and produces an extracellular polymeric substance that can protect the latter bacteria from damaging UV radiation on Mars. Meanwhile, Sporosarcina produces polymers that help create minerals the authors think might be able to bind the Martian soil – regolith – to produce a material similar to concrete.

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://scitechdaily.com/oceans-are-struggling-to-absorb-carbon-as-microplastics-flood-their-waters/

A recent study suggests that microscopic plastic pollution is reducing the ocean's capacity to take in carbon dioxide, a natural function that plays a central role in keeping the planet's climate stable.

Microplastics are small plastic particles measuring less than five millimeters. They have spread widely across the environment and are now detected in deep ocean waters, rivers and lakes, the air, soil, Arctic ice, and even inside the human body. Because these particles can carry toxic chemicals, their widespread presence poses serious environmental concerns. When ingested by living organisms, including people, they can contribute to disease, disrupt ecosystems, harm marine species, and degrade soil quality.

Despite growing concern over climate change, scientists say the influence of microplastics on this global problem, especially in ocean systems, has received relatively little attention.

[...] To safeguard the oceans and preserve their ability to absorb carbon dioxide, they outline key priorities which include reducing single-use plastics, improving waste management, promoting biodegradable alternatives, and advancing research on how microplastics influence ocean temperature and carbon cycles.

Additionally, they recommend leveraging AI-driven monitoring and innovative materials to curb plastic waste.

When asked about future research directions, Dr. Ihsanullah said, "Our next step is to quantify the climate impact of microplastics and develop integrated solutions. This is not just an environmental issue; it's a global sustainability challenge."

Reference: “From pollution to ocean warming: The climate impacts of marine microplastics” by Asim Nawab, Muhammad Tariq Khan, I. Ihsanullah, Mohammad Nafees and Aamir Mehmood Shah, 18 December 2025, Journal of Hazardous Materials: Plastics.

DOI: 10.1016/j.hazmp.2025.100032

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-discover-ancient-bees-built-nests-inside-animal-bones/

About 20,000 years ago, a family of owls occupied a cave and repeatedly regurgitated pellets packed with the bones of the animals they hunted. Those remains collected on the cave floor. Researchers have now found evidence that ancient bees later took advantage of the bones by building nests inside the empty tooth sockets. A new study in the journal Royal Society Open Science reports the discovery, marking the first known case of bees using animal bones as places to lay their eggs.

[...] To better examine the potential insect nests present in the cave fossils, Viñola López and his colleagues CT scanned the bones, essentially X-raying the specimens from enough angles that they could produce 3D pictures of the compacted dirt inside the tooth sockets without destroying the fossils or disturbing the sediment.

The shapes and structures of the sediment looked just like the mud nests created by some bee species today; some of these nests even contained grains of ancient pollen that the bee mothers had sealed in the nests for their babies to eat. The researchers hypothesize that the bees mixed their saliva with dirt to make these little individual nests for their eggs; each nest was smaller than the eraser at the tip of a pencil. Building their nests inside the bones of larger animals may have protected the bees' eggs from hungry predators like wasps.

Reference: “Trace fossils within mammal remains reveal novel bee nesting behaviour” by Lázaro W. Viñola-López, Mitchell Riegler, Selby V. Olson, Johanset Orihuela, Julio A. Genaro and América Sánchez-Rosario, 17 December 2025, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

DOI: 10.1098/rsos.251748

Original Submission

hubie writes:

If companies insist on bricking gadgets, this is a better way to do it:

Bose released the Application Programming Interface (API) documentation for its SoundTouch speakers today, putting a silver lining around the impending end-of-life (EoL) of the expensive home theater devices.

In October, Bose announced that its SoundTouch Wi-Fi speakers and soundbars would become dumb speakers on February 18. At the time, Bose said that the speakers would only work if a device was connected via AUX, HDMI, or Bluetooth (which has higher latency than Wi-Fi).

After that date, the speakers would stop receiving security and software updates and lose cloud connectivity and their companion app, the Framingham, Massachusetts-based company said. Without the app, users would no longer be able to integrate the device with music services, such as Spotify, have multiple SoundTouch devices play the same audio simultaneously, or use or edit saved presets.

The announcement frustrated some of Bose's long-time customers, some of whom own multiple SoundTouch devices that still function properly. Many questioned companies' increasingly common practice of bricking expensive products to focus on new devices or to minimize costs, or because they've gone through acquisitions or bankruptcy. SoundTouch speakers released in 2013 and 2015 with prices ranging from $399 to $1,500.

Today, Bose had better news. In an email to customers, Bose announced that AirPlay and Spotify Connect will still work with SoundTouch speakers after EoL, expanding the wireless capabilities that people will still be able to access.

Additionally, SoundTouch devices that support AirPlay 2 can play the same audio simultaneously.

The SoundTouch app will also live on, albeit stripped of some functionality.

"On May 6, 2026, the app will update to a version that supports the functions that can operate locally without the cloud. No action will be required on your part. Opening the app will apply the update automatically," Bose said.

Bose also provided instructions for a workaround for saving presets that uses the favorites options in music service apps.

[...] There are SoundTouch owners who will remain inconvenienced when Bose discontinues the devices in May. Despite the changes announced today, Bose is still killing some popular functionality on speakers that would work perfectly fine otherwise.

[...] Open-sourcing devices so that people who have already invested in them can continue enjoying them and striving to maintain as much device functionality as possible is the least that smart device makers can do before discontinuing customers' beloved devices.

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows-laptops/dell-reveals-people-dont-care-about-ai-in-pcs-and-a-new-truly-embarrassing-windows-11-fail-shows-why

Dell reveals people don't care about AI in PCs – and a new truly embarrassing Windows 11 fail shows why

Dell is telling it straight as far as the contemporary world of PCs goes, with the computer maker bluntly explaining that consumers aren't buying laptops based on AI abilities.

PC Gamer reports (as flagged by The Verge) that Dell's execs were refreshingly frank on the topic of AI and the PC in a Q&A session that was part of the company's pre-briefing for CES 2026 this week.

First up, Dell's COO, Jeff Clarke, observed that there was an "expectation of AI driving end user demand" but also an "un-met promise of AI", hinting at some of the disappointment – or confusion – around AI PCs for the average consumer.

Then Dell's head of product, Kevin Terwilliger, went further and noted of the company's fresh product launches (which included the new XPS 14 and 16 laptops): "One thing you'll notice is the message we delivered around our products was not AI-first. So, a bit of a shift from a year ago where we were all about the AI PC."

Terwilliger continued: "We're very focused on delivering upon the AI capabilities of a device – in fact everything that we're announcing has an NPU in it – but what we've learned over the course of this year, especially from a consumer perspective, is they're not buying based on AI. In fact I think AI probably confuses them more than it helps them understand a specific outcome."

In short, Dell is taking its foot off the pedal when it comes to pushing AI in its marketing, simply because it doesn't believe that consumers are that interested – and that it might even be a point of confusion for some.

While you could argue that the latter viewpoint is somewhat patronizing, I think it's a fair enough observation overall. I believe some consumers really don't care about AI, and do not see the benefit of the various abilities for Copilot+ PCs – those exclusive Windows 11 AI features – or how they might use them.

And in truth, there isn't that much to get excited about with these AI features to date, anyway – not beyond image-editing tricks (and let's face it, many folks don't do anything much with their photos) and additional search powers (some of which people may be very suspicious of on the privacy front, particularly the key AI piece of the puzzle here, which is Recall).

Many people probably don't use AI beyond queries posed to ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini or whatever their favorite flavor of AI portal happens to be, using them as a kind of beefed-up Google search (other engines are available, etcetera).

Furthermore, with all the heat that Microsoft is taking over trying to crowbar more AI into Windows 11 – despite consistent cries from detractors who'd rather the software giant fixes what's wrong with its desktop OS, rather than putting in new features that 'no one asked for' at a rate of knots – the reputation of AI features is being tarnished considerably in terms of questioning Microsoft's motives here.

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://scitechdaily.com/your-daily-cup-of-tea-could-help-fight-heart-disease-cancer-aging-and-more/

Tea has a long history as both a traditional remedy and an everyday drink. Now a new review suggests that reputation may have real support behind it.

Across human cohort studies and clinical trials, tea drinking shows its most consistent links to better heart and metabolic health, including lower risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and related problems like obesity and type 2 diabetes — with hints of protection against some cancers as well.

The authors also point to early signs that tea may be tied to slower cognitive decline, less age-related muscle loss, and anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects. Those areas are promising, they note, but still need stronger long-term human trials.

How much you drink seems to matter, too. In a meta-analysis of 38 prospective cohort data sets, "moderate" intake tracked with lower all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality. For CVD mortality, the benefit signal appeared to level off around ~1.5–3 cups per day, while all-cause mortality showed its strongest association at ~2 cups per day.

At the same time, the review notes that not all tea products are created equal. Bottled teas and bubble teas can include additives such as artificial sweeteners and preservatives, which may introduce health concerns that do not apply in the same way to brewed tea.

Tea is made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis and has been consumed worldwide for centuries. It was first valued largely for medicinal purposes before becoming a widely enjoyed beverage. Scientists have long been interested in tea because it contains high levels of polyphenols, particularly catechins, which are thought to play a major role in many of its reported benefits.

This review, published in Beverage Plant Research, brings together evidence from laboratory research and human studies to examine how tea relates to a wide range of health outcomes. While green tea has been studied extensively, the authors emphasize that far less is known about black, oolong, and white tea, especially when it comes to comparing their health effects. The review also considers concerns raised by additives and possible contaminants found in some commercial tea drinks.

In the review, green tea stands out for cardiovascular protection. Human studies summarized by the authors link tea intake to modest reductions in blood pressure and improvements in blood lipids, including lower LDL cholesterol.

Large cohort studies also associate regular tea drinking with reduced all-cause mortality and lower deaths from CVD, with the most consistent signal appearing in populations where green tea is the dominant type.

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://phys.org/news/2025-12-runaway-stars-dark-milky.html

Hypervelocity stars have, since the 1920s, been an important tool that allows astronomers to study the properties of the Milky Way galaxy, such as its gravitational potential and the distribution of matter. Now astronomers from China have made a large-volume search for hypervelocity stars by utilizing a special class of stars known for their distinct, regular, predictable pulsation behavior that makes them useful as distance indicators.

The escape velocity of any planet, star or galaxy is the velocity required for a mass, leaving the object's surface, to coast completely and exactly out of the planet's gravitational well, going to infinity. Earth's escape velocity is 11.2 kilometers per second (km/s).

Any mass that leaves the surface having that immediate initial speed will, without further energy, leave Earth's gravitational grasp. Examples are rocks ejected from Earth by a colliding incoming asteroid (as happened with rocks exchanged between Earth and Mars) or the possible escape of a steel lid covering a blast hole from a 1957 underground nuclear explosion in Nevada (unless the lid vaporized as it ascended towards space at an estimated six times Earth's escape velocity).

The escape velocity from the sun is 618 km/s (but only 42 km/s from Earth's position), and about 550 km/s from the sun's position in the Milky Way. Hypervelocity stars (HVSs) have tangential speeds of 1,000 km/s or more, making them gravitationally unbound from the Milky Way.

A prominent way HVSs come about is from a gravitational slingshot interaction with the supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, at the Milky Way's center.

janrinok writes:

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2026/01/07/datacenter_tax_breaks_virginia/

Trillion-dollar internet giants don't need freebies, watchdog warns, as giveaways double in a year

The US state of Virginia forfeited $1.6 billion in tax revenue through datacenter exemptions in fiscal 2025 – up 118 percent on the prior year – as the AI-driven construction boom accelerates.

Good Jobs First, a nonprofit promoting corporate and government accountability, warns these incentives have become essentially automatic.

Virginia's qualification threshold requires just $150 million in capital investment and 50 new jobs, which is modest compared to the billions spent on today's hyperscale facilities. The exemptions cover retail sales and use taxes on computer equipment, software, and hardware purchases.

The disclosure is detailed in Virginia's Annual Comprehensive Financial Report [PDF], which covers the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025.

Good Jobs First claims the tax breaks are getting out of hand as the criteria to become a qualifying recipient are set at a low bar.

Greg LeRoy, executive director at the nonprofit, said: "Like 35 other states, Virginia is losing control of its spending by enacting virtually automatic sales and use tax exemptions, and sometimes other subsidies, for datacenter building materials and equipment."

Recipients may qualify for local property tax reductions on top, he added.

Virginia has the highest datacenter count globally – more than 600 according to some estimates – equating to more than 10 percent of estimated global hyperscale capacity.

In a statement to The Register, Virginia state deputy chief of staff Ali Ahmad, defended the tax breaks. He said:

"According to analysis published by Virginia's nonpartisan Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, data centers support 74,000 jobs, bring in $9.1 billion in Virginia GDP, and generate billions of dollars in local revenue that fund education, public safety, and critical local services. Datacenters offer the Commonwealth of Virginia a significant return on investment not covered in the intentionally narrow and inaccurate view this organization pushes."

Good Jobs First highlighted last year that more than half of US states offer economic development subsidies for datacenters exempting them from sales and use taxes.

LeRoy argues these breaks should end: "Given that every state that has studied its return on investment for datacenter subsidies has found a sharply negative result, we recommend that states now eliminate all datacenter tax exemptions.

"Trillion-dollar internet giants don't need the tax breaks, and taxpayers cannot afford them with massive federal budget cuts coming."

Meanwhile, grassroots opposition to the datacenter construction frenzy is mounting. The Washington Post reported this week on public campaigns in Arizona, Indiana, and Maryland challenging new facilities over water and electricity consumption and their visual impact on rural landscapes.

In December, Democrat senators were questioned datacenter companies about rising energy bills driven by grid infrastructure costs often passed to consumers, while Senator Bernie Sanders called for a nationwide construction moratorium.

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://scitechdaily.com/some-people-get-drunk-without-drinking-and-scientists-finally-know-why/

Scientists have identified specific gut bacteria and biological pathways that cause alcohol to be produced inside the body in people with auto-brewery syndrome (ABS). This rare and frequently misunderstood condition causes individuals to become intoxicated even though they have not consumed alcohol. The study was led by researchers at Mass General Brigham, working with collaborators from the University of California, San Diego, and was published today (January 7) in Nature Microbiology.

How Auto-Brewery Syndrome Works

Auto-brewery syndrome develops when certain gut microbes break down carbohydrates and convert them into ethanol (alcohol), which then enters the bloodstream. Small amounts of alcohol can be produced during normal digestion in anyone, but in people with ABS, these levels can rise high enough to cause noticeable intoxication. Although the condition is extremely rare, researchers believe it is often overlooked because many clinicians are unfamiliar with it, testing is difficult, and social stigma may discourage proper evaluation.

Years of Misdiagnosis and Serious Consequences

People with ABS frequently go years without an accurate diagnosis. During that time, they may face social isolation, medical complications, and even legal trouble due to unexplained intoxication. Confirming the condition is challenging because the gold standard diagnostic method requires carefully supervised blood alcohol testing over time, which is not widely available.

Comparing Patients, Partners, and Healthy Controls

To better understand what drives the disorder, researchers studied 22 people diagnosed with ABS, 21 of their unaffected household partners, and 22 healthy control participants. The team analyzed and compared the makeup and activity of gut microbes across all three groups.

When stool samples collected during active ABS flare-ups were tested in the laboratory, samples from patients produced much higher levels of ethanol than samples from partners or healthy controls. This finding suggests that stool-based testing could one day help doctors diagnose the condition more easily and accurately.

Identifying the Microbes Behind ABS

Until now, scientists had limited insight into which specific microbes were responsible for auto-brewery syndrome. Detailed stool analysis revealed that several bacterial species appear to play a key role, including Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. During symptom flare-ups, some patients also showed sharply elevated levels of enzymes involved in fermentation pathways compared to control participants. The researchers note that while these organisms were identified in some patients, pinpointing the exact causative microbes in each individual remains a complex and time-consuming process.

Fecal Transplant Offers Clues to Treatment

The research team also closely monitored one patient whose symptoms improved after receiving a fecal microbiota transplantation when other treatments had failed. Periods of relapse and remission closely matched changes in specific bacterial strains and metabolic activity in the gut, strengthening the biological evidence behind the diagnosis. After a second fecal transplant, which included a different antibiotic pretreatment, the patient remained symptom-free for more than 16 months.

Hope for Better Diagnosis and Care

"Auto-brewery syndrome is a misunderstood condition with few tests and treatments. Our study demonstrates the potential for fecal transplantation," said co-senior author Elizabeth Hohmann, MD, of the Infectious Disease Division in the Mass General Brigham Department of Medicine. "More broadly, by determining the specific bacteria and microbial pathways responsible, our findings may lead the way toward easier diagnosis, better treatments, and an improved quality of life for individuals living with this rare condition."

Hohmann is currently working with colleagues at UC San Diego on a study evaluating fecal transplantation in eight patients with ABS.

Reference: “Gut microbial ethanol metabolism contributes to auto-brewery syndrome in an observational cohort” 8 January 2026, Nature.

DOI: 10.1038/s41564-025-02225-y

Original Submission

jelizondo writes:

National Geographic published an interesting article about renewable energy myths.

Still, myths about renewable energy are commonplace, says Andy Fitch, an attorney at Columbia Law School's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law who coauthored a report rebutting dozens of misconceptions. This misinformation, and in some cases, purposeful disinformation, may lead people to oppose renewable projects in their communities. Support for wind farms off New Jersey, for example, dropped more than 20 percent in less than five years after misleading and false claims began circulating.

"It's easy to prick holes into the idea of an energy transition," because it is a new concept to many people, Fitch says.

Myth #1 Renewable energy is unreliable.
There will always be days when clouds cover the sun or the wind is still. But those conditions are unlikely to occur at the same time in all geographic areas. "There's always a way to coordinate the energy mix" to keep the lights on, Fitch says.

Today that coordination generally includes electricity from fossil fuels or coal. In California, where more than half the state's power now comes from solar, wind, and other renewables, natural gas and other non-renewables generate the rest.

Improvements in storage technology will also increasingly allow renewable energy to be captured during sunny or windy days. Already, some 10 percent of California's solar-powered energy is saved for evening use.

Myth #2 Rooftop solar is super pricey.
Back in 1980, solar panels cost a whopping $35 (in today's dollars) per watt of generated energy. In 2024 that figure fell to 26 cents. Solar has become so cost-efficient that building and operating the technology is now cheaper over its lifespan than conventional forms of energy like gas, coal, and nuclear power.

Homeowners also save a significant amount of money after rooftop solar is installed, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. (The method remains cost effective, even after federal subsidies to purchase the panels ceased late last year.) A family who finances panels might save close to a thousand dollars a year in their electric bills, even taking into account payments on the loan.

Myth #3 Wind power inevitably kills wildlife.
With hundreds of thousands of turbines in operation, wind power now makes up eight percent of the world's energy. But alongside these sprouting modern windmills has come stories of birds, whales, and even insects and bats killed or injured in their presence.

In some cases, wind energy can cause a small fraction of wildlife deaths, but they "pale in comparison to what climate change is doing to [the animals'] habitat," says Douglas Nowacek, a conservation technology expert at Duke University. "If we're going to slow down these negative changes, we have to go to renewable energy."

When it comes to whales or other marine mammals, "we have no evidence—zero" that any offshore wind development has killed them, says Nowacek, who studies this as lead researcher in the school's Wildlife and Offshore Wind program. (Most die instead from ship strikes and deadly entanglements in commercial fishing gear.)

Myth #4 Electric cars can't go far without recharging.
Electric vehicles are an important element of the transition to renewable energy because, unlike gas-powered cars, they can be charged by solar and wind energy. EVs are also more energy efficient, since they use nearly all of their power for driving, compared with traditional cars' use of just 25 percent. (Most of the rest is lost as heat.)

Concerns that EVs can't make it to their destination likely spring from early prototypes, when cars developed in the 1970s got less than 40 miles per charge. Today, some 50 models can go more than 300 miles, with some topping 500.

Worries about the longevity of EV batteries are also unfounded. Only one percent of batteries manufactured since 2015 have had to be replaced (outside of manufacturing recalls, which have been negligible in recent years). Studies done by Tesla found the charging capacity in its sedans dropped just 15 percent [PDF] after 200,000 miles.

Myth #5 Renewables are on track to solve the climate crisis.
The world is in a better place than it would be without renewables. Before the 2015 Paris Agreement called for this energy transition, experts had forecast 4°C planetary warming by 2100; now they expect it to stay under 3°C, according to a recent report by World Weather Attribution, a climate research group. But even this target "would still lead to a dangerously hot planet," the report states. Last summer Hawaiian observatories documented carbon dioxide concentrations above 430 parts per million—a record breaking high far above the 350 PPM Paris target.

To sufficiently slow climate warming, experts say wind generation must more than quadruple its current pace by 2030, and solar and other renewables must also be more widely adopted. Yet while global investments for renewable energy rose 10 percent in the first half of last year, it fell by more than a third in the U.S.

Original Submission

Bali is preparing to introduce a law which will require tourists to declare personal bank account information for a period of three months in order to visit the island. This law is intended to filter out less desirable travellers to promote "high quality tourism" in a move to counter the bad behaviour of boorist visitors over the last several decades. This change will come on top of the recently applied tourist levy and tightening of the management for incidents involving tourists.

Would you give your latest three bank statements to the Bali government in order to visit?

Original Submission