Large language models are capable of answering a wide range of questions – but not always accuratelyJamie Jin/Shutterstock Large language models (LLMs) seem to get less reliable at answering simple questions when they get bigger and learn from human feedback....
Covalent bonds can contain two, four, six or eight electrons – or just oneSimoneN/Shutterstock It is not often that chemists create a new kind of chemical bond, but they have just done it. A covalent bond that relies on a...
Jet streams are strong winds that blow high above Earth’s surfaceNASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio Extreme weather caused by shifts in a jet stream seems to have brought summers of fires, failed harvests and rampant disease across Europe over the past...
Emus always have one foot on the ground when running at an intermediate paceImagebroker / Alamy Stock Photo If you want to imagine a dinosaur running, then perhaps look at emus. They probably shared a similar posture, which makes it...
September 25, 20244 min read‘Spooky Action at a Distance’ Observed in Quarks for the First TimePhysicists report the first observations of quantum entanglement in quarks, the heaviest known fundamental particles, inside the Large Hadron ColliderBy Dan Garisto & Nature magazineThe...
If you’ve ever driven a car, you’ve probably had the experience of parking on a hot, sunny day, running a quick errand or two and then returning to find your vehicle has become a stifling oven. That heat isn’t just...
Smart TVs watch everything on the screenShutterstock Popular smart TV models made by Samsung and LG can take multiple snapshots of what you are watching every second – even when they are being used as external displays for your laptop...
Dopamine (red) approaching one of its receptors (blue)JUAN GAERTNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/ALAMY The hormone and neurotransmitter dopamine is generally believed to be a driving force behind experiencing pain relief with the placebo effect, but it may actually play little or no...
September 24, 20243 min readScientist Nuke an Asteroid in a Lab Mock-UpExperiment shows that a nuclear explosion could save the planet from a deadly asteroid impactBy Jonathan O'Callaghan & Nature magazineThe X-rays emitted by a nuclear blast could deflect asteroids...
Martin Parr/Magnum Photos In the 18th century, philosopher James Beattie compiled a list of 17 common-sense beliefs. A few are incontrovertible: “I exist”; “A whole is greater than a part”; “Virtue and vice are different”. But others seem unnecessarily moralising:...
