China’s new year holiday spending last week surged past pre-pandemic levels, official figures showed, a rare bright spot for an economy struggling with sluggish consumption and deflation. Domestic spending on entertainment, dining, and travel soared during this year’s “Golden Week,” which officially ended on Saturday, according to a statement from Beijing’s Ministry of Culture and
NASA has launched an ambitious program to simulate life on Mars by selecting four individuals to embark on a year-long mission in a habitat called Mars Dune Alpha. This program, known as the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA), aims to replicate the challenges of living on the red planet, including limited resources, environmental
In a recent study conducted by planetary scientist Nathan Kaib and astrophysicist Sean Raymond, the idea of a grazing encounter between the Solar System and a passing star potentially changing Earth’s orbit was explored. This encounter, occurring around 56 million years ago, during the transition between the Paleocene and Eocene periods, could have led to
OpenAI, a California-based start-up, has recently struck a deal with investors that has reportedly valued the company at a staggering $80 billion. This news comes after a tumultuous year for OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. Although not officially confirmed by OpenAI yet, this deal marks a significant increase in the company’s value, almost tripling in
Neuroscientists have recently made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of memory enhancement by developing a new prosthetic system capable of “hacking” the brain’s memory pathways. This innovative technology, pioneered by Wake Forest University (WFU) and the University of Southern California (USC), aims to improve the recollection of specific memories in individuals. While traditional electrical
The team of artificial intelligence researchers at Amazon AGI has recently unveiled their groundbreaking achievement in the field of text-to-speech technology. They have successfully developed the largest text-to-speech model to date, boasting an impressive 980 million parameters and trained using a massive dataset of 100,000 hours of recorded speech. This new model, known as Big
Recent research has opened up new possibilities in the early detection of dementia through the analysis of specific proteins in the bloodstream. A study conducted by Fudan University neurologist Yu Guo and collaborators has shed light on potential biomarkers that could serve as early warning signs for this debilitating condition. With rates of dementia on
In the realm of wireless communication, autonomous vehicles, surveillance, and tracking systems, the performance of fractional-N phase locked loops (PLLs) plays a critical role. The presence of unwanted signals known as fractional spurs has long been a challenge in many modern radar systems and wireless transceivers. These issues have spurred scientists from Tokyo Tech to
Bananas are a widely consumed and beloved fruit around the world, but what if their peels could be the key to combating the ongoing plastic waste crisis? Srinivas Janaswamy, an associate professor of food chemistry at South Dakota State University, conducted a study on “Biodegradable packaging films from banana peel fiber,” which was published in
Catalysts play a crucial role in the chemical industry, with over 90% of processes relying on these substances for their efficiency. Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), Harvard Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, and Utrecht University have delved into a previously elusive method of improving the
Chemical synthesis plays a crucial role in the development of various products, from medicines to high-performance materials. Traditional synthesis methods involve the use of organic solvents, metal catalysts, and reagents that often result in waste and environmental harm. However, researchers from the University of Regensburg have introduced a game-changing approach to chemical synthesis that eliminates
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) computing. A team of engineers has developed a chip that utilizes light waves instead of electricity to perform complex mathematical computations necessary for training AI systems. This revolutionary chip has the potential to achieve unprecedented processing speeds
The European Union’s landmark legislation, known as the Digital Services Act (DSA), aims to hold digital companies accountable for addressing illegal and problematic content. While the law has been in effect since August for very large platforms, it will now apply to all companies from Saturday, with some exemptions for smaller firms. To ensure compliance,
Mars, often considered a quiet and dusty planet, has a violent history that could provide insights into Earth’s own past. Recent findings from a survey of the Martian surface suggest that the planet was once covered in volcanoes, similar to Earth before the formation of tectonic plates. Planetary scientist Joseph Michalski and his team from
In recent months, a rare and potentially deadly virus called Alaskapox has been causing alarm among scientists and health professionals. While the virus was first identified in 2015, only a few cases have been diagnosed since then. These cases have generally been associated with mild symptoms such as joint and muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes,