On April 8, the moon’s shadow will glide across a narrow part of Canada, producing one of nature’s greatest spectacles: a total solar eclipse. If you think you've seen one before, you probably haven't, as these eclipse experts reveal the beauty and awe of the experience. A total solar eclipse …
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The big problem with the Winnipeg lab affair was obvious from the start: too much secrecy
What the documents about the Winnipeg lab scandal show is interesting and relevant. But the biggest problem here might the one that was apparent from the start: the sheer amount of secrecy that enveloped this situation. Three years is too long to wait for clarity The release of 623 pages …
Read More »We have leap years and leap seconds. Do we need a leap minute?
The leap year is the most famous of the leap family, keeping our calendars right every year, while behind the scenes, with little fanfare, the leap second has been doing its part. But global stakeholders believe it's time for a change — the leap minute. Leap seconds have been added …
Read More »Help, My Friend Got Me a Dumb AI-Generated Present
WIRED’s advice columnist on the true purpose of gift giving. Illustration: Gustavo Pedrosa “An artist friend of mine got me an AI-generated painting as a gift. I can see she tried to personalize the concept, and it’s nicely framed, but part of me still feels a little cheated. Is that …
Read More »The Skilled Workers Training AI to Take Their Jobs
A new workforce of language experts, creative writers, and nuclear physicists are turning to data labor—and potentially making their future jobs obsolete in the process. Illustration: Jacqui VanLiew; Getty Images Jay fell in love with math at boarding school after a supportive physics teacher introduced him to the joy of …
Read More »More than 100 possible new marine species discovered in a single deepsea expedition
During a research expedition off the coast of Chile, Erin Easton says her colleagues were constantly calling her over to show her some amazing new sea creature they'd just discovered. ‘It is beyond my wildest dreams of what we could have expected,’ says marine scientist During a research expedition off …
Read More »Scientist fired from Winnipeg disease lab intentionally worked to benefit China: CSIS report
One of the scientists who was fired from Canada's top infectious disease laboratory "intentionally" shared scientific information with China — potentially putting people's health in jeopardy, says an assessment by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). Documents say Dr. Xiangguo Qiu's decisions 'could have impacted public safety' One of the …
Read More »Climate change could cause ‘generational trauma’ in great apes
A warming world will create even more dangerous conditions for ape species across hundreds of African habitats, according to new scientific research. They’re just like us — and wildfires, floods and droughts could drive them to extinction Some of Africa's great apes — humanity's closest cousins — face death and …
Read More »This Tiny Website Is Google’s First Line of Defense in the Patent Wars
TDCommons is a free space for inventors to lay claim to breakthroughs without having to file a patent. Why is it so off the radar? Photo-illustration: Jacqui VanLiew; Getty Images A trio of Google engineers recently came up with a futuristic way to help anyone who stumbles through presentations on …
Read More »Metal Prices Are Soaring. So Is Metal Theft
It’s a multi-billion-dollar global problem, and in a rapidly electrifying world, the profits—and ease—of stealing metals is only going to increase. Photograph: Getty Images Something had gone wrong with the giant radio tower. Will Payne, of Payne Media Group, got an alert from his utility company in the middle of …
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