Focused search for science

1+ min ago (148+ words) Andrew Robinson is a writer based in London and author of Earthshock (1993), The Story of Measurement (2007) and Einstein in Oxford (2024). The Whispers of Rock Anjana Khatwa Bridge Street Press (2025) Julia Watson Taschen (2025) Noam Chomsky & Jos" Mujica Verso (2025) Nicholas Wright St. Martin's Press (2025) A bothy among the stars Futures 03 DEC 25 Beauty is in the eye of the beholder Futures 17 DEC 25 Science sleuths raise concerns about scores of bioengineering papers News 12 DEC 25 Futures 10 DEC 25 Do you want to contribute to the future sustainable use of forests? Apply to join the WIFORCE Research School at SLU in Sweden! Ume, Uppsala and Alnarp, Sweden The School of Engineering at Westlake University is seeking to fill multiple tenured or tenure-track faculty positions in all ranks. Laboratory of Regenerative Biology and Medicine (Dr. Yuval Rinkevich), CIMR...

1+ min ago (387+ words) When engineers say "Docker builds an image," they usually mean a single command. In reality, docker build triggers a deterministic pipeline that transforms a text file into an OCI-compliant artifact, composed of immutable, content-addressed layers. Understanding this pipeline explains why cache behaves the way it does, why instruction order matters, and why small Dockerfile changes can dramatically impact build time and image size. The build process starts long before any filesystem changes occur. Docker first parses the Dockerfile into an internal instruction graph. This phase validates syntax, resolves build stages, and prepares the build context after applying .dockerignore. No layers are created here. The output is a dependency-aware plan for how the image could be built. Only after this plan is constructed does execution begin. Key files to exclude: Each filesystem-changing instruction such as RUN, COPY, or ADD produces a…...

1+ min ago (136+ words) The heat-emitting cones of the cycad Zamia furfuracea come in male and female forms. Credit: Getty Cycads are the oldest living group of seed-producing plants " and it seems they use infrared heat signals to attract specialized nocturnal weevils that deliver their pollen1. Valencia-Montoya, W. A. et al. Science 390, 11641170 (2025). Ethylene modulates cell wall mechanics for root responses to compaction Article 26 NOV 25 Article 12 NOV 25 Article 05 NOV 25 Do you want to contribute to the future sustainable use of forests? Apply to join the WIFORCE Research School at SLU in Sweden! Ume, Uppsala and Alnarp, Sweden The School of Engineering at Westlake University is seeking to fill multiple tenured or tenure-track faculty positions in all ranks. Laboratory of Regenerative Biology and Medicine (Dr. Yuval Rinkevich), CIMR...

3+ min ago (135+ words) Without compute buildup beyond metros, the next wave of digital adoption will be constrained Land prices are among the highest in the country, but total build economics remain competitive by global standards. The company has launched an agentic AI platform for tax research that's targeting something radical in a conservative profession. India's ambitious proposal for a single mandatory AI training licence faces feasibility, legal and innovation concerns. "This isn't a freeze. It's a filter" By 2026, the real signal will be resilience, not rhetoric." The first set of sovereign models is aimed at Indic languages and national datasets. Their value lies in cultural nuance. "Working code doesn't equal learned skill. It's like using a calculator to "learn' math." Indian tech and biotech leaders warn the country risks falling behind....

5+ min ago (384+ words) The United Arab Emirates is currently in the grip of a notable weather disturbance that is bringing rainfall, strong winds, cooler temperatures and rough seas across much of the country. The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) has been issuing regular forecasts and alerts as this system moves through, affecting daily life from road conditions to marine safety. Forecasters describe the situation as unstable weather, with convective cloud formations driving intermittent to heavy rain, moderate to strong winds and variable skies, from partly cloudy to overcast. Residents from Fujairah to Abu Dhabi should expect these conditions to persist through at least Friday, with a gradual easing anticipated over the weekend. The "main rainfall wave" is expected to reach its height between Thursday, December 18, and Friday, December 19. The NCM reports that the system began in the western regions and is gradually moving…...

6+ min ago (377+ words) India's newly established semiconductor manufacturing units have begun producing commercial chips, marking a major milestone in the country's efforts to build a domestic electronics and manufacturing ecosystem, S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, said today. "All the 10 units that have been set up will manufacture commercial chips. Already the production of commercial chips is started," Krishnan told media on the sidelines of the A(I)NDIA Conclave-2025 held in the national capital. Krishnan said India's semiconductor programme was moving steadily towards full commitment under its first phase. "As you know 10 projects are grounded, and another 2 and 3 will get approved, and then ISM 1.0 will be fully committed," he said. He added that the government was nearing completion of infrastructure upgrades. "We are at the final stages of HCL modernisation as well, so with that, ISM 1.0 will be done, and…...

7+ min ago (445+ words) I made a small CLI tool called PSX that checks and fixes the basic structure of a project so you don't have to repeat the same boring setup every time. I built it because whenever I start a repo I end up creating the same README, LICENSE, .gitignore, changelog and the usual files. PSX detects the project type, tells you what's missing, and can even create the files for you. PSX auto-detects project type (Node, Go, etc.) and runs a set of rules to ensure the repo has the essentials. If something's missing you can run psx fix and it creates sensible defaults. Rules are configurable via a simple YAML and checks run in parallel so it's fast even on bigger repos. Automatic detection of project type and basic scaffolding. Auto-fix mode that creates missing files and folders. Support for…...

8+ min ago (772+ words) The burial revealed the story of the devastating mauling A TRAGIC tale of a savage lion attack on a teenage boy has been revealed by archaeologists " and miraculously, he survived the incident. But the mauled teen " who lived more than 6,000 years ago " was left with life-changing injuries. The youngster's skeleton was found at a burial site near the small settlement of Kableshkovo in Bulgaria. He's believed to have been aged around 18 to 20, but potentially as old as 30, and stood about 176cm tall. And scientists say his "severe injuries" suggested "a carnivore attack" around 6,200 years ago. He was found with scars on his head, arms, and legs, which they say suggested a prolonged recovery period. Read more on history Breakthrough as ring unlocking secrets of 'vanished' kingdom is unearthed in UK The damage included cut muscle and tendon fibres, which would've led…...

9+ min ago (1076+ words) Researchers demonstrate that cloud computing providers" per-shot pricing models for quantum circuits can be exploited to run multiple circuits within a single paid shot, potentially reducing costs for users by a substantial margin and causing significant financial losses for providers. https://quantumzeitgeist.com/wp-content/uploads/Capture-796.jpg The increasing accessibility of quantum computers through cloud-based services presents new challenges, not just in terms of technological hurdles, but also in economic security. Jakub Szefer from Northwestern University and colleagues demonstrate a novel method for exploiting reset operations within these cloud systems, effectively running multiple quantum circuits within a single charged "shot". This research reveals that current per-shot pricing models, while straightforward, are vulnerable to abuse through the strategic use of mid-circuit qubit measurement and reset, potentially leading to significant financial losses for companies offering cloud access. By carefully interleaving user circuits with reset operations, the team shows…...

11+ min ago (378+ words) Windows 11 users who've hooked up their Android smartphone to the OS can now get the benefit of some nifty new features, including the ability to lock their PC remotely with their phone. This introduces a big 'Lock PC' button on the Android device, which when pressed does exactly that, locking your Windows 11 system even if you're nowhere near it. Windows Latest observes that this happens in just a few seconds, so pretty swiftly indeed. There are new buttons to send a file from your phone to the PC, and mirror your phone screen to the desktop. You can also send files from the Windows 11 PC to the Android handset, and freely share clipboard content between the two devices (which includes images as well as text you've copied). On top of that, there's a recent activity panel that contains any files…...