Research

• I ricercatori affermano che la decisione di budget di tagliare il programma di commercializzazione per finanziare il CSIRO e altre iniziative scientifiche mina le priorità del governo stesso. • Il governo federale è stato accusato di "togliere da una parte per dare dall'altra" a causa del taglio a bilancio di un programma di commercializzazione della ricerca da 760 milioni di dollari per finanziare altre iniziative scientifiche. • Il budget include un incremento di 387,4 milioni di dollari per "sostenere la sostenibilità finanziaria" dell'agenzia scientifica nazionale CSIRO, in difficoltà, oltre a 273 milioni di dollari per il National Measurement Institute.

L'associazione di categoria afferma che il consumo energetico guidato dall'AI è aumentato del 15% a livello globale in due anni, avvertendo di possibili reazioni negative della società.

• Nonostante i timori che i super-ricchi stiano lasciando il paese a causa del carico fiscale, l'88% degli intervistati è orgoglioso di vivere nel Regno Unito e pagherebbe di più per finanziare i servizi pubblici. • Nove milionari su dieci nel Regno Unito sono orgogliosi di vivere in Gran Bretagna e tre quarti sarebbero disposti a pagare più tasse per garantire che i beni pubblici ricevano i finanziamenti necessari, secondo una ricerca. • Nonostante le preoccupazioni ampiamente riportate sul fatto che i ricchi stiano scegliendo di lasciare il paese a causa delle tasse più alte, il sondaggio ha rilevato che i milionari sono molto più preoccupati che il personale medico se ne vada piuttosto che dell'emigrazione delle persone facoltose.

• OpenAI ha rilasciato GPT-5.5-Cyber, un modello AI specializzato con restrizioni allentate, accessibile solo a ricercatori di sicurezza accreditati che proteggono infrastrutture critiche. • Il modello supporta task di cybersecurity come l'analisi di malware e i penetration test autorizzati, superando i blocchi presenti nei chatbot standard, e presenta un sistema di accesso a tre livelli, dalla versione pubblica alla variante Cyber meno restrittiva. • Questa mossa posiziona OpenAI in competizione con Mythos Preview di Anthropic, con l'obiettivo di potenziare i difensori AI in un contesto di preoccupazioni del settore riguardo alle capacità offensive dell'IA.

• Il rapporto suggerisce che iniziative popolari come NT Live e NT at Home stiano rendendo il pubblico del Regno Unito più avventuroso • I servizi di streaming teatrale e le proiezioni cinematografiche di spettacoli teatrali non rappresentano una minaccia per la frequenza "di persona" e stanno rendendo il pubblico più curioso, secondo una nuova ricerca commissionata dal National Theatre. • Presentando i risultati lunedì, la direttrice del NT, Indhu Rubasingham, ha affermato che il boom del teatro filmato ha sollevato questioni importanti, tra cui il timore che iniziative popolari come NT Live e NT at Home potessero avere un impatto negativo sulla frequenza agli eventi dal vivo. L'organizzazione ha incaricato l'agenzia Indigo di condurre una ricerca per approfondire l'atteggiamento del pubblico verso il teatro filmato. Continua a leggere...

• Un'indagine su 27.000 prodotti dei supermercati australiani ha rivelato che alcuni articoli che vantano benefici ambientali presentano emissioni significativamente più elevate rispetto a quelli non etichettati. • I ricercatori australiani hanno scoperto che i prodotti nei supermercati che utilizzano termini ambientali come “naturale” o “sostenibile” si avvalgono per lo più di un linguaggio di marketing, piuttosto che di rivendicazioni verificate. • Oltre 27.000 alimenti confezionati venduti nei supermercati Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, IGA e Harris Farm di Sydney sono stati valutati dai ricercatori del George Institute for Global Health. Continua a leggere...

I dati della University of Toronto suggeriscono che i canadesi stiano evitando le città statunitensi durante la seconda amministrazione Trump • Un nuovo strumento di ricerca che traccia l'attività dei telefoni cellulari ha rilevato un calo del 42% dei visitatori provenienti dal Canada verso le grandi aree metropolitane degli Stati Uniti; una cifra molto più alta dei dati ufficiali sugli attraversamenti della frontiera, il che suggerisce che i canadesi, durante la seconda amministrazione Trump, stiano evitando in particolare le città statunitensi. • I ricercatori della University of Toronto hanno dichiarato che lo strumento ha mostrato un "calo mediano annuo di circa il 42% delle visite canadesi nelle aree metropolitane degli Stati Uniti, significativamente più alto dei dati ufficiali sugli attraversamenti della frontiera, che hanno mostrato un calo di circa il 25%". Continua a leggere...

• William Harrison, un soldato statunitense di stanza nella regione, fu condannato e impiccato per l'omicidio di Patsy Wylie • Nel pomeriggio del 25 settembre 1944, William Harrison, un soldato statunitense di stanza in Irlanda del Nord, fece visita al cottage della famiglia Wylie a Killycolpy, contea di Tyrone, e si offrì di comprare delle caramelle per i bambini. • Era già stato lì in precedenza ed era, se non un amico, almeno conosciuto dalla famiglia. Mary Wylie gli permise di portare sua figlia di sette anni, Patricia, meglio conosciuta come Patsy, attraverso i campi verso i negozi. Continua a leggere...

• A*STAR researchers in Singapore created CLUST-McMs, a specialized AI model that beats GPT-4 in summarizing multilingual news from Southeast Asia. • Using a curated dataset of regional news, the smaller model achieved superior accuracy across three evaluation metrics, delivering concise English summaries from overlapping articles in multiple languages. • The study emphasizes localization and targeted data over larger general-purpose models, showing higher fidelity to original sources.

Kent schoolgirl tracks down 10,000 namesakes as part of campaign – but non-Kirstys are welcome to donate tooCalling all Kirstys! A schoolgirl from Tunbridge Wells in Kent is seeking people who share her name to help raise money for research into paediatric brain tumours like the one for which she is being treated.Kirsty Waugh, who turns 12 on Monday, has already persuaded more than 10,000 Kirstys, Kirsties, Kersties and assorted other variants to plot their locations on a map that shows Kirstys can be found everywhere from Colombia to Malaysia, and even at the Rothera research station in Antarctica. Continue reading...

• Deep Tech Week highlights The AI Collective, described as the world’s largest AI community, which connects more than 100,000 AI builders, researchers, and professionals through events, forums, and networking. • The gathering brings together startups, corporate labs, and academic groups to showcase advances in core machine learning, robotics, and applied AI, with a focus on interoperability and responsible deployment. • U.S. participation is strong, with many leading AI research labs and venture‑backed startups using the venue to announce new collaborations, model releases, and open‑source tooling.

Experts estimate ‘accounting of the harm that was done’ by 200 years of chattel slavery would be US$2tn in damagesBritain stole 25 million years of life and labour through slavery in Barbados, according to new research by a team of international experts.Their report concludes that Barbados’s population of African descent have suffered damages estimated at up to US$2tn (£1.5tn) from 200 years of chattel slavery. Continue reading...

Data tool could help NHS prioritise who gets access to limited weight-loss medication, say scientistsA new tool that can shed light on who is most at risk of obesity-related diseases could help identify people who would benefit most from weight-loss medications, researchers have said.Recent data suggests about two-thirds of adults in England are overweight or obese – a situation that has caused concern among health experts. Continue reading...

• The Department of Justice announced last week it loosened legal restrictions on medical marijuana, aiming to expand research and treatment options across the US. • This policy shift is expected to facilitate more clinical studies and access for patients in states with medical programs. • The change addresses longstanding barriers to federally approved marijuana research, potentially accelerating therapeutic developments.

2026 estimates for wolves on island highest since late 1970s but moose population declining dramaticallyWolves on a remote island in Lake Superior appear to be thriving, but they’re making deep dents in the moose population that they rely on as a leading food source, according to a report released Monday.Isle Royale is a 134,000-acre (54,200-hectare) national park in far western Lake Superior between Grand Marais, Minnesota, and Thunder Bay, Canada. The island is a natural laboratory, offering scientists a rare opportunity to observe wolves and moose largely free from human influence. Continue reading...

Study of 1,300 campaigners finds arrests, fines and jail terms increase determination of activists to take direct actionThe criminalisation of direct action climate protests in the UK is counterproductive and increases the determination of activists to undertake disruptive demonstrations, according to a study of 1,300 campaigners.New findings suggest arrests, fines and lengthy prison sentences given to nonviolent climate protesters who have blocked roads or damaged buildings may actually radicalise them. The repression of protest could even be one driver of recent covert actions such as the cutting of internet cables, they said. Continue reading...

• MarketBeat's stock screener identified five key financial stocks to research: Robinhood Markets, Visa, Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. II, Coinbase Global, and Intuit. • These equities represent diverse segments within the financial services sector, including fintech, payment processing, and software solutions. • The stocks merit investor attention for fundamental and technical analysis.

Partner of soldier accused of war crimes says the couple discussed possibility of moving overseas to ‘create some normalcy in our lives’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastBen Roberts-Smith was planning to leave Australia to live overseas and had a business class flight out of the country booked in four days’ time when he was arrested at Sydney airport this month, court documents allege, with investigators telling a court “his willingness to return to Australia to face prosecution cannot be judged”.Roberts-Smith was ultimately granted bail last week under strict conditions, a move opposed by prosecutors who said there was potential concern he was a flight risk and might try to avoid ever having to face trial for a series of alleged murders he committed in Afghanistan. Continue reading...

• MIT scientists unveiled a new quantum computing design achieving stable operation of 1,024 qubits simultaneously, surpassing previous records and demonstrating significant error correction capabilities reported on April 21. • The innovation uses a novel topological qubit design with error rates of 0.1% per operation, enabling computations previously impossible due to quantum decoherence, according to research published in Physical Review Letters. • The breakthrough could accelerate commercial quantum computing applications in drug discovery, materials science, and optimization problems within 2-3 years, researchers said.

• Researchers at CERN's Large Hadron Collider detected rare Higgs boson decay patterns that deviate from Standard Model predictions, suggesting potential physics beyond current theoretical frameworks. • The analysis examined 150 billion particle collisions collected over two years, revealing a 3.2 sigma deviation in the boson's decay pathways, announced on April 20 by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations. • The findings could indicate undiscovered particles or fundamental forces and represent significant progress toward understanding the universe's most elusive particles.

• Stanford University neuroscientists discovered a blood-based biomarker (phosphorylated tau-217) that reliably predicts Alzheimer's disease development one to two decades before cognitive decline appears, according to research published April 20. • The biomarker was identified through analysis of blood samples from 2,500 cognitively healthy individuals followed for 15 years, with positive predictive value exceeding 92% in early-stage detection. • The finding could enable preventative therapies targeting amyloid and tau proteins before neurodegeneration becomes irreversible, potentially transforming Alzheimer's treatment approaches.

• President Trump has moved to fast-track psychedelic research as part of his administration's policy agenda, marking a significant shift in federal drug policy priorities. • Former Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema has publicly applauded the initiative as a "bold step forward" in medical research on Fox & Friends Weekend. • The accelerated psychedelic research program represents an innovative approach to mental health treatment and scientific advancement under the Trump administration.

• President Trump signed an executive order directing federal regulators to fast-track FDA review of psychedelic drugs including psilocybin and ibogaine for treating depression, anxiety, and PTSD. • The order allocates $50 million in federal funds to states implementing or developing psychedelic treatment programs as part of a federal-state partnership initiative. • Trump highlighted that over 14 million American adults have serious mental illness, with approximately 8 million on prescription medication, framing psychedelics as addressing a national mental health crisis including suicide prevention.

The school’s $100m project to examine its slave ownership in Antigua is mired with controversy as academics allege obstructionChristopher Newman remembers seeing campus police officers as he walked into a human resources office at Harvard University, but he didn’t imagine that they were there for him.It was July 2024, and Newman had just turned in the results of a two-month-long internship with the Harvard University Archives: an annotated bibliography for the landmark 2022 Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Initiative report, which detailed the university’s ties to slavery across three centuries. He completed his project on Friday, 26 July, and on Monday, he said he received an email that HR wanted to meet with him. Continue reading...

Elisabeth Zetland, a senior researcher at MyHeritage, found that the actual Luigi has immigrated to US from ItalyThe Washington state businessman who inspired Nintendo to give the name Mario to its mustachioed, superhero plumber did not have a brother named Luigi like the fictional video game star famously does.But it has only just been determined that Nintendo may have unknowingly named its mascot’s brother after another of the real-life Mario’s close relatives: his father, Luigi, whose biography evokes that of millions of 20th-century US immigrants from Italy. Continue reading...

• NTT Research unveiled SaltGrain, a new data security suite designed to break the traditional all-or-nothing file-access model and enhance privacy protection. • The platform addresses existing cybersecurity gaps by enabling granular access control through advanced attribute-based encryption technology. • SaltGrain represents a significant advancement in data protection capabilities, offering enterprises more sophisticated control over sensitive information access and sharing.

• NTT Research in Sunnyvale, California, launched Scale Academy on April 15, 2026, an incubator led by SVP Bennett Indart to commercialize lab technologies from NTT divisions. • The first product, SaltGrain, is a zero-trust data security suite using attribute-based encryption (ABE) developed by NTT's Cryptography lab director Dr. Amit Sahai and Dr. Brent Waters. • Scale Academy aims to accelerate breakthrough products for market, focusing on quantum-safe security amid rising threats.