Calories on menus mean we can no longer pretend that fast food is slimming David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images When you go to a restaurant, you may well be presented with a wide array of dishes, each printed on a menu alongside its calorie content. A chicken burger and fries may come to 1597…
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Humidity makes Shanghai’s heat more unbearable lukyeee1976/Getty Images “My office felt like a steamer on Monday morning,” wrote Chinese influencer Bi Dao in a social media post in August. He fetched a drink from a supposed cold-water dispenser – it was 40.8°C (105°F). Bi, who lives in Hangzhou, a regional capital on China’s east coast,…
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Quantum bits, or qubits, can be thought of as representing data on a sphere Google DeepMind Google DeepMind has developed an AI model that could improve the performance of quantum computers by correcting errors more effectively than any existing method, bringing these devices a step closer to broader use. Quantum computers perform calculations on quantum…
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An artist’s impression of IBM’s Eagle quantum processing unit IBM IBM has made a significant advance on the road to larger and more powerful quantum computers by linking two such devices together and performing calculations beyond the capabilities of either alone. The result is a positive sign that the company’s bet on a modular approach…
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A pigeon-inspired robot has solved the mystery of how birds fly without the vertical tail fins that human-designed aircraft rely on. Its makers say the prototype could eventually lead to passenger aircraft with less drag, reducing fuel consumption. Tail fins, also known as vertical stabilisers, allow aircraft to turn from side to side and help…
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Walter Olson Voters in ten or so states this month turned down proposals to change the way elections are held, and reformers will be taking time to absorb the lessons. But I’d caution against treating this, as some headline writers have done, as a general rejection of ranked choice voting (RCV), which figured in many…
Just a few days after launching in Early Access, the long-awaited Industry Giant 4.0 has only 46 percent positive reviews on Steam. On November 15, 2024, Industry Giant 4.0 launched in Early Access. However, the German economic legend did not fare so well with us – we gave it a rating tendency of 65 to…
An artist’s depiction of a system showing its host star, transiting planet and misaligned protoplanetary disc NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt, K. Miller (Caltech/IPAC) A world seen orbiting a 3-million-year-old star about 520 light years from Earth is one of the youngest known planets, offering a window into early planet formation. The star is an early-stage dwarf star,…
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A tiny town in New Vegas is visited annually by Fallout fans who celebrate their love for the franchise there. Video game conventions like gamescom and promotional events organized by the game manufacturers themselves are often the meeting place for video game fans and cosplayers. These are characterized by crowds, long lines and photo sessions…
It hasn’t been a good year for people who care about climate change. A hoped-for peak in carbon emissions has failed to emerge, meaning we continue to warm the planet at an accelerating rate (see “Humanity has warmed the planet by 1.5°C since 1700”). Meanwhile, the election of Donald Trump for a second term as…
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