Sci-Tech news

• Bruce Lee 'may have died from drinking too much WATER'

  21-11-2022 14:40 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Kung fu legend Bruce Lee might have died from drinking too much water, doctors have claimed nearly 50 years after he passed away. Bruce died aged 32 in the summer of 1973 while in Hong Kong.
  
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• Grok chat duped into swallowing injected instructions

  20-08-2026 15:00 via theregister.com
  
  xAI's Grok web chat agent is currently vulnerable to a novel form of prompt injection, according to security researchers with Adversa AI. The technique allows an attacker to create a web page poisoned with malicious instructions that induce an AI model summarizing the page to carry out harmful actions. That describes a well-known attack known as indirect prompt injection. Frontier AI models have become better at dealing with such attempts through existing guardrails, though the issue is far from
  
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• French tax authority says break-in exposed data of 600K, including some private messages

  20-08-2026 14:33 via theregister.com
  
  France's tax authority says attackers may have stolen the contents of messages exchanged with hundreds of taxpayers during the data raid it confirmed last week. In an update published this week, the General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFiP) said lists of messages exchanged with the authority were exposed. For around 250 people, the compromised information also included the messages themselves. Slightly more than 350,000 individuals were affected. The other exposed data included tax identifi
  
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• Thunderstorm warnings expire but rain continues to bring risk of floods for UK

  20-08-2026 14:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The prolonged dry spell has come to an end with heavy, thundery showers continuing to sweep across the UK, as Ben Rich explains.
  
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• OpenAI glitch locks out vetted cyber researchers – and some can't get back in

  20-08-2026 13:45 via theregister.com
  
  OpenAI says a technical stuff-up booted some vetted security researchers out of its Trusted Access for Cyber (TAC) program, only for its recovery process to decide some of them aren't welcome back. The problem surfaced this week when participants reported that their previously approved status had vanished without warning. OpenAI's cyber verification page instead invited them to "Start verification" as though they had never been cleared. Some also found that Daybreak Blue, an access tier offering
  
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• Charles I's lost treasure wreck has finally been found: Royal ship carrying millions in silver and gold is discovered in a Scottish river after 400 years

  20-08-2026 13:43 via dailymail.com
  
  A royal ship carrying millions in sunken treasure has been found in a Scottish river after sinking 400 years ago.
  
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• Scientists issue urgent warning over 'voicemaxxing' trend in which men perform 'neck crunches' to deepen their voices - amid fears it can cause permanent damage

  20-08-2026 13:39 via dailymail.com
  
  The latest trend sweeping the internet is voicemaxxing, in which young men attempt to deepen voices to make themselves more appealing to women.
  
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• Northern Ireland farm profits topped £1bn in 2025

  20-08-2026 13:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The overall performance in 2025 was heavily influenced by developments in the beef sector which saw prices rise to record levels.
  
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• Super El Niño is EVOLVING: Models confirm the devastating climate phenomenon is intensifying - with forecasters predicting a 'very strong event'

  20-08-2026 13:24 via dailymail.com
  
  Super El Niño is evolving and could become one of the strongest events on record, scientists have warned.
  
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• Microsoft probes reports of games taking exception to Windows 11's August update

  20-08-2026 13:03 via theregister.com
  
  Microsoft is investigating reports of games crashing after users installed August's Patch Tuesday update for Windows 11. The company acknowledged the reports on its Release Health page. Affected games may become unresponsive, close unexpectedly, throw an "EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION" error, or trigger an unexpected device restart. Reports of the problem followed the release of KB5121003 for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2. The KB5121003 support page still lists no known issues, but Microsoft has separat
  
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• Huge boom in eSIM use threatens phone companies as travellers dodge astronomical roaming charges

  20-08-2026 13:01 via dailymail.com
  
  Have you ever tried an eSIM? It could be the way to avoid hefty phone charges - but is it threatening mobile companies?
  
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• One of Britain's 'best places to live' is home to some of the country's 'dirtiest' beaches with bacteria levels THREE times higher than average

  20-08-2026 12:28 via dailymail.com
  
  Folkestone and Hythe has some of the 'dirtiest' beaches in England according to new research.
  
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• Software development and tech services in the cross-hairs as AI marches on

  20-08-2026 12:15 via theregister.com
  
  Business transformation, software development, and technology implementation are among the tech job categories likely to be hit hardest by AI, according to new research from Forrester. The global IT analyst company has researched how AI will disrupt various activities within the tech market, both among end users and vendors. It concluded that labor-intensive knowledge-work industries would face the greatest disruption. At the same time, enterprise software will be reshaped rather than displaced,
  
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• No lift for Swift as NASA abandons orbital rescue

  20-08-2026 11:43 via theregister.com
  
  NASA and Katalyst Space have abandoned an ambitious attempt to boost the Swift observatory into a higher orbit and postpone its fiery return to Earth. Katalyst Space's LINK spacecraft will still attempt to rendezvous with and maneuver near Swift, but plans to grapple the observatory and raise its orbit are dead. The problem, according to NASA and Katalyst Space, is an "ongoing commercial spacecraft attitude control issue." Shortly after launch, LINK entered a spin, and two of the three reaction
  
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• Think this is bad? Study warns the area affected by wildfires in Europe will TRIPLE by 2100

  20-08-2026 11:38 via dailymail.com
  
  The area ravaged by wildfires in Europe will almost triple by 2100, an ominous study has revealed.
  
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• SpaceX has scarred the moon forever: Before-and-after images reveal how Elon Musk's out-of-control rocket carved a 60-foot crater into the lunar surface

  20-08-2026 11:29 via dailymail.com
  
  NASA has revealed its first official images of an enormous crater made when a SpaceX rocket smashed into the moon.
  
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• Britain's most dangerous spider strikes again: Woman in Kent is left with a 'crater' in her leg after a bite from a false widow that was 'hiding on a clothes peg'

  20-08-2026 11:05 via dailymail.com
  
  Danni Virgo, 45, as left with a 'crater' in her leg after multiple bites from a false widow spider.
  
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• SparkyLinux 8.4 rekindles support for 32-bit PCs

  20-08-2026 10:45 via theregister.com
  
  Almost exactly a year after SparkyLinux 8.0 abandoned installation images for 32-bit PCs, version 8.4 has brought them back. The distro remains based on Debian 13 and retains the codename "the Seven Sisters." The Register first checked out SparkyLinux back in 2015, and this vulture took a look at version 7 a couple of years ago. Beyond the changes inherited from the move from Debian 12 to Debian 13, this version isn't hugely different. The project's own self-description covers the basics. (The p
  
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• AI agent suggested installing a malware package. Engineer almost took its advice

  20-08-2026 09:00 via theregister.com
  
  PWNED Welcome back to PWNED, the column where we make fun of those who are security self-owned, so hopefully you don’t do the same. This week, we have a story that’s hot off the presses about a company almost sabotaging its security by using AI for programming. Have a story about someone leaving a gaping hole in their network? Share it with us at [email protected]. Anonymity is available upon request. Our tale of machine learning malfeasance comes courtesy of Sergiy Fitsak, managing d
  
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• China marches towards re-usable rockets with successful first-stage landing

  20-08-2026 08:21 via theregister.com
  
  Chinese space startup LandSpace has landed a first-stage booster on land, the first time a Middle Kingdom company has achieved the feat. LandSpace flies rockets called Zhuque and has built three generations of the craft. Zhuque-1 only flew once, in 2018. Zhuque-2 became the first liquid oxygen-methane vehicle to reach orbit when it first flew in 2022. It can can carry 6,000 kilograms to a 200km low Earth orbit or 4,000kg to a 600km Sun-synchronous orbit. LandSpace has flown it eight times since
  
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• Zoo boss calls pipeline plan on site 'unacceptable'

  20-08-2026 07:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Proposals for a pipeline to transport carbon emissions to the coast would cut through the zoo.
  
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• IBM says super-chill boxes that connect through 'cryogenic tunnels' will get quantum computers scaling

  20-08-2026 06:57 via theregister.com
  
  IBM has shown off designs for cooling hardware it says will allow quantum computers to scale. Quantum computers rely on qubits – atoms or circuits put into a state of probability that means they can simultaneously store a value of zero and one – and which computer scientists make using complex circuitry or by suspending an atom with lasers. IBM produces qubits with chips that can only run at temperatures close to absolute zero. Big Blue’s quantum boxes therefore need serious co
  
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• Scientists urge British gardeners to let weeds grow this summer - to help feed struggling honeybees

  20-08-2026 06:01 via dailymail.com
  
  Forget reaching for the weedkiller - letting scruffy thistles, ragwort and knapweed grow in your garden could actually help save hungry bees, scientists say. 
  
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• Microsoft ends one of the last ways to buy VMware without big bundles

  20-08-2026 04:13 via theregister.com
  
  Microsoft has signalled it will end one of the last remaining ways to acquire VMware products outside of a big bundle. Redmond’s main offer for Virtzillains is the Azure VMware Solution (AVS), a cloudy affair that includes vCenter, vSAN, vSphere, and NSX and licenses for them all – but not the Software-Defined Datacenter Manager tool that Broadcom uses to package its wares into a centrally-manageable hybrid cloud in its flagship Cloud Foundation (VCF) suite. Since acquiring VMware, B
  
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• Giant whales move into Greenland waters as ice disappears

  20-08-2026 04:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Melting sea ice from climate change has opened up the region for giant whales to undertake "feeding frenzies".
  
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• AMD inches closer to its goal of making AI suck less ... energy

  20-08-2026 01:42 via theregister.com
  
  AI’s thirst for power remains an ongoing concern, but fear not: AMD says it’s making steady progress towards its goal of boosting rack efficiency 20x by the end of the decade. In a blog post published this week, the House of Zen estimates that, as of 2026, its systems are already 4x more efficient than they were in 2024. Certainly, a lot has changed since then. As you may recall, AMD began volume production of the MI300X, its first true datacenter GPU designed for AI, that year. The
  
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• 'Not a theoretical risk,' feds warn as attackers use AI-made code to hack critical infrastructure controllers

  20-08-2026 00:38 via theregister.com
  
  Attackers are using AI-generated exploitation scripts to break into internet-exposed Siemens S7 Series programmable logic controllers (PLCs) at water, manufacturing, energy, and other critical facilities, in what five US federal agencies on Wednesday called an “active threat.” In this latest round of intrusions against American critical infrastructure, the attackers use open source industrial automation libraries – specifically snap7.dll/python-snap7 – combined with AI co
  
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• Hurricane warning issued as second monster storm in two weeks nears Hawaii, spaghetti models predict

  19-08-2026 22:35 via dailymail.com
  
  Days after a hurricane destroyed 100 homes and killed at least two people, another tropical storm is just hours away from forming and striking the same US state.
  
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• NASA Mars photo sparks claims of aliens on the Red Planet

  19-08-2026 22:33 via dailymail.com
  
  An image of Mars taken by NASA's rover has sparked theories that aliens may be hiding on the Red Planet.
  
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• Doomed NASA space telescope set for uncontrolled fall to Earth after failed rescue mission

  19-08-2026 22:19 via dailymail.com
  
  NASA called off the mission to save its dying space telescope on Wednesday, dooming it to a fiery reentry into Earth.
  
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