Sci-Tech news

• Catching rats is about to get easier! Scientists discover a chemical that makes rodents less wary

  20-06-2023 17:00 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Scientists from the University of Tokyo have now discovered a pheromone which calms rats down and makes them less wary.
  
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• How accurate is The Odyssey movie? Historical experts weigh in as Elon Musk and Tom Holland clash over casting

  09-07-2026 15:13 via dailymail.com
  
  Christopher Nolan's adaptation of The Odyssey has sparked controversy before it even hits the big screens in a row over historical accuracy.
  
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• Speedier type checks in TypeScript 7.0 as first stable Go release ships

  09-07-2026 15:01 via theregister.com
  
  The Microsoft-led TypeScript 7.0 features an order-of-magnitude speed boost, a victory not only for TypeScript itself but also for Go, the programming language used to completely rewrite the web staple's compiler. Following a major rewrite effort that began with an experimental native Go implementation, this is the first stable release of the language to include its long-in-development Go-based compiler rewrite. “TypeScript 7 brings native code speed, shared memory multithreading, and a nu
  
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• Britain's cloud habit has become a billion-pound risk

  09-07-2026 14:42 via theregister.com
  
  Amid calls for digital sovereignty, a report warns that more than 60 percent of UK companies depend on cloud services for critical functions, and an outage in one or more of the big providers could prove costly. Researchers at the Cyber Monitoring Centre nonprofit found a high level of cloud dependence among British firms, rising to more than 80 percent among FTSE 100 firms, and say this means cloud outages will disproportionately affect some of the country's most economically important companie
  
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• Scientists reveal the most exciting World Cup games so far - and none of England's matches even make the top 10!

  09-07-2026 14:03 via dailymail.com
  
  Experts from Northeastern University have built a new algorithm which measures and ranks World Cup games for their level of excitement.
  
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• Microsoft to switch off OWA Light after nearly two decades

  09-07-2026 13:53 via theregister.com
  
  Microsoft has warned admins that Outlook Web Access (OWA) Light is set to be disabled and removed with the August 2026 Exchange Server update. The announcement applies to the on-premises version of Exchange Server. The feature was deprecated on August 19, 2024, but some users might still be caught off guard when the plug is pulled once and for all. OWA Light – not to be confused with the stripped-down Android app Outlook Lite, which was retired earlier this year – is a simple web cli
  
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• Does Arthur Fery have what it takes to win Wimbledon? Scientists reveal how the British tennis star's short stature, young age and limited experience at Grand Slams could give him the edge

  09-07-2026 13:53 via dailymail.com
  
  Arthur Fery's youth, shorter stature and relative Grand Slam inexperience could actually give the British wildcard an unlikely edge, according to experts.
  
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• MPs tell NHS to start packing Palantir's bags ahead of 2027 contract break

  09-07-2026 13:26 via theregister.com
  
  A cross-party group of MPs has told the government to start planning for life after Palantir, arguing the NHS should use a 2027 break clause in its Federated Data Platform (FDP) contract to find a replacement rather than doubling down on one of Whitehall's most contentious tech deals. In a letter to Health Innovation Minister Preet Kaur Gill, the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee said the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) should begin preparing to replace the FDP when t
  
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• Accenture admits to 'isolated matter' after crook tries to flog alleged 35GB haul

  09-07-2026 12:35 via theregister.com
  
  Accenture has confirmed an "isolated matter" after a cybercriminal put up for sale what they allege is 35GB of the consulting giant's internal data, including source code, cryptographic keys, and cloud credentials. The listing, seen by The Register, appeared on a cybercrime forum on July 6 under the title "Accenture Data Breach," posted by a user with the handle "888." The seller claimed the stolen archive contained source code alongside RSA keys, SSH keys, Azure Personal Access Tokens (PATs), A
  
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• Man overboard! AI 'guardian' for cruise ships can detect passengers falling into the water instantly - even in darkness

  09-07-2026 12:03 via dailymail.com
  
  The new system, called ZOE, is capable of detecting both adults and children falling overboard from cruise ships within four seconds.
  
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• Ubuntu emphasizes Arm64 support – and gets Rustier

  09-07-2026 11:59 via theregister.com
  
  Some of Canonical’s ambitions for the future directions of Ubuntu are becoming apparent – despite some bumps in the road. Canonical engineering manager Ravi Kant Sharma posted an Ubuntu on Arm summer ’26 update on the Ubuntu Discourse. The company is boosting its efforts to make running Ubuntu on Arm64 a first-class experience. Some of the changes are behind the scenes, and others will be more immediately visible. Last month, Canonical announced that Ubuntu’s support for
  
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• Scientists analyse the 'witches' marks' on the walls of old English buildings - and finally reveal the meaning behind the mysterious symbols

  09-07-2026 11:47 via dailymail.com
  
  The marks - often referred to as daisy wheels or hexafoils - can be found inside medieval churches and houses across the country.
  
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• Is this the key to preventing a Super El Niño? Scientists say artificially brightening the CLOUDS could shield us from floods, extreme heat and wildfires

  09-07-2026 11:30 via dailymail.com
  
  With the strongest Super El Niño on record now underway, scientists are investigating a controversial method that could stop the weather cycle in its tracks.
  
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• Windows 95 detected installers by looking for magic words and hoping for the best

  09-07-2026 11:12 via theregister.com
  
  Veteran Microsoft engineer Raymond Chen has confirmed what we all suspected about Windows 95: it guessed when a setup program was running. Rather than relying on any special flag or marker, Chen explained that Windows 95 looked at the program's name to determine whether it was a setup application. It did this by checking the app against a list of magic words. If the program name contained one of them, it must be a setup. Chen gave the list: setup, install, inst, imposta, ayarla, and felrak. Whil
  
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• Warning over surge in 'virtually untreatable' sexually transmitted diarrhoea disease that's climbing in the UK

  09-07-2026 11:06 via dailymail.com
  
  Researchers have found that sexually transmitted shigellosis - which has risen in prevalence by a quarter in England since 2023 - is becoming 'virtually untreatable'.
  
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• Scientist models way to make sure no one's violating the ban on nuclear weapons in space

  09-07-2026 10:25 via theregister.com
  
  One scientist has produced a detailed model which proposes a way to verify that no government or rogue actors are secretly hiding nuclear weapons in the Earth’s orbit. Currently, international laws prevent the use of nuclear weapons in orbit, but it also presents a problem. International space law was created by the Outer Space Treaty, which was drafted in 1966 and has been ratified by 117 nations, including the USA, China, and Russia, since then. It explicitly bans nuclear weapons from be
  
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• The sign of dementia that appears 15 YEARS before early-onset diagnosis

  09-07-2026 10:18 via dailymail.com
  
  Scientists in Finland say they have revealed a warning sign someone could be struggling with dementia before age 65 years.
  
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• Thief posed as Wi-Fi fixing hero, then stole priceless trophy

  09-07-2026 09:00 via theregister.com
  
  PWNED Welcome, once again, to PWNED, where each week we share the saga of an organization that couldn’t get out of its own way when it comes to security. This week’s tale comes courtesy of Dahvid Schloss, a professional red teamer who was also involved (as a supervisor) in last week’s story about hackers shoveling snow in order to gain access to restricted areas. This time, it was Schloss himself who broke in, and he used the promise of better connectivity to do it. On one assi
  
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• New Horizons Pluto probe just woke itself up after 321 days of hibernation

  09-07-2026 08:41 via theregister.com
  
  NASA’s New Horizons probe has woken itself up after 321 days of hibernation. The aerospace agency sent commands to the probe last July, instructing it to commence hibernation on August 7 and then resume activity in July 2026. On July 23, NASA checked to see if New Horizons had obeyed the instruction to wake up and was pleased to find it was online again. New Horizons’ main job was to make our first ever visit to Pluto, which it accomplished in 2015, before zipping off to visit a Kuip
  
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• Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek thinks AI is going to pay off

  09-07-2026 06:20 via theregister.com
  
  Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek, one of the world’s largest investment houses, intends to massively increase its investment in AI over the next five years – both for its own use and across its portfolio. Temasek holds over $400 billion in assets and around six percent of those are currently tied up in AI companies, including OpenAI. At its annual review meeting yesterday, the fund announced it intends to increase its exposure to AI until it reaches 15 percent in 2031.
  
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• Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek thinks AI has a future

  09-07-2026 06:20 via theregister.com
  
  Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek, one of the world’s largest investment houses, intends to massively increase its investment in AI over the next five years – both for its own use and across its portfolio. Temasek holds over $400 billion in assets and around six percent of those are currently tied up in AI companies, including OpenAI. At its annual review meeting yesterday, the fund announced it intends to increase its exposure to AI until it reaches 15 percent in 2031.
  
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• Leg day at the gym? Sniffing CHOCOLATE before your workout could make it easier, study claims

  09-07-2026 06:00 via dailymail.com
  
  Forget pre-workout shakes - all you might need to smash your next gym session is a whiff of chocolate.
  
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• nubia Neo 5 GT Special Edition debuts with the first and only Liquid and Air Dual Active Cooling System in its class

  09-07-2026 05:54 via theregister.com
  
  nubia, a highly personalized and lifestyle smartphone brand, announced the launch of nubia Neo 5 GT Special Edition, the latest addition to its Neo lineup built on the belief to bring pro-level gaming to everyone. Designed for young gamers and tech-savvy Gen Z users seeking for premium gaming experience without compromise, the new device delivers the sustained performance once exclusive to premium devices, and makes it accessible to everyone through the AquaCore Cooling System - the first and on
  
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• Last month was the second-hottest June on RECORD - as Super El Niño unleashes a summer of chaos

  09-07-2026 04:00 via dailymail.com
  
  Last month was officially the second hottest June on record, experts have revealed. The average global temperature hit 16.54°C (61.77°F), which is second only to the June of 2024 (16.66°C/61.98°F).
  
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• Microsoft shifts to annual exchange rate price revision for cloudy products

  09-07-2026 03:53 via theregister.com
  
  Microsoft has decided to shift to annual price adjustments for its commercial cloud services, instead of its current twice-yearly changes. The software giant happily bills customers in their local currencies but always keeps those costs pegged to the price it charges in US dollars. Since at least 2024, Microsoft has revisited local currency prices for its commercial cloud services twice a year. On Wednesday, the company announced a change in policy that means it will now revisit foreign currency
  
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• Deadly bacteria found in major US city's wastewater system tied to Mark Zuckerberg's $800m data center

  09-07-2026 01:28 via dailymail.com
  
  Meta has come under fire after its data center contaminated a major US city's water system with a rare bacteria, months before the facility is set to go online.
  
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• OpenAI makes ChatGPT better at banter

  09-07-2026 01:16 via theregister.com
  
  OpenAI has released a new voice model that can produce human-sounding speech, or scour the web in response to spoken queries. GPT-Live, according to the company, makes chatbot banter feel more like a real conversation, something of a bold move for a company battling multiple lawsuits alleging mental health harms because people took ChatGPT too seriously. "During conversations, GPT‑Live can show it’s paying attention with phrases like 'mhmm' or 'yeah', engage in quick back-and-forth,
  
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• The AI that spawned MechaHitler and deepfake porn puts on a suit to become legal advisor and Excel jockey

  09-07-2026 00:27 via theregister.com
  
  To say Elon Musk's AI company has trained some of the most unhinged models on the internet would be an understatement. Grok’s sordid past includes cosplaying as “MechaHitler” and a foray into deepfake porn generation that briefly got the platform banned in some regions. As concerning as that might sound, the recently renamed Eloncorp known as SpaceXAI says Grok, now in version 4.5, has cleaned up its act, wiped its browser history, covered up the swastikas, and is ready to take
  
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• A Digital Bill of Rights for the States

  09-07-2026 00:22 via technocracy.news
  
  This document is free to read, share, print, and adopt — and always will be. It carries no paywall and asks nothing of you but that you use it. If you are a legislator, a staffer, or a citizen who wants to bring it to your statehouse, take it. Strengthen it. Make it yours.Download the full text (PDF)
  Digital_Bill_Of_Rights
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  Digital_Bill_Of_RightsRead the analysis: The America at 250 Series🔴⚪️🔵 Happy Birthday, America. Now Hand Ove
  
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• Suspected Chinese snoops caught breaking into universities' Roundcube mailservers

  08-07-2026 23:35 via theregister.com
  
  Suspected Chinese spies have been breaking into major US and Canadian universities since May, exploiting vulns in Roundcube mailservers to steal data belonging to physics and engineering administrators and professors, according to Proofpoint threat researchers. Proofpoint directly observed “less than 10” universities targeted in these intrusions, Greg Lesnewich, principal threat research engineer at Proofpoint, told The Register. “We estimate the total volume of targets would b
  
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