Sci-Tech news

• The AI that can predict your personality simply by looking into your eyes

  27-07-2018 21:48 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Australian researchers have revealed an AI the can predict your personality just by looking at your eyes.
  
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• Government's cyber pledge lands 60 signatories, including M&S and, somehow, Capita

  07-07-2026 12:07 via theregister.com
  
  After serving as last year’s poster child for retail cyber misery, Marks & Spencer has become one of the first companies to sign up to the UK government's new Cyber Resilience Pledge. The retailer is among 60 organizations that have signed up to the voluntary scheme, launched by technology secretary Liz Kendall on Tuesday. Signatories commit to treating cybersecurity as a board-level responsibility, signing up to the National Cyber Security Centre's Early Warning service, and encouragi
  
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• MPs tell Brit government: Sort out your tech sovereignty or get left out in the cold

  07-07-2026 11:43 via theregister.com
  
  MPs are warning the UK has no "coherent strategy" for creating sovereign capabilities across a range of technologies, including AI, space, and quantum computing. A report published Tuesday by the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee says the UK is in a global race for sovereign tech capabilities, with AI emerging as a "central arena" for competition and collaboration. A recent move by the US government to restrict some of Anthropic's AI models "should be a powerful reminder that the UK m
  
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• Earth's second MOON is revealed for the first time: Chinese satellite beams back incredible image of rare 'micromoon'

  07-07-2026 11:28 via dailymail.com
  
  This is the first image of a rare 'minimoon' that loops around the Earth like a dance partner.
  
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• Northern Ireland tries (again) to expel Capita from schools IT contract

  07-07-2026 11:15 via theregister.com
  
  Four years after its first attempt, Northern Ireland's Education Authority (EANI) is trying once again to replace Capita, with a procurement for an IT services deal worth up to £851 million. An earlier effort to replace the UK tech services company foundered when EANI ended its £485 million contract with Fujitsu by "mutual agreement" after "extensive negotiations" in November 2024. The deal's collapse led to an extension of the authority's contract with Capita, which bagged an additi
  
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• One and done! NASA Artemis II astronaut Jeremy Hansen dramatically RETIRES after a single mission around the moon - as one fan asks 'what do you guys see up there that you don't want to go back?'

  07-07-2026 11:01 via dailymail.com
  
  The Canadian astronaut was one of four members of the Artemis II team, who made history earlier this year by flying around the moon.
  
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• UK guts planning red tape so datacenters can bypass the neighbors faster

  07-07-2026 10:30 via theregister.com
  
  Reform of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 aims to cut a year off the approval process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) in England and Wales – a category that now includes datacenters. The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) confirmed that changes under the Act, taking effect later this month, will scrap the statutory requirement for pre-application consultation on NSIPs. These are major developments – power stations, rail
  
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• Brussels shows how to remove friction from collaboration

  07-07-2026 10:00 via theregister.com
  
  When the Flemish Government set out to renovate its Brussels headquarters, it had two strategic aims. The first was to create a workplace that encouraged hybrid workers to come to the office more regularly, by fashioning a space that fostered connection, teamwork, collaboration, and a deeper sense of wellbeing and belonging. The second goal was sustainability. Another objective was that the government's head office building played a large part in its 2050 climate goals. Yannic Laleeuwe is market
  
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• Broadcom and Apple extend custom silicon pact to 2031

  07-07-2026 09:19 via theregister.com
  
  Broadcom has signed a deal to provide Apple with custom chips until 2031. The chips and code shop has supplied Apple with silicon since the late 2000s when its wireless products found a home in early iPhone models. Broadcom’s silicon has found its way into iThings ever since. Broadcom’s announcement of its extended relationship with Cupertino is brief, stating only that the two companies “have agreed to expand their long-standing technology collaboration through 2031 by enterin
  
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• Samsung’s profits jump 19x in a year and you don’t need AI to figure out why

  07-07-2026 07:39 via theregister.com
  
  Samsung has delivered guidance for its second quarter results and forecast profits 19 times higher than it managed in the same period of 2025. In Q2 last year, the Korean giant’s sales totalled ₩75.7 trillion ($49.7 billion) and operating profit landed at ₩4.68 trillion ($3.1 billion). Fast forward a year, and Samsung told investors that once its accountants finish their work, they’ll report sales of ₩170 trillion to ₩172 trillion ($111.9 billion) and operatin
  
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• Study Finds: Scientists Built Cancer Kill Switch That Turns On With Flash Of Light

  07-07-2026 05:18 via technocracy.news
  
  Photonics influences cell behavior by using light. Technocrats have discovered that many cells, or genetically modified cells, express light-sensitive proteins (opsins, rhodopsins) that open or close ion channels when illuminated, changing membrane potential and firing patterns. In neurons, this directly controls excitability, synaptic transmission, and network dynamics on millisecond timescales. ⁃ Patrick Wood, Editor.Cancer has a dirty trick: it can put itself to sleep. When tumor c
  
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• IBM teases new rackable mainframes that ‘complete’ the z17 family

  07-07-2026 04:20 via theregister.com
  
  IBM has posted an announcement that teases the introduction of rack-mounted and single-frame versions of its z17 mainframes. Big Blue’s documentation for the z17 mentions only a model called the ME1 that scales from single-rack to four-rack systems. The Tuesday announcement mentions bundles called the z17 ME2 and IBM z17 MER, respectively a single-frame and rack-mounted affair. The announcement doesn’t offer any specs but says they “complete the IBM z17 product family.” I
  
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• AI startup that’s never turned a profit say's it'll totally be around in 2047 to close its $19B lease

  07-07-2026 01:37 via theregister.com
  
  In its short life, Anthropic has captured hearts, minds, and wallets – and spooked the US government – but it hasn’t actually turned a profit. That’s not stopping CEO Dario Amodei from signing a two-decade lease with crypto-mining outfit turned AI datacenter operator TeraWulf. Anthropic believes it’s not only going to survive any AI bubble burst but keep operating until 2047, or at least that’s what it (probably) wants prospective investors in its upcoming ini
  
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• Boffins bet on quantum computers, AI supers to solve fusion fuel dilemma

  06-07-2026 22:20 via theregister.com
  
  Fusion energy has presented a tantalizing alternative to fossil fuels for the better part of a century, but creating the equivalent of a human-made sun is easier said than done. However, new research from the boffins at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the Cleveland Clinic, and IBM in support of the Department of Energy’s (DoE) Genesis Mission suggests quantum computers and perhaps a sprinkle of AI could be what the world needs to get fusion power running at scale. Specifically, resea
  
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• Software engineers can still rake in big bucks by working for fast-growing companies

  06-07-2026 21:57 via theregister.com
  
  If you listen to the AI industry, coders' days are numbered. Despite these concerns, software developers, at least those with experience, appear to be doing just fine at growing companies. Hiring biz Levels.fyi recently looked at how US compensation for software engineers (SWEs) is related to changes in headcount and found that salary level tends to be correlated with growth. "Generally, the companies paying the most are also the ones still hiring the most," observed Hakeem Shibly, content marke
  
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• CIA says a common habit instantly exposes you as an American

  06-07-2026 21:52 via dailymail.com
  
  The CIA trains its spies to avoid one common American habit that could blow their cover in seconds.
  
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• Madlad builds homebrew GPU using 8,192 RISC-V chips

  06-07-2026 21:39 via theregister.com
  
  If you can't afford a graphics card these days, here's an alternative solution. Just order thousands of microcontrollers, design your own boards, and build your own cluster over the course of six months after dealing with a healthy dose of setbacks. At the end of it, you might even have something able to light up the equivalent of a QVGA display with a whopping resolution of 320x200 for your efforts and, as electrical engineering and software development YouTuber bitluni said of his creation, ne
  
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• Mystery of Hannibal's Alpine march solved? Scientists calculate how 46,000 men and 37 elephants could have made military history's greatest journey

  06-07-2026 21:08 via dailymail.com
  
  Scientists may have finally solved the 2,200-year-old mystery of Hannibal's legendary Alpine crossing.
  
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• Bumblebees stick out their tongues when they enjoy a sweet treat but shake their heads in disgust at bitter tastes, scientists discover

  06-07-2026 21:07 via dailymail.com
  
  Bumblebees stick out their tongue and 'lick their lips' after tasting a sweet treat, scientists have revealed. But when they gave the bees bitter drinks, they shook their heads in disgust.
  
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• GitHub cuts short offer to burn repos on CD after mockery ensues

  06-07-2026 20:46 via theregister.com
  
  You’re too late! Monday was the last day to score your own free CD of your GitHub repository, which the Microsoft-owned subsidiary offered to mail to the first 1,000 people who asked. But as of noon eastern time, that offer has been withdrawn (if it was ever genuine) after sparking confusion and ridicule. Last Thursday, GitHub issued a short notice on X extending an offer: In light of recent developments in physical media, GitHub is proud to announce that you can now obtain your public rep
  
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• Apple quietly shelves 'most innovative product in years' amid fears it would spy on everyone

  06-07-2026 20:02 via dailymail.com
  
  Apple may have quietly put the brakes on what some tech experts had called its 'most innovative product in years.'
  
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• Ancient 'lost world' discovered off the US West coast rewrites story of first Americans who arrived 13,000 years ago

  06-07-2026 19:11 via dailymail.com
  
  An ancient island chain hidden off America's West Coast could upend everything scientists thought they knew about America's first settlers.
  
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• EU urged to act after Pegasus infects phone of spyware inquiry MEP

  06-07-2026 19:00 via theregister.com
  
  Civil liberties groups have accused the EU of dragging its feet in implementing key measures to prevent spyware infections after Citizen Lab revealed a former member of European Parliament was placed under surveillance during his time in office. Stelios Kouloglou, a former investigative journalist, served as a Greek MEP between 2014 and 2023 and was a substitute member of the inquiry into the use of Pegasus and other spyware (PEGA Committee). After Citizen Lab forensically analyzed his device, t
  
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• Samsung floats 2028 launch for seaborne datacenter

  06-07-2026 18:34 via theregister.com
  
  Samsung expects to have its first floating datacenter (FDC) operational by the second calendar quarter of 2028. The Korean conglomerate is one of several companies pursuing waterborne bit barns, as recently covered by The Register. It has now put a specific date on those plans, according to the Seoul Economic Daily, which reports Samsung is weighing multiple candidate projects to commercialize an FDC the year after next. Samsung Heavy Industries, the group's shipbuilding and offshore engineering
  
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• Microsoft says the world is changing faster than it can keep up as it guts commercial, Xbox teams

  06-07-2026 17:58 via theregister.com
  
  Hard times have come to Microsoft employees. Thousands of Microsoft team members reported to work following the US holiday weekend to learn their jobs no longer exist, with Redmond gutting its Commercial business and Xbox team, and spinning off several game studios to cut costs. Microsoft human resources boss Amy Coleman announced that the company is eliminating some 4,800 roles Monday morning in a letter to employees the company published online. Coleman explained that Microsoft is doing the la
  
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• AMD’s Ryzen AI Halo makes local AI look easy, but at $4K, easy doesn't come cheap

  06-07-2026 17:00 via theregister.com
  
  A year ago the Ryzen AI Halo, AMD's tiny new AI workstation, would have offered devs and machine learning enthusiasts an Nvidia DGX Spark-like experience at a fraction of the cost. Unfortunately for AMD, time and the ongoing memory shortage, which both AMD itself and Nvidia are partially responsible for, hasn't been kind to the consumer electronics industry. Launching at a hair under $4,000, the AI Halo is still cheaper than the Spark at its new MSRP of $4,699, but is now a much tougher sell tha
  
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• Europe's new import rules are coming for your bargains

  06-07-2026 15:49 via theregister.com
  
  Last week, a small customs fee landed in the EU that may have outsized consequences. Imports of single items from outside the EU are now hit with a new €3 duty, a rule that affects a range of people including electronics hobbyists and techies who prefer their printer toner off-brand. The seller or importer is generally responsible for declaring and paying the duty, but folks who build electronics projects, among others, are concerned that the so-called "Temu tax" might lead to a broad hike
  
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• Your brain doesn't peak in your 20s after all: Study reveals your mind is at its sharpest between 55 and 60

  06-07-2026 15:17 via dailymail.com
  
  Many people assume they've already reached their peak by the time they hit 30 - but new research suggests the opposite is true.
  
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• Even banks and hyperscalers are now sounding the alarm about the AI bubble

  06-07-2026 15:00 via theregister.com
  
  KETTLE From international banking worries to the market state of canary-in-the-coal-mine Oracle, the AI bubble is sure looking taut. The Bank for International Settlements, often referred to as "the central bank for central banks", said in a report at the end of June that it was worried the AI bubble was nigh on to popping and taking the global economy with it. Oracle, the hyperscaler with arguably the largest exposure to the AI bubble, has lost more than 40 percent of its share value in the pas
  
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• Brit supermarket giant triples down on facial recog to nab shoplifters

  06-07-2026 14:35 via theregister.com
  
  The UK's second largest supermarket is tripling the number of stores that use facial recognition to try to clamp down on shoplifters – a move privacy campaigners are branding as "shameful." Sainsbury's first trialed the tech at premises in Sydenham and Bath Oldfield Park from September last year, before deploying it to shops across London earlier in 2026. More than 55 Sainsbury's supermarkets use the technology.Facial recognition will be extended to up to 200 stores by the end of 2026, acc
  
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