Science and Technology

After nearly three decades of service, NASA astronaut Suni Williams has announced her retirement, marking the end of a career defined by endurance, leadership, and record-setting achievements. Her final mission, an unplanned nine-month stay in orbit during Boeing’s Starliner test flight, has become a defining moment in modern space exploration.The announcement, which NASA confirmed on Tuesday, officially closes Williams’ service in the astronaut corps and turns what had been planned as a brief test mission into her final trip to space. Although the agency did not detail the exact moment behind her choice, the retirement concludes a career launched in…

The 2026 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was dominated by AI, humanoid robots, and devices that push the boundaries of innovation. From towering robots to wearable tech, the event offered a window into the rapidly evolving tech landscape and the bets companies are making on artificial intelligence.This year, CES not only displayed an array of devices but also underscored how AI is reshaping entire sectors, redefining products, and changing how people engage with technology. Firms worldwide unveiled their newest breakthroughs, from humanoid robots designed for industrial duties to AI-enhanced home devices, intelligent jewelry, and cutting-edge processors. Though certain creations…

OpenAI plans to introduce advertising within ChatGPT, offering personalized promotions based on user interactions. The move marks a significant shift in how conversational AI platforms may generate revenue and interact with their users.The announcement marks a fresh chapter for ChatGPT, a platform that has swiftly expanded as a favored resource for providing answers, supporting tasks, and producing content, and although OpenAI has traditionally depended on subscription income from offerings such as ChatGPT Plus, the move to introduce ads reflects a wider plan to generate revenue from the free-tier experience.How advertising will function inside ChatGPTAccording to OpenAI, ads will be contextually…

Forgetting someone’s name at an inconvenient moment is something almost everyone experiences. Proper names behave unlike ordinary words: they tend to vanish even when familiar nouns and general knowledge stay within reach. Explaining this phenomenon involves examining how the brain stores and retrieves names, how attention and emotion influence their encoding, and how factors such as age, stress, and linguistic background reshape the way retrieval functions.What makes proper names specialProper names function as identifiers that carry minimal semantic cues. In contrast with a term like “dog,” which naturally evokes qualities, behaviors, and situational associations, a name such as “Sarah” offers…

Health anxiety—worrying excessively about having or developing a serious illness—is common at varying degrees. For many people the internet, social media, and symptom-checking apps are primary sources of health information. While accessible information can empower patients, it can also amplify and maintain anxiety. This article explains how and why information often makes health anxiety worse, illustrates with examples and data-based patterns, and offers practical strategies for individuals and clinicians.What is health anxiety and cyberchondria?Health anxiety ranges from occasional worry to persistent, distressing preoccupation that disrupts life. When internet use turns reassurance-seeking into a driver of anxiety, clinicians often use the…

A more secure direction ahead for lithium-ion batteriesGroundbreaking advances in battery chemistry are redefining the balance between safety and performance, and a novel electrolyte formulation devised by researchers in Hong Kong presents a compelling path to reducing fire hazards while keeping existing lithium-ion battery production methods intact.Lithium-ion batteries have quietly evolved into essential components of everyday technology, energizing smartphones, laptops, electric vehicles, e-bikes, medical devices and a vast range of tools that define modern living. Although known for strong performance and dependable operation, these batteries also possess an intrinsic hazard that has grown more apparent as their adoption has widened.…

Artificial intelligence moved from promise to pressure point in 2025, reshaping economies, politics and daily life at a speed few anticipated. What began as a technological acceleration has become a global reckoning about power, productivity and responsibility.How AI reshaped the global landscape in 2025 and what lies aheadThe year 2025 will be remembered as the point when artificial intelligence shifted from being viewed as a distant disruptor to becoming an unavoidable force shaping everyday reality, marking a decisive move from experimentation toward broad systemic influence as governments, companies and citizens were compelled to examine not only what AI is capable…

Strong evidence supports exercise as a clinically meaningful intervention for depressive symptoms across ages and settings. The benefit is not uniform for every person or every protocol, so understanding the dose — frequency, intensity, time, type — and how to individualize it is essential for achieving reliable mood improvement.What the evidence showsMultiple randomized trials and meta-analyses indicate that exercise delivers a modest yet meaningful antidepressant effect, with pooled standardized mean differences typically ranging from about -0.3 to -0.6, reflecting symptom relief that many individuals find clinically significant.Benefits appear across both aerobic and resistance training approaches, as well as in supervised…

New images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS nearing Earth have been captured by astronomersNew insights into comet 3I/ATLAS highlight its distinctive composition and active tails as it approaches its nearest point to Earth this month. The interstellar traveler, hailing from outside our solar system, has captivated scientists' attention since it was first identified in July 2025.Comet 3I/ATLAS represents just the third interstellar object identified as it journeys through our solar system, rendering each observation vital for comprehending its path, makeup, and actions. Detailed images of the comet have been captured by both the Hubble Space Telescope and the European Space…

A study suggests that a volcanic eruption might have set off the Black DeathRecent studies suggest that a colossal volcanic eruption during the mid-14th century might have triggered a series of events culminating in the Black Death, one of the most lethal pandemics in human history. By integrating climate data from tree rings, ice cores, and historical documents, researchers are illuminating how environmental and societal elements converged to form an ideal scenario for the plague.Researchers have long studied the Black Death, which ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351, claiming the lives of at least 25 million people—roughly half of the…