Artificial Intelligence
In This Manhattan Lab, AI Designs Materials From ScratchAdele Peters | Fast Company
“The lab uses standard materials science equipment, but it surely’s just about all automated and run by AI; if it has a brand new idea at 4am, it starts running again. It may well run as many as 50 experiments in a day, and the team is aiming to extend that to 100 experiments a day by the top of the summer. A human materials scientist, Krause says, might do 50 experiments in a 12 months.”
Biotechnology
One-and-Done Heart Disease Prevention? Scientists Show It May Be Possible.Gina Kolata | The Recent York Times ($)
“In a small, preliminary study, an experimental gene-editing treatment dramatically lowered levels of cholesterol, perhaps permanently, after only one infusion, scientists reported on Monday. If confirmed in larger studies, researchers hope the findings may result in a one-and-done method to prevent heart disease in large numbers of individuals.”
Robotics
3D-Printable Humanoid Legs Let Robotics Experiments Run WildJeremy Hsu | Ars Technica
“A $2,500 pair of humanoid robot legs built from 3D-printed parts and off-the-shelf components isn’t going to win marathons just yet. But such relatively inexpensive hardware could enable researchers to more easily test and train AI-powered robotics software in a physical body during real-world experiments.”
Biotechnology
Pancreatic Cancer Halted by Virus Injection in Three PatientsAlice Klein | Recent Scientist ($)
“Further evaluation is required in larger trials, however the early results are encouraging, especially since only small doses of the virus were administered for initial safety testing. ‘We only injected one-tenth of the dose we’re eventually aiming at, so the efficacy is healthier than I expected, especially as that is pancreatic cancer,’ says Masato Yamamoto on the University of Minnesota, who led the event of the viral treatment.”
Future
A Reality Check on the AI Jobs HysteriaDavid Rotman | MIT Technology Review ($)
“Haven’t you heard? White-collar jobs are going away, decimated by AI. …But before you quit your job as a software developer or financial analyst—or tech journalist—and look to affix the plumbers’ union, it’s price considering today’s economic research on whether artificial intelligence has actually begun to devour white-collar work. The short answer is: No.”
Artificial Intelligence
The AI Superstars Who Say a ‘Vibe Slop’ Crisis Is ComingChristopher Mims | The Wall Street Journal ($)
“Two engineers who built the core of the massively popular OpenClaw AI agent have a stark warning: The unreal intelligence supposedly able to replacing well-paid software developers is flooding the world with bad, potentially even dangerous, code. It’s a phenomenon they call ‘vibe slop’—a mix of ‘vibe coding,’ creating software with AI tools by describing it in plain English, and ‘AI slop,’ the countless, low-value AI-generated content throughout social media.”
Future
Mirror Life: Scientists Clash Over Threat of Lab-Engineered BacteriaJames Woodford | Recent Scientist ($)
“Microbes based on mirror images of molecules within the natural world would have a tough time surviving outside the laboratory, in line with a modeling study. To accomplish that, they would want a ready supply of ‘mirror food,’ or some novel method to feed themselves. However the research has drawn a backlash from other experts in the sphere who warn that it might underestimate the grave risks posed by so-called mirror life.”
Tech
Uber President Says AI Spending Is Getting ‘Harder to Justify’Jess Weatherbed | The Verge
“After reportedly exhausting its annual AI budget just 4 months into 2026, Uber is now questioning whether it’s actually seeing meaningful returns on its investments. In an interview with Rapid Response, Uber president and chief operating officer Andrew Macdonald said the corporate isn’t seeing a connection between rising token consumption for Claude Code and more useful features being delivered to consumers.”
Future
Illinois Lawmakers Just Passed America’s Strongest AI Safety BillMaxwell Zeff | Wired ($)
“The Illinois House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday requiring frontier AI labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind to have their safety practices audited by a 3rd party. If signed into law, AI safety experts tell Wired, it could be the nation’s leading check on the facility of major AI corporations.”
Artificial Intelligence
RSI Is the Recent AGI—and It’s Just as Hard to Pin DownRussell Brandom | TechCrunch
“The word ‘recursion’ is the newest buzzword in AI circles. Two separate startups have taken on the name, and plenty of more have began referencing recursive self-improvement (RSI) of their roadmaps. Like AGI before it, RSI has turn out to be a three-letter byword for a cataclysmic AI takeoff—even when there’s still a bit of disagreement about what it exactly means.”
Artificial Intelligence
I’m a Skilled Fact-Checker. AI Is Mistaken More Than You Think.Meghan Herbst | Wired ($)
“Over the past 12 months or so, increasingly people have checked out me with great pity. Surely a fact-checker at a magazine isn’t long for this AI-upgraded world. Call me silly, but I’m not that fearful. Little or no of humanity’s collective knowledge, I’ve concluded, lives on the web. And in line with my research, AI is much more mistaken than people might think.”
Space
Thousands and thousands of Planets Might Form Around Supermassive Black HolesJonathan O’Callaghan | Recent Scientist ($)
“Eventually planets would begin to grow in huge numbers, and with strange properties. ‘This can be a really amazing latest pathway to form very alien planets,’ says McKernan. ‘If these items exist, they’re quite unlike planets that we all know and love.'”