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For years, many chief information officers (CIOs) looked at VMware-to-cloud migrations with a wary pragmatism. Manually mapping dependencies and rewriting legacy apps mid-flight was not an enticing, low-lift proposition for enterprise IT teams. But the calculus for such decisions has changed dramati...
Data scientist James Zou discusses new findings that reveal fundamental gaps in how language models understand human perspective....
Bioengineers at Rice University have developed a nonsurgical method to control seizure-related brain activity using sound waves and gene therapy. The approach, tested in animal models, targets only the hippocampus, a region often linked to seizures, and allows researchers to control that activity wi...
When we hear the term ‘northern lights,’ we often think of places like Alaska, Iceland, or Finland. Yes, there are times when we can view the aurora borealis in the United States. However, the southern part of the country often misses the show. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s S...
It’s hard to imagine humans having anything in common with an octopus. The differences are obvious: an octopus has no bones, is aquatic, has tentacles, etc. Yet, there are some similarities between humans and octopuses. A musician found a surprising trait that octopuses and humans share: the ability...
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MUSIC MONDAY: “Soulful Duets” Playlist (LISTEN) By goodblacknews on August 11, 2025 by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Threads: @stlmarlonwest IG: stlmarlonwest Bluesky: @marlonweststl.bsky.social Spotify: marlonwest) Happy Music Monday! I hope this missive finds you smiling and well. I...
Germany’s research community gained a powerful new ally this week with the launch of the ‘Otus’ supercomputer at Paderborn University. Installed at the Paderborn Center for Parallel Computing (PC2), the advanced system will enable scientists nationwide to perform complex simulations and tackle major...
The qubits are similar enough to those used by the likes of Google and IBM that they could slot into existing processors in the future. One the biggest challenges for quantum computers is the incredibly short time that qubits can retain information. But a new qubit from Princeton University lasts 15...
In October, a student presented a robotic hand made entirely from LEGOs at the 2025 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Hangzhou, China. But Jared Lepora isn’t in graduate school, college–he’s a teenager. Nonetheless, the 16-year-old co-authored research recently p...
The average TED Talk usually includes a well-coiffed expert, a compelling slideshow, and perhaps a few chuckles from a rapt audience.But at TEDNext in Atlanta, Georgia this week, Jason Boyd — better known by his producer alias Poo Bear — got a little experimental.The R&B and pop hit producer, who is...
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When Mount Etna in Sicily rumbled this spring, news outlets around the world flashed dramatic photos of lava and ash. But Martin Wikelski was skeptical. The biologist, who directs the Department of Migration at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany, checked in with his most trusted ...
MUSIC MONDAY: “Dance Jazz” (LISTEN) By goodblacknews on September 15, 2025 by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Threads: @stlmarlonwest IG: stlmarlonwest Bluesky: @marlonweststl.bsky.social Spotify: marlonwest) Happy Music Monday, you all. I hope this missive finds you smiling and well. I...
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Native American Heritage Month begins in November, a month when many Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. While this cultural month has excellent intentions, it is significantly more complicated for Native Americans. Thanksgiving is a difficult period for many Nativ...
Polish maker Nikodem Bartnik has created a robot head that can answer questions like an ancient Greek philosopher. The robot has a metal mask with 3D-printed moving eyes, LED lights behind its mouth, and an artificial brain running on Bartnik’s computer. The head responds in real time, creating the ...
Science & Tech No one knows the answer, and that’s the point Mansi Srivastava.Photos by Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer Kermit Pattison Harvard Staff Writer November 10, 2025 8 min read ‘Genuinely Hard Problems’ pilots novel approach to scientific education A few weeks after their arrival a...
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A robot has just collapsed the Atlantic Ocean into a blink, bringing remote stroke treatment closer to reality than ever before. Hours after Dundee’s Professor Iris Grunwald performed the world’s first remote thrombectomy on a human cadaver, another milestone followed. Her successful test proved tha...
This herculean effort could help scientists unravel the causes of autism, schizophrenia, and even a deadly form of cancer. Like the seeds of a forest, a few cells in embryos eventually sprout into an ecosystem of brain cells. Neurons get the most recognition for their computing power. But a host of ...
What is the secret to a long-lasting marriage? People have wondered that forever. We see couples who appear so happy and in love, even decades into their relationship. If they could bottle that kind of joy, they’d be the wealthiest people in the world. On June 4, 1942, a mere 83 years ago, Eleanor G...
Work & Economy Reese Witherspoon returns to Harvard in a different role Reese Witherspoon.Photos by Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer Jacob Sweet Harvard Staff Writer November 10, 2025 5 min read ‘Legally Blonde’ star was tired of vying for good parts, so she created her own — and a company w...
Germany has taken another major step toward realizing scalable quantum computers with the launch of SmaraQ, a collaborative research initiative that integrates quantum optics directly onto a chip. The project, driven by QUDORA Technologies GmbH, AMO GmbH, and Fraunhofer IAF, aims to replace bulky op...
