I understand it was an increasingly common view that spiky signals like that weren't the best thing to look for anyway, but yeah, a shame! We'll spot them eventually though.
09.03.2026 11:49
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I understand it was an increasingly common view that spiky signals like that weren't the best thing to look for anyway, but yeah, a shame! We'll spot them eventually though.
SETI's spent decades looking for spiky radio signals that may be evidence of intelligence life.
Unfortunately they've just discovered that space weather can broaden, or blur, that sort of signal.
In short, they've been looking for the wrong thing.
www.newscientist.com/article/2518...
Being able to have a rough stab at an unanswerable question is a good skill, I reckon. Common sort of on-the-spot test in some City interviews, I understand.
www.newscientist.com/article/2518...
Remember SQL injection? Well, it's worse now. Find a way to wave some text at an AI and you can convince it to do whatever you want.
grith.ai/blog/clineje...
Your car broadcasts a unique code, in plain text, that hackers with a cheap radio received can easily track you with. Amazing that things like this are developed and nobody raises a hand about security concerns - or does, and is ignored.
www.darkreading.com/ics-ot-secur...
The US and Iran are trading blows in the Gulf with a simple drone that costs as little as $50,000 to make. But why is a slow, cheap and relatively primitive drone seeing use in 2026 alongside hypersonic missiles and stealth jets? In a word, money.
www.newscientist.com/article/2517...
The reverse-engineered drone the US got from a captured unit, that was itself based on a German/US design from the 80s, can be re-reverse-engineered by Iraq now.
Although probably best not to manhandle unexploded drones onto their nose...
www.instagram.com/reel/DVZe-NI...
On today's podcast: a commander of a drone unit speaks to us from Ukraine about the war. With @pennysarchet.bsky.social and @sparkes.bsky.social
open.spotify.com/episode/7Hzx...
GCHQ wants to hire "one of the most influential cybersecurity leadership roles in the UK" and pay as little as £96,981.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love that salary. But for that role...? As the UK faces growing cyberattacks from Russia and China?
www.theregister.com/2026/02/26/g...
I'm so torn on this. I spent five years at university studying software engineering, and myriad ways this AI code could break the entire world ping into my brain. On the other hand, Jacob has limited coding experience and is making functional apps. That's wild.
bsky.app/profile/jjar...
Fantastic insight into Ukraine's drone industry, and the changing nature of war from @sparkes.bsky.social www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
Incredible reporting by @sparkes.bsky.social. "There is no greater incentive for speedy R&D than Russian soldiers fighting their way towards your city"
An excellent piece on the Ukrainians building and learning to pilot drones by @sparkes.bsky.social. In one factory, they're making 80,000 a month.
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
INCREDIBLE story from @sparkes.bsky.social here, you absolutely must read it. The access and stories he got are amazing
Ukraine has responded to a war it didn’t start by creating an industry it doesn’t want. I travelled to Kyiv to tour the research labs, factories and military training schools behind the country’s drone defences. The pace and scale of it is incredible.
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
Thanks to a different piece of ill-conceived legislation I can't see my DMs. Add me? matthew_sparkes.16
Would you have time for a chat, Heather? I'd like to pick your brains on this new legislation if you're available.
Great feature on this by @sparkes.bsky.social www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
"Like any chatbots, the AI agents on Moltbook are just creating statistically plausible strings of words – there is no understanding, intent or intelligence. And in any case, there’s plenty of evidence that much of what we can read on the site is actually written by humans."
Moltbook is a social network for AI - no humans allowed. They're on there plotting world domination and discussing human quirks. Scary stuff. But all is not what it seems...
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
UK intelligence services predict wars over food and water caused by climate change, but I'm sure it'll all sort itself out if governments keep ignoring it - crack on and expand those airports.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
In which @rowhoop.bsky.social calls me an old man and I launch an age discrimination employment tribunal against him.
bsky.app/profile/rowh...
There are a lot of logical things to worry about when it comes to the situation at Chernobyl, but the loss of electrical power leading to spent fuel meltdown is not one of them.
www.newscientist.com/article/2512...
New Scientist has a round-up of the best ideas of the 21st century. I contributed a couple of bits: Wikipedia and end-to-end encryption.
www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
He could get a job catching fare dodgers at TfL
Scientists are using AI to design new experiments, but research shows that all major models fail to spot serious safety problems that risk causing fires, explosions or poisonings.
www.newscientist.com/article/2511...
Big Tech is making an enormous and costly bet on AI, and, in turn, is forcing it on users to make good on this investment. Many are embracing it for writing or admin, but a minority are going a step further and forming intimate relationships with it.
www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
In Ukraine your service station coffee currently earns loyalty points which go towards supplying the army with drones.
Great 8-bit design on those flames.
I don't trust it to tell me how to descale my espresso machine, FFS.