New Scientist - News

1. OpenAI's o3 model aced a test of AI reasoning – but it's still not AGI
   The latest AI model from OpenAI achieved an “impressive leap in performance” but it still hasn’t demonstrated what experts classify as human-level intelligence
2. Is solar geoengineering research having its moment?
   There is more research than ever focused on reflecting sunlight away from the planet to cool the climate – but there are still far more questions than answers about the effects
3. How the US Supreme Court and Trump could stop a TikTok ban
   A US ban on the video-sharing app TikTok is set to take effect in early 2025 – but the country's Supreme Court and President-elect Donald Trump could still change that
4. Quantum teleportation can survive through busy internet cables
   An experiment showing that quantum and classical communication can be carried out through the same fibre at the same time may open the door to building a quantum internet with existing infrastructure
5. Will an mRNA vaccine target the norovirus strain behind surging cases?
   A new type of norovirus is causing a very high number of cases in countries like England, just as a large trial of an mRNA vaccine is starting up
6. NASA’s Mars helicopter was grounded in 2024 after surprise success
   The Ingenuity autonomous helicopter surpassed all expectations to fly dozens of missions over several years on the Red Planet, only stopping this year when an accident damaged one of its rotors
7. Hundreds of small websites may shut down due to UK's Online Safety Act
   Hundreds of community websites run for fans of everything from cycling to Sunderland AFC may be forced to shut down by the UK's Online Safety Act, which is designed to protect children from harmful content
8. Hairy ‘orangutan pitcher plant’ discovered in Borneo
   A newly described species of giant pitcher plant is one of the biggest ever found, with leaves covered in fur the same colour as orangutans
9. Stonehenge may have been built to unify people of ancient Britain
   Recent findings show that Stonehenge’s stones came from all over Britain – and this offers clues to the monument’s purpose, say archaeologists
10. AI beats human experts at distinguishing American whiskey from Scotch
    Using descriptions of flavours or chemical data, artificial intelligence can tell apart whiskies from different countries and identify their constituent aromas