NewsieMonday, November 2
TechnologyThe World Bank says smaller, focused AI programs could help people get information in their own language, even where internet connections are weak. One example is helping farmers find soil advice on a phone.
PoliticsBrazil, Serbia, Israel, and the United States have elections close together. The races are different, but each raises questions about how people vote and how much power elected leaders should have.
PoliticsA student-led group is challenging Serbia’s long-standing ruling party after years of protests. The election matters inside Serbia and because the country is weighing closer ties with Europe, Russia, and China.
TechnologyData centres store information and power online services, including AI. In Wales, residents and local leaders are debating the noise, electricity, land, and jobs that may come with new centres.
PoliticsGovernments did not agree on a schedule for the next major report from the United Nations climate science panel. Some want more time to include research from more countries; others worry a delay could make the report miss an important climate meeting.
PoliticsYoung people in several European countries have joined demonstrations about school conditions, housing, and the cost of everyday life. The protests do not all have exactly the same demands.
ScienceIn a study with six orangutans, researchers played sounds before the animals searched bowls for treats. The apes valued the reward more after hearing other orangutans play and laugh, suggesting sounds may affect how they judge rewards.
ScienceScientists recreated the color-changing effect of the 1,600-year-old Lycurgus Cup. Tiny particles of gold and silver in the glass help explain why it looks green in ordinary light and red when light shines through it.
TechnologyThe Roman Space Telescope has finished a major check of its systems and is now testing image quality and instruments. NASA says early checks have gone well, but teams are still calibrating the telescope before science operations begin.
SpaceThe Swift satellite has stopped making observations after low orbit and increased atmospheric drag made it sink. During its mission, Swift studied powerful space explosions, black holes, comets, and other objects.
SpaceNASA plans to send four astronauts around Earth in 2027 to test how Orion and new Moon landers work together. The practice mission is meant to find problems before future astronauts try to land near the Moon’s south pole.
SpaceNASA and its two lander partners are changing parts of their plan for future Moon trips. The companies will test landers in Earth orbit first, then work toward crewed landings targeted for 2028.
ScienceA NASA study looked again at how much Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica might add to rising seas by the end of this century. Some computer models estimate the glacier could add as much as twice the amount in earlier projections. That is one possible result, not a prediction of exactly what will happen.
TechnologyNASA engineers tested a new shape for the spinning blades on a Mars helicopter. Computer models and wind-tunnel tests suggest the thinner shape could help a future helicopter fly farther in one trip. The design is still being tested and is not ready to fly on Mars.
ScienceSatellites show that warm water in the Pacific Ocean is sitting in a pattern like the one seen during the strong 1997 El Niño. NASA says the two events look similar so far, but each El Niño is different and scientists cannot know exactly what this one will bring.
SpaceNASA’s Dragonfly robot finished a full practice flight on Earth using flight-like computers and sensors. The test happened in a lab, not on Titan. Dragonfly is being built to fly from place to place on Titan, a moon of Saturn, after it arrives there in the 2030s.
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