Netflix explains how it’s quietly upgraded the image quality of your favorite movies and TV shows – and it’s all about film grain
Netflix’s new AV1 Film Grain Synthesis tech boosts image quality It also reduces file size…
NASA’s SPHEREx Captures Comet 3I/ATLAS, a Visitor From Beyond the Solar System
Science News from research organizations Date: September 2, 2025 Source: NASA Summary: NASA’s SPHEREx joined Webb and Hubble in studying interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, gathering data on its size, chemistry, and physical traits. While harmless to Earth, the comet provides scientists a rare opportunity to learn more about solar system wanderers. Share: FULL STORY NASA’s SPHEREx…
Distant suns covered in dark spots could shape the search for life
Scientists have devised a new method for mapping the spottiness of distant stars by using observations from NASA missions of orbiting planets crossing their stars’ faces. The model builds on a technique researchers have used for decades to study star spots. By improving astronomers’ understanding of spotty stars, the new model — called StarryStarryProcess —…
Spiritual Influencers Say ‘Sentient’ AI Can Help You Solve Life’s Mysteries
Partly in an effort to avoid any future snafus with OpenAI, Grant plans to make The Architect available on Orion, his proprietary and end-to-end encrypted messaging platform, starting in October. He’ll include multiple paid subscription options offering “different levels of mirror recursion,” he tells me, the costs of which have not yet been determined. (Grant’s…
Therapists are secretly using ChatGPT during sessions. Clients are triggered.
A 2020 hack on a Finnish mental health company, which resulted in tens of thousands of clients’ treatment records being accessed, serves as a warning. People on the list were blackmailed, and subsequently the entire trove was publicly released, revealing extremely sensitive details such as peoples’ experiences of child abuse and addiction problems. What therapists…
Can an AI doppelgänger help me do my job?
Who are they for? Delphi, a startup that recently raised $16 million from funders including Anthropic and actor/director Olivia Wilde’s venture capital firm, Proximity Ventures, helps famous people create replicas that can speak with their fans in both chat and voice calls. It feels like MasterClass—the platform for instructional seminars led by celebrities—vaulted into the…
Scottish drug deaths fall but remain worst in Europe
James CookScotland editor Getty Images Scotland has seen high numbers of people dying from drug misuse for the last seven years Official figures suggest that Scotland remains the drugs death capital of Europe for the seventh year in a row despite a 13% fall in fatalities. There were 1,017 drug misuse deaths in 2024, down…
1,900 messages and 205 Bitcoin addresses spanning four years
What can almost 2,000 sextortion messages tell us about how threat actors operate and whether they are successful? Let’s find out. Although it is true that I covered sextortion in my last diary[1], I thought the topic deserved further discussion today. This is not because we didn’t cover sextortion in enough depth here at the Internet…
How long can one RSV shot protect seniors? Study shows surprising two-year shield
One shot of an RSV vaccine protects adults ages 60 or older from RSV-associated hospitalization and critical illness during two consecutive RSV seasons, according to a study published in JAMA on August 30 by the IVY Network research group. RSV causes substantial seasonal illness during fall and winter in the U.S., with an estimated 100,000-150,000 hospitalizations and…
Your nose could detect Alzheimer’s years before memory loss
A fading sense of smell can be one of the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s disease even before cognitive impairments manifest. Research by scientists at DZNE and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) sheds new light on this phenomenon, pointing to a significant role for the brain’s immune response, which seems to fatally attack neuronal fibers crucial for the…
The next Ozempic: A 4-in-1 breakthrough for lasting weight loss
Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are used by over 15 million adults in the U.S., or 4.5% of the population. Despite their effectiveness, they have drawbacks. Their effect may not last after discontinuing use, and side effects including osteoporosis and muscle loss have raised concerns about long-term harms. They also induce nausea, which…
