Discover • Tech News

🪐 AI Tool Validates 118 Hidden Exoplanets in NASA's TESS Data

Astronomers at the University of Warwick have used a newly developed artificial intelligence pipeline to validate 118 previously unconfirmed exoplanets, including 31 entirely new detections, buried in data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).

The AI system, called RAVEN (RAnking and Validation of ExoplaNets), scanned observations of more than 2.2 million stars collected during the first four years of the TESS mission, focusing on planets that orbit close to their host stars with periods shorter than 16 days.

🐿 London Squirrels Really Like Vapes

Squirrels have developed a liking for vapes; a video of the animals "smoking" in London has gone viral online.

The rodents seem to be attracted to fruit flavors, but this can be dangerous for them due to nicotine and the risk of swallowing microplastics.

That is why people are being urged to dispose of vapes properly.

😱 Full-Scale Model of Arthropleura

A Redditor had 3D-printed a 1:1 model of an Arthropleura, the largest insect (arthropod) ever known to exist.

The good news is that it went extinct 300 million years ago.

🦞 Tencent Embeds OpenClaw AI Agent into WeChat for Over a Billion Users

Tencent launched a tool on Sunday to embed the OpenClaw AI agent directly into its WeChat messaging platform, turning China's most widely used app into a gateway for AI-powered task automation.

The software, called ClawBot, appears as a contact within WeChat, allowing users to send commands and interact with the agent through the familiar chat interface, according to Reuters.

🔥 "Cognitive Atrophy" is One of the Main Fears About AI 

Only bot unreliability, the impact of technology on the economy, and the loss of agency and autonomy due to AI worry people more. These were the findings made by Anthropic after surveying more than 80,000 users of its Claude bot.

The interviews were conducted by Claude itself—this is the world's first survey of this scale conducted by AI.

"I got excellent grades using AI's answers, not what I'd actually learned. I just memorized what AI gave me... That's when I feel the most self-reproach," a student from Korea shared.

🎓 Moreover, teachers are 2.5–3 times more likely to notice AI-related "cognitive atrophy" in those around them—they see the effect in their students.

👍 At the same time, blue-collar workers not only worry less about this phenomenon but are also more likely than others to say that AI really helps them learn new things.

Therefore, researchers believe that chatbots can be beneficial only if learning is approached with genuine intent—not simply as a box-ticking exercise.

Does "cognitive atrophy" caused by AI worry you?

🔥 — Yes, I'm starting to notice it
😎 — No, AI helps me!

🖼 Funny Wildlife Outtakes

Entries for the 2026 Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards opened this week. To celebrate, the contest shared a set of outtakes from last year's competition.

They are just as funny as you'd expect: a caiman with butterfly "accessories," a friendly damselfly, and two baboons caught in an awkward moment.

🇰🇵 North Korea's 100,000 Fake IT Workers Earn $500M a Year

A joint report from IBM X-Force and cybersecurity firm Flare, published this week, has pulled back the curtain on North Korea's sprawling fake IT worker operation, revealing a centrally organized scheme that places thousands of operatives in legitimate technology jobs at companies worldwide—generating an estimated $500 million a year for Pyongyang.

🤖 Robot Demolishes Shelf While Serving Customers

A robot salesman in China knocked over a shelf while retrieving merchandise for customers.

But the customer still got their bottle, and the robot didn't lose its charm for a second.

☀️ Rising Heat Could Cause Up To 700,000 Extra Deaths A Year By 2050

A study in The Lancet Global Health finds that higher temperatures may push more people into inactivity, increasing health risks.

Each extra month above 27.8°C is linked to a 1.4 percentage-point rise in inactivity worldwide (1.85 pp in lower-income countries).

By 2050, this could lead to 470,000–700,000 extra deaths annually and $2.4–3.68 billion in lost productivity.

⚛️ CERN Discovers New Proton-Like Particle

The LHCb experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has discovered a new particle made of two charm quarks and one down quark. Its structure is similar to that of the familiar proton, but two light up quarks are replaced by two much heavier charm quarks—making the new particle about four times heavier.

"The result will help theorists test models of quantum chromodynamics, the theory of the strong force that binds quarks into not only conventional baryons and mesons but also more exotic hadrons such as tetraquarks and pentaquarks," says LHCb Spokesperson Vincenzo Vagnoni.

🧠 Redditor 3D-Printed His Own Brain

The whole process took 23.5 hours, he claims.

If you have an MRI brain scan file in NIfTI format, you can turn it into a 3D-printable model for free at brain2print.org.

Another idea for an unusual gift!

🩸New Blood Test Detects Brain Tumors with Over 90% Accuracy

Scientists at the University of Manchester have developed an experimental blood test that can identify glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer, with more than 90% accuracy—a breakthrough that could one day allow general practitioners to detect the disease through a simple test similar to a COVID swab.

🤖 By 2060, There Will Be Twice As Many Androids In The World As Cars

According to Bank of America, around 62% of humanoid robots (2 billion units) will "live" in people's homes.

Even though the technology has barely made its way into real workplaces or households yet, analysts see the mass adoption of humanoid robots as inevitable. The reason: an unavoidable labor shortage.

💰 That said, analysts aren't at all convinced that even 20 years from now, androids will be able to match human capabilities. But nobody needs perfect robots—just ones that cost less than human workers and won't quit over low pay.

Would you buy a home robot?

❤️ — Yes, at the first chance
🔥 — No, I have enough gadgets as it is

🎞 Two Lost Doctor Who Episodes Recovered

Great news for Doctor Who fans: two lost episodes from the 1965 serial "The Daleks' Master Plan" have been recovered. Discovered in a collection of film reels donated to a charity, "The Nightmare Begins" and "Devil's Planet" are the first missing episodes found since 2013, marking a major win for the show's archival history.

These rare episodes will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer starting April 4.

Have you ever watched Doctor Who?

❤️ — Yes, of course!
🔥 — No, not for me

🧠 China Approves World's First Commercial Brain Implant

China's medical regulator NMPA has approved the first commercially authorized invasive brain-computer interface device. The permit went to Shanghai-based Neuracle Technology, putting it ahead of U.S. rivals in the race to bring this technology to market.

The NEO implant is designed for adult patients with partial paralysis and helps them restore the ability to grasp with their hand.