Nobel Prize in medicine awarded to trio for optogenetics work
US psychiatrist and neurologist Karl Deisseroth and his German colleagues Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel won the prize for their work that helps researchers understand how specific cell types contribute to behaviors like learning, fear, addiction and movement.
Accept ‘bad things’ in return for benefits of AI, says Sam Altman
Boss of OpenAI calls for a regulatory light touch because of the ‘good stuff’ the technology can deliver
Sam Altman says he believes the world should accept “bad things” happening with AI in exchange for the benefits of the technology.
The chief executive of OpenAI cited hacks, scams and “other bad things that will happen” in an interview that sparked an instant backlash from critics of the major AI companies. His comments came after one of his company’s safety experts resigned, saying at the weekend that its “culture is broken”. Continue reading...
Schoolboy, 15, loses hand after picking up police stun grenade during French school protests
Prime minister orders ministers to tackle students’ five major demands, including organising replacement teachers and school repairs
Hundreds of schools in France remained fully or partially closed on Monday as teenagers continued to blockade buildings and the government struggled to contain the biggest youth protest movement in years.
A 15-year-old protesting against what the demonstrators say are France’s dilapidated and understaffed schools had his hand blown off on Monday in the northern town of Lens, the local prefect François-Xavier Lauch said. Continue reading...
Internet Watch Foundation reports huge rise in AI child sexual abuse material
Abuse material monitor says number of AI images assessed this year is already 40% higher than last year’s total
AI-generated child sexual abuse material is proliferating online, with the amount of illegal material investigated this year already exceeding the total for 2025.
Analysts at the Internet Watch Foundation have found more photorealistic child sexual abuse material in the first half of 2026 than for the whole of the prior year. The UK-based IWF, which monitors abuse material globally, said it had assessed 6,310 AI images that met the legal definition of child sexual abuse, 40% higher than last year’s total of more than 4,500. Continue reading...
Trump approval ratings plummet to new low, polls show
President says ‘I’m doing great’ despite polls showing 32% approval rating and loss of support from 2024 voters
Donald Trump’s approval ratings reached a record low on Monday, according to new opinion polls.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Trump’s approval rating at a record-low 32%. That polling included the president losing support among independent voters and Latinos, who had backed him in 2024. The dip could prove dire for the Republican party a month ahead of the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. Continue reading...
Photos: Human-Tower Season
As autumn approaches in Spain, teams at festivals and competitions can be found forming spectacular human towers (“castells”) up to nine levels tall. The Catalan tradition is believed to have originated among local dance groups at the end of the 18th century.
In Aberdeen, Scotland, the slow twilight of North Sea oil and gas
The British capital of black gold stands at the center of the United Kingdom's heated debates over how quickly to move away from fossil fuels. The city is eagerly awaiting a potential green light from the government to begin developing two new fields, one oil and the other gas.
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