Rice plants can inherit tolerance to cold without changes to their genomes, according to a decade-long study carried out by researchers in China. From a report: The work, published in Cell this week, strengthens the evidence for a form of evolution in which environmental pressures induce heritable changes that do Read more…
Quebec Culture Minister Mathieu Lacombe has introduced Bill 109, which would require streaming platforms like Netflix and Spotify to feature and prioritize French-language content. Bill 109 has been in the works for over a year. It marks the first time that Quebec would set a “visibility quota” for French-language content Read more…
In what reads a bit like a Sopranos plot, The Information suggests some of those in the recent batch of terminated Microsoft engineers may have in effect been forced to dig their own AI graves. The (paywalled) story begins: “Jeff Hulse, a Microsoft vice president who oversees roughly 400 software Read more…
New analysis by MIT Technology Review reveals AI’s rapidly growing energy demands, with data centers expected to triple their share of US electricity consumption from 4.4% to 12% by 2028. AI alone could soon consume electricity equivalent to 22% of all US households annually, driven primarily by inference operations that Read more…
The U.S. trade deficit persists due to fundamental macroeconomic imbalances rather than just export shortfalls. His analysis shows the deficit reflects a persistent gap between domestic saving and investment spending, with the U.S. borrowing from foreign sources to fund domestic investment when savings fall short. This macroeconomic reality means targeting Read more…
On Sunday, the Chicago Sun-Times published an advertorial summer reading list containing at least 10 fake books attributed to real authors, according to multiple reports on social media. The newspaper’s uncredited “Summer reading list for 2025” supplement recommended titles including “Tidewater Dreams” by Isabel Allende and “The Last Algorithm” by Read more…
Spain has ordered Airbnb to remove over 65,000 listings that violate rental regulations, citing missing license numbers and unclear ownership details. The crackdown is part of a broader government effort to address the country’s housing crisis, which many blame on unregulated short-term rentals reducing long-term housing supply. Most of the Read more…