Does AI make you stupid?
A S ANYBODY WHO has ever taken a standardised test will know, racing to answer an expansive essay question in 20 minutes or less takes serious brain power. Having unfettered access to artificial intelligence ( AI ) would certainly lighten the mental load. But as a recent study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) suggests, that help may come at a cost. Artificial intelligence Science & technology
Experiments on fruit flies suggest tiredness could be caused by damaged neurons
The performance-enhancing drug is legal, safe—and may have benefits beyond sport
Mental illnesses that do not respond to standard treatment could be hormone-driven
Found in fossils many millions of years old, they could help scientists study long-extinct species
Its appearance puts a new branch of astronomy to the test
Studies show that thimerosal does more good than harm
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Metro
2 minutes ago
- Metro
Legendary sci-fi film dubbed 'one of the best ever made' streaming for free
An iconic 80s horror film lauded as 'terrifying' and 'remarkable' is streaming now for free on ITVX. Released in 1982, The Thing quickly garnered a cult following after its home video release and has since become one of the most influential sci-fi films of all time. It is based on the 1938 novella Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell Jr., and followed the 1951 film adaptation The Thing From Another World. The Thing tells the story of a group of American researchers in Antarctica who come across an extraterrestrial life form that can infiltrate the bodies of other living organisms and imitate them to go undetected. Starring Kurt Russell, Keith David, A. Wilford Brimley, and many more, it was met with mixed reception at the time of its release, being praised for its special effects but criticised for the gory body horror at the same time. It failed to make an impact at the box office but became a sleeper hit when it was released on home video and shown on television, since being reappraised as 'one of the best science fiction films ever made.' The Thing was followed by a novelisation in the same year, comic book sequels, board games, video games, and a 2011 prequel film of the same name. It holds an 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics' consensus reading: 'Grimmer and more terrifying than the 1950s take, John Carpenter's The Thing is a tense sci-fi thriller rife with compelling tension and some remarkable make-up effects.' In their review, The Times wrote: 'The solemnity of the frozen wastes contrasts brilliantly with the sweaty paranoia of the men, who are unsure which of their colleagues is next going to erupt with hidden jaws and shooting tendrils.' Empire said: 'The Thing is a peerless masterpiece of relentless suspense, retina-wrecking visual excess and outright, nihilistic terror.' praised: 'Every October, I revisit John Carpenter's 'The Thing' to celebrate the month of Halloween, and every year I arrive at the same conclusion: it's one of the most effective horror films ever made.' Meanwhile, Loud and Clear reviews added: 'In my eyes, The Thing is as perfect as a movie can get: it knows exactly what it wants to be and what it's trying to do, and succeeds on every level I can conceive.' Many hailed director John Carpenter, with Radio Times saying he 'stresses the slimy ET at the expense of characterisation, mood and practically everything else, yet it's precisely this one grisly facet that makes it such compelling science fiction.' Speaking to The Guardian, the horror icon behind titles such as Halloween and Escape From New York opened up about why he thinks The Thing has stood the test of time as well as addressing why he chose to leave one huge unanswered question right at the end. 'Audiences didn't like the ending. They wanted to know who the Thing was – which was left up in the air. They hated that but I don't care, that's the way I wanted to end it,' he began. More Trending 'The film was about the end of the world. Its bleakness was the reason it wasn't a success at the time, but I think also why it has endured. In fact the film was an enormous failure. 'I got fired because of it and was out of work for a while, but slowly its reputation changed. Not everybody's convinced, though. There are still plenty of people who think it's a piece of trash.' The Thing is streaming now on ITVX . Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Acclaimed thriller hailed as a 'masterpiece' now available to stream MORE: 'A shark ate my arm and leg – I wouldn't change a thing' MORE: 'Worst film ever' ripped apart by critics in one-star reviews
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on mitochondrial donation: IVF innovation leads to a cautious genetic triumph
Eight babies have been born free of a disease that can lead to terrible suffering and early death, thanks to pioneering scientists in the UK employing a form of genetic engineering that is banned in some countries, including the US and France. Ten years ago, when the government and regulators were considering whether to allow mitochondrial transfer technology, critics warned of 'Frankenstein meddling' that would lead to three-parent children. It's hard now to justify such hostility in the face of the painstaking work carried out by the scientific and medical teams at Newcastle, resulting in these healthy babies and ecstatic families. Mitochondria, like tiny battery packs, supply energy to every cell of the body. Their DNA is handed down in the egg from mother to child. In rare instances, there are genetic mutations, which means the baby may develop mitochondrial disease. About one in 5,000 people is affected by it, making it one of the most common inherited disorders. As the cell batteries fail in various organs, the child can experience a range of symptoms, from muscle weakness to epilepsy, encephalopathy, blindness, hearing loss and diabetes. In severe cases, they die young. There is no cure yet, so the aim is prevention. Women who have some damaged and some healthy mitochondria can have IVF and pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT) to select embryos that are clear of mutations or only slightly affected. The options for women with 100% mutated mitochondria used to be limited to donated eggs or adoption – until parliament changed the rules to allow the technology in 2015 and the Newcastle Fertility Centre was granted a licence by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to use it in 2017. The process does indeed involve three people. The would-be mother's egg and a donor egg are both fertilised by the man's sperm. The nucleus of the donated egg is removed and replaced by the nucleus of the woman's egg, but its healthy mitochondria remain. This composite egg is inserted into the woman's uterus. The resulting baby's DNA will be 99.9% from the parents and only 0.1% from the donor. Hardly a three-parent child. Yet there are controversies. Some countries will not permit use of the technology because of concerns over human germline genetic modification. The lab-mixed DNA will be passed to future generations, with who knows what consequences. And a question hangs over something called reversal, or reversion. The results of the Newcastle research published in the New England Journal of Medicine show that some of the embryos with healthy donated mitochondria developed mutations somewhere along the line. Mutations formed in 12% of one baby's mitochondria and 16% in another's. That was not enough to affect the babies, who were healthy, but previous work by other scientists has suggested that mutations can increase with time, and nobody yet understands why. The Newcastle scientists and medics have been highly praised for their slow and methodical work. They have brought joy to some families and hope to others. But this is still experimental technology and caution is absolutely valid. And inevitably there are cost issues. People who can afford it will no doubt pay, but the NHS is unlikely to be able to help the rest. Nonetheless, this groundbreaking research must surely be allowed to continue, albeit only in the same careful fashion.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Why scientists fear climate change could help Covid to thrive
From Indigenous communities in the Amazon to the frozen continent of Antarctica, the Covid-19 virus has spread at an unprecedented pace to some of the world's most remote areas after it was first reported in Wuhan in December 2019. To date, more than 778 million cases across 240 countries have been reported by the World Health Organisation, with new variants continuing to emerge. While globalisation and international transport are well-known drivers of the rapid spread of the virus, emerging research suggests climate change can influence Covid-19 transmission, mutation, and human susceptibility to infection. Researchers believe that increased exposure to animals, that can carry viruses and transmit them to humans, may lead to a rise in cases. 'As we disturb natural ecosystems and bring wildlife, especially bats in the case of Covid, into closer contact with other animals and people, the risk of diseases jumping between species increases,' Dr Efstathios Giotis, Infectious Disease Research Fellow at Imperial College London, told The Independent. 'In fact, there is growing evidence that SARS-CoV-2 may have first jumped from bats to an intermediate animal, such as raccoon dogs, before eventually infecting humans.' After initial debate, there is now broad scientific consensus that bats were the so-called reservoir, where Covid pathogens existed and multiplied. Changing weather patterns and ecosystems have increased human contact with wildlife and created conditions conducive to viral survival. Extreme weather events further exacerbate exposure, susceptibility, and strain emergency responses. As noted by experts in The Lancet Planetary Health, the emergence of Covid-19 coincided with one of the hottest years on record, marked by notable climatic extremes. Record-breaking heat, rising sea levels, melting ice, and extreme weather reinforced evidence that the Earth is undergoing dangerous change for key climate indicators, according to the latest State of the Global Climate report. Last year was the first in which the average global temperature exceeded 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, with extreme weather events leading to the highest number of new displacements since 2008, the report said. Transmission Covid-19 is transmitted through tiny airborne droplets when an infected person breathes, speaks, sneezes or coughs. Rising temperatures and relative humidity help infectious particles survive longer and remain suspended in the air, influencing transmission, scientists explained in a paper published in Frontiers in Medicine. Increased rainfall, flooding, and climate-driven displacement forces people into close contact, boosting infection chances and contributing to higher prevalence in areas with high population density. Displacement also makes hygiene practices harder to maintain, the UNHCR emphasised. More widely, deforestation increases the risk of transmission for zoonotic diseases, passed from animal to human, and potentially new coronaviruses. 'The big issue of novel zoonotic disease is how we have eroded ecosystems and their natural regulation of disease transmission,' Dr Mark Everard, Ecosystem Services Professor at the University of the West of England told The Independent. Habitat loss and expanding roads into less degraded areas reduce the buffer natural habitats create from humans, Dr Everard explained. Mutation As habitat and buffer loss increases the chance of coronavirus jumping or 'spilling' from animals to humans, it increases the likelihood of mutations occurring. 'Climate doesn't directly change how fast pathogens mutate, but it can create more chances for mutations to happen,' Dr Efstathios Giotis told The Independent. 'For example, when climate events occur such as unusually warm temperatures or habitat changes (such as a bushfire), they can push animals into closer contact with other species or humans. 'In this way viruses like influenza or coronaviruses have more opportunities to jump or spillover between species. 'Each spillover event increases the chances for new mutations to develop.' Susceptibility Climate factors can also make people more susceptible to Covid-19. Dust from desertification damages the respiratory tract, giving the virus deeper access and increasing disease severity, research in Frontiers in Medicine explained. In the case of wildfires, tiny particulate matter, known as PM2.5, in smoke irritate and inflame the lungs, increasing the risk of infection. Measuring just 2.5 micrometers in diameter, PM2.5 enters the blood stream and lodges deep in organs. This risk increases for children, with small lungs, or people with pre-existing organ conditions, research in the The Lancet Planetary explained. 'Organisms stressed by heat, water, etc. have lower resistance to infections,' added Dr Everard, referring to plants, animals or humans who either carry infections or are infected. Emergency responses Climate hazards can interfere in the delivery of public services and staff mobilisation, research in The Lancet added. For example, power disruptions can affect health facilities and wildfires divert emergency staff attention. Contract tracing also becomes harder as, for example, people move and intermingle in response to flooding. While research into the links between climate and Covid-19 is still ongoing and some studies are inconclusive, the experts warned: 'Multiple risks can all affect health systems, leading to negative outcomes for people and locations with low capacities to respond to Covid-19.'
