NASA Picks Eric Schmidt’s Rocket Company For Mars Mission
NASA has selected Relativity Space to build and launch Aeolus, a 2028 Mars orbiter that would provide daily global measurements of dust, winds, and atmospheric temperatures to support future robotic and human missions. TechCrunch reports: The structure of the contract is akin to the deals that NASA made with SpaceX to fly cargo to the International Space Sta … ⌘ Read more

Midjourney Pivots From AI Image Generation To Body Scanning Medical Spa
Midjourney is expanding beyond AI image generation with plans for a medical-imaging business built around a water-based, full-body ultrasound scanner that uses hundreds of thousands of sensors and AI to reconstruct MRI-like images. “As you descend into the water, hundreds of thousands of tiny elements take turns, sending out wave … ⌘ Read more

@movq@www.uninformativ.de Hahaha. It could have been worse, though. I’ve heard stories from others that were many levels crazier than what I experienced. And I’m glad that I was very, very lucky with almost all of my teachers throughout all of school. One of my maths teacher, who was also my computer science teacher then, is the reason I do what I do for a living. It’s all his fault! ;-)

Ja, possibly a BaWü thing. The ministry of education and cultural affairs changes the rules, curriculums and details every one or two years, anyway.

Said teacher had to fight real hard that he was allowed to teach CS in class 12 and 13. As a real subject, that is, not just an extracurricular activity („AG“). At first, the ministry refused, because we’re just am „allgemeinbildendes Gmyi“, not an „informationstechnisches Gymi“. It’s insane, you’ve got super motivated (and technically as well as humanly excellent) teachers and then forbid them to offer a class. What the hell!? (Fun fact on top, he had a doctor in CS and was also teaching at the university of applied sciences.)

Eventually, they granted permission to only have a two hours a week class („zweistündig, wie Nebenfach“). One or two years later – too late for me, unfortunately – they allowed four hours a week („vierstündig, wie Hauptfach“). But each pupil had to sign upfont that they will not take CS class in the Abi. That was still exclusive to ITGs only. Completely ridiculous.

I reckon, you can talk to any random teacher and they will endlessly tell you about very dubious decicions from the ministry. :-/

Brian Johnson, Special Effects Artist Behind ‘Space: 1999,’ Dies At 86
Special-effects designer Brian Johnson, known for his groundbreaking work on Space: 1999, The Empire Strikes Back, Alien, and Aliens, has died at the age of 86. Johnson began his career creating models and explosions for Gerry and Sylvia Anderson productions, later designed the iconic Eagle Transporter, and became one of science f … ⌘ Read more

AI and Brain-Computer Interface Allow Speechless ALS Patient To Work a Full-Time Job
UC Davis researchers say an implanted brain-computer interface has allowed Casey Harrell, an ALS patient who cannot speak, to synthesize sentences from brain activity with 99% accuracy in controlled tests and about 92% accuracy in everyday use. The Register reports that the system has remained usable at … ⌘ Read more

SpaceX To Acquire AI Coding Startup Cursor For $60 Billion
SpaceX has agreed to acquire Cursor for $60 billion in stock, adding the popular AI coding assistant to Elon Musk’s newly public aerospace-and-AI conglomerate. CNBC reports: Cursor built a popular AI coding tool that helps software developers generate, edit and review code, and the company has experienced explosive growth since its founding in 2022. In Nove … ⌘ Read more

Venus’ Strange Rotation Was Likely Triggered By a High Velocity Moon-Sized Impactor
New simulations suggest Venus’ extremely slow backward rotation may have been triggered by a high-angle collision with a fast-moving object roughly one-tenth its mass. The impact could have dramatically altered Venus’ spin and melted nearly its entire mantle. Universe Today reports: Venus’ bizarre and extra … ⌘ Read more

A Chinese Rocket Breaks Apart Dangerously Close To the Starlink Constellation
A Chinese Zhuque-2E rocket’s upper stage broke apart shortly after last week’s June 9 launch, likely creating 100 to 150 pieces of debris in a busy region of low-Earth orbit crossed by the ISS and lower-altitude Starlink satellites. Most fragments should reenter within months because of atmospheric drag, but experts s … ⌘ Read more

UK Scientists See Little Evidence for Claims Smartphones Are Rewiring Kids’ Brains
UK’s Members of Parliament (MP) were “looking for proof that smartphones and social media are rotting children’s brains,” writes The Register — but they got “a less satisfying answer from neuroscientists on Wednesday: nobody can really prove it.”

Appearing before the Science, Innovation and Technology Commit … ⌘ Read more

As ‘Disclosure Day’ Premieres, Steven Spielberg Says He Believes Aliens Really Have Visited Earth
Steven Spielberg grants that his 1977 UFO film Close Encounters was “speculative,” writes the Associated Press, but “Disclosure Day, he insists, is the real deal.”

“It’s my first film that will be considered science fiction that I do not consider to be science fiction,” Spiel … ⌘ Read more

How America’s Energy Department is Building a National Platform for Doing Science with AI
America’s Energy Department “wants to build a single national platform for doing science with AI,” reports Communications of the ACM:

It is called the Genesis Mission, and the idea is to connect the country’s 17 national laboratories, their supercomputers, scientific datasets, and a growing layer o … ⌘ Read more

Zukunft des Franchise: George Miller plant weiteren Mad-Max-Film
Nach Furiosa ist Mad Max offenbar noch nicht am Ende. George Miller verfolgt bereits neue Pläne. ( Mad Max, Science-Fiction)

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China Lures Foreign Patients With Cutting-Edge, Cheap Medical Care
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: While traditional hotspots in the region such as Thailand, South Korea and Malaysia focus on services such as cosmetic surgery, IVF or physicals, China is trying to differentiate itself by providing some of the world’s most advanced procedures. “There are two reasons why a patient travels f … ⌘ Read more

Une étude révèle l’ampleur insoupçonnée de réseaux souterrains indispensables au vivant 
Une équipe de recherche publie jeudi 11 juin dans la revue «Science» la première carte mondiale des réseaux de champignons mycorhiziens. Ces êtres vivants qui interagissent avec les plantes présentent des atouts considérables pour affronter les catastrophes écologiques en cours. ⌘ Read more

Russell T. Davies enthüllt: Doctor-Who-Christmas-Special war nie geplant
Doctor-Who-Fans warteten auf ein Weihnachtsspecial. Laut Russell T Davies hat es dafür jedoch nie konkrete Pläne gegeben. ( Science-Fiction, Disney)

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Humans Prefer To Walk Anticlockwise, Scientists Find
fjo3 shares a report from The Guardian: Tests reveal that when people are ambling about, they have a natural tendency to turn to the left and walk in an anticlockwise direction. “If you simply ask someone to start walking, whether they are wandering around a museum, a supermarket, or even an empty room, it is surprisingly likely that they will drift counterclockwise,” … ⌘ Read more

Ende einer Ära: BBC streicht Doctor-Who-Weihnachtsspecial
Doctor Who bekommt kein Weihnachtsspecial. Die BBC bereitet stattdessen einen umfassenden Neustart der Serie vor. ( Science-Fiction, Disney)

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NASA Announces Astronauts For Its Artemis III Mission
NASA has named Randy Bresnik, Luca Parmitano, Frank Rubio, and Andre Douglas as the crew for Artemis III, which has been reworked from a moon-landing mission into a roughly two-week Earth-orbit test of lunar landers being built by SpaceX and Blue Origin. NBC News reports: Randy Bresnik, Luca Parmitano, Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas are expected to launch into Earth … ⌘ Read more

Tests Suggest Russian Satellites Can Jam GPS On a Continental Scale
Researchers say mysterious, seconds-long GPS interference bursts detected across Europe appear to come from Russian EKS early-warning satellites, making this “a rare example of human-made GPS interference coming from space,” reports Ars Technica. The signals may be tests of space-based jamming capability, short satellite communications, … ⌘ Read more

Wie in den 80ern: Science-Fiction-Film erscheint zuerst auf VHS
Ein neuer Science-Fiction-Film setzt auf VHS statt Streaming und will damit ein Zeichen gegen die digitale Filmwelt setzen. ( Science-Fiction, Film)

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Jeff Bezos Is Funding a Wild Hunt for the Brain’s ‘Core Algorithm’
Jeff Bezos is backing Flourish, a new “neuro AI” startup with $500 million in funding and a reported $2.5 billion valuation, that aims to reinvent AI by studying the brain’s architecture and building systems that learn continuously while using far less power than today’s large language models. The company’s long-term bet is that neuroscientis … ⌘ Read more

Sciences Po, Paris-I, Toulouse: les facs confrontées à des répressions «inédites»
Agression, distribution massive d’amendes, contrôles d’identité… Pour enrayer les mobilisations syndicales et étudiantes, les universités ont de plus en plus souvent recours à la police, aux dépôts de plainte et aux sanctions disciplinaires, saccageant le principe du débat d’idées. ⌘ Read more

New drug ‘functionally cures’ many hepatitis B virus infections
Article URL: https://www.science.org/content/article/new-drug-functionally-cures-many-hepatitis-b-virus-infections?user_id=66c4bf745d78644b3aa57b08

Comments URL: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48440463](https://news.ycombinator … ⌘ Read more

Prada Unveils ‘Liquid Cooling’ Inner-Layer Garment for NASA’s Moon Astronauts with Knitted-In Ventilation Tubes
Italian fashion house Prada “unveiled on Sunday the inner-layer garment set to be worn by NASA astronauts heading to the moon,” reports Reuters.

“The body-hugging suit, created in collaboration with Houston-based space infrastructure developer Axiom Spa … ⌘ Read more

The architecture of the internet creates risks for democracy
Article URL: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aei2409

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48438212

Points: 5

# Comments: 0 ⌘ Read more

One-third of year 12 students have dropped this science subject since 2025
While English saw the largest number of overall drop-outs among the 2026 year 12 cohort, its percentage of deserters was eclipsed by another subject. ⌘ Read more

After Empty Promises, Will String Theory Find New Uses?
Science magazine reports:

For decades, string theory promised a “theory of everything” that described all particles and forces as tiny vibrating strings. Physicists hoped it could also solve one of the field’s deepest problems: reconciling quantum mechanics with gravity. But as string theory grew increasingly elaborate — and experimentally unreachable — many phy … ⌘ Read more

Scientists ejected from diabetes conference for distributing journal reprints
Article URL: https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/scientists-ejected-from-diabetes-conference-for-distributing-journal-reprints/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48433410

Points: 9

… ⌘ Read more

Scientists Edited Human Embryo Genes. But Questions Remain
“A DNA-editing feat involving editing the genes of early stage embryos was announced this week,” reports the Wall Street Journal.

They describe the feat as “a far cry from designer babies, but nevertheless a step in that direction.”

Dieter Egli, an associate professor of developmental cell biology at Columbia University and his co-authors, including Nath … ⌘ Read more

Early Research Suggests a Path to Predict and Prevent Lung Cancer
Scientists “have made a discovery that may help prevent some people from developing lung cancer,” reports the New York Times, noting that lung cancer “kills more people worldwide than any other cancer.”

A team of more than 80 researchers working across four continents have identified a set of proteins in the blood that accurately predict lu … ⌘ Read more

Scientists Find Wind Blowing From Our Milky Way’s Black Hole
After 50 years of searching, astronomers say they have finally found evidence of a long-sought “wind” blowing from Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. “Unless a black hole exists in a perfect vacuum, it must blow a wind somehow. And there is no perfect vacuum in the universe,” team co-leader and Northwestern Uni … ⌘ Read more

How a Citizen Science Organization Aims to Preserve the Places It Brings Tourists to Study
The actual eco-friendliness of ecotourism varies considerably. One research station in the Peruvian Amazon is out to prove it can bring visitors to the area without disrupting the environment. ⌘ Read more

ISS Astronauts Told To Prepare For Possible Evacuation Over Air Leak
NASA ordered astronauts on the International Space Station to shelter in their spacecraft and prepare for possible evacuation after a worsening air leak in the Russian Zvezda service module’s transfer tunnel. The Guardian reports: The four astronauts of NASA’s Crew-12 mission on the station – two US astronauts, a French astronaut and … ⌘ Read more

Therabody Promo Codes: 15% Off June 2026
Save on the science-backed devices you’ve been eyeing with 15% off Theragun discount code and 30% off other great deals. ⌘ Read more

Bees Can Use Tools To Solve Problems, Study Finds
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Bumblebees can use tools to solve a problem, according to experiments that demonstrate their remarkably advanced cognitive abilities. The bees were given an adapted version of an experiment that, 100 years ago, first demonstrated chimpanzees could work out how to retrieve an out-of-reach banana by stacking boxes. Since … ⌘ Read more

The Causes of Long Covid
Article URL: https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/causes-long-covid

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407451

Points: 3

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NASA Says Goodbye to Its Longtime Mars MAVEN Mission
NASA has officially ended the MAVEN mission after the Mars orbiter stopped responding in December, apparently after an unexpected spin drained its batteries and knocked out communications. Launched in 2013 and orbiting Mars since 2014, MAVEN spent more than a decade studying how the planet lost its atmosphere and helped explain how Mars transformed from a potentially … ⌘ Read more

New science priorities will give more bang for buck: PM science adviser
New Zealand needs to get more impact out of its science research system ahead of any major funding increases, says Government science leader John Roche.

Roche is the Prime Minister’s chief science adviser and is deputy chair of the PM’s science, innovation and technology advisory council. The council has driven a programme to [reprioritise](https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/opinion/b … ⌘ Read more

Trump Administration to Dismantle Ocean Monitoring System
The Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National Science Foundation’s $368 million Ocean Observatories Initiative, a network of more than 900 deep-sea instruments used to monitor ocean currents, marine ecosystems, carbon absorption, heat waves, fisheries, coastal flooding, and climate change. The NSF said it would send ships in June to begin the re … ⌘ Read more

Microsoft Doubles Down on Controversial Quantum Computing Claims
Article URL: https://www.science.org/content/article/doubling-down-controversial-claims-microsoft-accelerates-quantum-computing-plans

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48380516

Points: 3

# Comm … ⌘ Read more

Mathematicians Warn of AI Threats to Profession As Industry Encroaches
A new Leiden Declaration, endorsed by the International Mathematical Union and published on June 2, 2026, warns that AI could undermine mathematics by flooding the field with plausible but flawed proofs, weakening attribution, shifting incentives, and giving tech companies too much influence over research priorities. “Mathematicians … ⌘ Read more

New Desalination System Turns Seawater Into Drinking Water and Useful Salts - Including Lithium
“Scientists have developed a solar desalination system that turns seawater into drinking water without creating environmentally damaging brine,” reports ScienceDaily.

“Special laser-textured metal panels use sunlight to evaporate water while automatically moving salt deposits away … ⌘ Read more

Alors que s’ouvre son congrès, la CGT «doit travailler à l’intégration des nouveaux syndiqués»
Le 54e congrès de la CGT démarre à Tours le 1er juin. Le syndicat fait face à plusieurs défis, dont celui d’intégrer celles et ceux qu’elle a récemment attirés, selon Pierre Rouxel, maître de conférences en science politique, qui a codirigé une enquête sur le sujet. ⌘ Read more

Republicans are trying to kill science in this country
Article URL: https://www.npr.org/2026/05/21/nx-s1-5828768/science-funding-cuts-nih-trump-administration

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48340944

Points: 13

# Comments: 0 ⌘ Read more

Mars Minerals Reveals an Ancient Ocean’s Potential For Life - and a Possible Way to Make Oxygen
Researchers have identified a ring of minerals around the largest basin in the northern hemisphere of Mars (which past research suggests held a large body of water). Phys.org says the research provides new clues on when life may have been possible on Mars — and how future astronauts … ⌘ Read more

Ozempic May Be Reshaping the Brain, Scientists Say
A research team found “extensive changes” on brain scans of 13 young women taking
GLP-1 drugs, reports the Washington Post:

Within only a few months, the brain connections in the salience network, which helps target attention, had multiplied… [“We didn’t expect to see this effect, and we really don’t know what it means,” said an assistant professor assisting the resea … ⌘ Read more

Substances toxiques: les molécules se multiplient, la science fait ce qu’elle peut
PFAS, bisphénol A, dioxines… Alors que le nombre de substances explose, les scientifiques décryptent de mieux en mieux les mécanismes de toxicité à l’œuvre. Mais le combat face à l’industrie est inégal, tant les objets d’études sont nombreux. ⌘ Read more

@bender@twtxt.net Fine, Let me answer properly and concretely 😅

Would you want your children not to learn anything, because “they have AI”?

No, children still need to learn. That will never change. What they learn however will over time.

Are you OK with your children using the AI for all of their homework?

Yes, frankly I am. Why? Because much of what we teach them in school is utterly pointless.
For example, learning to read Shakespear never taught me anything useful in my life. I regret much of my school years to be honest.
I leanred to read and write, sure. But I learned Math, Science, Computing and how things work on my own by being very curious.

What sense will it make?

That assumes I answered “no”, which I did not. So it all makes perfect sense :D

What kind of future would that bring for them?

This assumes I said “Yes”, which I did :D It will be an itneresting future that’s for sure. I don’t think we can just bury our heads in teh sand and pretend it’s all going to go away, It will not. It will make things very interesting for sure, as we’re already starting to see what’s possible and what’s changeing. For example; ordinary people are using these LLM(s) to write their legal suit and defense in courts with varying levels of success.

Even if AI were to become omniscient, what will it be of the human race then?

I’m not convinced it ever will. In fact, I am not convinced we know how to create true intellience at all.

What would we do?

What would be so different from say an Alien invasion from far superious beings?
What would we do that? Band together and defend humanity?

Serve the AI? Maintain the AI?

That assumes that “AI” will become intelligent and omniscient, which I don’t believe it ever will.

Would we have found the true meaning of life then?

If the meaning of life is to create our own sub-species liken to ourselves, sure, maybe. But is that even a reality? not sure, I doubt it. We barely understand ourselves at the best of times, let alone how our minds works.

To care for AI, Is that it?

How would this be different to caring for a friend, a family member If we could ever truly reate an actual sentient being with real feelings and intelligenace, is there any reason to worry? Could we not be freinds and have mutual goals and form relationships?

Blue Origin Rocket Exploded Thursday Night During Hot-Fire Test
Spaceflight Now shared their video of the explosion, which the Orlando Sentinel describes as showing Blue Origin’s rocket “become engulfed in flames. The fireball expands out and covers the entire launch pad as the fuselage of the rocket can be seen crumbling into the flames.”

Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos said on X.com “It’s too early to know … ⌘ Read more

NASA Details Its Plan to Build a Lunar Base At the Moon’s South Pole
NASA has outlined a three-phase plan to build a lunar base at the moon’s south pole. The first phase, from 2026 to 2029, will focus on robotic missions, landers, rovers, reactors, satellites, and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance test. Later phases will add habitats, power systems, communications, cargo logistics, and rotating cr … ⌘ Read more