SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " quiet " 891 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Report: Romano claims full future agreement for Liverpool star
Robertson Exit Looms as Liverpool Face Summer ShiftThere is a quiet inevitability to the way football moves on. At Liverpool, where eras tend to be defined by consistency and identity, the prospect of...
Think AI "knows" what it’s doing? Scientists say think again
Calling AI things like “smart” or saying it “knows” something might sound harmless, but it can quietly mislead people about what AI actually does. A new study shows that news writers are more careful than expected, rarely using strongly human-like language. When they do, it often falls on a spectrum—sometimes describing simple requirements, other times hinting at human traits.
Got $5,000? This Boring Waste Business Might Be a Quiet Multimillionaire Maker by 2036.
Republic Services is in the business of trash, but its long-term potential is anything but junk.
Google is quietly building something that could transform the lineup beyond the Pixel 11
Two words: Pixel Glow.
Apple AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra vs. Sony WH-1000XM6: Who Wins High-End ANC?
We tested the latest premium noise-cancelleing cans from Apple, Bose, and Sony. Here’s how they stack up on price, performance, and features. And boy, is it a close race!
“Art Should Make People Feel Something”: Game Dev Speaks Out After BAFTAs Pulled Their Trailer Hours Before the Awards Show
Silver Script Games speaks out after the BAFTAs pulled a trailer for The Quiet Things hours before the BAFTA Game Awards.
BAFTA Pulls Game From Showcase Due To Depiction Of Child Abuse
The Quiet Things is an autobiographical narrative game about childhood trauma
Your favorite snacks could be quietly wrecking your knees, new research suggests
New research suggests ultraprocessed foods may increase fat in thigh muscles, potentially raising the risk of knee osteoarthritis regardless of weight.
The 3 forces quietly dismantling the business model that made enterprise software fabulously profitable
Roundtables with senior business leaders in San Francisco and New York revealed a consensus: AI isn't just threatening SaaS, but the entire industry.
New Chair of Quietly Powerful Multnomah County Health Board Ousted
Chambers said she did not think her removal was reasonable, though she acknowledged that the matter was still raw. She also acknowledged there is a bigger story here.
Star of Japanese hit series 'The Solitary Gourmet' hopes to share its joy of eating
Japanese TV drama “The Solitary Gourmet” quietly started in a late-night slot 14 years ago featuring a suit-clad, middle-aged man’s joy of solitary dining at a local eatery after work | KMBZ
Finish Line: The quiet rise of "prescribing connection"
Physicians are sending patients to choirs, art studios, walking clubs and lakesides.
Freshman quarterback Bowe Bentley embraces early learning curve at OU ahead of spring game
The jump from high school football to the Southeastern Conference doesn’t come quietly, and for freshman quarterback Bowe Bentley, that reality has set in quickly.
Scientists solve 100-year-old mystery behind rubber that powers modern life
Every time you drive, board a plane or water your lawn, you're relying on a material that has quietly powered modern life for nearly a century—reinforced rubber. It's in car and aircraft tires, industrial ...
Who is Sam Altman Molotov cocktail suspect Daniel Moreno-Gama?
Before his arrest at OpenAI's headquarters, Daniel Moreno-Gama lived in a quiet Houston suburb, worked at a pizzeria, and went to community college.
How the European Space Agency became the quiet power in planetary science and what its institutional model reveals about building consensus across 22 nations
The European Space Agency's 22-nation consensus model appears slow and bureaucratic, but it has produced one of the most quietly productive planetary science programs on Earth. Understanding its institutional design reveals how distributed commitment, geographic return, and mandatory science funding create missions that survive political disruptions no single nation's program could weather.
Is a New $75,000+ Canon Cine-Servo Coming? Rumors Point to a 50-1000mm Refresh for NAB 2026
After a quiet lead-up to NAB, an anonymous tip suggests Canon is about to update its CINE-SERVO 50-1000mm. Could we finally see Full-Frame support and a native RF mount for the new version?
NASA Finds Young Stars Dim in X-rays Surprisingly Quickly
Unlike in the new movie “Project Hail Mary,” this quieting of young stars is a benefit for the prospects for life on orbiting planets around these stars — not
Disney quietly delists 15 more games on Steam, including a couple of classic Star Wars titles
After 14 removals earlier this year, another 15 Disney-owned games have suddenly disappeared from the Steam store.
Some people don’t lose weight with GLP-1s. Evidence is building that the drugs are helping anyway
The majority of people who start taking GLP-1 medicines with the hope of losing weight, the drugs can quiet cravings and help them shed stubborn pounds. But research is also continuing to reveal GLP-1 medicines’ benefits independent of weight loss — even if people gain weight.
Scientists discover why bread can cause weight gain without extra calories
Bread and other carbohydrate staples may be doing more than just filling plates—they could be quietly reshaping metabolism. In a surprising twist, researchers found that mice strongly preferred carbs like bread, rice, and wheat, abandoning their regular diet entirely. Even without eating more calories, they gained weight and body fat, not because they overate, but because their bodies burned less energy.
Scientists Uncover Brain Changes That Link Pain to Depression
A hidden process in the brain may quietly decide whether long-term pain results in resilience or depression.
Beware! This "Windows 11 24H2" update download can quietly steal your sensitive data
This Windows 11 24H2 update download could quietly compromise your system and steal sensitive personal data, putting your system's privacy and security at serious risk.
What Flutter Entertainment (FLUT)'s Board Shuffle, Buybacks and Quiet Dart Stake Mean For Shareholders
In recent days, Flutter Entertainment plc reported that long-serving independent director Alfred F. Hurley, Jr. will retire at the 2026 AGM, with Nancy Dubuc set to assume the role of Chair of the Compensation and Human Resources Committee, while the company continues executing a multi-billion-dollar share repurchase program. At the same time, billionaire investor Kenneth Dart has quietly built substantial economic exposure to Flutter through total return swaps, even as analysts question...
Eight years later, Apple quietly shuts the door on AI chief John Giannandrea
Since his retirement was announced in 2025, Apple Intelligence head John Giannandrea has been reduced to the role of an advisor, but is now expected to exit Apple Park shortly.
Google is now letting you change that awkward Gmail address
Google started quietly rolling out the change late last year in India, and it has now announced it’s available for all Google Account users in the U.S.
This Action Crime Thriller Just Shot to #1—and the Cast Is Absolutely Loaded
A star-studded crime thriller has quietly climbed to the top of Prime Video’s most-watched list, but, somehow, it flew completely under the radar. Find out more about the chart-topper here.
Chelsea Star Speaks On Exit From Manchester United
Garnacho, Chelsea Move Signals Reflection After Man United ExitThere is often a moment, quiet and uncomfortable, when a young footballer begins to understand that talent alone does not carry a career....
“AI polls” are fake polls
A few weeks after Donald Trump’s second presidential win, I took the train up from London (where I was living at the time) to Oxford to attend a conference on polls and forecasts of the 2024 election. Most of the attendees were pollsters or academics, but I also watched presentations from Aaru and Electric Twin, two companies that do what is interchangeably called synthetic sampling, silicon sampling, or synthetic audiences. Stripped of startup jargon, that means they use large language models (LLMs) to simulate responses to public opinion polls by having AI agents take on the role of survey respondents. I had already heard of Aaru thanks to some articles with eye-catching headlines like “No people, no problem: AI chatbots predict elections better than humans” in the months leading up to Election Day. The founders were making some big, some might even say far-fetched claims, such as: “within two years, we will simulate the entire globe — from the way crops are grown in Ukraine to how that impacts production of oil in Iraq, trade through the strait of Malacca, and elections for the mayor of Baltimore.” When Semafor asked Aaru’s cofounders — Cameron Fink and Ned Koh — about my boss, they said “we respect all those who came before us.” Nate (as he so often does) shared his thoughts on Twitter: Fink and Koh were relatively good-natured about this back-and-forth when we spoke at Oxford. They even offered to mail me one of the t-shirts featuring Nate’s quote they apparently had made. I never took them up on the offer, which I now somewhat regret. These synthetic sampling companies fell off my radar for a while, but they do still exist. In fact, Aaru recently received a $1 billion valuation. Is what they’re doing anywhere close to the most important frontier in AI development? Not by a longshot, especially when Anthropic just developed a model so adept at exploiting software vulnerabilities that it’s only being released to 40 companies. Still, silicon sampling is increasingly finding its way into public polling. Axios reported in March that “a majority of people trust their own doctors and nurses” based on findings from Aaru — without mentioning that the “people” in that sentence were actually LLMs. Around the same time, the Public Sentiment Institute “boosted” their online sample of 373 real survey respondents with 114 AI agents.1 (Spoiler alert: even the co-founder of Electric Twin doesn’t think that’s a particularly defensible approach.) Polling companies like Qualtrics and Ipsos are also developing synthetic data panels. So, what should we make of these … “polls”? Let’s get one thing out of the way: whatever they are, they’re not polls in the way that term is usually defined. Subscribe You can’t replace polls with AI On one hand, using LLMs to essentially make up fake survey respondents sort of sounds like the dumbest idea ever, one that will at best imperfectly replicate real polls while introducing all sorts of biases. On the other hand, with LLMs improving at a remarkable, perhaps even alarming rate, maybe that means I’m a dinosaur at the ripe old age of 24 because I still want to rely on polls that talk to actual people. I’m not going to argue that synthetic samples are completely useless. In fact, as I’ll return to later, there is evidence that some techniques can replicate topline survey results quickly and cheaply. But the marketing from certain companies can be slightly optimistic. “No traditional poll will exist by the time the next general election occurs,” said Fink in 2024. We’re just 206 days away from the midterms, and based on the fact that I still have to collect a bunch of polls every day, I’d say he should have run that prediction by a sample of AI agents before the interview.2 To see why synthetic samples can’t replace polls, here’s a quick primer on how they work. The simplest version of these models involves taking a LLM (like ChatGPT or Claude), giving it a demographic profile (e.g., a white, college-educated woman who lives in Utah and makes $70k a year), and then asking it to respond to a survey question. You repeat that process a few thousand times using different demographic profiles and end up with a sample of synthetic survey responses. The actual models used by private companies are more sophisticated than this, usually because they incorporate more hypothesized demographic characteristics for each agent and provide them with extra information. Aaru, for example, feeds agents a diet of news and information they’d be likely to consume, while Electric Twin incorporates their customers’ proprietary data about the audience they’re trying to replicate. The way Ben Warner, the co-founder of Electric Twin, explained it to me was “we have a large amount of data on […] for instance, 5,000 people. Can we make an accurate prediction of how they would respond to another question?” Still, it should be obvious why synthetic samples can’t replace polls. Polling is fundamentally a data collection process. We might use surveys to make predictions by feeding them into election forecasts, but the main purpose of a poll isn’t prediction, it’s gathering new data about what people think and how they feel. Silicon sampling, on the other hand, produces no new data. It’s simply a model: you input LLM training data, demographic prompts, and a bunch of other information, and it spits out a prediction for what a poll would say. We love models here, but models aren’t polls. That difference is an important philosophical sticking point for most pollsters I talk to. “I think politics should stay away from [synthetic sampling], because we’re trying to […] represent the voice of the people,” said Natalie Jackson, a vice president at GQR Insights. Democratic pollster John Hagner told me: “I think I’m just incredibly skeptical of this idea. I don’t think it’s research. At that point, you’re asking the machine to tell you what you already believe.” Hagner has seen some presentations of early synthetic sampling experiments, but so far, “if it’s being used in a campaign, people are keeping it incredibly quiet.”3 But Eli, I hear you saying, aren’t polls themselves increasingly governed by modeling decisions? Indeed they are: pollsters’ choices on which sampling method to use, how to define their likely voter models, and how to weight their samples can and do lead to dramatic differences in the results they publish. Aaru even referenced these limitations in the methodology statement included with that maternal mortality “poll” — although I’m using the term “methodology statement” loosely here, because it doesn’t really explain how the model works at all. We can ignore the (frankly preposterous) implication that synthetic sampling isn’t subject to a separate set of biases. The important point is that there’s still a meaningful difference between using weighting and other statistical techniques on actual polling data and using a model to predict what a poll would say. The latter is far closer to election forecasts or techniques like MRP — potentially useful models, but not a replacement for polls.4 To be fair, other synthetic sampling companies are perfectly happy with the distinction between polls and models. Warner compared polling and synthetic sampling to different tools in a toolbox. “The mistake I think we make is we think that these new tools should either work in exactly the same way or somehow replace these old tools,” he said. “Rather than thinking of it as, okay, so we’ve always had the hammer, we’ve always had the screwdriver, now we’ve got a saw. But don’t use a saw to try [to] do the job of a hammer.” A quick comment from Nate Eli didn’t ask me for a comment — rather rude of him, don’t you think? But since I’m editing this story, I figured I’d add a few quick thoughts rather than putting words in his mouth. Beyond the frequently misleading marketing, what bothers me about the AI “poll” hype is that as AI tools make statistical inference cheaper and/or better (note that these are not synonyms) that actually increases the comparative value of collecting original data. You might be able to train a model to make a reasonable estimate of what some hard-to-reach poll respondent would say — say, a young Black man who voted for Trump. (Such a person checks a number of boxes for a voter who is usually hard to reach in surveys.) Indeed, this is closely related to what models like the Silver Bulletin forecast already do. They essentially smooth out the kinks in noisy survey data by making inferences based on past voting patterns or national polls or surveys of other states. But you don’t actually know what these voters think unless you’re reaching them directly. If there’s a shift in opinion among this subgroup, you’re not going to detect it. So if I were running a campaign, I’d invest more in going the extra mile to find a representative sample of those voters. And then I’d hire some smart quants — or Claude? — to figure out the implications for campaign strategy based on proprietary data that my competitors didn’t have access to. -Nate Silver Are these models any good? If synthetic surveys are just a new type of model, the next obvious question is whether the models are at least accurate. The answer very much depends on who you ask. On one end of the spectrum, you have the maximalist argument that synthetic sampling is more accurate than actual polls. “It’s an incredibly challenging problem to go to someone and say ‘hey, we’re going to be more accurate at predicting human behavior than you, even when you talk to your customers directly’,” Koh recently told CNBC. In his view, synthetic sampling isn’t a saw to polling’s hammer, it’s “magic.” There’s certainly evidence that synthetic samples can replicate certain survey toplines. But if Aaru does have any examples of their approach outperforming the polls, they’re keeping those to themselves.5 Aaru’s 2024 election model, for example, had Kamala Harris leading in Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin on November 4th. And although they’ve since taken down their forecast page, they gave Harris a 50.5 percent chance of winning the race on November 2nd.6 After the election, Fink told Semafor he was happy enough with those results because they were “within margin of error,” a term that is completely meaningless when applied to a “sample” of AI agents. And of course, Aaru says their models have improved since 2024, so supposedly now they’d be more accurate than the polls? Still, their stronger argument is on cost: “We are significantly faster and cheaper than traditional polling, and still more accurate,” said Fink. The first two claims are undeniably true, but the third brings us to the opposite end of the spectrum. Both Jackson and Hagner are skeptical that these models are reliable for anything beyond replicating common survey toplines. “I just […] don’t think the machines are what we want when we’re looking for nuanced views. My example on this is people in Arizona and Nevada in 2024 who voted for Trump and voted for expanding abortion in their states on ballot initiatives,” said Jackson. Hagner identified another issue. Maybe the synthetic respondents, like sycophantic LLMs, are inhuman in one important way: they’re too nice. “The reports that have come through at the meetings that I’ve been at are that the early experiments on this, they cannot get respondents to be as racist or sexist or, frankly, as negative as human respondents,” he said. Academic research mostly agrees on this point. While there are some papers that show promising results when using LLMs to replicate polling data, most show that LLMs suffer from various quirks like producing too few “don’t know” responses and can seriously overpredict the favorability of politicians like Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. They also seem to struggle with too little variation between demographic subgroups, so the difference in predicted opinion between Democrats and Republicans, for example, is too small. When I asked Warner about these studies, his response to these papers was that just because academics can’t get synthetic sampling to work doesn’t mean that the technique doesn’t work in general. “Actually, the argument is, okay, yours does not [work]. That does not mean […] for this complex set of machinery, which uses a lot of investment, a lot of time, a lot of money, you can’t get it to work.” Cards on the table, I’m somewhat sympathetic to this argument because academics aren’t exactly great at making election forecasts. Usually, the people with skin in the game are the most accurate. Warner’s argument is that the approach Electric Twin takes — which includes, for example, making multiple predictions for each synthetic respondent using different models and prompts and subsequently averaging those to get a final prediction in a sort of ensemble forecast — produces better results than the simpler academic models. Warner shared a comparison between his method and the method from a recent academic paper with me, and Electric Twin was indeed able to get more accurate replication. But even still, he acknowledged that synthetic sampling “is not a crystal ball.” “If you asked me, do I think using other data sources will be more accurate than asking somebody who they will vote for, I would probably say no. But if you asked me ‘would your system be useful for our turnout modeling today?’ I would say yes.” For better or worse, it looks like the method is already getting more popular in the market research world. Most of the clients Aaru touts these days are businesses like EY and McDonald’s. And AI will probably begin to pop up in other parts of the political polling process. Pollsters are already using it to code open-ended survey responses, and some firms, like YouGov, are testing using LLMs to ask survey respondents questions. More worryingly, one danger to actual polls is that AI agents can be used to infiltrate online surveys. Most online polls use various checks to prevent that from happening, but there’s conflicting evidence on how effective those filters are and how prevalent AI agents currently are in online panels. If those agents ever become impossible to detect, it might spell the end of online polling, but the solution isn’t to replace all of your respondents with ChatGPT. Silver Bulletin is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a subscriber. Subscribe 1 That particular poll obviously doesn’t meet Silver Bulletin standards for aggregation. But we exclude all Public Sentiment Institute polls from our averages because we classify them as an amateur polling firm. 2 You could argue that Fink meant the next presidential election, but (a) I’m also confident we’ll still have real polls in 2028 and (b) in that case he should have asked an LLM to define “general election.” 3 Quick caveat: that’s reporting from a Democratic pollster. It’s possible that Republicans are more willing to use AI in political campaigns. 4 Indeed, Silver Bulletin does not include “polls” produced by MRP in our forecasts or averages, and we think it’s extremely misleading when their practitioners describe them in a way that suggests original data had been collected among a large number of states or Congressional districts. 5 A recent report from Aaru and EY did show two examples of a synthetic estimate being closer than a survey to a real-world benchmark — but I’d take those findings with a grain of salt because the report reads more like an ad and didn’t involve any sort of prediction being made ahead of time. 6 For comparison, our odds for Harris on the same day were 48.2 percent.
I tested the AirPods Max 2, Sony WH-1000XM6, and Bose QuietComfort Ultra — here's the only pair I’d keep
This might ruffle some feathers
Enzo Fernandez Future Back in Spotlight After Chelsea Peace Talks
Enzo Fernández and Chelsea Reconciliation Signals Crucial Turning PointDisciplinary drama resolved behind the scenesThere is something quietly significant about reconciliation in elite football. It r...
Three Colorado players needing big spring game performances
Colorado football's spring game is a chance for new players to shine. Here are three returning players who could use a big day to quiet some noise.
Alphabet Is Quietly Building Its Next Major Business -- and It Could Be Bigger Than You Think
Most investors think of AI as a race to build better models. But behind every AI system sits something far more important -- the infrastructure that powers it. And that's where Alphabet is quietly building something big.
Alphabet Is Quietly Building Its Next Major Business -- and It Could Be Bigger Than You Think
Most investors think of AI as a race to build better models. But behind every AI system sits something far more important -- the infrastructure that powers it. And that's where Alphabet is quietly building something big.
OpenAI has quietly launched its ads manager as it races to build out its ads business
The AI platform launched the ads manager within its ChatGPT ads pilot advertisers last week, and also lowered the barrier to joining the test.
Samsung quietly increased the price of two Galaxy Z Fold 7 models
Maybe you’re tired of hearing about memory price hikes and the potential of increased smartphone prices. Well, it’s starting to...
Health Physicists: The Quiet Experts Keeping Radiation Risks in Check
When radioactive materials are involved, whether at a former nuclear weapons site, a decommissioned reactor, or a legacy industrial facility, the goal is simple: protect workers, safeguard communities and reduce potential radiation risks to levels that are demonstrably safe. At the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), health physicists are the professionals responsible for making that happen. Their work is often behind the scenes but always with consequences that matter deeply to the public.
Spring Health Data Reveals a "Silent Burnout" Crisis: Mental Health Leaves Surge as Employees Quietly Disengage
/PRNewswire/ -- Spring Health, the leading global mental health company, today released its 2026 Workplace Mental Health Report. The study, which surveyed more...
Scientists discover spice synergy that boosts anti-inflammation 100x
Chronic inflammation often works quietly in the background but can fuel serious diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. New research reveals that everyday plant compounds—like menthol from mint, cineole from eucalyptus, and capsaicin from chili peppers—can team up inside immune cells to dramatically boost their anti-inflammatory power. While individual compounds showed modest effects, certain combinations amplified results hundreds of times over by activating different cellular pathways at once.
Scientists discover spice synergy that boosts anti-inflammation 100x
Chronic inflammation often works quietly in the background but can fuel serious diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. New research reveals that everyday plant compounds—like menthol from mint, cineole from eucalyptus, and capsaicin from chili peppers—can team up inside immune cells to dramatically boost their anti-inflammatory power. While individual compounds showed modest effects, certain combinations amplified results hundreds of times over by activating different cellular pathways at once.
'American Idol' alum Justin Guarini's new girlfriend speaks out amid news of singer's quiet divorce
Justin Guarini's business partner Kim Walsh Phillips tells EW that her relationship with the 'American Idol' alum has 'developed into a romantic partnership of love' after the singer quietly got divorced.
Trump’s personnel agency is asking for federal workers’ medical records
The Trump administration is quietly seeking unprecedented access to medical records for millions of federal workers and retirees, and their families.
Trump’s Personnel Agency Is Asking for Federal Workers’ Medical Records
By Amanda Seitz and Maia Rosenfeld | KFF Health News The Trump administration is quietly seeking unprecedented access to medical records for millions of federal workers and retirees, and their families. A brief notice from the Office of Personnel Management could dramatically change which personally ...
Braves, Angels throw punches as Atlanta wins 7-2
In what was an otherwise routine and mostly quiet game on Tuesday night between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels, a big time brawl broke out between Braves starter Reynaldo Lopez and former World Series hero Jorge Soler. Let’s set the stage. Earlier in the game, Lopez hit Soler in the hand with a […]
PS5 Update for April 2026 Stealth Drops UI Redesign
Sony is quietly rolling out a new PS5 UI update for April 2026 featuring minor but welcome improvements. Check it out.
Google quietly releases an offline-first AI dictation app on iOS
Google's new offline-first dictation app uses Gemma AI models to take on the apps like Wispr Flow.
Netflix's New #1 Show Absolutely Lives Up to the Hype—and I'm Not the Only One Who's Obsessed
Netflix’s current #1 show is a feel-good, deeply real dating series that’s quietly winning everyone over. Here’s why viewers can’t stop watching (and rooting for the cast).
Why did Jackson keep new public safety director appointment quiet?
When Jackson officials appointed Charles Terefenko to run town hall why did they line him up to oversee public safety and not tell the public?
Inside Jim Jordan’s quiet preparations for a GOP leadership void
The Ohio Republican will be well-situated if Republicans lose the House majority.
Business owner: Don’t look now, but Roanoke is quietly becoming Virginia’s Music City
Roanoke did not set out to become a music city in the way larger markets brand themselves. It got here the old-fashioned way. One room at a time. One crowd at a time. One show at a time.
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on April 6, 2026: West Mifflin, Elizabeth Forward to meet in softball
All is quiet on the day after Easter in district baseball as the section series for this week will run Tuesday and Wednesday.
Stephen Miller Is Still Pursuing His Immigration Agenda, but More Quietly
Far from acknowledging defeat, Stephen Miller appears to have adjusted his strategy in an effort to minimize political fallout. He has remained steadfast in his view that the administration should act to reverse openness to migration.
Mickey, mouse offense: Rockies 4, Phillies 1
Mickey Moniak and a quiet offense doom the Phillies on Sunday
It Was John Wayne’s Political Club. Now It’s Spending Millions on Online Influence
A conservative organization with decades of influence in California has quietly turned attention, and millions of dollars, to a national initiative of right-leaning news operations, records show.
Truckloads of food are being wasted because computers won’t approve them
Modern food systems may look stable on the surface, but they are increasingly dependent on digital systems that can quietly become a major point of failure. Today, food must be “recognized” by databases and automated platforms to be transported, sold, or even released, meaning that if systems go down, food can effectively become unusable—even when it’s physically available.
Mars dust storms are sparking electricity and rewriting the planet’s chemistry
Mars may look like a quiet, dusty world, but it’s actually buzzing with hidden electrical activity. Powerful dust storms and swirling dust devils generate static electricity strong enough to spark faint glowing discharges across the planet, triggering chemical reactions that reshape its surface and atmosphere. Scientists have now shown that these tiny lightning-like events can create a surprising mix of chemicals—including chlorine compounds and carbonates—and even leave behind distinct isotopic “fingerprints.”
'Incredibly common' drinking habit may quietly triple risk of serious liver condition: study
We live in a time where we are constantly connected but rarely seen. Here's how to fix that.
Something quieter is happening underneath all the noise — people are wondering if they matter.
Local business brings Wildcat milestones to life at McKale Center
After every University of Arizona win during the 2026 NCAA tournament, Ryan Volin has been quietly putting up more graphics on the walls at the McKale Center.
Clint Eastwood Turns 96 Next Month and Is Reportedly Done With Hollywood for Good
A source close to Clint Eastwood says the legendary director has quietly walked away from Hollywood.
A light round of direct cattle business on Friday
Direct cash cattle trade activity was relatively quiet Friday, with a few deals reported in the South. For the week, live deals in the South were at $245 to $246, $8 to $9 higher than the previous week’s weighted averages. Dressed deals in the North were at mostly $385, $13 higher than the prior week’s […]
Microsoft quietly buried 'for entertainment purposes only' in Copilot's Terms of Use
It's not what the ads want you to think.
Google releases Wear OS 6.1 based on Android 16 QPR2
Google today quietly released Wear OS 6.1, but it’s not available on any watches just yet. Officially, “Wear OS 6.1...
Apple Adjusts Studio Display XDR Pricing Weeks After Launch
Apple has quietly reduced the price of the Studio Display XDR when configured with the VESA mount adapter, dropping it from $3,299 to $2,899 – a $400 cut. The nano-texture VESA version has also dropped from $3,599 to $3,199. Apple has also reworked the purchasing pattern on its website, making the stand choice the first step in the configuration process instead of the glass selection. When the Studio Display XDR launched last month, both stand options cost the same $3,299.
Exit Interviews: Local Congressional candidates proud to counter divisive politics
A blaze of St. Patrick’s Day and election night activity has burned out in downtown Wilmette. It’s 10:40 p.m., and on a dim and quiet Central Avenue, parking, for once, is plentiful in front of The Wilmette Theatre. Inside the community venue, Phil Andrew is issuing goodbyes and thank-yous to the remaining guests of the […]
Too much sitting is taking a toll on heart and brain health
DALLAS, March 30, 2026 — Too much sitting has quietly become one of the most common threats to heart health in the United States. Research shows that prolonged sedentary time is linked to higher risks of heart disease, stroke and poorer mental health,...
How Trump’s SBA Quietly Pulled The Rug On Small Business Investors
The SBA may be quietly changing who is at risk when a 7(a) loan goes bad, leaving passive investors exposed in ways they never expected.
How The Investment Story For Privia Health Group (PRVA) Is Quietly Shifting After Q4
Privia Health Group’s fair value estimate has been fine tuned to US$31.95 from US$31.85, keeping the modeled price target firmly in the low US$30s range. That small adjustment sits within a broader set of Street targets clustered around the low to mid US$30s, reflecting a mix of constructive views on recent Q4 results and more cautious takes around valuation and claims timing. As you read on, you will see how these shifting targets fit into the evolving analyst narrative and how to track it...
ASUS launches GeForce RTX 5080 PRIMO EVO series with vapor chamber missing
ASUS PRIME RTX 5080 EVO launched ASUS has quietly added two GeForce RTX 5080 cards to its PRIME series with the EVO suffix. At first glance, it is not
Scientists Stunned: Colossal Eggs Discovered 3,500 Meters Beneath an Active Volcano
Beneath an active seafloor volcano off Vancouver Island, researchers have documented a congregation of giant eggs at roughly 3,500 meters, a discovery that reframes how life can flourish under extreme conditions. The eggs belong to the Pacific white skate, an elusive deep‑sea species adapted to cold, crushing pressure and perpetual darkness. What seemed an unlikely nursery is actually a geothermally warmed refuge, where subtle heat helps embryos survive a marathon incubation. The finding links volcanic energy to a quiet engine of biodiversity, turning a hostile landscape into an incubator. A living volcano, a hidden nursery The seamount long assumed dormant now exhales mineral‑rich, shimmering plumes, proof of hydrothermal life at depth. Expedition cameras swept across black basalt and pale bacterial mats, revealing vents that pulse with warmth. That warmth, though modest by human standards, alters the physics of development for cold‑adapted embryos. In a realm where metabolism creeps, even a few degrees can mean faster growth and higher survival. The volcano is not only active; it is ecologically formative, drafting a blueprint for a thriving oasis. Giant eggs and a skate built for the abyss The Pacific white skate, Bathyraja spinosissima, is built for the abyss: broad wings, armored spines, and a life history that trades speed for endurance. Females lay outsized, rectangular “mermaid’s purses,” often 46–50 centimeters long, packed with rich yolk to fuel years of growth. In the frigid deep, embryos can require around four years to hatch, a timeline that magnifies every energetic advantage. The scale is striking—large eggs, large adults, and a textbook case of deep‑sea gigantism. The volcano’s gentle heat may literally shave months or years from the wait. Why heat matters at the bottom of the sea Hydrothermal circulation delivers low‑level warmth without the turbulence that would scatter fragile egg‑cases. Slightly elevated temperatures accelerate enzyme kinetics, nudging development along while keeping embryos within a safe range. Mineral‑laden fluids likely shape local microbiomes, which, in turn, can influence biofilms on egg surfaces. The environment acts like a slow, steady incubator, countering the deep sea’s tyrannies of cold and scarcity. For a species with long maturation and few offspring, every incremental boost compounds across generations. An ecosystem sculpted by fire and water Seafloor volcanoes create steep environmental gradients, stitching together hot vents, cool eddies, and mineral gardens into mosaic habitats. Microbes harvest chemical energy, seeding food webs that support crustaceans, fishes, and skates. Cameras documented egg‑cases nestled among rocky ledges, near communities nourished by vent‑driven chemistry. These islands of productivity behave like deep‑sea oases, sustaining life far beyond the vent orifice’s flickering light. The nursery’s success underscores how geological forces engineer biological opportunity. “Finding a cradle of life tucked beneath a breathing volcano reminds us that the planet’s harshest places can be profoundly generous.” What the discovery could change The nursery reframes conservation priorities in regions where volcanism quietly underwrites reproduction. Protecting hydrothermal corridors could safeguard entire lifecycles, not just charismatic adults spotted during occasional surveys. It also sharpens questions about how climate‑driven shifts in ocean circulation might influence vent activity, temperature fields, and embryo survival. With methodical mapping, time‑series cameras, and environmental DNA, scientists can track whether nurseries remain stable or drift with geologic rhythms. Key implications include: Enhanced understanding of deep‑sea reproduction at hydrothermal sites. New conservation targets centered on geothermal nurseries. Comparative studies with other volcanic regions, from the Galápagos to rift zones. Biotechnological insights from organisms adapted to long, cold development. Better models of how seafloor heat shapes regional biodiversity. Methods behind the revelation Remotely operated vehicles threaded through chimney fields, gathering video, temperatures, and mineral signatures. High‑definition imagery captured the distinctive, horned egg cases, their edges dusted with fine volcanic silt. Geochemical profiles mapped how heat and chemicals disperse, outlining the “thermal lanes” where eggs most cluster. Combined, these datasets reveal a nursery organized by geothermal topography, with egg‑cases concentrated in pockets of gentle, sustained warmth. A fragile boon in a changing ocean Deep‑sea environments feel remote, yet they intersect with global pressures: mining proposals, cable routes, and shifting oxygen levels. The nursery’s resilience hinges on stable heat flow, intact substrates, and minimal disturbance from noise or sediment. Safeguarding such places is not just about protecting novelty; it preserves a slow, ancient strategy that lets large, long‑lived animals endure in the coldest reaches of the Pacific. Where geology and biology meet, the planet’s deep time still writes living stories. This volcano‑warmed nursery adds a vital chapter to that story, revealing how subtle thermal gifts can tip the scales toward life in the abyss. With each dive, researchers trace the contours of an unseen world, where fire feeds water, and water—against all odds—feeds the future.
After the 'War 2' debacle, Aditya Chopra is quietly working on a 'mysterious, timeless romantic saga'
After the 'War 2' debacle, Aditya Chopra's production house is working on a rom-com. The production house that has given us movies like 'Saiyaara', 'D.
NWA primed for next phase of regional growth - Talk Business & Politics
Like many Northwest Arkansas natives, I’ve been amazed to watch our region evolve from a quiet landscape of pastures into a thriving metropolitan hub. With our population expected to grow...
NWA primed for next phase of regional growth - Talk Business & Politics
Like many Northwest Arkansas natives, I’ve been amazed to watch our region evolve from a quiet landscape of pastures into a thriving metropolitan hub. With our population expected to grow...
The Great AI Deskilling has begun
AI is boosting output while quietly chipping away at the skills behind it.
The toughest new sport in Japan is street-racing office chairs
On a snowy day in the quiet town of Kumamoto, dozens of Japanese office workers in safety helmets and sneakers crouch low on their office chairs, eyes fixed on the starting line, ready to launch.
New COVID 'Cicada' Variant Is Spreading — What Experts Want You To Know
By HealthDay Staff HealthDay ReporterFRIDAY, March 27, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Another new COVID variant is starting to spread. Health officials say the variant — known as BA.3.2 or "Cicada" — has been quietly circulating for years but is now being detected more often in the United States and around ...
Scientists stunned as Mars dust storms blast water into space
Mars may look like a frozen desert today, but new evidence suggests its watery past didn’t simply fade away quietly—it may have been blasted into space by powerful dust storms. Scientists have discovered that even relatively small, localized storms can hurl water vapor high into the atmosphere, where it breaks apart and escapes.
Eagles are keeping tabs on Vikings pass rusher Jonathan Greenard
Despite quieter public chatter, Philadelphia continues to monitor Jonathan Greenard as a potential addition to its pass rush.
Hisense Advances a Quiet Green Revolution in Home Entertainment
/PRNewswire/ -- Hisense, a leading brand in global consumer electronics and home appliances, is advancing energy-efficient innovation across the industry as...
Glyphosate: A story of science, risk, and nuance
In the summer of 2014, a California groundskeeper named Dewayne Johnson started noticing patches of raw, weeping skin spreading across his body. He had spent years applying Roundup, Monsanto’s glyphosate-based herbicide, for a school district, sometimes drenched in it when equipment malfunctioned. By 2014, he had a diagnosis: non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In 2018, a jury awarded him $289 million in damages, later reduced on appeal. Tens of thousands of lawsuits followed. The story hasn’t quieted down. It’s all over the internet, swinging between “this will kill you, buy organic” and “relax, you’re fear-mongering.” Some of that recent chatter stems from an Executive Order protecting glyphosate and its production, which set off intense infighting within the MAHA movement. Some of it reflects a deeper truth: Americans genuinely care about harmful chemicals in their environment (see poll below). And the conversation isn’t going anywhere, with a Supreme Court case involving Monsanto set for this April. Glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. But does glyphosate cause cancer? And how much exposure is actually risky? With so much mistrust in institutions and corporations (and some genuine conflicts of interest), making sense of the actual scientific evidence is genuinely hard. Here is a translation of what the scientific evidence actually says. Does glyphosate cause harm? Glyphosate is an herbicide that kills most plants it contacts rather than targeting specific species. It works by blocking an enzyme pathway (EPSPS) that plants and many microorganisms need to produce essential amino acids. Without those amino acids, the plant can’t grow and dies. Glyphosate was first developed by Monsanto in the 1970s and became ubiquitous after the company introduced “Roundup Ready” crops in the 1990s. In 2024, Bayer removed glyphosate from residential Roundup-branded products due to litigation pressure. But today it is still the most widely used herbicide in the world. Farmers also discovered they could spray it directly on crops like oats, lentils, beans, and peas just before harvest to dry them out faster and make harvesting easier. Because of its widespread use, it’s obviously really important to understand if it’s harmful to humans. The key principle: The dose makes the poison The most important concept in toxicology is that “the dose makes the poison.” Sixteenth-century physician Paracelsus articulated what remains the foundational principle of toxicology: sola dosis facit venenum. Water will kill you if you drink enough of it. Aspirin saves lives at 81 milligrams and causes internal bleeding at higher chronic doses. So, at what dose is glyphosate poisonous? The LD50 in rats (the dose that kills half the test animals) is around 5,600 mg/kg body weight. Table salt is roughly 3,000 mg/kg. By that classic measure, glyphosate is less acutely toxic than salt. But some people are exposed to a lot of glyphosate through their work. And among the general public, there are many questions about low-dose, cumulative exposure from multiple sources over long periods. Does glyphosate cause health problems? Cancer Correlation maps are striking, with one analysis finding that 60% of counties that spray the most glyphosate have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma rates above the national average. But correlation alone doesn’t establish cause, which is why animal and human studies matter. In animals: Rat studies are typically what most fear is rooted in, but most people don’t know the study details on the dosage given to rats. A pooled analysis of the 13 most rigorous rat studies found evidence that very high doses, around 55,000 times greater than typical food residue exposure, can cause certain cancers. In humans: One of the strongest studies followed 55,000 herbicide users over 20 years and found no overall increased cancer risk. There was one signal: among those with the highest use, rates of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) appeared elevated. A broader meta-analysis of 18 human studies also found no overall cancer risk, though a separate meta-analysis focused specifically on non-Hodgkin lymphoma found that people with high cumulative glyphosate exposure faced a 41% higher relative risk compared to those with low or no exposure. These human studies are observational studies (randomized controlled trials would be unethical), and meta-analyses are only as reliable as the studies they pool. But the story seems consistent: at very high exposure levels, there may be some cancer risk. But that’s about as far as the science currently takes us. Emerging research: gut and reproductive health Gut: Because glyphosate targets a pathway that exists in some gut bacteria, scientists have questioned whether it could affect the microbiome. In mice, a 2023 University of Iowa study found that glyphosate altered gut bacterial composition and raised markers of intestinal inflammation. A 2024 systematic review found similar patterns: disrupted gut bacteria and problems with the mucus layer that protects the intestinal wall in mice. Whether this translates to humans is an open question. The human gut is highly variable and resistant, and we don't yet have strong studies confirming the same effects in people. Reproductive health: Animal studies have found that glyphosate-based herbicides can interfere with reproductive hormones, including disrupting egg cell development in mice and reducing the number of eggs available in sheep’s ovaries. However, the doses used in these experiments were high, so it’s not yet clear whether the same effects would occur in humans. On the human side, a 2021 pilot study led by Mount Sinai researchers tested urine samples from pregnant women across the U.S. and found glyphosate in 95% of them. The study also found a possible connection between higher glyphosate exposure during pregnancy and a subtle physical difference measured in female newborns. That said, some connections weren’t statistically reliable and this was a small study. The researchers themselves said more and larger studies are needed before drawing firm conclusions. What do regulators say about glyphosate safety? In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans" (Group 2A). The classification is worth taking seriously. But, there’s an important distinction: IARC classifies hazard, meaning the potential to cause harm under some conditions. It does not assess risk, which accounts for actual exposure levels and the real-world probability of harm. The U.S. EPA, the European Food Safety Authority, Health Canada, and regulatory agencies in Australia and Japan have all concluded that glyphosate is “unlikely to be carcinogenic to humans” at realistic exposure levels. They’re asking a different question: given how much of this people actually encounter, what is the probability of harm? Your actual exposure is what determines your actual risk. What does glyphosate mean for your daily life? At the grocery store: Food residues are small. The EPA’s acceptable daily intake is 1.75 mg/kg of body weight per day. To hit that threshold from oatmeal alone, a 150-pound adult would need to eat roughly 50 pounds of oats every day. But this calculation addresses only one pathway (food), and we don’t yet have robust tools to measure people’s actual total exposure. If reducing exposure matters to you, organic certification prohibits synthetic herbicides, and organic oat products generally test at lower or undetectable levels. Either way, a diet rich in whole grains, conventional or organic, is far better for your health than one that omits them out of fear of residues. On the farm: Occupational exposure is orders of magnitude higher than consumer exposure. Farmers and farm workers who mix, load, and apply glyphosate-based herbicides, especially without protective equipment, face meaningfully different risk profiles. Proper PPE isn’t optional. Integrated weed management strategies that rotate chemical modes of action are also worth taking seriously, both for health and for long-term effectiveness. If you live near a farm: Spray drift is real. Concentrations near field edges can spike during and after application, particularly on windy days. This is an area where I think public health could really step up and empower rural communities with buffer zones, rather than placing the onus on individuals. But for now, knowing your local agricultural calendar and keeping windows closed during application are the first steps. Bottom line Dewayne Johnson was exposed to glyphosate at levels most people will never encounter, and a jury decided he deserved compensation. That outcome is not evidence that the oatmeal in your pantry is dangerous. But it is a reminder that the dose, the context, and the person doing the exposing all matter enormously. Glyphosate is a chemical tool with benefits, trade-offs, and genuine open scientific questions. Learning to hold that complexity without collapsing into panic or dismissal is, honestly, one of the most useful and hardest things to do in navigating modern health science. Love, YLE Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) is founded and operated by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH PhD—an epidemiologist, wife, and mom of two little girls. Hannah Totte, MPH, is an epidemiologist and YLE Community Manager. YLE reaches more than 425,000 people in over 132 countries with one goal: “Translate” the ever-evolving public health science so that people will be well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. This newsletter is free to everyone, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support the effort, subscribe or upgrade below: Subscribe
The Best Noise-Canceling Headphone Deals from Sony, Bose, and Beats for Amazon's Big Spring Sale
Amazon's Big Spring Sale features major discounts on popular headphones like Sony WH-1000XM6, Bose QuietComfort Ultra, and Beats Studio Pro.
“Redemption Arc Complete” — Sunderland AFC Have Returned!
There’s no need to quietly ghost around town anymore, trying to hide who we are. It feels as if we’ve tunnelled under the Berlin Wall and to freedom.We are Sunderland AFC. And we’re back.
What's for Lunch? 25 Years of Inspired Science in Schools
The Sisters in Science student organization has quietly shaped young learners in Kalamazoo by presenting hands-on experiences in schools.
I go to Florida often; favorite destination is quiet, lesser-known
I grew up visiting family in Fort Pierce, Florida, and I think of this beach city as a hidden gem. The beaches are relatively uncrowded and beautiful.
Tusk claims no surprise over alleged Hungarian leaks to Moscow
Polish Prime Minister said suspicions had long made him keep quiet during EU Council talks
Robert Mueller, ex-FBI director at center of political tempest, dies at 81
After building a reputation for quiet rectitude, he became a political target as special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Nvidia is quietly building a multibillion-dollar behemoth to rival its chips business
Nvidia's networking business raked in $11 billion last quarter despite getting significantly less fanfare than chips and gaming.
Google is quietly testing a Discover tab in Gemini, alongside a host of UI changes
We spotted a mysterious new Discover tab and multiple Gemini UI changes in our latest APK teardown of the Google app.
Apple Cracks Down on ‘Vibe Coding’ Apps
Apple has quietly prevented AI vibe coding apps such as Replit and Vibecode, which help people create games and other applications, from releasing updates to their mobile apps on the App Store unless they make modifications, according to several people with knowledge of the situation. The ...
Your daily coffee may be protecting your brain, 43-year study finds
Your morning coffee or tea could be quietly supporting your brain health. A long-term study found that moderate consumption of caffeinated coffee or tea was linked to an 18% lower risk of dementia and better cognitive performance over time. The benefits appeared strongest at 2–3 cups of coffee or 1–2 cups of tea daily—and even held true for people genetically predisposed to dementia.
Dell's workforce quietly shrank 10% in the last year
Dell's employee headcount has fallen by 27% in the last three years, the tech giant's latest 10-K filing showed.
Why Did Almost No Oscar Speeches Mention ICE or Iran?
A room full of yappers went very quiet on Iran and ICE. That's bad for democracy.
Apple quietly launches AirPods Max 2
The successor to its premium headphones cost $549 and are launching with enhanced active noise cancellation, the H2 chip, live translation, better sound quality, and more.
Apple's M5 Max in the MacBook Pro 16 is around 15 % faster compared to the MacBook Pro 14
Apple's new M5 Max SoC shows its full potential in the larger MacBook Pro 16 and the performance is noticeably better compared to the MacBook Pro 14. The performance is also stable, and the fans are quieter at the same time.
Microsoft quietly scraps plans to bring Copilot to notifications and Settings on Windows 11 as it moves to reduce AI bloat across the OS
Originally announced in 2024, Microsoft's plan to integrate Copilot across various areas of the Windows 11 shell has been shelved as the company reevaluates its AI approach in the OS.
Apple Kicks Off 50th Anniversary With Surprise Alicia Keys Concert in New York
Apple mysteriously shut down its Grand Central Terminal store in New York City today, and it turns out it was for an impromptu Alicia Keys concert to celebrate Apple's upcoming 50th anniversary. Apple quietly invited select YouTubers and members of the media (including MacRumors) to the store location, but kept the performer secret until Alicia Keys took the stage.
Washington’s Jedd Fisch Considered Among CFB's Most Underrated Coaches
At 15-11 overall through his first 26 games at Washington, third-year coach Jedd Fisch is quietly building a contender in the Big Ten Conference.
Time to pay your last respects to Microsoft's "This is an Xbox" campaign, as it appears to have been killed off
Microsoft appears to have quietly removed its marketing campaign which proclaimed the Xbox was less of a console and more of a platform.