
Frank Lampard offers advice to Mauricio Pochettino before Chelsea move
Frank Lampard had some words of warning for Mauricio Pochettino ahead of his arrival at Chelsea.
1970-01-01 08:00

Lewis Hamilton says racist abuse suffered by Vinícius Jr. evokes painful memories
Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton said Thursday that the racism suffered by Real Madrid forward Vinícius Jr. in Spain's La Liga reminds him of his own career experiences of discrimination.
1970-01-01 08:00

Poorer Nations Snap Up Cheap LNG in Push to Boost Economies
Countries from Asia to Latin America are snapping up natural gas cargoes as prices slump, helping replace more
1970-01-01 08:00

Saturn’s iconic rings are disappearing
Saturn’s rings might disappear pretty soon astronomically speaking, according to new research. A new analysis of data captured by NASA’s Cassini mission, which orbited the planet between 2004 and 2017, has revealed new insights into when the seven rings were formed and how long they might last. During Cassini’s Grand Finale, when the spacecraft completed 22 orbits in which it passed between Saturn and its rings, the researchers observed that the rings were losing many tons of mass per second, which means the rings will only be around another few hundred million years at most. “We have shown that massive rings like Saturn’s do not last long,” said Paul Estrada, research scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, and a coauthor of the studies, in a statement. “One can speculate that the relatively puny rings around the other ice and gas giants in our solar system are leftover remnants of rings that were once massive like Saturn’s. Maybe some time in the not-so-distant future, astronomically speaking, after Saturn’s rings are ground down, they will look more like the sparse rings of Uranus.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Saturn’s rings are made mostly of ice but have a small amount of rocky dust created by broken asteroid fragments and micrometeoroids colliding with the rings. The research also found that the rings appeared long after Saturn’s initial formation, and were still forming when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. “Our inescapable conclusion is that Saturn’s rings must be relatively young by astronomical standards, just a few hundred million years old,” said Richard Durisen, professor emeritus of astronomy at Indiana University Bloomington and lead author of the studies in a statement. “If you look at Saturn’s satellite system, there are other hints that something dramatic happened there in the last few hundred million years. If Saturn’s rings are not as old as the planet, that means something happened in order to form their incredible structure, and that is very exciting to study.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00

Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip company says it now has FDA approval for human testing
Elon Musk’s brain chip company Neuralink said on Thursday that it now has regulatory approval in the US to test its implants in human subjects. Neuralink has been building chips to be implanted into the skull for a brain-computer interface, claiming their development has the potential to help restore vision in the blind, and even help paralysed people walk again. While Mr Musk has said on several occasions since 2019 that the company is ready to go for experiments in humans to treat paralysis and blindness, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had however rejected proposals by the company to begin human clinical trials. For instance, in early 2022, when Neuralink applied for human testing, the FDA rejected the proposal saying there were “dozens of issues the company must address”. These issues flagged by the FDA included the use of lithium batteries in Neuralink’s device and the likelihood of the implant’s wires interfering with the brain. The federal agency also expressed concerns about whether the firm’s implants can be removed without causing brain damage. Neuralink has also come under the scanner of at least one US government probe after animal rights watchdogs accused the firm of “inadequate care” of its research monkeys. Reuters previously reported that the brain chip company killed about 1,500 animals, including over 280 sheep, pigs and monkeys since 2018. The US Department of Agriculture also began investigating Neuralink’s potential violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Responding to the animal abuse complaints, the company said in a blogpost that it was “absolutely committed to working with animals in the most humane and ethical way possible”. “The use of every animal was extensively planned and considered to balance scientific discovery with the ethical use of animals,” it said. In a tweet in November last year, Mr Musk said he was confident that Neuralink’s device was “ready for humans”, adding that the timing for beginning human trials was a “function of working through the FDA approval process”. “We want to be extremely careful and certain that it will work well before putting a device into a human but we’ve submitted I think most of our paperwork to the FDA and probably in about six months we should be able to upload Neuralink in a human,” the Tesla and SpaceX chief said. On Thursday, the company said it has finally received approval from the federal agency to begin trials in humans. “We are excited to share that we have received the FDA’s approval to launch our first-in-human clinical study!” the brain chip company said. The FDA approval “represents an important first step that will one day allow our technology to help many people”, Neuralink said, adding that it would soon announce more information on the recruitment of people for clinical trials. FDA hasn’t immediately responded to The Independent‘s queries on the Neuralink approval claim. Read More What is superintelligence? How AI could replace humans as the dominant lifeform on Earth Elon Musk’s Neuralink probed over shipment of ‘contaminated’ devices from ‘infected’ monkey brains When sci-fi becomes reality: could brain-machine interfaces be right around the corner?
1970-01-01 08:00

Sanctioned China stocks win sudden boost from patriotic buyers
By Samuel Shen and Tom Westbrook SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE The trademark Chinese patriotism is back at play in markets. As
1970-01-01 08:00

Asiana Airlines: Passenger arrested for opening plane door during South Korea flight
The Asiana Airlines plane landed safely in South Korea after a passenger forced open an emergency door.
1970-01-01 08:00

As US credit risk looms, former S&P officials see 2011 downgrade as vindicated
By Pete Schroeder WASHINGTON As the United States stares at the risk of a credit downgrade, former Standard
1970-01-01 08:00

Baidu will 'very soon' officially launch generative AI model, says CEO
BEIJING Chinese search engine giant Baidu's CEO Robin Li said on Friday that the company will "very soon"
1970-01-01 08:00

Venezuela: 'I'm paid to tweet state propaganda'
The Venezuelan government is paying people to tweet in support of it.
1970-01-01 08:00

FC Cincinnati sign homegrown talent 'Dado' Valenzuela
Cincy's banking on homegrown youth, signing 18-year-old midfielder Gerardo 'Dado' Valenzuela through the 2026 season – with options for 2027–28, as the team sits momentarily at the top of the Eastern Conference.
1970-01-01 08:00

FBI reveals 1980s plot to kill Queen Elizabeth II
Newly released FBI documents say there were “ever-present“ IRA threats during her US visits.
1970-01-01 08:00