With modern seismic tomography, Earth scientists have discovered that above Earth's core-mantle boundary (CMB), about 2,900 kilometers beneath our feet, there is a thin layer about 300 kilometers thick with remarkable structural complexity and compositional heterogeneity. Among these features are sm…

Christmas is just around the corner, and you might be wondering how to spend those long, lazy afternoons. If you're tired of the same old Monopoly, perhaps it's time to try Settlers of Catan.

Tohoku University and Fujitsu Limited have successfully used AI to derive new insights into the superconductivity mechanism of a new superconducting material.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators have developed a new type of lidar—a laser-based remote-sensing instrument—that can observe cloud structures at the scale of a single centimeter. The scientists used this high-resolution lidar to dir…

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Growth raises concerns about underwriting and risk management at fast-expanding groups

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have imaged the largest protoplanetary disk ever observed circling a young star. For the first time in visible light, Hubble has revealed the disk is unexpectedly chaotic and turbulent, with wisps of material stretching much farther above and below the…

Behind the move is a sharp narrowing in the profitability of the basis trade, in which traders attempt to capture a spread by buying spot bitcoin while selling BTC futures.

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In their own statement, the band’s other members confirmed they had parted ways with Farrell

The president has made immigration an early priority to start second term, with ICE making more than 900 arrests Sunday.

This blog is now closedSydney council seeks to shut down Islamic centre linked to controversial preacher Wisam HaddadGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastShareholders have overwhelmingly thrown their support behind a deal to create an Australian media giant spanning television,…

Andrew Mankus, MIT’s award-winning director of dining, describes why leading with a “students-first mentality” leads to better food offerings for the entire community.

Card providers can decide whether to offer unlimited payments on contactless cards.

Also in today’s newsletter: ByteDance’s AI spending spree, and private credit firms snap up consumer debt

RIKEN physicists have discovered for the first time why the magnitude of the electron flow depends on direction in a special kind of magnet. This finding could help to realize future low-energy devices.

The political point scoring that has erupted after the terror attack last week is unusual in Australia, where leaders tend to unite after catastrophes.

Researchers have developed a tool that reliably predicts where destructive new roads are likely to carve through tropical forests, giving environmentalists and public health officials a head-start in identifying at-risk areas and potential disease outbreaks in humans.

As a longtime Pixel user, here are the features that make a significant difference in my day-to-day life.

The correspondent behind the story says it was postponed for political reasons, while network says it needs more work.

Tensions high as an end-of-year deadline to incorporate the Kurdish-led SDF into the Syrian armed forces approaches.

Paramount Skydance isn't giving up on obtaining Warner Bros. Discovery just yet. The company has amended its $108 billion offer to include Larry Ellison's "irrevocable personal guarantee" equaling $40.4 billion. Ellison is the founder or Oracle and a backer of Skydance, created by his son David Elli…

And more health news from Morning Rounds

And other biotech news, brought to you by The Readout newsletter

The adverts for prescription-only drugs showed healthcare professionals impersonating the British retailer.

The annual instalment of the massive series faces new challenges from competitor Battlefield 6.

New treatments promise to make buildings fire-resistant without using older, toxic chemicals.

The company expanded its USD buffer runway beyond 2027, supporting dividends and reduces refinancing risk ahead of the next bitcoin halving.

The U.S. grew at a snappy 4.3% annual pace in the third quarter — the biggest increase in two years — but the economy is unlikely to match that feat in the waning months of 2025 due partly to the long government shutdown.

Kroger boosts its stock buyback program, just as the shares are in danger of having their worst month in three years.

The conservative Salem Radio Network is tapping CNN commentator Scott Jennings and Breitbart News' Alex Marlow to fill its national midday slot formerly held by slain activist Charlie Kirk.Why it matters: The noon–3pm ET block — once commanded by Rush Limbaugh — is a staple of conservative talk radi…

Data: American Edge Project and Technology Councils of North America; Map: Axios VisualsNearly 3,000 new data centers are under construction or planned across the U.S., per a new analysis shared first with Axios — adding to the more than 4,000 already in operation.Why it matters: Big tech and many l…

Ready for some wordplay? Sharpen your skills with Slate’s puzzle for Dec. 23, 2025.

Congress struck back in a little-noticed move that shifted power away from the Trump administration.

The legendary DJ mix is available to stream exclusively via Apple Music

It used to be the most wonderful time of year for the retail and hospitality sectors, but consumer behaviour is shifting

Concern over rural economies as distilleries left with a surplus that has forced some to pause or scale back production

UC Riverside scientists have created a small-scale system that transforms food waste into high-protein animal feed and fertilizer using black soldier flies, offering a sustainable solution to a major environmental problem.

As the summer holidays begin in Australia, parents may feel concerned their children will "forget how to spell their own names" during the long school break.

Move over, Santa. Now there’s another magical character for kids to track: the Tooth Fairy. After making a personalized Tooth Fairy video for his nephew, Oliver Finel noticed a gap. While there are plenty of Santa trackers, nothing similar existed for the Tooth Fairy. Recognizing that Generation Alp…

A rundown of the best underground metal releases of 2025, as picked by Heavy Consequence's Langdon Hickman and Colin Dempsey.
Mining Metal: The Best Underground Metal Albums of 2025
Langdon Hickman and Colin Dempsey

Justice secretary urged to ‘show a bit of humanity’ with protesters severely ill after refusing food for weeksWho are the Palestine Action hunger strikers and what are the health risks?Families and supporters of Palestine Action-affiliated hunger strikers have pleaded with David Lammy to meet them i…

Why would writing about fighting fascism offend right-wingers to the point they would send death threats?

Did you know Amazon's Rufus AI tool can alert you to price drops and even snag deals for you? That's just one of several game-changing features.

Greater Manchester mayor acknowledges ‘pain and suffering’ after region’s police chief declined to apologiseThe mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has apologised for past police failings towards LGBTQ+ people, acknowledging “unacceptable discrimination and the pain and suffering it caused”.C…

U-turn lifts limit from £1m to £2.5m after protests and warnings that family farms were at riskMinisters will increase the threshold for taxing inherited farmland from £1m to £2.5m after months of pressure from campaigners and MPs representing rural areas.In a statement slipped out just before Chris…

And other pharma news from the Pharmalot campus via the Pharmalittle newsletter

And more health news from Morning Rounds today

Chinese biotech is in the midst of a full-blown Cambrian explosion, writes Brian Finrow.

The world's largest asset manager is promoting its underperforming bitcoin fund over higher-fee winners, signaling long-term commitment.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Tuesday formally dropped the decades-old federal recommendation that all infants receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.Why it matters: The widely anticipated move marks the Trump administration's first major change to the U.S. childhood vaccinat…

Enough with the drama.

Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, summed it up in three words: “This is embarrassing.”   Hassabis was replying on X to an overexcited post by Sébastien Bubeck, a research scientist at the rival firm OpenAI, announcing that two mathematicians had used OpenAI’s latest large language model, GPT-5…

A study conducted during the 2024 French elections finds that information about immigrants' efforts to overcome poverty and learn French reduces negative beliefs about immigration and modestly decreases opposition to immigration among voters. The study is published in the journal PNAS Nexus.

The country is focused on exports, but China is slowing imports and U.S. tariff threats are growing. Politicians are offering few alternatives.

The president, calling the heavily bombed enclave “a demolition site,” proposed relocating Palestinians temporarily or long-term, a move rejected by Arab countries since the war began.

The singer's character got the Grinch pregnant. You read that right.
Ariana Grande Falls for The Grinch in Love Is Blind Parody Sketch on SNL
Trey Alston

“There is a great deal of…longing.”

A new method could enable users to design portable medical devices, like a splint, that can be rapidly converted from flat panels to a 3D object without any tools.

“There is a great deal of…longing.”

Artists Rights Enforcement Corporation claims Warwick owes them “hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars” in royalties

Airline plans to appeal against competition authority’s ‘bizarre’ and ‘unsound’ ruling

Maryland officials have confirmed a second positive test for bird flu at a commercial poultry operation in Queen Anne's County, the 10th detection in the state in 2025, as public health experts warn the virus continues to pose a serious threat to animals—but remains a low risk for most people.

The Israeli parliament has voted to extend the bill, which allows the shutdown of foreign media outlets, until 2027.

As many of us hunker down for the holidays, you might want to tackle some of the best games we’ve seen this year: the long-time-coming Silksong, the critically acclaimed (and sumptuous) Expedition 33 and the bizarre world of Baby Steps.
Engadget
Not to mention the Switch 2, which is slowly building …

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And other biotech news brought to you by The Readout

Spending limits for 2025 to be extended into new year but officials warn new budget is needed to finance investments

More than a billion years ago, in a shallow basin across what is now northern Ontario, a subtropical lake much like modern-day Death Valley evaporated under the sun's gentle heat, leaving behind crystals of halite—rock salt.

The Chinese foreign minister spoke by phone with Marco Rubio, the new secretary of state who has been a critic of Beijing.

With one text, you can trigger a front or rear camera photo, grab your iPhone's exact location, and even blare a sound.

Plus, the biggest lottery jackpots ever.

Several veteran correspondents questioned how Ms. Weiss, the new CBS News editor in chief, had handled the segment, after she defended her decision on a call with the newsroom.

Copies of Jeffrey Epstein’s last will and testament show that the convicted sex offender and disgraced financier provide a real-time glimpse of the power players who were part of his life.

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for all things “future of transportation.”

Move over, Santa. Now there’s another magical character for kids to track: the Tooth Fairy. After making a personalized Tooth Fairy video for his nephew, Oliver Finel noticed a gap. While there are plenty of Santa trackers, nothing similar existed for the Tooth Fairy. Recognizing that Generation Alp…

France's postal service, La Poste, said it was hit by a disruptive cyberattack that knocked its services offline.

Spotify says it has identified and disabled the user accounts involved in the scraping.

A timeline of ChatGPT product updates and releases, starting with the latest, which we’ve been updating throughout the year.

It's the latest attempt by one major Hollywood superpower to acquire another.

A complete list of all the known layoffs in tech, from Big Tech to startups, broken down by month throughout 2025.

Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani are leading candidates for politically themed Christmas gifts in the US.

Police arrest three people outside insurer of Israeli arms maker Elbit, including Thunberg for holding placard.

The transitional government's proposal would see RSF forces give up territory and weapons, to bring an end to the war.

Once upon a time, a "board game" meant Monopoly or Risk. Then several brave souls dared to ask the question: "What if this was fun?" Thirty years later, we're blessed with tabletop games that challenge our minds, immerse us in other worlds and conjure good times with those we love — sometimes all th…

This late in the game, it’s not possible to ship gifts to friends and family and have them arrive before the holidays. But that’s ok because it’s never been easier to give a digital gift that will arrive basically whenever you want it to. If you’re looking for more creative digital gift ideas, we’ve…

Faraway road trips just got a lot easier, at least for the passengers. Sony Honda Mobility, the joint venture between the two Japanese conglomerates created to produce electric vehicles, announced that its Afeela EV will come with PS Remote Play. While playing video games in a car may be a niche fea…

It might be hard to believe, but foldable phones have already been around for the better part of a decade. Granted, the first one I saw back in 2019 — which actually predates Samsung's Galaxy Fold — was a cobbled-together mess. But since then, phone makers have been steadily iterating and tweaking t…

As we hurtle towards the end of the year, the shadow of CES hovers on the horizon. Tech’s biggest annual conference is starting in just under two weeks, and we already know some of the products and announcements that could be in store. The CES 2026 show floor is officially open from January 6 throug…

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If all you know or remember of the eponymous biblical character’s story is that he defeated a hulking giant with a humble slingshot, then “David” might have some surprises in store for you — chief among them, the fact that the film continues for a full hour after this famous, seemingly climactic sho…

The FDA has approved the oral version of Novo Nordisk’s injectable weight loss drug Wegovy, making it the first GLP-1 pill to be cleared by regulators for obesity.

3 key issues to watch at FDA as Makary struggles to stabilize the agency

Federal agencies that used to set up guardrails for health technology have transformed into cheerleaders for new risky technologies like AI.

With Europe imposing sanctions on Moscow, there has been a growing network of vessels sailing without a valid flag from Russia through European waters.

Nvidia boss Jensen Huang is among the influential tech figures that adorn one of the two covers.

Teenagers affected by Australia's under-16 social media ban showed the BBC what happened when they tried to access their accounts.

Most tokens that debuted this year are trading below their initial valuations.

Gold and copper have outperformed other major assets this year, with gold rallying more than copper.