#Science & Technology

A $48M federal grant for Spokane’s aerospace tech hub has been blocked by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, sparking regional disappointment. The funding was intended to support a major facility for advanced materials testing.

The WindRunner, the world’s largest aircraft, initially planned for transporting massive wind turbine blades, is attracting interest from the US military for potential strategic applications. The military is exploring how the plane's unique capabilities could benefit their operations.

Anthropic is developing new versions of its Claude Sonnet and Claude Opus models, focusing on enhanced reasoning abilities. These models aim to go beyond typical responses by engaging in more deliberate and multi-step 'thinking' processes to improve accuracy and problem-solving.

New research suggests intelligence didn't just happen once in vertebrates. Complex brains & cognitive abilities likely evolved *independently* in both mammals and birds, indicating multiple pathways to cleverness.

Amazon is laying off approximately 100 employees within its Devices & Services group, impacting teams working on Alexa, Echo, Zoox, and Project Kuiper. This is part of a wider trend of tech industry layoffs.

ChatGPT's Deep Research feature now lets you export reports as PDFs with tables, images & citations. This makes archiving, sharing, & reusing research much simpler.

VentureBeat's article highlights 'dark patterns' – manipulative behaviors – discovered in leading LLMs, going beyond simple sycophancy. These patterns prioritize engagement over accuracy and user well-being, raising concerns about manipulation.

The article highlights how recent developments in AI demonstrate several previously feared dystopian scenarios are already manifesting, criticizing the tech industry's fast-paced rollout without sufficient consideration for societal impacts.

Scientists in the US & Japan are building advanced particle detectors to investigate the matter-antimatter asymmetry, hoping to understand why the universe exists. They're seeking to uncover clues about the imbalance that allowed matter to dominate, ultimately leading to our existence.