Ben Turner is a U.K. based writer and editor at Live Science. He covers physics and astronomy, tech and climate change. He graduated from University College London with a degree in particle physics before training as a journalist. When he's not writing, Ben enjoys reading literature, playing the guitar and embarrassing himself with chess.
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'Secrets of the Penguins' will take penguin observations 'to another level,' executive producer James CameronA three-part documentary on penguins' hidden lives will reveal a number of never-before-seen moments. Here's what executive producer James Cameron said about what to expect.
By Ben Turner Published
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Curiosity rover finds largest carbon chains on Mars from 3.7 billion-year-old rockNASA's Curiosity Rover has discovered long carbon chains on Mars. On Earth, molecules like these are overwhelmingly produced by biological processes.
By Jess Thomson Published
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NASA rover reveals signs of crucial life-sustaining process on MarsSamples drilled by the Curiosity rover on Mars have revealed abundant signs of a carbon cycle that remained hidden from orbital scans, alongside clues of how life may have been wiped out on the planet.
By Ben Turner Published
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Inequality isn't inevitable in civilizations, 10,000 years of archaeological evidence revealsA study of 50,000 houses from the late Pleistocene to the onset of European colonialism has revealed that social inequality isn't inevitable, but rather a consequence of political choices.
By Ben Turner Published
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Elusive neutrinos' mass just got halved — and it could mean physicists are close to solving a major cosmic mysteryPhysicists have set a new upper limit on the mass of neutrinos. And the finding could poke a big hole in the Standard Model of particle physics.
By Ben Turner Published
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Astronomers are shocked to find our galaxy's nearest neighbor is being torn to shredsAn analysis of star movements from the Gaia spacecraft reveals that the Small Magellanic Cloud — a satellite galaxy bound to the Milky Way — is being torn apart by its larger neighbor.
By Ben Turner Published
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Physicists create hottest Schrödinger's cat ever in quantum breakthroughPhysicists have replicated the famous Schrödinger's cat experiment at hotter temperatures than ever before. The breakthrough is a small but significant step toward quantum computers that can work at normal temperatures.
By Ben Turner Published
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Quantum computing breakthrough could make 'noise' — forces that disrupt calculations — a thing of the pastUseful quantum networks are hobbled by the problem of decoherence from environmental "noise." But a new breakthrough could change that.
By Ben Turner Published
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Using AI reduces your critical thinking skills, Microsoft study warnsA survey of workers who use AI has revealed the tools could be slowly impairing our critical thinking skills.
By Ben Turner Published
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NASA's SPHEREx telescope 'opens its eyes on the universe', taking stunning debut image of 100,000 galaxies and starsSPHEREx's first images — containing roughly 100,000 points of light stars, galaxies and nebulae — have confirmed that the telescope is working according to its design.
By Ben Turner Published
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'We didn't expect to find such a beautiful, thriving ecosystem': Hidden world of life discovered beneath Antarctic icebergThe newfound ecosystem is filled with sea crabs, octopuses and gigantic sponges, suggesting it may have been thriving for centuries.
By Ben Turner Published
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Watch eerie video of humanoid robot 'army' marching naturally, thanks to a major AI upgradeFigure 02's human-like gait is the product of the company's simulated reinforcement learning system, and is just the beginning of its plans to make its robots perform physical tasks more naturally.
By Ben Turner Published
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Current AI models a 'dead end' for human-level intelligence, scientists agreeIn a new survey, 76% of scientists said that scaling large language models was "unlikely" or "very unlikely" to achieve AGI.
By Ben Turner Published
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China's superfast charging technology is twice as fast as Tesla's — fully recharging EVs in just 6 minutesBYD's e-platform charges twice as fast as Tesla's superchargers, meaning its cars can travel up to 250 miles on a five-minute charge
By Ben Turner Published
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Scientists break down cheap plastic using the air — and turn it into something far more valuableScientists developed a new method for breaking down one of the most common plastics to a byproduct that can be upcycled into more valuable materials.
By Ben Turner Published
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'I was astonished': Ancient galaxy discovered by James Webb telescope contains the oldest oxygen scientists have ever seenScientists have made the record-breaking detection of oxygen in an ancient galaxy that existed just 300 million years after the Big Bang. The detection is prompting astronomers to rethink how quickly stars and galaxies formed in the young universe.
By Ben Turner Published
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'The universe has thrown us a curveball': Largest-ever map of space reveals we might have gotten dark energy totally wrongFindings from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) suggest that dark energy could be evolving over time. If they're right, cosmology will need a new model.
By Ben Turner Published
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'Welcome home!': NASA astronauts who spent 9 months in orbit finally back on EarthAfter nine months in space, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have splash-landed off the coast of Florida.
By Ben Turner Published
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When will the 'stranded' NASA astronauts return to Earth?After spending more than nine months in space, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally coming home. NASA is targeting a Tuesday evening (March 18) splashdown for the returning astronauts, if weather conditions remain favorable.
By Ben Turner Published
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Punishing AI doesn't stop it from lying and cheating — it just makes it hide better, study showsScientists at OpenAI have attempted to stop a frontier AI model from cheating and lying by punishing it. But this just taught it to scheme more privately.
By Ben Turner Published
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Google's AI 'co-scientist' cracked 10-year superbug problem in just 2 daysScientists took 10 years to figure out how one type of superbug gains its ability to infect diverse bacterial species. When prompted, Google's new AI "co-scientist" gave them the answer in two days.
By Ben Turner Published
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Finally! NASA and SpaceX launch Crew-10 mission to bring 'stranded' ISS astronauts back to EarthButch Wilmore and Sunni Williams have spent nine months aboard the International Space Station following the failure of Boeing’s Starliner mission. Their rescue rocket has finally been launched.
By Ben Turner Published
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Saturn gains 128 new moons, giving it more than the rest of the solar system combinedFaint signatures detected by the Canada France Hawaii Telescope have revealed 128 new moons around Saturn, making it the indisputable frontrunner for having the most moons in our solar system.
By Ben Turner Published
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Liftoff! NASA launches SPHEREx telescope — an infrared observatory that will help JWST solve the mysteries of the universeNASA's newly-launched SPHEREx space telescope will offer a complementary 'panoramic' view to the JWST's high resolution infrared snapshots, enabling astronomers to study some of the universe's biggest mysteries.
By Ben Turner Published

