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Humanity is the closest it's ever been to catastrophe. That's according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, who this week moved the hand of their "Doomsday Clock" to 89 seconds to midnight. The clock is a metaphor for how close humanity is to self-annihilation, with midnight representing an Earth-shattering global catastrophe — and this year's update is not looking good.
Joining the list of threats against humanity alongside nuclear weapons, climate change, bioweapons and infectious disease is the unregulated development of disruptive technologies, specifically artificial intelligence (AI), which the organization says makes it easier to spread misinformation and disinformation.
But AI can do so much more than generate words and pictures on a screen, and — if appropriately regulated — can be used in novel and creative ways to help us understand the world around us.
An artist's depiction of esmGFP, the new fluorescent protein created by ESM3.
(Image credit: EvolutionaryScale)
Scientists have used AI to create a new glowing protein that they say would have taken half a billion years to evolve in nature. The glowing protein — which currently exists only as computer code — is similar to those found in fluorescent jellyfish and corals.
The program, called ESM3, does not design proteins within the constraints of normal evolution. Instead, it is fed incomplete instructions to make proteins and uses its knowledge of fundamental biology to fill in the blanks.
The researchers hope that the program will help in the development of new medicines in the future.
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By sleeping upside down, bats can more easily avoid predators.
(Image credit: Rapeepong Puttakumwong via Getty Images)
When bats aren't in the sky, they are often seen dangling from cave ceilings, or the undersides of bridges. But if a human were to do this we would soon start to slip and have a massive head rush. So how come bats can rest in this peculiar position, and why do they do it in the first place?
To their surprise, all five of the "letters" that make up life's genetic codes — DNA and RNA — were found in the space rock's samples, alongside minerals rich in carbon, sulfur, phosphorus, fluorine and sodium — the basic building blocks for life.
Alexander the great died in 323 B.C. and his body was eventually moved to Alexandria, Egypt. But the location of his tomb was lost centuries ago.
(Image credit: Rocio Espin Pinar)
Alexander the Great is one of the most famous rulers of the ancient world. As king of Macedonia from 336 B.C. to 323 B.C., he conquered an enormous empire, stretching from the Balkans to modern-day Pakistan. But his reign was brought to an abrupt halt when he died at the age of 32. His cause of death is highly disputed, and his tomb has been lost for centuries.
Hundreds have searched for the tomb, to no avail, and theories of its location range from his homeland of Macedonia (now Greece) to Egypt. But researchers say they are closer than ever before to finding this renowned resting place.
If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best long reads, book excerpts and interviews published this week.
The newly-translated document is called 'Papyrus Cotton'
(Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority)
This 1,900-year-old papyrus has finally been deciphered by archaeologists, revealing the details of a tense court case during the Roman occupation of Israel. The discovery offers key insights into criminal cases from the time and answers longstanding questions about slave ownership in the region.
The scroll has been described as the best-documented Roman court case from Judaea aside from the trial of Jesus.
Pandora is the trending news editor at Live Science. She is also a science presenter and previously worked as Senior Science and Health Reporter at Newsweek. Pandora holds a Biological Sciences degree from the University of Oxford, where she specialised in biochemistry and molecular biology.
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