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Evaluation of possibly fabricated references in 500,000 science, engineering, and computing papers

AI is creating fabrications in scientific papers.

A recent study published in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) and related scientific audits reveal a sharp rise in fabricated and hallucinated references in peer-reviewed literature driven by the uncritical use of artificial intelligence writing tools, paper mills, and publication misconduct.

Key Findings on Fabricated References.

• Rising Numbers: Audits of peer-reviewed journal papers show that fabricated references have increased dramatically (moving from roughly 1 in 1600 papers up to 1 in 435 science and engineering papers in recent tracking).

• Broad Impact: While initially flagged heavily in biomedical and clinical research, recent audits (including work highlighted via EurekAlert!) found suspected fake citations spanning physics, chemistry, engineering, and computing journals.

• How AI Hallucinates Citations: Large language models predict text based on statistical patterns rather than consulting a live database of facts. They frequently generate convincing-looking fake titles, scrambled authors, mismatched publication years, or fake DOIs.

• The “Real Paper, Wrong Claim” Risk: Some AI tools link to a real, existing paper, but misattribute or invent a claim that the actual source material never stated—a trap that is often harder to catch than a completely nonexistent citation.

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There can be no ultimate map of the universe

What if the problem with cosmology is not that we lack the ultimate map of reality, but that no such map can exist? Philosopher Jenann Ismael, whose work is at the leading edge of trying to connect the theories of physics to our conscious experiences of reality, argues here that there can be no complete map or model of physical facts. There can be no oracle that truthfully answers every question of fact about the world it inhabits. Drawing on self-referential arguments in mathematics, she argues that any attempt to grasp the universe as a totality from within will fail. This raises the question of whether we can speak about the universe as a single object of inquiry, whether a complete physical theory is possible, and whether it makes sense to look for quantum descriptions of the entire cosmos.

Isolator-free optical transmitter could simplify high-speed links between data centers

The growing demand for faster data exchange between data centers calls for compact, high-speed optical transmitters. Researchers from Japan developed an integrated optical transmitter that mitigates the destabilizing effects of unwanted optical feedback, allowing stable laser operation without an optical isolator.

The device operates across a wavelength range of approximately 67 nm and demonstrates data transmission at 180 Gbit/s, offering a promising approach to compact, high-capacity optical communication systems.

Photonic chip splits mixed light into 3 modes for sharper imaging

Researchers at Stanford University and collaborating institutions have developed a photonic chip that can separate partially coherent light into distinct, mutually incoherent beams, potentially helping cameras, microscopes and telescopes capture information that conventional imaging can miss.

The fingernail-sized device uses a network of light-processing components and an optimisation algorithm to identify and physically separate the underlying coherence modes within a mixed optical field.

The advance, published October 30 in Nature Photonics, demonstrates a capability that researchers had proposed theoretically decades ago but had not previously achieved experimentally.

NASA space telescope plunges to Earth after two decades studying cosmic explosions

One of NASA’s premier space telescopes plunged to Earth on Wednesday, ending its 22-year investigation of the universe’s biggest explosions.

The Swift Observatory’s demise came less than three months after a long-shot rescue mission failed.

The U.S. Space Force confirmed Swift’s reentry near Indonesia after tracking its sinking orbit, the result of intense solar activity the past few years.