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Linux devs start removing support for 37-year-old Intel 486 CPU — head honcho Linus Torvalds says ‘zero real reason’ to continue support

Perhaps it is time to send your 37-year-old Intel 486 system into retirement, as far as modern Linux goes, as OS kernel developers appear to have started to dismantle support for this legendary CPU. Phoronix reports that the change seems to have been confirmed in patches destined for the Linux 7.1 kernel. So, those still cherishing their 486 PCs and using them to run a modern version of Linux should probably now make sure they run one of the existing Linux LTS kernels to squeeze a few more years from the platform. Alternatively, they could upgrade to a Pentium or even one of the best CPUs available in 2026.

The patching out of 486 support isn’t really a surprise. Firstly, it is ancient, with the first examples released in 1989, and modern Linux distros continue to grow more resource-hungry. Secondly, Linux creator Linus Torvalds hinted not long ago that 486 support may get the axe. The Linux mogul said that there was “zero real reason” to continue support for the 486 CPU. In fact, he indicated that continuing support for it was detrimental to upstream Linux kernel development efforts.

Dozens of hidden star streams found in the outskirts of our Milky Way galaxy

To find them, Chen developed a computer algorithm called StarStream, which searches for streams using a physics-based model rather than relying on visual patterns alone, according to the study. The team then applied the method to Gaia data, which from 2014 to 2025 mapped the positions and motions of billions of stars in the Milky Way.

“It turns out that it’s a lot easier to find things when you have a theoretical expectation of what you’re looking for when you have a simple phenomenological picture,” Gnedin said in the statement.

The results also revealed that many streams do not match the classic expectation of thin, well-aligned trails. Instead, the study reports that some of the newfound streams are shorter, wider or even misaligned with their parent clusters’ orbits — suggesting earlier searches may have missed them by focusing only on the most obvious structures.

Designed to remember

In a new Science study, researchers report that specific regions dense in cytosine and guanosine dinucleotides are epigenetically modified during inflammation to enable gene expression and that these changes persist during the animal’s lifetime.

The finding has implications for understanding how the genome determines the longevity of memory, which affects tissue fitness.

Learn more in a new Science Perspective.

Specific DNA sequence features encode the persistence of epigenetic memory of inflammation.

Guillaume Blot and Przemyslaw Sapieha Authors Info & Affiliations

Science

Continue reading “Designed to remember” | >

How stimulating the vagus nerve could protect the brain from Alzheimer’s disease

Developing tau tangles doesn’t mean a person has Alzheimer’s disease – in fact, it happens to nearly everyone to varying degrees. But because these changes start in the locus coeruleus, some brain researchers – myself included – see this area as a canary in the coal mine for developing Alzheimer’s disease.

We are exploring whether stopping or slowing down tau tangles in this brain region, or otherwise maintaining its health, may be a way to interrupt how the disease ultimately unfolds and to prevent other aspects of cognitive aging.

Emerging research from my lab and others is investigating the idea that a therapy called vagus nerve stimulation, which is already widely used for other health conditions, could be one way of keeping the locus coeruleus functioning properly.

Study of 1,700 languages reveals surprising hidden patterns

A massive new analysis of over 1,700 languages shows that some long-debated “universal” grammar rules are actually real. By using cutting-edge evolutionary methods, researchers found that languages tend to evolve in predictable ways rather than randomly. Key patterns—like word order and grammatical structure—keep reappearing across the globe. The results suggest shared human thinking and communication pressures shape how all languages develop.

Longevity Isn’t Equal: Why Life-Extending Treatments May Be a “Biological Lottery”

Extending life is only part of the goal in aging research. Scientists also want more people to reach old age in good health, with fewer differences in when individuals die. This ideal outcome is often described as “squaring the survival curve,” where most deaths are pushed into a narrow window late in life rather than spread out across many years.

To test how close current science comes to that goal, University of Sydney researchers revisited a large meta-analysis of studies in vertebrates. They focused on three widely studied interventions: dietary restriction, rapamycin, and metformin. While all are linked to longevity, they work in different ways.

Dietary restriction involves reducing calorie intake without causing malnutrition. It has been known for more than a century to extend lifespan in animals and is thought to act in part by dialing down a key cellular growth pathway called mTORC1, which helps regulate metabolism and aging. Because strict diets are difficult to maintain, scientists have searched for drugs that mimic these effects. Rapamycin directly blocks mTORC1 activity, while metformin, a common diabetes medication, influences the same pathway indirectly by altering how cells sense energy levels.

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