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Is Earth inside a huge void? ‘Sound of Big Bang’ hints so

Earth and our entire Milky Way galaxy may sit inside a mysterious giant hole which makes the cosmos expand faster here than in neighbouring regions of the universe, astronomers say.

Their theory is a potential solution to the ‘Hubble tension’ and could help confirm the true age of our universe, which is estimated to be around 13.8 billion years old.

The latest research – shared at the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting (NAM) in Durham – shows that sound waves from the early universe, “essentially the sound of the Big Bang”, support this idea.

NVIDIA’s new AI tool enables precise editing of 3D scenes and photorealistic images

Over the past years, computer scientists have introduced increasingly sophisticated generative AI models that can produce personalized content following specific inputs or instructions. While image generation models are now widely used, many of them are unpredictable and precisely controlling the images they create remains a challenge.

In a recent paper presented at this year’s Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR 2025), held in Nashville, June 11–15, researchers at NVIDIA introduced DiffusionRenderer, a new machine learning approach that could advance the generation and editing of images, allowing users to precisely adjust specific image attributes.

“Generative AI has made huge strides in visual creation, but it introduces an entirely new creative workflow that differs from classic graphics and still struggles with controllability,” Sanja Fidler, VP of AI Research at NVIDIA and head of the Spatial Intelligence lab, told Tech Xplore.

Want to boost your brain as you age? Music might be the answer

Long-term musical training may mitigate the age-related decline in speech perception by enhancing cognitive reserve, according to a study published in PLOS Biology by Claude Alain from the Baycrest Academy for Research and Education, Canada, and Yi Du from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Normal aging is typically associated with declines in sensory and cognitive functions. These age-related changes in perception and cognition are often accompanied by increased neural activity and functional connectivity—the statistical dependence of activity between different brain regions—in widely distributed neural networks.

The recruitment of neural activity and strengthening of functional connectivity are thought to reflect a compensatory strategy employed by older adults to maintain optimal cognitive performance.

Why Did The Universe Begin?

Most cosmologists agree that our universe had a beginning. But the finer details about the Big Bang remain a mystery. A history of everything would explain all, or so theoretical physicists hoped. In his final years, Stephen Hawking working with Thomas Hertog proposed a striking idea: The laws of physics were not precisely determined before the Big Bang; they evolved as the universe evolved.

In this episode of The Joy of Why, Hertog speaks with co-host Janna Levin about his work and partnership with Hawking. Hertog, now at KU Leuven in Belgium, explains why they rejected the popular multiverse theory and instead explored the idea that the universe’s properties are a result of cosmological natural selection. According to Hertog and Hawking, these properties must be viewed through the lens of human observers, who are also the consequence of natural selection.

So, how could the universe have created the conditions needed for life to emerge? Listen to the episode below to find out.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt warns of AI superintelligence outpacing Earth’s energy limits: ‘Chips will outrun power needs’

AIs future may be limited not by chips, but by the power to run them. Eric Schmidt highlights how data centers fueling AI models are consuming record amounts of water and electricity, risking an environmental crisis. As big tech races toward superintelligence, the looming question is whether our energy grid can handle the load.

Outbreak of Chikungunya Virus Poses Global Risk, Warns WHO

The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday a major chikungunya virus epidemic risks sweeping around the globe, calling for urgent action to prevent it.

The WHO said it was picking up exactly the same early warning signs as in a major outbreak two decades ago and wanted to prevent a repeat.

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease that causes fever and severe joint pain, which is often debilitating. In some cases it can be deadly.

Macquarie University’s new study shows DNA ‘glue’ could help prevent and treat age related disorders

Macquarie University new study could hold the key to developing therapies for devastating age-related diseases such as motor neuron disease (MND), Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.

The research at Macquarie University conducted by neurobiologist, Dr. Sina Shadfar and colleagues in the Motor Neuron Disease Research Centre, reveals a protein called protein disulphide isomerase (PDI) helps repair serious deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage. This breakthrough opens new possibilities for therapies aimed at boosting the body’s ability to fix its own DNA, a process that becomes less efficient as we age.

Dr. Shadfar, Associate, Macquarie Medical School stated “Brain cells are very vulnerable. Unlike skin or blood cells, they don’t divide or renew so any damage that builds up in them stays and if the damage isn’t repaired, it can eventually lead to the death of these critical cells.”

Complex organic molecules found in young star’s disk hint at cosmic origins of life

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a team of astronomers led by Abubakar Fadul from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) has discovered complex organic molecules—including the first tentative detection of ethylene glycol and glycolonitrile—in the protoplanetary disk of the outbursting protostar V883 Orionis.

New method decodes the hidden origins of magnetism

We know magnetism as a fundamental force of nature that plays a crucial role in both the natural world and modern technology. It governs the behavior of materials at the atomic level and is essential for the functioning of countless devices in our everyday life, including data storage, sensing, wireless charging, sound recording and playing systems, and more.

New surveillance technology can track people by how they disrupt Wi-Fi signals

Hi-tech surveillance technologies are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you want sophisticated devices to detect suspicious behavior and alert authorities. But on the other, there is the need to protect individual privacy. Balancing public safety and personal freedoms is an ongoing challenge for innovators and policymakers.

This debate is set to reignite with news that researchers at La Sapienza University in Rome have developed a system that can identify individuals just by the way they disrupt Wi-Fi signals.

The scientists have dubbed this new technology “WhoFi.” Unlike traditional biometric systems such as fingerprint scanners and , it doesn’t require direct physical contact or visual feeds. WhoFi can also track individuals in a larger area than a fixed-position camera, provided there is a Wi-Fi network.