Author: Andrew Rogers

Scientists say cosmic dust may hold clues to how life first formed on Earth.Researchers usually collect it from meteorites or rare atmospheric fallout.Now, a Sydney lab has recreated cosmic dust entirely from scratch.PhD researcher Linda Losurdo produced the dust at the University of Sydney.The experiment mimics conditions around dying stars using gas, vacuum, and plasma.Cosmic dust contains CHON molecules, key building blocks of life.The lab-made dust matches infrared fingerprints found in real meteorites.Scientists hope this work explains how organic matter reached early Earth.The findings appeared in the Astrophysical Journal.

Rising shipping, energy, and raw material costs could push up consumer prices in 2026, Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply said.CIPS warned of growing cracks in global supply chains affecting computers, machinery, and transport equipment.Procurement leaders reported the highest supply disruption concerns in two years.Shipping and logistics costs rose fastest, with 22% reporting increases above 10%.Computer and electronics prices also climbed, with major brands raising prices last year.CIPS said volatility now defines global trade rather than temporary disruption.

West Ham United banned a season-ticket holder for five matches after he helped hold an anti-board banner.Joshua Wood received a letter accusing him of breaching stadium rules by retrieving an oversized banner.The banner called on owners David Sullivan and Karren Brady to sell the club.West Ham said the ban related to banner size and safety, not the protest message.Wood denied bringing the banner into the stadium and plans to appeal the decision.

A Swedish trial found that artificial intelligence reduced later breast cancer diagnoses by 12% and improved early detection.The study followed 100,000 women in national mammography screening programmes.Researchers compared AI-supported screening with standard double readings by radiologists.AI flagged high-risk cases for closer review and reduced workload on specialists.The results, published in The Lancet, showed more cancers detected at screening stage.The AI group also recorded fewer aggressive cancer subtypes.Lead author Kristina Lång of Lund University said AI could support radiologists, not replace them.Experts welcomed the findings but urged caution before wider rollout.

Google DeepMind launched AlphaGenome, an AI tool that identifies genetic mutations driving disease.AlphaGenome predicts how DNA changes disrupt gene regulation across cells and tissues.The tool analyses up to one million DNA letters at once.Researchers trained it on human and mouse genetic databases.Scientists link many diseases to regulatory mutations rather than protein-coding genes.AlphaGenome helps pinpoint mutations behind cancer, heart disease, and autoimmune disorders.Experts say it could accelerate drug discovery and gene therapy design.Researchers at University College London and University of Exeter called it a major advance.

Amazon revealed plans for fresh global job cuts after workers received an erroneous internal email.The message, signed by Colleen Aubrey, referred to layoffs at Amazon Web Services under “Project Dawn”.It wrongly claimed affected staff in the US, Canada, and Costa Rica had already been informed.Amazon has not confirmed the scale of the cuts, following 14,000 corporate layoffs announced in October.Chief executive Andy Jassy has warned automation and AI could reduce white-collar roles.

Scientists launched DinoTracker, an AI app that identifies dinosaur footprints with about 90% agreement with human experts.Researchers from the University of Edinburgh and Helmholtz-Zentrum trained the system using 2,000 unlabelled footprint silhouettes.The AI compares eight shape features to group similar tracks without relying on potentially incorrect labels.Users can upload footprints, explore similar prints, and test how shape changes affect classification.The results support earlier findings that some Triassic tracks look birdlike, though their origin remains debated.

The SEC agreed to dismiss its lawsuit against the Winklevoss twins’ crypto exchange after investors fully recovered their assets.The decision reflects a friendlier regulatory approach toward cryptocurrencies under President Donald Trump.Regulators cited the complete repayment of Gemini Earn investors through the Genesis Global Capital bankruptcy in 2024.The case originally accused Gemini and Genesis of illegally selling securities through a crypto lending program.Genesis froze accounts in 2022 but later returned customer assets in full.The SEC stressed the dismissal does not affect its stance in other crypto enforcement cases.

Coca-Cola has launched legal action against Vue after the cinema chain ended a near-25-year partnership and switched to PepsiCo as its soft drink supplier across Europe. Vue, which operates more than 220 cinemas in eight countries, selected PepsiCo last year for a deal running until at least 2030. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Great Britain filed the claim to recover alleged unpaid debts following the contract’s termination. Vue said Coca-Cola also owed it money, but no legal action was taken on its side. Vue’s chief executive, Tim Richards, criticised the move, saying the dispute could have been resolved without lawyers and involved…

Google’s AI Overviews cite YouTube more often than any medical website when answering health-related search queries, according to a new study that raises concerns about the reliability of information seen by billions of users each month. Researchers at SE Ranking analysed more than 50,000 German-language health searches and found YouTube accounted for 4.43% of all sources cited in AI Overviews, making it the single most referenced domain. No hospital network, government health authority or academic medical institution came close. The next most cited sources were a German public broadcaster and established medical reference sites, but at significantly lower rates. The…