Toggle light / dark theme

Get the latest international news and world events from around the world.

Log in for authorized contributors

Astronomers Reveal the Hidden Magnetic Skeleton of the Milky Way

People have scanned the night sky for ages, but some of the Milky Way’s most important features cannot be seen with ordinary light. Dr. Jo-Anne Brown, PhD, is working to chart one of those hidden ingredients: the galaxy’s magnetic field, a vast structure that can influence how gas moves, where stars form, and how cosmic particles travel.

“Without a magnetic field, the galaxy would collapse in on itself due to gravity,” says Brown, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Calgary.

“We need to know what the magnetic field of the galaxy looks like now, so we can create accurate models that predict how it will evolve.”

Researchers Warn: WiFi Could Become an Invisible Mass Surveillance System

Researchers say a new technology can identify individuals even when they are not carrying a WiFi device by passively recording signals in radio networks, raising serious privacy concerns and prompting calls for stronger protections. Walking past a café with an active WiFi network could be enough

Eclipse Foundation Mandates Pre-Publish Security Checks for Open VSX Extensions

The Eclipse Foundation, which maintains the Open VSX Registry, has announced plans to enforce security checks before Microsoft Visual Studio Code (VS Code) extensions are published to the open-source repository to combat supply chain threats.

The move marks a shift from a reactive to a proactive approach to ensure that malicious extensions don’t end up getting published on the Open VSX Registry.

“Up to now, the Open VSX Registry has relied primarily on post-publication response and investigation. When a bad extension is reported, we investigate and remove it,” Christopher Guindon, director of software development at the Eclipse Foundation, said.

This brain discovery is forcing scientists to rethink how memory works

A new brain imaging study reveals that remembering facts and recalling life events activate nearly identical brain networks. Researchers expected clear differences but instead found strong overlap across memory types. The finding challenges decades of memory research. It may also help scientists better understand conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia.

/* */