TECHNOLOGY

China’s Chery unveils AI companion robot designed to ease loneliness

The 90-centimetre humanoid robot is designed to support older people, entertain children and learn the habits of its owners.

Meta faces $25 billion penalty in New Mexico privacy ruling

Could smarter energy solutions make data centres more sustainable?

Japan launches spacecraft to collect samples from Mars and return them by 2031

NSF opens bioengineering funding call with awards of up to $50 million a year

The US National Science Foundation is inviting proposals from interdisciplinary research teams developing technologies to connect protein sequences and structures with biological functions. Phase 0 awards can reach $1.5 million, while Phase 1 funding can total up to $50 million annually.

Wits University and Bidvest launch R6 million research chair in AI and smart technologies

The three-year initiative will support research in telecommunications, artificial intelligence and smart technologies, with a focus on postgraduate development and industry collaboration.

What MIT’s falling graduate numbers reveal about US science funding

MIT has enrolled nearly 500 fewer graduate students since 2024 following a $100 million drop in federal research awards, raising concerns that shifting US science funding towards AI and industry could weaken basic research and long-term scientific competitiveness.

Former Crick PhD student’s COVID-19 vaccine research retracted over fabricated data

Science Translational Medicine retracted a 2022 study exploring a vaccine targeting a conserved part of the coronavirus spike protein after an investigation found fabricated data and falsified images. The retraction is the researcher’s second this year.

Wits researchers develop light-powered neural network to decode complex signals

The system developed by South African scientists can identify information encoded in intricate light patterns without first producing detailed images, potentially helping improve future optical communication networks.

IISc researchers studying magnetic white dwarf stars and the Chandrasekhar limit.

IISc Study Challenges Chandrasekhar Limit, Finds White Dwarfs Could Grow Far Beyond Expected Mass

Researchers at IISc have found that powerful magnetic fields could help white dwarf stars exceed the Chandrasekhar limit, potentially changing how scientists understand stellar explosions.