New Scientist Australian Edition 7-May-22

Event Understanding the AI revolution Artificial intelligence is emerging as one of the most important issues of our time. Join AI experts Beth Singler and Shakir Mohamed for an evening exploring key questions. Is AI really a threat? How impressive is it? How good will it get, and how soon? Conway Hall, London, at 7pm BST on 15 June. newscientist.com/events Academy Genetics: You and your genome Have you ever wanted to know more about the blueprint from which you were created? If so, our expert-led introduction to genetics is for you. It covers a wide variety of subjects, from what a gene is to personalised medicine. You will also understand more about genetic tools like CRISPR and learn about the ethics of gene editing. Buy now for £249. academy.newscientist.com Podcast…

Event Understanding the AI revolution Artificial intelligence is emerging as one of the most important issues of our time. Join AI experts Beth Singler and Shakir Mohamed for an evening exploring key questions. Is AI really a threat? How impressive is it? How good will it get, and how soon? Conway Hall, London, at 7pm BST on 15 June. newscientist.com/events Academy Genetics: You and your genome Have you ever wanted to know more about the blueprint from which you were created? If so, our expert-led introduction to genetics is for you. It covers a wide variety of subjects, from what a gene is to personalised medicine. You will also understand more about genetic tools like CRISPR and learn about the ethics of gene editing. Buy now for £249. academy.newscientist.com Podcast Weekly This week, podcast editor Rowan Hooper visits Wytham Woods…

A MYSTERIOUS outbreak of liver disease, or hepatitis, in young children in the UK and several other nations is puzzling experts. The lead hypothesis is that the cases are connected to a normally mild adenovirus called 41F, plus another unknown factor that is making children react abnormally to catching it (see page 9). The most likely suspect is that babies and infants went unexposed to the usual childhood infections over the past two years of social distancing. Or it could be that the affected children have had a recent brush with covid-19. Either way, the pandemic is in the spotlight. The hepatitis outbreak is out of the blue, but it is unlikely to be the only pandemic-related health surprise awaiting us in the coming years. Many immunologists had already been predicting that…

A MYSTERIOUS outbreak of liver disease, or hepatitis, in young children in the UK and several other nations is puzzling experts. The lead hypothesis is that the cases are connected to a normally mild adenovirus called 41F, plus another unknown factor that is making children react abnormally to catching it (see page 9). The most likely suspect is that babies and infants went unexposed to the usual childhood infections over the past two years of social distancing. Or it could be that the affected children have had a recent brush with covid-19. Either way, the pandemic is in the spotlight. The hepatitis outbreak is out of the blue, but it is unlikely to be the only pandemic-related health surprise awaiting us in the coming years. Many immunologists had already been…

A US launch company is the first to catch a rocket falling back to Earth in mid-air using a helicopter, though the manoeuvre was only partially successful as the helicopter was forced to drop the rocket into the ocean below. The company, Rocket Lab, caught one of its Electron rockets shortly after it launched from New Zealand’s Māhia peninsula at 2250 GMT on 2 May. The mission, dubbed “There and Back Again”, involved the small rocket taking 34 satellites to Earth orbit, including one to monitor Earth’s light pollution. Around two and a half minutes after launch, the first and second stages of the rocket separated. The latter continued to carry the satellites to orbit, while the first stage booster fell back to Earth. As it fell, it reached temperatures of 2400°C…

AREAS of coral reefs closest to land-based development and pollution are less likely to survive when ocean temperature spikes. After a marine heatwave hit Hawaii in 2019, Greg Asner at Arizona State University and his colleagues wanted to know how its reefs fared. “We’re trying to figure out, how bad is it for these corals? Which corals, in which areas?” says Asner. With colleagues, Asner flew a small aeroplane over the area, outfitted with a special infrared spectrometer to measure differences in the spectrum of light emitted by corals. This can reveal whether corals are living or dead. The team’s analysis of more than 200 square kilometres of reefs around six Hawaiian islands revealed that corals in some areas were up to 40 per cent more likely to survive than those in neighbouring reefs. The…