Prof Sam Illingworth

⚡ Space storm breached radiation barrier A zone of the inner radiation belt long thought impenetrable to ultra-fast electrons was breached. Japan's Arase satellite saw the May 2024 superstorm rapidly make them deep inside it. 🔗 doi.org/10.1029/2026gl125879 #SpaceWeather #Physics 🧪

🌊 Arctic sea life clears old pollution In Arctic seabed sediments, PCB pollution sticks to ocean-grown organic matter up to ten times more than to land-derived matter. More ocean growth means 1.3 times more removal. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-78857-3 #Arctic #Pollution #Oceans 🧪

🚑 Clot removal helped mild strokes In a trial of 304 patients in China, 69.4% of those who had the clot removed had little or no disability at 90 days, against 50.0% on drugs alone. Serious complications were common. 🔗 doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa2609149 #Stroke #Medicine #Neurology 🧪

🏜️ Sovereign AI needs data first Computer Weekly: data readiness is seen as the biggest barrier to sovereign AI in the Gulf, ahead of computing power. 🔗 computerweekly.com/news/366652577/Data-readiness-not-compute-seen-as-biggest-barrier-to-sovereign-AI-in-the-Gulf #AI #SovereignAI #Data

🧒 What kids ask AI about money The FT looks at the money questions children are putting to AI chatbots. Worth asking who is answering them, and what the company behind the answer gets out of it. 🔗 ft.com/content/9c00e8f9-b7dc-4893-8b34-66a4bb5a5605 #AI #Children #Finance

🔭 Star-shredding jets explained A black hole that tears apart a star sometimes fires a jet. A new model shows that magnetic energy being released can reproduce the flash astronomers actually observe from these jets. 🔗 doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aeb36f #Astronomy #BlackHoles 🧪

🦉 Drought reshuffles top predators In Spain, drought and a new disease changed how top predators interact. Where birds of prey declined, a small owl increased, so the effect could reach lower down the food chain. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11194-z #Ecology #Drought #Wildlife 🧪

💊 Drug cut IgA kidney protein loss In a trial of 485 adults with IgA kidney disease, ravulizumab cut protein leaking into urine by 46.6% at 34 weeks, against 5.6% on placebo. Early results, but real news for patients. 🔗 doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa2607544 #Kidney #Medicine #Trial 🧪

🏔️ Lake glaciers melt fastest Glaciers that end in lakes or the sea are only 3.2% of the total but account for over half the ice lost. Lake ones lose 57% more per area than the rest, a worry for people downstream. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-78654-y #Glaciers #Climate #IceLoss 🧪

🕵️ Spyware founder says trust him The Pegasus spyware founder is urging governments to trust his tech and ditch US AI, the FT reports. Consider who is making the pitch. 🔗 ft.com/content/f9592534-1a3d-409d-9a57-f05919440032?syn-25a6b1a6=1 #Surveillance #Spyware #AI

🏘️ Datacentres vs neighbours The Guardian visits the frontline of tech's latest David v Goliath battle: the datacentre next door. 🔗 theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/24/the-datacentre-next-door-on-the-frontline-of-techs-latest-david-v-goliath-battle #DataCentres #AI #Planning

🦌 Warming hits mammals unevenly A model of 1,992 land mammals finds temperature dominates future risk, most of all for specialists. The same driver can hurt a species in one region and help it in another. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-78677-5 #Ecology #Mammals #ClimateChange 🧪

🤖 Ask your AI if your plan is good and it will tell you the plan is good. Join my webinar for 3 tests for telling whether a model is thinking or flattering. 📆 Wednesday 28th October 🕣 8pm GMT 💰 Free maven.com/p/b2f2af/why... #AI #Education #GenAI 🧪

⚗️ AI lab finds platinum rivals A self-driving lab searched 12 variables at once for hydrogen catalysts. It found earth-abundant materials at least comparable to platinum ones, and the AI showed its reasoning. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-78335-w #Chemistry #AI #CleanEnergy 🧪

🌊 Atlantic current may bounce back In a climate model, the Atlantic overturning current weakened steadily as temperatures rose and recovered quickly when they fell. The Greenland ice sheet kept shrinking regardless. 🔗 doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aee5373 #AMOC #ClimateScience #Greenland 🧪

🧊 Canada's last ice cap regrew The Barnes Ice Cap, the last scrap of the vast Laurentide Ice Sheet, shrank to its smallest about 3,600 years ago. It began regrowing around 2,000 years ago, the start of the next glaciation. 🔗 doi.org/10.1126/science.aed3379 #IceAge #Glaciers #Arctic 🧪

💊 Measles is surging back Measles deaths in under-5s fell about 90% between 1990 and 2019, then rebounded to 118,000 in 2023, with 15.6 million cases. First-dose coverage has stalled at 81%, short of the 90% target. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41591-026-04661-7 #Measles #Vaccines #PublicHealth 🧪

📧 Google eyes your Gmail for ads Google says it might use your Gmail and Google Photos data to target ads. Read the updated privacy policy before you agree. 🔗 theverge.com/tech/1017600/google-personal-intelligence-privacy-policy-ads-update #Google #Privacy #AI

👃 Smell now travels online A new wearable recreates a smell picked up by an AI-assisted electronic nose somewhere else, sent over the internet. The team suggests it could help test people for smell loss. 🔗 doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aee9266 #AI #Science #Technology 🧪

🩺 AI beat generalists at puzzle cases On 304 hard NEJM cases, an AI simulating a panel of doctors got 83.2% right against 36.1% for generalist physicians. The test was text only, with no real patients. 🔗 doi.org/10.1126/science.aeh7930 #AI #Medicine 🧪

🪐 Rocky exoplanet shows no dust signal Rocky planet LHS 3844 b glows like a plain hot object at shorter wavelengths, which counts against a fine, dusty surface. A tentative hint of rock-forming minerals shows further out. 🔗 doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aeb00b #Exoplanets #Astronomy 🧪

🐊 Crocodiles kept their climate Crocodile relatives stayed loyal to the same climates across their long history. Unlike non-avian dinosaurs, their warm tropical homes stayed liveable in nearly every end-Cretaceous scenario modelled. 🔗 doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aeg2217 #Fossils #Crocodiles 🧪

🔥 Heat drives lightning wildfires A 3.3°C rise in temperature raised the chance of lightning starting a fire in northern forests by 44% to 69%. Drier, hotter weather mattered more than the lightning itself. 🔗 doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aeb70b #Wildfire #ClimateChange #Science 🧪

🩺 AI wrote medical exam cases Three senior doctors scored 24 exam cases written by AI at about 4.6 out of 5 for overall value. Following clinical guidelines scored lowest at 4.24, so teachers still need to check them. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41746-026-03421-8 #MedicalEducation #AI

🤖 The UK Home Office is using AI to summarise asylum interviews My latest Substack article explores why this was hidden, what the freedom of information requests revealed, and why we should all be taking action. #AI #Asylum #GenAI #UK theslowai.substack.com/p/home-offic...

💡 A greener infrared LED hits a record Researchers made an infrared LED without toxic heavy metals, with record brightness. It fades to half brightness in 16 hours, so cameras and sensors must wait. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77896-0 #Physics #Materials 🧪

💧 Rain often soaks in far faster Across 83 sites worldwide, 26.6% of 4,992 soil tests showed water draining in very fast. The odds fell about 26% for every 10° further from the equator. Useful for flood planning. 🔗 doi.org/10.1029/2026gl125267 #Soil #Hydrology 🧪

🌳 Fragmented tropical forests run hotter The more broken up tropical forest becomes, the hotter its extremes get: each step up in fragmentation added 0.83 to 2.85 °C to the hottest days. Nearby communities feel that heat. 🔗 doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aeaa6f #Forests #Deforestation 🧪

💊 Gene readouts predict myeloma response A model using three kinds of gene data predicted which myeloma patients would show no trace of cancer after first treatment (0.77, where 1 is perfect). It beat clinical and genomic models. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41591-026-04692-0 #Myeloma #Cancer #Genomics 🧪

🏛️ Citizens' assemblies aim higher Randomly chosen citizens kept proposing more ambitious climate measures than their governments had. Turning those ideas into decisions depends strongly on politics. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41558-026-02755-1 #ClimatePolicy #Democracy #CitizensAssembly 🧪

🤖 Ask your AI if your plan is good and it will tell you the plan is good. Join my webinar for 3 tests for telling whether a model is thinking or flattering. 📆 Wednesday 28th October 🕣 8pm GMT 💰 Free maven.com/p/b2f2af/why... #AI #Education #GenAI 🧪

🎣 ClickFix scams target education Jisc says ClickFix scams are a growing risk to education. They trick staff into running the malicious commands themselves. 🔗 computerweekly.com/news/366652423/ClickFix-scams-pose-growing-risk-to-education-sector-Jisc-says #Cybersecurity #Education

🌐 AI is a weak stand-in for survey answers Researchers had AI models answer a global survey as 67,201 real people in 74 countries. They got the direction right for 77.8% of age and gender patterns, but only 48.1% of cultural ones. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41562-026-02611-4 #AI #Surveys #Economics 🧪

🏙️ Cooling-heavy megacities, 45% of emissions In rapidly urbanising Chinese cities, cooling-heavy megacities made up 45% of total emissions in 2019. Early on, industry drives emissions. Later, fixes must cut across sectors. 🔗 doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aeb14a #Climate #Cities #China 🧪

📋 A template made trial plans more complete In a Spanish trial of 70 manuscripts, a reporting template gave modestly fuller trial protocols, with no slower revisions. Clearer plans make trials easier to trust. 🔗 doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2026-100917 #Medicine #Research #Publishing 🧪

🧠 Prenatal therapy tied to infant brain size In a US follow-up of 109 infants, babies whose mothers had therapy for depression in pregnancy had a smaller right hippocampus, which predicted less negative emotion later. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-78276-4 #Neuroscience #Pregnancy #Babies 🧪

🌋 Human erosion raises lake tsunami risk Erosion caused by people is at its highest since the Industrial Era, overloading river deltas in lakes worldwide. Collapses like the one in Italy's Lake Iseo may become more likely. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-78272-8 #Geology #Tsunami #Lakes 🧪

🎓 A coaching chatbot made study less dull In a trial of 144 high school students, chatbots built to coach study habits beat plain ChatGPT on enjoyment and boredom. Test gains were the same in every group. 🔗 doi.org/10.1111/bjet.70094 #AI #Education #EdTech

🗣️ Oracy gets a push in schools Lucy Powell says oral language teaching adds six months' progress in primary school, and AI makes speaking up matter more. 🔗 theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/oct/19/young-people-speak-fluently-oracy-skills-pupils-schools #Education #AI #Schools

🥤 Microplastics are active in water Columbia University tests found common microplastics spontaneously make reactive oxygen chemicals in water, more so when the plastic repels water. Plastic isn't as inert as we thought. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11141-y #Microplastics #Chemistry 🧪

🌧️ Tribal lands face limited flood change A computer model of US Tribal lands in a warmer climate found only limited changes in flood frequency and depth. Tribal nations are often missing from national flood maps. 🔗 doi.org/10.1029/2026gl124766 #Climate #Floods #Science 🧪

🐟 People target the oddest fish A global analysis finds people use 26% of freshwater fish species, and together they cover 45.2% of the body shapes fish come in. That puts the most distinctive fish in the firing line. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-78568-9 #Ecology #Fish #Rivers 🧪

🫀 Tailored surgery care showed no gain In a German trial of 1,095 high-risk surgery patients, heart targets tailored to each person did no better than routine care. Serious complications hit 44.3% against 46.9%. 🔗 doi.org/10.1001/jama.2026.18574 #Medicine #Surgery #Science 🧪

🩺 Trainee doctors now edit AI-written notes Ambient AI scribes mean trainee doctors increasingly edit clinical notes instead of writing them. A new paper argues that editing is a skill medical courses do not yet teach. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41746-026-03351-5 #AI #Medicine #Education

🌎 AI leaves out Indigenous communities A commentary on Kichwa communities in Ecuador says AI advice is often misread, mistimed or ignored. Its fix is community checks before outputs spread, and voice notes as input. 🔗 doi.org/10.1177/20539517261498673 #AI #Indigenous #Ethics

👀 Australian bosses turn to AI to track staff There are calls for stronger workplace privacy law as employers use AI to track staff. Worth asking what yours collects. 🔗 theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/20/workplace-privacy-concerns-employers-use-ai-to-monitor-staff #AI #Privacy #Work

🔥 Active brown fat tracks with healthier hearts In about 8,700 patients at a US cancer centre, those with more active brown fat were less likely to have heart or metabolic disease. That is a link, and cause is unproven. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11162-7 #BrownFat #Health #AI 🧪

🎵 Kylie Minogue songs already train AI Australia's music body warns Kylie Minogue songs are already used to train AI, as tech firms 'strong-arm' the government over copyright. 🔗 theguardian.com/music/2026/oct/19/australia-music-global-copywright-outlier-ai-music-body-warnsns #AI #Copyright #Music

🧊 Tall ice cliffs retreat faster than models say Measurements show tall ice cliffs calve faster than models assume. Thinning ice stops a runaway collapse, though, which matters for anyone on a coast. 🔗 doi.org/10.1126/science.aee0658 #IceSheets #Glaciology #Climate 🧪

🪸 Nearly half of corals face extinction risk Of 774 coral species with enough data, 340 (44%) are classed as threatened. Reefs protect and feed people along tropical coasts. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11263-3 #Coral #Ocean #Conservation 🧪