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'The Odyssey' meets 'Shark Week' in Amazon's 'The Devil's Mouth'
'The Odyssey' meets 'Shark Week' in Amazon Prime Video's 'The Devil's Mouth': the ultimate travel horror tale.
Grand Rapids lands $1M to revive struggling business corridors
Grand Rapids will receive $1 million from the state to create low-interest loans that help small businesses renovate storefronts, fill vacancies and grow.
SAVE borrowers contend with skyrocketing student loan repayments
Jessica Marquez and her husband had hoped to have another child. But now her monthly student loan payment expected to nearly triple.
The Science Behind the AI Panic Is Shakier Than You Think
A column by Sascha Lobo Is AI making us dumb? So asked DER SPIEGEL on its cover a while ago. After a few weeks of recovery and a therapeutic intervention with the help of my AI, I feel able to respond. That’s a bit unfair, of course; the article itself is more nuanced than the loud cover, the image of a schoolkid with dull prompt questions, or the subtitle: “AI is conquering the schools, and educators fear a disaster.” The short answer to “Is AI making us dumb?” is: no. The long answer is more interesting, and even carries a preliminary glimmer of the spectacular. Unfortunately, it requires a detour into the sphere of artificial intelligence, into the mogul-field terrain of technology assessment, the attention economy, and the destructive virus of cultural pessimism. Along with narrowing the scope to AI’s effects on education and work rather than on intelligence. Because the honest version of the question would be: Does AI help us learn and work, or not? Generative AI, which set off the still-ongoing hype with ChatGPT, has only existed in relevant distribution since late 2022, early 2023. For a technology-driven transformation of people and society, that is extremely short. For that reason alone, research is still in its infancy. And technology assessment is not a fast discipline anyway. Prominent voices from Elizabeth Eisenstein to RAND to Tom Wheeler say we still cannot conclusively judge the consequences of the printing press. Its invention is a mere 580 years back, and some scholars would rather not circulate assessments that might have to be retracted in two or three hundred years. We’re Going Through Growing Pains A phenomenon that already caused upheaval in social media research makes serious assessment of AI’s consequences even harder: the “moving target” problem of LLM-ology, as the linguist Sean Trott called it in 2025. AI develops so quickly and so unpredictably that researchers often end up studying snapshots of the past. There are concepts, from morphological analysis to anticipatory governance, for keeping research, planning, and regulation halfway meaningful anyway. But even with those, universally valid statements are rare. DER SPIEGEL - The German View is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe We should therefore treat findings about the interplay between humans and AI as far more procedural and situational. Unfortunately, this challenge comes at the worst possible time. We are going through growing pains: AI’s everyday impact has grown very large very fast, and with it the longing for guidance. Annoyingly, the body of solid knowledge has not exploded along with it. Experts cannot be moved to broad consensus on even banal statements about AI. Sascha Lobo, born in 1975, is an author and strategy consultant focusing on the internet and digital technologies. Together with Jule Lobo, he explores the debates of the day in the podcast “Feel the News – Was Deutschland bewegt” (”What Moves Germany”). Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says software developers are dying out. Bill Gates considers coders one of only three professions that will survive the AI tsunami. Top tech economists find virtually irrefutable arguments both for and against an AI bubble. The same naturally applies to the structurally youth-hostile debate over whether AI is good or bad for young people. The gap between the demand for insight and the supply of solid knowledge creates an orientation vacuum. This vacuum of AI cluelessness is filled, as the attention economy described by Georg Franck in 1998 would have it, with half-knowledge (funnily enough, often AI-generated), marketing, and self-marketing. After all, infinite money is at stake, along with academia’s best current shot at global fame. But this iridescent froth of interpretation operates more by the algorithmic principles of the digital public sphere than by seriously earned insight. That is why dramatized, fear-feeding claims about AI are so promising. It tempts parts of academia into distorted drivel, and parts of the media then sensationalize the published drivel once more. Was the Research Aimed at a Desired Result? How badly this can influence academia and public perception is demonstrated by one of the most-discussed studies on AI’s effects: “Your Brain on ChatGPT.” The MIT study by Nataliya Kosmyna also gets plenty of space in the SPIEGEL cover story. What was measured and interpreted: lower brain activity in people who write with AI assistance, compared to people who only google or write without any tools. As is common with preprints, the study has not yet been peer-reviewed, and it contains substantial weaknesses that experts have sharply criticized. The first round had 54 participants in three groups, the second only 18, who reportedly also came from MIT’s own orbit. There was no preregistration (committing in advance to what you want to find out with which data). In their analysis, Stanković et al. even discovered an opposite effect that the study does not further explain. Some measurement data has not (yet) been published. And the EEG analysis method used is considered too imprecise to support such far-reaching conclusions. The biggest criticism, though, is the suspicion of an activism-driven study. In an interview with Time, lead author Kosmyna said she published the study immediately, rather than after full peer review, because she feared politicians might otherwise decide to put ChatGPT in kindergartens. She considers that absolutely harmful. It is legitimate to hold such a view. It just seems unscientific to approach a study with it, and then to design the setup so that the chance of a fitting desired result remains as high as possible. Ideologies Collide It is not easy to separate genuine AI insights from studies that trivialize and weaken well-founded AI criticism. The same goes for the opposing, AI-enthusiastic narratives, because the pro-AI side works against it with billions in resources. Ideologies collide, fed by egos, PR strategies, moral posturing, and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Doomsday marketing makes the search even harder: AI companies can profit from warnings about the dangers of AI, whether through the notoriety of apocalypse narratives or because, in some target groups, danger translates into power. Some seemingly negative findings are therefore quite welcome in the AI industry. If you try to get at the findings presumably less influenced by interest groups, the picture in education seems relatively clear: AI can improve educational outcomes when the right AI is used the right way, namely pedagogically. Simply dumping an AI chatbot into a classroom, by contrast, accomplishes little. Huge surprise. But something else is also obvious: whether they are allowed to or not, kids use AI for school, which is why the controlled integration of AI tools into education is, in the medium term, entirely without alternative. In the world of work, the landscape of findings is more complex and requires more differentiation. A series of serious studies points to an AI effect that suits neither the alarmists, regulation fetishists, and AI opponents, nor the trillion-dollar corporations with their armada of paid scientists, PR professionals, and ecosystems: working with AI helps the inexperienced (at least for now) considerably more than it helps the pros, in certain fields of work, and provided they know how to use it correctly. Missing Domain Knowledge Among the experienced, the professionals, and the high flyers, by contrast, despite frequent time savings, partially negative effects and new problems are emerging. Take the jagged frontier problem: AI solves task A brilliantly and fails completely at task B, even though both look similar even to professionals. Or the verification-cost problem, in which AI’s greater productivity gets eaten up by the enormous effort of checking its output. Or the illusion of competence, because AI makes new domains seem easily penetrable, until you painfully discover that deep domain knowledge is missing. Taken as a whole, the effects of working with AI do lean positive. But the promise that AI works as a turbocharger for everyone and boosts practically everything simply refuses to materialize. The AI magic the world has been feeling since ChatGPT arrived in late 2022 has so far barely shown up in most companies’ numbers. The consulting firm McKinsey has coined a term for this, the “gen AI paradox,” and believes that work processes and corporate structures would have to be rebuilt quite fundamentally to realize AI’s benefits at scale. Reuters just reported that only 3.3 percent of Microsoft’s customers have subscribed to the AI package Copilot. That may be down to the product; in other areas we continue to see soaring successes and new AI triumphs. But after the first quarter of 2026, disillusionment is the word for all too many AI projects at traditional companies: because the promised revolution of AI agents has so far failed to arrive or been postponed, and because of the leveling effect that many of the studies cited here suggest. Against Inequality The societal effects, on the other hand, appear rather encouraging. Many previous technologies operated on the Matthew principle, named for the Gospel verse about giving to those who already have: they tended to reward the more competent and more privileged. AI, however, seems more often to have an equalizing effect once a threshold of access and education is crossed. Some anecdotal insights point in this direction, for example, how an unemployed man in Leipzig successfully defended himself in court in 2025 against fraud accusations from Germany’s federal employment agency — without a lawyer, armed only with ChatGPT. The AI made mistakes and cited invented court rulings, but in the end the man walked away unpunished. And a key capability of artificial intelligence is its capacity to learn: set up correctly and fed with data, it can keep getting better. It is a question of time, or more precisely of AI innovations and training data, until even free AI chatbots write better legal briefs than law graduates with perfect exam scores. Whether that will make anyone dumb is something the world’s press will surely inform us of in due time. Subscribe Leave a comment
Zack Polanski will not say sorry to Farage for sharing ‘dangerous’ image
Green party leader says it was ‘a mistake’ and if Farage wants to apologise for times he’s put people in danger he’ll be happy to say sorry
Nothing has better exemplified his corrupt tendencies: Ex-Trump official debuts Trump-Epstein ‘bookmobile’ outside Capitol
Cardinals’ Demote Promising Starter, Recall Veteran Reliever Before Cubs Game
The St. Louis Cardinals are demoting right-handed pitcher Hunter Dobbins to Triple-A Memphis. In a corresponding move, the team has selected the contract of Peter Strzlecki. Dobbins, 26, was acquired from the Boston Red Sox this past offseason. As it stands, he has a 3.74 ERA through his first 33.2 innings for the Cardinals. This season, Dobbins […] The post Cardinals’ Demote Promising Starter, Recall Veteran Reliever Before Cubs Game appeared first on HEAVY.
Are there already worrying signs for Vrancken's Hearts?
Former Hearts forward Ryan Stevenson delivers a scathing verdict as Wouter Vrancken's reign begins with a chastening Champions League elimination.
A.13 Accelerating Earth Solutions Corrections and Clarifications
A.13 Accelerating Earth Solutions (AES) seeks to accelerate the use of Earth-observing satellite measurements in decision-making.
Big Pharma gets a lesson in trusting the science
J&J reached a relatively cheap $5.5 bln settlement that could end over a decade of litigation related to talc. The healthcare giant exited Kenvue, its former consumer goods unit, partly to escape similar legal worries. In retrospect, it looks to have handed a rival a deal.
Morning Download: Nevada basketball will reportedly open season against Robert Morris
On weekday mornings, Nevada Sports Net will recap three big headlines of the day in its Morning Download. Read below for today's topics.1. Nevada basketball wil
Turkish politician hit by rent-a-crowd scandal
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, court-appointed head of Turkey’s oldest party, denounced corruption during party event
MLB Insider Reveals Mets' Stance on Potential Luis Torrens Trade
The New York Mets are reportedly very reluctant to trade catcher Luis Torrens.
Chianti South set to re-open in Little River under new ownership
Chianti South, a restaurant known for its italian cuisine and wine list located just before the North Carolina state line on Highway 17, is planning to re-open soon under new ownership.
Kaitlan Collins talks 'surprising' Trump correspondents' dinner speech reaction
Kaitlan Collins is not sweating President Donald Trump continuing to insult her.
The 99 Percent Funding Rule Every Founder Should Know Before Borrowing Money
Every funding approach has its purpose. The key is to find the approach that's best for what you need.
Trump shattered ethics norms. Will voters trust Democrats to fix them?
Democrats are making the case that now is the time to tackle anti-corruption reforms — to serve as a check on Donald Trump and to overhaul a system voters say is co-opted against their interests.
Uganda's health minister declares country free of Ebola
Uganda's health authorities declared the country Ebola-free on Tuesday ending the East African nation's latest outbreak of the viral haemorrhagic disease that infected 20 people and killed two of them since it was declared in mid-May.
Morning news brief
President Trump to meet with the leaders of Ukraine and Israel, Work permits for thousands of TPS holders set to expire, survey finds many Americans believe corruption is a problem in politics.
Survey finds most Americans believe corruption is a problem in politics
Voters indicate they're increasingly concerned about corruption in public office. A new survey indicates that concern spans the political spectrum.
Tech Stocks Tumble on Worries About A.I. Spending and China’s Chip Competition
South Korea temporarily paused trading on Tuesday as its benchmark stock index led losses across the region, closing more than 10 percent lower.
Mercy Health expands maternity care by connecting patients with midwives
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Philip Morris International opens massive Colorado campus as smoke-free business expands
Philip Morris International U.S. CEO Stacey Kennedy discusses PMI's $1.2 billion investment in a new ZYN nicotine pouch manufacturing plant in Aurora, Colo., on 'The Claman Countdown.'
Multiple patients arrested after chaos erupts at Chandler juvenile health center
Police used pepper balls and made multiple arrests after juveniles sparked back-to-back disturbances at a Chandler behavioral health facility.
Beyer Entertainment Announces Frenzy Fest LV: 20 Original Acts, Three Stages, One Night to Discover Tomorrow's Headliners
All ages welcome. One cause: expanding youth access to the arts through Positively Arts
Beyer Entertainment Announces Frenzy Fest LV: 20 Original Acts, Three Stages, One Night to Discover Tomorrow's Headliners
All ages welcome. One cause: expanding youth access to the arts through Positively Arts LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESS Newswire / July 27, 2026 /Beyer Entertainment today announced Frenzy Fest LV, an all-ages festival celebrating original music, will take ...
Socorro High's health programs give students a jump-start on college and careers
Socorro ISD is preparing students for careers in health care through its P-TECH Nursing Program and Health Professions Academy at Socorro High School. The district currently has 65 students enrolled in the tuition-free n
Sen. John Fetterman: Why I Changed My Mind About the Filibuster
It’s not often you hear someone in D.C. admit they were wrong, let alone horribly wrong — and the entire Democratic Party was, including me. When Democrats had the presidency and a majority in both chambers, they were frustrated with the 60-vote threshold needed to advance legislation. Senate Democrats attempted to end…
Apple is reportedly worried about smart glasses, too
Apple is delaying its smart glasses as it tries to distance itself from the ick factor that Meta Glasses have developed.
PMI U.S. Opens $1.2 Billion Aurora Campus, Strengthening U.S. Manufacturing and Export Capabilities
Philip Morris International Inc.’s (PMI) (NYSE: PM) U.S. businesses (PMI U.S.) today celebrated the opening of its Aurora, Colorado manufacturing campus, a l...
The Bear’s Den, July 26, 2026
The Chicago Bears rookies and quarterbacks are in camp, veterans arrive tomorrow
The best science books to read this summer, according to Scientific American editors
From ecohorror to science-inspired poetry, discover the books Scientific American staffers are recommending this summer
How much sweating is too much? Here's what you can do about it
Many things can cause someone to sweat more easily than others. Here’s what to consider if you're worried about excessive sweating.
As Bombs Fall in Iran, Trump Bombs in Washington
Held in the spirit of “The show must go on,” the show went on and on – suggesting the dinner is due for a change.
Sunday Funday brings music, food and family fun to downtown Conway
Locals and visitors gathered at the Town Green in downtown Conway on Sunday, July 26 for the third edition of the Sunday Funday series. Many attendees brought lawn chairs, settled in for the afternoon, played games and enjoyed local food, live music and time with family and friends.
I took my teen on a group tour abroad. She surprised me.
I worried my teen would feel out of place on our Isle of Skye tour. She found her footing immediately.
Apple Is Reportedly Worried About Its Non-Creepy Reputation as It Prepares to Enter a Creepy Product Category
Can Apple's hard-fought reputation for privacy survive the release of a glasses product?
Woman built a $400,000 ADU on her property for her parents
Hana Brown didn't want her parents to have to worry about housing as they age, so she and her husband built a luxury ADU for them in their yard.
Live Nation Entertainment (LYV) And The Valuation Debate Around Its Global Expansion Story
Event backdrop and what is worrying investors Live Nation Entertainment (LYV), owner of Ticketmaster and the EDC music festival, is under scrutiny as slower sales growth, rising capital intensity and pressure on operating margins raise fresh questions about the stock’s risk and reward tradeoff. See our latest analysis for Live Nation Entertainment. Live Nation Entertainment’s share price has climbed over the past year, with a year to date share price return of 21.97% and a 1 year total...
How Joe Torre's lineage and decades of “what ifs” led Phillies to Don Mattingly
One swing in the 1995 ALDS set off a chain of baseball decisions that, three decades later, put Don Mattingly in the Phillies’ dugout.
‘CoCo’ would take taxpayers for a ride
Colorado wants taxpayers to spend another $4.73 billion on passenger rail. Don’t worry. They have a plan. Which is a little like your brother-in-law announcing he’s launching another exciting restaurant venture after his last three restaurants ended in bankruptcy. Please. Tell me where to send the check. This week the Front Range Passenger Rail District […]
Inside the Phone-Throwing Drama at the Troubled, Broke Democratic Party
The Democrats should be well positioned to make gains in this year’s midterms. But inside party headquarters, every week brings paranoia, worries about money and, on occasion, emotional eruptions.
Hospices worry patients will be unfairly punished amid fraud crisis
Health policy researchers and providers say negative attention and the potential for overly punitive regulations could put patients at risk.
Trump Holds Off on Major War Escalation Against Iran as Advisers Raise Concerns
Among the worries is that expanded hostilities could dangerously drain the diminished stockpile of air defense munitions in the Middle East.
The unexpected cost of tariffs for some small business owners
When President Trump invokes tariffs - he promises they’ll benefit Americans. But the experience of some small business owners tells a different story. For this week's Reporter's Notebook, Host Debbie Elliott speaks with NPR Business Correspondent Alina Selyukh about what she learned about the unexpected costs small businesses are shouldering.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Gabriel Sanchez. Our director is Erika Ryan.It was edited by Emily Kopp and Adam Raney.Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning.
President Trump just implemented new tariffs. How are small businesses coping?
An NPR business correspondent explains how to cover the complex story of how small businesses are coping with tariffs.
Starting Grid For The 2026 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix
Lando Norris took pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix while Lewis Hamilton received a grid penalty that dropped him down from second. Here's the full starting grid.
F1 needs better balance between business and sport, says Norris
Lando Norris speaks up ahead of Hungarian Grand Prix with drivers feeling new regulations have cramped their speed.
Hungarian GP: Lando Norris fastest in final practice for McLaren ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli at Hungaroring
Trump forced to play good sport at correspondents’ dinner
President’s speech at Friday’s event started well enough but quickly moved to the usual insults, taunts, jokes and grievances
One UI 9 makes major lock screen security change every Galaxy user needs to know
With the One UI 9.0 (Android 17) update, Samsung is making a major change to how many times you're allowed to enter the incorrect PIN, password, or pattern on y
Trump returns to correspondents' dinner 3 months after shooting
President Donald Trump returned to the rescheduled White House Correspondents' Association dinner Friday night, delivering a rambling, hour-long speech.
At Correspondents’ Dinner, a Rambling Trump Hurls Insults
President Trump gave the keynote speech as relations between his administration and the press continue to deteriorate.
At Correspondents’ Dinner, a Rambling Trump Hurls Insults
President Trump gave the keynote speech as relations between his administration and the press continue to deteriorate.
Trump at rescheduled White House correspondents' dinner: 'The show must go on'
A shooting upended the first attempt at the dinner in April.
Oahu grand jury hears evidence in state’s political corruption probe
Hawaii Department of the Attorney General investigators and prosecutors are presenting evidence to an Oahu grand jury today in their criminal public corruption investigation that has ensnared Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and some of her supporters.
State Street business not worried as protests continue
After Thursday night’s vigil, protestors moved to John Nolen Drive, snaking through downtown to end up on State Street.
Ex 60 Minutes Correspondent Claims CBS Execs Encouraged Political Bias
Cecilia Vega alleged that higher-ups requested changes to three of her segments from this year that she could did find evidence for, per the Times.
When is 'Mother Mary' streaming? How to watch the A24 horror at home.
Stream one of our favorite movies of 2026 (so far) at home.
New Trump Tariffs Increase Uncertainty For Small Businesses
The change in tariff policies that went into effect Friday is distinctly worrying for some small firms, but other say it's business as usual.
Local book clubs provide page-turning entertainment for readers of all ages
Toledo Lucas County Public Library offers a variety of clubs: from fiction, to horror and everything in between.
White House Correspondents’ Association hosts rescheduled dinner nearly 3 months after shooting incident
Trump returns to correspondents’ dinner after shooting disrupted April event
The president will address a smaller, heavily secured gathering Friday as his administration intensifies its legal and rhetorical attacks on journalists.
WATCH LIVE: Trump speaks at White House Correspondents' Dinner after attack disrupted April event
F1 needs better balance between business and sport, says Norris
Formula One has been driven too much by business decisions and needs to remember it is a sport, according to McLaren's world champion Lando Norris.
White House correspondents' dinner moves to new location with enhanced security
April's dinner was disrupted when a gunman opened fire outside the event. Trump is set to attend again Friday night.
U.S. sports executive buys minority stake in second-tier Bolton after Donald Trump pardon
The stake in the Championship club is Tim Leiweke's latest venture into sport since the Department of Justice accused him of corruption.
ABI quarterly survey: Employers to invest in their businesses
Many employers expect sales to expand and plan to make capital expenditures. Many are also optimistic about the future and plan to hire more employees. Those were some of the findings of the recent Iowa Association of Business and Industry’s (ABI) third quarter 2026 Quarterly Business Survey. Despite differing views on the broader economy, respondents continue to […]
‘Big Brother,’ ‘Drag Race’ star apologizes to Ryan Murphy on air over declined role
‘Big Brother’ houseguest Jason De Puy, also known as ‘Drag Race’ star Salina EsTitties, hilariously apologized to Ryan Murphy on the air over declining role: ‘Cast me, I’m sorry!’
Museum of Arts, History, Science to host Sustainability Super Saturday
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – In downtown Evansville, the Museum of Arts, History, and Science hosts its Sustainability Super Saturday event tomorrow. The event will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and o…
Emmy Rossum Finally Reveals The Truth Behind Her Shocking Exit From ‘Shameless’
The actor said she left the hit Showtimes series with “a lot of grief and sorrow.”
The Bear’s Den, July 24, 2026
The Chicago Bears enter their last day of the offseason. Rookies report for camp tomorrow, beginning the preseason.
Zohran Mamdani shakes politics far away from New York City
These days, everyone wants a piece of Zohran Mamdani. Progressives hang on to his every word and say more Democratic politicians should be like him. Moderates fear him and worry he has too mu…
Democrats Prepare for Possible Election Clashes With Federal Government
Top officials overseeing state elections and law enforcement are stepping up plans to prepare for what they worry could be interference in the midterms.
Voters Think All Politicians Are a Little Corrupt, but Trump Might Be Pushing It
There’s a difference between ordinary influence peddling and the first family’s outright self-enrichment.
Florida State Lands Talented JUCO Infielder for 2028
Link Jarrett bolsters the Seminoles' future infield with Chipola College standout Tyler Correa, a Tallahassee native whose .372 average brings elite contact hitting back to his hometown.
The Trump Family Sparks a Revolution in Albania
A luxury development planned by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump has spurred anti-corruption protests.
Ancient lore meets small-town politics: Why fans are flocking to 'Widow’s Bay'
UC Berkeley Professor Abigail De Kosnik explains why the new horror-comedy’s mix of genre play, dark humor and original storytelling has resonated so widely.
Top Horror Movies Streaming This Week
Fans paid tribute to one of horror's greatest actors in thetop horror movies on streaming this week. Sam Neill, the universally beloved actor who starred in several classic scary movies, passed away l...
Nun detained by ICE while walking to Mass says many are in her situation
Sister Leticia Ugboaja was released several hours after being detained by ICE on June 28 while walking to Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen.
When It Comes to Fusion, Materials Matter
Fusion at high temperatures powers the sun and, if harnessed, could provide a potential source of energy here on Earth. But controlling fusion reactions has other benefits. The process also generates subatomic particles called neutrons that are used in a range of applications spanning medicine, research, and national security. Now, scientists at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), and the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have found that the materials surrounding a fusion reaction can dramatically increase how often it occurs, particularly at low energies where fusion is rare. The study was published July 18 in Nature Communications. Their approach sets up a way to study and engineer nuclear reactions within solid materials, opening a new field of “materials-driven fusion.” Instead of designing materials just to survive the harsh conditions of fusion, researchers might be able to design materials that boost the reaction in specific conditions, similar to the way catalysts speed up chemical processes. “It gives you a new knob to turn that you didn’t have before,” said Arun Persaud, head of the Fusion Science & Ion Beam Technology group in Berkeley Lab’s Accelerator Technology & Applied Physics (ATAP) Division. “If we understand this effect better, it opens the door to engineering new materials that would affect the fusion rate under certain conditions. Someday future progress might enable more compact and efficient neutron generators, which have all kinds of applications, like cargo screening, planetary science, and medical therapy and imaging.” In the experiment, researchers used two different methods to pack deuterium, a heavy form of hydrogen atoms that is often used in fusion, into thin foils of palladium and titanium. They then fired a beam of deuterium ions at the foils at different energies and measured how often fusion happened. Then they compared the rates from the different materials and methods with the “bare” fusion reaction (not in a material). The team found that fusion rates depended on how the deuterium was loaded into the metal foils. The biggest effect was at the lowest energies, below 2.5 kiloelectronvolts (keV), where theory predicts fusion rates drop off sharply. Instead, researchers found a surprising plateau: Some samples showed elevated fusion rates roughly a quintillion times higher than bare fusion reactions. (A quintillion is a 1 followed by 18 zeroes.) Researchers are not exactly sure why that’s happening, though they have some ideas and ways to test them. The electrons and defects within the material might partially shield repulsive electrostatic forces between deuterium nuclei, making it easier for them to get close together and fuse. Tuning the electronic structure, defects, and composition of materials could help make nuclear reactions happen more readily. “It comes down to better understanding the mechanism so that we can try to enhance it,” said corresponding author Jeremy Munday, a professor at UC Davis. “We’ve seen that we can increase fusion rates, but what is the limit? Can we bring it to lower temperatures or energies? There’s obviously a lot of interest and excitement about fusion, so if there’s something we can learn about the physics at these lower energy scales, maybe there’s something we can translate to other areas of nuclear science.” The team plans to explore a wider range of materials and continue probing the unexpected fusion plateau at lower energies. Their work establishes a reproducible experimental platform to study how solid materials influence nuclear reactions, creating a new area of research that links fusion science with materials science and chemistry. “The work shows conclusively that the material environment where fusion occurs at low temperatures is an active participant rather than a passive container,” said Cameron Geddes, director of ATAP. “That adds a new dimension to fusion research.” This work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). ### Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is committed to groundbreaking research focused on discovery science and solutions for abundant and reliable energy supplies. The lab’s expertise spans materials, chemistry, physics, biology, earth and environmental science, mathematics, and computing. Researchers from around the world rely on the lab’s world-class scientific facilities for their own pioneering research. Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest problems are best addressed by teams, Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 17 Nobel Prizes. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
Amazon is bringing games to Prime Video
Amazon is hoping the addition of games can turn Prime Video into a one-stop entertainment destination, borrowing a strategy from Netflix, which has increasingly embraced party games over the past several years.
Schiff calls out Trump's corruption, warns against complacency
In a floor speech, California's senator plans to assay the president's conflicts of interest and offer a prescription for cleansing once Trump leaves office. He warns against numbness or complacency.
‘Causing havoc’ or high-tech convenience? Sports betting kiosks installed at 89 retail stores in Delaware
Merchants, lottery boss tout self-serve system, but gambling addiction counselors worry about underage users, more people going deep into debt.
Don’t like the result? Don’t worry, sport no longer ends on the field of play
From the wrong headset in an F2 garage to Fifa overturning a red card, we are in a landscape where fairness is the enemy
Majority of Small Business Are Underinsured as Other Expenses Prioritized
New small business owners are more likely to have proper business insurance than those that have been operating longer. Even so, a majority of small
GiGi’s Playhouse teams up with F-M Science Museum for rocket fun
Museum staff will be back tomorrow with another hands-on activity, this time, focused on fossils.
The Raiders Won the Offseason, Can They Start Winning Games?
The Raiders entered the offseason with the first pick in the draft and the second most cap space in the NFL. Sporting News gave the Raiders the second best offseason grade (just behind the Rams) ahead of the 2026 season. The Raiders had the top pick in the draft after getting horrid quarterback play in 2025.
Not a ‘redo’: Secret Service prepares for second press dinner after attack
As the Secret Service prepares for a second take at this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, DC, on Friday, Director Sean Curran defended how his agency handled security at the first version of the dinner.
Halloween Horror Nights drops new scare zone inspired by 'Fortnitemares'
It will debut this fall at Universal Orlando Resort, beginning Aug. 28, and at Universal Studios Hollywood on Sept. 3.
Mamdani names new Economic Development Corporation president and chair
Anthony Shorris will be the EDC president.
Mamdani throws businesses a curveball with Biden's antitrust firebrand
Zohran Mamdani has tapped ally Lina Khan and McKinsey partner Anthony Shorris to lead New York City's Economic Development Corporation.
New Report Examines How States Can Protect Pregnant/Postpartum Enrollees from Losing Health Coverage Due to Work Reporting Requirements (And Why We Should Still Be Worried)
As awareness has grown about the new Medicaid work reporting requirements (WRRs) that have already been put in place in some states but are mandated to begin January 1 of next year, it has created layers of confusion about who will be required to report work hours. Our new report on pregnant women and WRRs […]
'The Super Mario Galaxy' Movie Returns Atop U.K. Home Entertainment Sales Chart Through July 22
Universal’s The Super Mario Galaxy Movie returned atop of the Official Film Chart, the U.K.’s weekly home entertainment sales chart, through July 22. The former chart topper in June, the animated family adventure held off the transactional debut of A24’s box office sleeper hit Backrooms, which debuted at No. 2. The sci-fi horror, which taps into … Continue reading "‘The Super Mario Galaxy’ Movie Returns Atop U.K. Home Entertainment Sales Chart Through July 22"
Samsung announces Galaxy Watch 9 and Ultra 2, with new AI features
Sorry, no Classic model this year.
Stanford and SLAC to lead Genesis Mission projects
The U.S. Department of Energy announced the first phase of funding for projects using artificial intelligence to tackle the nation’s most complex science and technology challenges, including six led by Stanford and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.