science

An artificial intelligence (AI) system has for the first time figured out how to collect diamonds in the hugely popular video game Minecraft — a difficult task requiring multiple steps — without being shown how to play. Its creators say the system, called Dreamer, is a step towards machines that can generalize knowledge learned in one domain to new situations, a major goal of AI.

Collecting a diamond is “a very hard task”, says computer scientist Jeff Clune at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, who was part of a separate team that trained a program to find diamonds using videos of human play. “There is no question this represents a major step forward for the field.”

An even bigger target for AI, says Clune, is the ultimate challenge for Minecraft players: killing the Ender Dragon, the virtual world’s most fearsome creature.

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~~Neuro-sama: finally a worthwhile opponent~~

Scientists have long sought to unravel the mysteries of strange metals — materials that defy conventional rules of electricity and magnetism. Now, a team of physicists at Rice University has made a breakthrough in this area using a tool from quantum information science. Their study, published recently in Nature Communications, reveals that electrons in strange metals become more entangled at a crucial tipping point, shedding new light on the behavior of these enigmatic materials. The discovery could pave the way for advances in superconductors with the potential to transform energy use in the future.

Scientists at the world’s largest atom smasher have released a blueprint for a much bigger successor that could help solve remaining enigmas of physics.

The plans for the Future Circular Collider — a nearly 91-kilometer (56.5-mile) loop along the French-Swiss border and even below Lake Geneva — published late on Monday put the finishing details on a project roughly a decade in the making at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

Corporations lied

Even at work, our phones are usually within reach. But does removing them from our desks help us be less distracted by them? A researcher, asking people to place their phones just out of their reach, put it to the test. The results showed that participants didn’t spend any less time pursuing leisure activities when their phones were further away from them, and that they switched between work and leisure tasks just as often.

Summary

The Department of Energy (DOE) will cut two-thirds of purchasing card (PCard) holders in national labs as part of Trump's latest attack on science.

Researchers say the move will disrupt workflows, delay experiments, and increase administrative burdens. A technician described the policy as “creating a bottleneck,” comparing it to going “from a five-lane highway down to a two-lane highway... one way in each direction.”

Previously, PCards expedited transactions for scientific projects, but now fewer authorized users and inexperienced staff will slow procurement.

Critics argue the crackdown undermines research efficiency without yielding savings. Some labs already face $1 limits, causing frustration and uncertainty among scientists.

Why functioning governments fund scientific research - Angela Collier