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Compelling Stories for the Curious-Minded

To AI and Beyond! Gemini 1.5 is the latest ‘expert’ neural network to perform detailed complex reasoning and accurate analysis of vast quantities of information. This includes having a processing capacity of over 700,000 words and 30,000 lines of code in one go.
Home Fears: Home Secretary James Cleverly expressed concern over AI misuse, generated by the rise in deepfakes, ahead of the UK General Election. ‘The era of deepfake and AI-generated content to mislead and disrupt is already in play,’ he said earlier this week.
‘Think Before You Click’: According to the latest research, misinformation feeds on ‘attention gaps.’ Inattentiveness increases our chances of clicking on false and misinformative content, says Alexander Stewart, Professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of St Andrews. This challenges the idea that certain consumers actively seek out false information that corresponds with their beliefs. Rather, misinformation content producers often exploit a cognitive gap in our thinking to target ‘truth-seeking’ readers.
Skin Secrets: New research reveals that the condition of your skin, our largest organ, can determine your health and ageing process. Damage to the epidermal (surface) layer and beyond is not always skin-deep and can affect the rest of the body, including bones, muscles and even eyesight.
Fun Weekly (Warning!) Fact: Nutmeg is a hallucinogen. This popular baking spice contains myristicin, a natural compound that can produce ‘mind-altering’ hallucinations if taken in excess. The effects can last up to two days, with diarrhoea and vomiting reported.
Racial Segregation at the West End? A decision to provide ‘black-only’ evenings for certain performances of Slave Play has been criticised for encouraging ‘racial segregation.’ The play’s author, Jeremy O Harris, defended the idea of ‘Black Out nights,’ arguing that the move allows Black people ‘to feel safe in a place where they often do not feel safe.’
Snakes are an ‘evolutionary bullet train’: Snakes are an evolutionary success story of rapid adaptation and innovation. There is much to learn from this 120-million-year-old creature that can climb trees, dive in deep waters, produce venom and see infrared — while having lost its limbs. The snake teaches us that survival is often all about making necessary adjustments.