Mysterious blasts coming from deep in space could be the result of “starquakes”, according to a new study. For years, scientists have been observing fast radio bursts, or FRBs, coming from distant parts of space. They are very intense, very short blasts of energy – and despite finding many of them, researchers still do not know where they are coming from or how they might be formed. Now, scientists have spotted that there is appears to be similarities between those FRBs and earthquakes. Researchers behind the new study suggest that the blasts could be the result of similar behaviour on neutron stars, known as starquakes. It is just one possible explanation for the unusual bursts, which have led to suggestions they could be anything from neutron stars colliding with black holes to alien technology. Most have settled on the belief that at least some of those FRBs come from neutron stars, however, which are formed when supergiant stars collapse into an incredibly dense, small object. In the new study, researchers looked at data from nearly 7,000 bursts, taken from three different sources that are sending out repeated FRBs, examining the time and energy that they emerged in. They then also looked at earthquake information taken from Japan, and data on solar flares, and looked to compare the three. There was little connection between FRBs and solar flares, the researchers found. But there was a striking similarity between the blasts and earthquakes. “The results show notable similarities between FRBs and earthquakes in the following ways: First, the probability of an aftershock occurring for a single event is 10-50%; second, the aftershock occurrence rate decreases with time, as a power of time; third, the aftershock rate is always constant even if the FRB-earthquake activity (mean rate) changes significantly; and fourth, there is no correlation between the energies of the main shock and its aftershock,” said Tomonori Totani from the University of Tokyo, one of the leaders of the study. The findings have led scientists to speculate that there is a solid crust on the outer surface of neutron stars. That crust then experiences starquakes in the same way the Earth’s surface does – and those quakes then let out powerful blasts of energy that make their way to us as FRBs. But researchers say they will need to further examine those FRBs to better understand the connection between the two – as well as to help give us information about quakes and other physical phenomena that are closer to home. “By studying starquakes on distant ultradense stars, which are completely different environments from Earth, we may gain new insights into earthquakes,” said Professor Totani. “The interior of a neutron star is the densest place in the universe, comparable to that of the interior of an atomic nucleus. “Starquakes in neutron stars have opened up the possibility of gaining new insights into very high-density matter and the fundamental laws of nuclear physics.” The research is described in a new paper, ‘Fast radio bursts trigger aftershocks resembling earthquakes, but not solar flares’, published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

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Watch live as Dario Amodei, CEO of artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, testifies at a US Senate hearing on AI as lawmakers consider potential regulations for the fast-growing technology on Tuesday, 25 July. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law is holding a hearing titled “Oversight of AI: Principles for Regulation.” Witnesses will also include Stuart Russell, professor of computer science at The University of California, Berkley, and Yoshua Bengio, founder and scientific director of Mila - Quebec AI Institute and professor in the Department of Computer Science and Operations Research at Universite de Montreal. Ahead of the hearing, Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal said: “It’s our obligation to address AI’s potential threats and risks before they become real. “We are on the verge of a new era, with major consequences for workers, consumer privacy, and our society.” The hearing comes after Joe Biden met with the CEOs of top AI companies, including Amodei, back in May to make clear they must ensure products are safe before they are deployed. Read More Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg and Brian Cox among British actors protesting AI in film Biden says AI leaders committing to building ‘safe, secure and trustworthy’ tech DeSantis pushes AI-generated attack ad featuring fake Trump voice

TikTok says it is launching a “command centre” and more as part of its attempt to address posts emerging from the Israel-Hamas war. As with other social platforms, TikTok is facing increased scrutiny over its treatment of abusive and misleading posts by users. Twitter/X in particular has faced criticism over approach to illegal and misleading content. It said that it had “immediately mobilised significant resources and personnel to help maintain the safety of our community and integrity of our platform” in response to the crisis. That has included the launch of what it called a “command centre that brings together key members of our 40,000-strong global team of safety professionals”, though it gave little information on what that command centre actually does. It will also update its automated detection systems to identify “graphic and violent content” so that it not only goes out to users but also so that human moderators are not subject to disturbing posts. TikTok is also adding more moderators who speak Arabic and Hebrew, it said. It also specifically addressed concerns about the spread of misleading content in the wake of the crisis. In recent days, misinformation has spread on social networks, with a number of popular but false videos spreading across the web. TikTok said it would be removing what it calls “synthetic media that has been edited, spliced, or combined in a way that could mislead our community about real-world events”. It also pointed to its work with fact checkers, who review posts to ensure they are accurate. When a post is being checked, it is removed from the For You feed that uses algorithmic recommendations, and if the truth cannot be determined then TikTok will remove it from that For You feed and apply a banner, though it will leave it live on the site. TikTok also pointed users to a range of options that are available to users to hide certain posts. That includes clicking “not interested” on any posts they want to see less of, and reporting content that may be misleading, for instance – both of which are done from the options on any given post. Read More Schoolboy almost dies from swallowing magnets for TikTok challenge Woman shares honest review of New York City apartment TikTok mom slammed after making 5-year-old son run in 104 degree heat

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