Scientists think they have discovered a previously unknown hidden structure inside the Earth’s core that could change our understanding of our planet. In school, most of us were taught there are four main layers to the Earth’s structure: the crust, the mantle, the outer core and the inner core. What we know about the Earth’s insides has mostly derived from geologists’ knowledge and observations of volcanoes and seismic waves. But now, scientists believe that there may also be a whole extra layer hidden inside the inner core that no one knew about. Earth’s molten inner core is predicted to be around 5,000 degrees Celsius in temperature and scientists have calculated that it takes up around just 1 per cent of the planet’s total volume. The discovery of a potential fifth layer to the planet’s core came a few years ago when scientists used an algorithm to model thousands of scenarios of the inner core to observe the length of time it takes seismic waves to travel through Earth based on data by the International Seismological Centre. Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter Scientists were able to analyse how different material properties within the inner core would affect seismic waves differently and found that some scenarios were certainly more likely than others. The algorithm showed how different materials altered the angle of seismic waves, leading them to hypothesise that there was a change of material somewhere in the inner core. Joanne Stephenson, an Australian National University geophysicist, explained: “We found evidence that may indicate a change in the structure of iron, which suggests perhaps two separate cooling events in Earth's history.” She continued: “The details of this big event are still a bit of a mystery, but we've added another piece of the puzzle when it comes to our knowledge of the Earth's inner core.” While their data isn’t conclusive, it does correlate with other similar studies that have looked into the anisotropy of the Earth’s inner core. Stephenson said: “It's very exciting - and might mean we have to re-write the textbooks!” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Elon Musk plans to change the logo of Twitter to an “X” from the bird, marking what would be the latest big change since he bought the social media platform for $44 billion last year

French startup Mistral AI didn't have a working product when it raised €105 million ($118 million) in one of Europe's largest-ever seed rounds last month. But Antoine Moyroud, a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, one of the biggest backers of the fledgling firm, wasn't fazed.

Elon Musk has hinted that he will today be changing the Twitter logo from its iconic blue bird which has been synonymous with the website since its inception to a solitary 'X' symbol. Late on Saturday, July 22nd or early on July 23rd (depending on where in the world you are) Musk tweeted: "And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds." Shortly after this he added: "If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we'll make (it) go live worldwide tomorrow." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter He also hinted at what the logo might look like in a short and dramatic video snippet that showed a flickering animated 'X' symbol with some over-the-top music accompanying it. The South Africian billionaire and former richest man in the world also joined a Twitter spaces audio chat and simply replied "Yes" when he was asked about the sudden logo change before adding that "it should have been done a long time ago." Attentive listener's on the audio call also noticed that when Musk made the announcement he was playing the video game Diablo IV. Twitter has previously called its blue bird logo "our most recognisable asset" but it remains to be seen how long the new logo change will last. In April of this year, the website's logo was briefly changed to the Dogecoin dog symbol. Twitter has experienced a tumultuous time since Musk took over in 2022 with the website blighted by a number of technical issues as Musk and his new team attempted to implement changes. This has since led to many users flocking to other similar sites such as BlueSky, Mastadon and Mark Zuckerberg's new venture Threads, which registered more than 70 million sign-ups in its first 48 hours. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Elon Musk tweeted on his official account on Sunday that Twitter would be changing its logo to an "X" and that all the birds will be disappearing from the platform.

(Corrects paragraph 2 to owner, not CEO) Elon Musk said he was looking to change Twitter's logo, tweeting:

A new crop of artificial intelligence tools carries the promise of streamlining tasks, improving efficiency and boosting productivity in the workplace. But that hasn't been Neil Clarke's experience so far.

You could be forgiven for thinking humans are helpless against extreme heat. All over the world, record high

Getting control of the use of artificial intelligence is a central issue in the current strikes of Hollywood's actors and writers

LONDON (Reuters) -Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal is back in the hands of Britain's antitrust regulator after an appeals court granted

AI does not represent “an existential threat to humanity”, hundreds of experts have urged in a new open letter. It is just the latest intervention by engineers and other academics amid an increasing interest and fear about the future of artificial intelligence. The new letter follows a recent intervention by technologists including Elon Musk, who in March was one of more than 1,000 experts who said that humanity was in danger from AI experiments. It called on companies to pause their work and consider the dangers - and asked governments to intervene if they would not. The new letter stands in opposition to that call. It says that AI “will be a transformative force for good if we get critical decisions about its development and use right”. The letter was organised by UK-based BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT. It said that it had launched the letter to counter “AI doom”. It says that the country “can help lead the way in setting professional and technical standards in AI roles, supported by a robust code of conduct, international collaboration and fully resourced regulation”. By doing so it would not only help promote the UK as an AI destination but also ensure that AI was used for good, it said. The signatories includes a range of people from across society, including those who work in think tanks and public bodies and not specifically on artificial intelligence. But it also includes a range of engineers and others who have worked on artificial intelligence within academic and business contexts. BCS said that the calls including those in the letter signed by Elon Musk earlier this year could help play into the hands of bad actors. “The technologists and leaders who signed our statement believe AI won’t grow up like The Terminator but instead as a trusted co-pilot in learning, work, healthcare, entertainment,” said Rashik Parmar, the chief executive of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. “One way of achieving that is for AI to be created and managed by licensed and ethical professionals meeting standards that are recognised across international borders. “The public need confidence that the experts not only know how to create and use AI but how to use it responsibly. Yes, AI is a journey with no return ticket, but this letter shows the tech community doesn’t believe it ends with the nightmare scenario of evil robot overlords.” Read More Meta unveils its ChatGPT rival Llama xAI: Everything we know about Elon Musk’s new AI company Meet the AI human-like robots that can do our jobs

People are getting less happy with their cars – and it appears to be the fault of new technology and design innovations, according to landmark research. Customer satisfaction is falling with people pointing to a range of issues including the exterior design of the car. But particular frustration is with infotainment systems, with people turning away from them as ways of listening to music and get around. Only 56 per cent of car owners prefer to use their car’s in-built system to play audio, for instance, down from 70 per cent in 2020. Less than half of car owners prefer to use integrated systems for functions like phone calls, voice recognition and navigation. Instead, users are presumably using external systems such as their phones. In recent years, technologies such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have made it possible to mirror those screens, rather than use the built-in and often complicated software provided by car manufacturers. That is according to the US Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) study, run by JD Power. It is the first time in the 28 year history of the study that customer satisfaction has fallen two years in a row – and could point to a range of issues in the car market. Satisfaction is counted on a 1000-point scale. This year, it was measured at 845, which was down two points from last year, and three points from the year before. “The decline in consecutive years might look small, but it’s an indicator that larger issues may lie under the surface,” said Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at JD Power, in a statement. “Despite the technology and design innovations that manufacturers put into new vehicles, owners are lukewarm about them. While innovations like charging pads, vehicle apps and advanced audio features should enhance an owner’s experience, this is not the case when problems are experienced. “This downward trajectory of satisfaction should be a warning sign to manufacturers that they need to better understand what owners really want in their new vehicles.” The survey also found a decline in satisfaction with some tech focused car companies. Tesla remains one of the higher performing brands but saw its score at 878, down nine points from last year, when the company was first included in the study. The study was based on almost 85,000 owners of new cars who were surveyed after owning the vehicle for 90 days. It ran between February and May of this year. Read More ChatGPT will now know who you are and what you want Rumours are growing about some bad iPhone news Solar panel tech breakthrough generates electricity from rain