Month: October 2025

CDU-Generalsekretär Carsten Linnemann fordert Altersgrenzen für soziale Netzwerke. Der Zugang soll erst ab 16 Jahren möglich sein. (Soziales Netz, Politik)

Magic mushrooms have been used in traditional ceremonies and for recreational purposes for thousands of years. However, a new study has found that mushrooms evolved the ability to make the same psychoactive substance twice. The discovery has important implications for both our understanding of these mushrooms’ role in nature and their medical potential.

Magic mushrooms produce psilocybin, which your body converts into its active form, psilocin, when you ingest it. Psilocybin rose in popularity in the 1960s and was eventually classed as a Schedule 1 drug in the US in 1970, and as a Class A drug in 1971 in the UK, the designations given to drugs that have high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. This put a stop to research on the medical use of psilocybin for decades.

But recent clinical trials have shown that psilocybin can reduce depression severity, suicidal thoughts, and chronic anxiety. Given its potential for medical treatments, there is renewed interest in understanding how psilocybin is made in nature and how we can produce it sustainably.

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Forscher zeigen, wie künstliche Intelligenz Schutzmaßnahmen gegen die Entwicklung von Biowaffen und Giften umgehen könnte. (KI, Sicherheitslücke)

Das System ist skalierbar, verursacht nur geringe Kosten und könnte vor allem in dicht besiedelten Gegenden die Nutzung von Elektroautos fördern. (Ladesäule, Elektroauto)

Volkswagen macht einen Reset bei Cariad: Die Software-Tochter wird zur Koordinierungsstelle für die Partner Rivian und Xpeng, entwickelt aber selbst auch. (Cariad, Auto)

Weil ein einfacher, aber kraftintensiver Schritt entfällt, sorgen die autonomen Maschinen für eine schnelle Installation großflächiger Solaranlagen. (Energiewende, Roboter)

MCP ist ein bemerkenswertes Protokoll, das die Schnittstelle zwischen verschiedenen KI-Modellen standardisiert: Wir erklären, wie man es sinnvoll nutzen kann. Ein Praxistest von Markus Kammermeier (KI, API)

Nach begeisterndem Start endet Staffel 1 von Alien: Earth ärgerlich schlecht und veranschaulicht damit ein Grundproblem für Serienkritiker. Eine Rezension von Daniel Pook (Filme & Serien, Disney)

According to new polling data, nearly 80 percent of Americans support extending Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of this year—and are at the center of a funding dispute that led to a shutdown of the federal government this week.

The poll, conducted by KFF and released Friday, found that 78 percent of Americans want the tax credits extended, including 92 percent of Democrats, 59 percent of Republicans—and even a majority (57 percent) of Republicans who identify as Donald Trump-aligned MAGA (Make America Great Again) supporters.

A separate analysis published by KFF earlier this week found that if the credits are not extended, monthly premiums for ACA Marketplace plans would more than double on average. Specifically, the current average premium of $888 would jump to $1,904 in 2026, a 114 percent increase.

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A new listing of the 50 most concerning pieces of space debris in low-Earth orbit is dominated by relics more than a quarter-century old, primarily dead rockets left to hurtle through space at the end of their missions.

"The things left before 2000 are still the majority of the problem," said Darren McKnight, lead author of a paper presented Friday at the International Astronautical Congress in Sydney. "Seventy-six percent of the objects in the top 50 were deposited last century, and 88 percent of the objects are rocket bodies. That's important to note, especially with some disturbing trends right now."

The 50 objects identified by McKnight and his coauthors are the ones most likely to drive the creation of more space junk in low-Earth orbit (LEO) through collisions with other debris fragments. The objects are whizzing around the Earth at nearly 5 miles per second, flying in a heavily trafficked part of LEO between 700 and 1,000 kilometers (435 to 621 miles) above the Earth.

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