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Eleven killed in multiple strikes on alleged drug boats, US military says
Feb. 17th, 2026 05:33 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
bbcnewsworld_feedMore than 130 people have been killed in these alleged "narco-trafficking operations" carried out by the US since September.
bbcnewsworld_feed
Jesse Jackson: A life in pictures
Feb. 17th, 2026 05:18 pmbbcnewsworld_feedA look back at the remarkable life of the US civil rights activist, who died on Tuesday aged 84.
Third round of Russia-Ukraine talks starts in Geneva as strikes continue
Feb. 17th, 2026 11:48 ambbcnewsworld_feedExpectations for a breakthrough are low as negotiators meet at a US-brokered talks to try end the war.
How the tide turned against the leader of South Africa's second-biggest party
Feb. 17th, 2026 01:07 ambbcnewsworld_feedJohn Steenhuisen will not seek re-election as DA leader, leaving the race wide open for a successor.
phys_breaking_feedUnderstanding what complex chemical measurements reveal about materials and reactions can take weeks or months of analysis. But now, an AI-powered platform developed by researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) could reduce this interpretation cycle to minutes, enabling much faster insight into chemical processes relevant to energy storage, catalysis, and manufacturing.
A smart fluid that can be reconfigured with temperature
Feb. 17th, 2026 12:20 pmphys_breaking_feedImagine a "smart fluid" whose internal structure can be rearranged just by changing temperature. In a new study published in Matter, researchers report a way to overcome a long-standing limitation in a class of "smart fluids" called nematic liquid crystal microcolloids, allowing for reconfigurable self-assembly of micrometer-sized particles dispersed in a nematic liquid crystal host.
AI system TongGeometry generates and solves olympiad-level geometry problems
Feb. 17th, 2026 12:20 pmphys_breaking_feedThe International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is a prestigious competition featuring talented high school students from around the world, in which competitors solve complicated mathematical problems. Geometry problems from these kinds of competitions—in particular, the formal logic and spatial reasoning involved—has been noted as a critical benchmark in artificial intelligence (AI) research.
Hillary Clinton accuses Trump administration of Epstein files 'cover-up' in BBC interview
Feb. 17th, 2026 07:59 ambbcnewsworld_feed"Get the files out. They are slow-walking it," the former US secretary of state says. The White House says it has done "more for the victims than Democrats ever did".
Unbridled Passions: The Eight Horses of King Mu, Son of Heaven (ca. 1300)
Feb. 17th, 2026 04:14 pmpublicdomainreview_feed
Unruly steeds from King Mu’s mythology, cavorting across a silk scroll.
Pigeons Transmogrified: Hannah Glasse’s Art of Cookery (1751 edition)
Feb. 17th, 2026 04:13 pmpublicdomainreview_feed
A bestselling 18th-century cookbook, containing the first recipe for curry in English.
Specially engineered crystal reveals magnetism with quantum potential
Feb. 17th, 2026 12:00 pmphys_breaking_feedResearchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, working with international partners, have uncovered surprising behavior in a specially engineered crystal. Composed of tantalum, tungsten and selenium—elements often studied for their potential in advanced electronics—the crystal demonstrates an unexpected atomic arrangement that hints at novel applications in spin-based electronics and quantum materials.
Longer roots for drought? How an edited protein could reshape crop resilience
Feb. 17th, 2026 11:59 amphys_breaking_feedWhat's the key to growing resilient crops that can survive tough conditions? Researchers at the University of Missouri are getting to the root of it—literally. Researchers in the Walter Gassmann lab at Mizzou's Bond Life Sciences Center have discovered how a specific protein known as SRFR1 plays a critical role in how deeply plant roots grow underground. Even more promising, they unlocked a way to manipulate this protein to encourage longer root growth, a trait that can potentially help plants better withstand drought.
Physicists observe polaron formation for the first time
Feb. 17th, 2026 11:53 amphys_breaking_feedWhen an electron travels through a polar crystalline solid, its negative charge attracts the positively charged atomic cores, causing the surrounding crystal lattice to deform. The electron and lattice distortion then move together through the material—like a single object. Physicists call these quasiparticles polarons. A team led by Professor Jochen Feldmann from LMU has succeeded in tracking the extremely brief formation process of this object for the first time, using an ultrafast imaging method.
From cells to companies: Study shows how diversity scales within complex systems
Feb. 17th, 2026 11:49 amphys_breaking_feedA mystery novel, a history book, and a fantasy epic may have little in common in plot or style. But count the words inside them and a strange regularity appears: many new words show up early, then fewer and fewer as the author reuses what has already been introduced. That pattern, known as Heaps' law, turns out not to belong to books alone. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that the same rule also describes how many complex systems grow, from living cells and corporations to universities and government agencies—and could even be used to predict how they will change in the future.
Tuned nanocrystals speed light-driven reactions by matching molecular vibrations
Feb. 17th, 2026 11:46 amphys_breaking_feedAdjusting the size and chemistry of nanocrystals within an ultrathin surface can speed up light-driven chemical reactions, according to a University of Michigan Engineering study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The new method works by matching the crystals' electronic rhythm to the internal vibrations of target molecules.
Early study connects dogs' cancer survival with their gut microbiome composition
Feb. 17th, 2026 11:40 amphys_breaking_feedCanine cancer patients receiving a new form of immunotherapy lived longer or shorter depending on the composition of their microbiome, the community of organisms living in their gut. Results of the clinical trial led by Oregon State University scientists were published in Veterinary Oncology.
Police identify suspect in Rhode Island ice rink shooting
Feb. 17th, 2026 03:47 pmbbcnewsworld_feedTwo people were killed and three others were injured at a shooting at a high school hockey game in Pawtucket.
US soldiers arrive in Nigeria to aid its fight against Islamist militants
Feb. 17th, 2026 03:03 pmbbcnewsworld_feedThe troops, who landed at an airfield in Bauchi state, will not take part in combat operations, officials say.
The man whose bad break-up gave Madonna her breakthrough hit Like A Virgin
Feb. 17th, 2026 02:22 pmbbcnewsworld_feedBilly Steinberg, who has died at the age of 75, co-wrote Madonna's 1984 chart-topper Like a Virgin.
Nuclear talks between US and Iran end in Geneva
Feb. 17th, 2026 02:21 pmbbcnewsworld_feedIran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the two countries had reached an understanding on the main "guiding principles", but work still needs to be done.