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One side is scorched to over 200 degrees, while the other is plunged into a darkness so cold it falls below minus 200. Welcome to TRAPPIST-1b and 1c, two rocky worlds that have just revealed the first ever climate maps of Earth sized planets beyond our Solar System. The James Webb Space Telescope has been watching, and what it found tells us something profound about where life might, and might not exist in our Galaxy.

At the heart of our Galaxy lurks a supermassive black hole four million times the mass of our Sun. For decades, astronomers have watched mysterious gas clouds drifting towards it on almost identical paths, wondering where they came from and why. Now, a team of researchers think they have finally cracked the puzzle and the answer involves two massive stars locked in a violent embrace!

Scientists are grappling with a cosmic mystery: why does the Universe behave differently on massive scales compared to our own solar system? While distant galaxies reveal clear signs of something bending the rules of gravity—often attributed to dark energy or a hidden “fifth force”—everything nearby seems to follow Einstein’s playbook perfectly.

A breakthrough in brain-inspired computing could make today’s energy-hungry AI systems far more efficient. Researchers have engineered a new nanoelectronic device using a modified form of hafnium oxide that mimics how neurons process and store information at the same time. Unlike conventional chips that waste energy moving data back and forth, this device operates with ultra-low power—potentially slashing energy use by up to 70%.

An international team led by Monash University has uncovered evidence of a rare form of exploding star, helping to shed light on one of the most cataclysmic events in the universe. At the end of their lives, most massive stars collapse into black holes—objects with gravity so strong that not even light can escape. But some are completely destroyed in pair-instability supernova explosions. This can explain the so-named "Forbidden Gap" in black hole masses.

Bill Maher’s “New Rules” segment from the week before last is about AI, its history, its dangers, and its errors.  Maher doesn’t think too much of it, for, after all, AI can’t cure cancer.  I think he gives these bots overly short shrift, and neglects the productive things AI really can do.  But he then implies that it’s run by sociopaths and could drive humanity extinct.

The guests for that week were journalist Kara Swisher, politician Rahm Emanuel, and attorney and security advisor Jake Sullivan.

MSL Curiosity found 7 new organic molecules preserved in Martian sandstone. While they aren't proof that life existed on Mars, they are important. They show that the planet is capable of protecting ancient biosignatures from radiation and preserving them in rock.

Photographer Yuri Segalerba explores how dengue has spread to Nepal's Himalayan districts, and how locals are fighting back

The food industry has made big promises to reduce emissions and become more sustainable, but a review concludes that many of the pledges are not backed up by evidence

The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week

The idea that EV batteries age poorly is a misconception – and a new report has found they often outlive the cars themselves

A seaside town is devastated when a small fishing boat, the Rose of Nevada, disappears at sea. Thirty years later, the boat reappears in the harbour and sets off a moving story, says Bethan Ackerley

Feedback, always on the hunt for absurd units of measurement, is delighted by recent attempts to convey the 406,771 kilometres that the Artemis II crew travelled from Earth

Discovering he is getting old before his time, David Cox tries to lower his biological age by changing his diet in a helpful new book, The Age Code, says Graham Lawton

The rise of a new generation of radiotherapies means we will soon need much greater quantities of radioactive atoms. That's why companies are scrambling to refine them from all manner of radioactive waste

A robot built by Sony AI is rapidly learning how to beat the world's very best table tennis players

Without a doubt, the most famous “restaurant” in Savannah is Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room, formerly known as Mrs. Wilkes’ Boarding House (the apostrophe seems to be optional).  It is a stupendous all-you-can eat Southern homestyle meal, formerly served to the lodgers at a boarding house. A bit from Wikipedia:

Mrs. Wilkes’ Dining Room was previously the dining hall of the Wilkes House, a downtown boardinghouse. Today the restaurant is housed on the ground floor of the same historic house, built in 1870, at 107 West Jones Street. The restaurant was described by author William Schemmel as “a treasure hidden away in a historic district town-house”.  Its longtime owner, Sema Wilkes, published several cookbooks. As of 2024 her family continued to run the restaurant, serving lunch on weekdays.

We happen to be staying at about 200 Jones Street, so could walk get there in about 7 minutes, though waddling home the obligatory postprandial nap took a while longer!

More:

Mrs. Wilkes’ is noted for its homestyle traditions, in which guests are escorted in shifts of ten into the dining room, where a variety of dishes are freshly laid on one of several long tables. There is no menu; dishes are selected by the restaurant and change daily. Travel Holiday in 1993 recalled that the “tables were set with steaming bowls and platters of tasty Southern food”.

The guests sit at the table and pass the dishes around to one another like a family. There are usually long queues waiting to get in.

Usually?? Try “always”!

We tried to go on Monday, but didn’t make the first seating and so, lest we miss our Monday architecture tour, decided to return yesterday.  The first three pictures are from Monday, but the line was the same (long) yesterday. The difference was that yesterday got there a full hour before it opened at 11 a.m., and so were seated as soon as the doors opened.

I’ve put a lovely YouTube video about the place at the bottom of this post, so be sure to watch it. It perfectly captures the Wilkes Dining Experience.

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The line was longer than this but I wanted to fit in the house as well as the hungry customers.

I wanted Tim to photograph me holding a fried chicken leg (the place is famous for its fried chicken) and, sure enough, my chicken leg was on the sign by the entrance.

The place was about five minutes late in opening—a delay I couldn’t tolerate. Photo by Tim.

They take only case: no credit cards (there’s an ATM nearby).

Our table set up with some (but far from all) of the dishes we got, along with glasses of tea (sweetened, of course) and fresh roses. You can see collard greens, fried okra, macaroni salad, cucumber salad, and, well, I put below of what we were offered.

One of the two dining rooms after it filled up.

Immediately after sitting down, we were served both cornbread and fresh, hot biscuits.

And of course the food and atmosphere were conducive to making friends, and so we chatted with two amiable visitors from the UK, one from Manchester, where Matthew lives. I’m sure this is a particularly unique experience for Brits who aren’t familiar with southern American cuisine (the best in the U.S., in my view, especially if you throw in Texas brisket).

Here are the dishes that were put on the table, but we may have forgotten a few. There were more than two dozen, and you could help yourself to as much as you wanted. Our lunch took about an hour.

Fried chicken
Pulled pork
Macaroni and cheese
Macaroni salad
Sweet potatoes
Mashed potatoes
Biscuits
Cornbread
Stuffing
Rice
Rice with chorizo
Black-eyed peas
Green beans
Okra
Fried okra
Collard greens
Yellow squash
Rutabaga
Cucumber salad
Boiled cabbage
Cole slaw
Creamed corn
Gravy

Dessert:

Banana pudding
Peach cobbler with ice cream

Sweet ice tea

Below: my plate, the first of 2.5 platefuls I ate. Clockwise from 11 o’clock: biscuit, cornbread, collard greens, deep-fried okra, macaroni salad, pulled pork, black-eyed peas, stewed cabbage, rice with chorizo, sweetened yams, and fried chicken. As expected, the fried chicken was fantastic: among the best I’ve ever had. A crunchy, crackly exterior enshrouded juicy chicken.

This was, of course, only my first plate, as I wanted to try nearly all the dishes except stewed okra (okra is edible only when deep-friend, and ;then can be very good).

Me eating chicken–a breast this time, though I also had a thigh. Photo by Tim.

Here are Tim and Betsy digging in:

We were offered a choice of desserts: peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream or banana pudding studded with vanilla wafers. Since part of my stomach is reserved for desserts, I asked for (and got) both.

Cobbler:

Banana pudding:

We waddled home after that, and all of us needed a nap. I did not eat a bit of food until this morning, when I ate only two pieces of toast.

If you go to Savannah (and do go when it’s not summer), you MUST go to Mrs. Wilkes’.  This is not optional.

Here’s a great video about the place I found on YouTube.

Exercise has been touted as a tool for managing and treating long covid, but much of the evidence has neglected one of its most debilitating symptoms: post-exertional malaise

Back in 1997, the Hubble Space Telescope imaged the spectacular Trifid Nebula, a region of active star-formation. Now the telescope has revisited the Trifid. By comparing both images, astronomers have tracked some changes that tell them about how young stars behave and evolve.

I have been following the story here of the newest Alzheimers drugs, the first to show that they can actually slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The benefits are modest, and come with the potential for serious side effects and a high price tag, but after decades of disappointment it was good to at least have a proof of concept that […]

The post New Review Casts Doubt On Alzheimers Drugs But Is Controversial first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.