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Secretive game developer codes hit 'Balatro' in Canadian prairie province

There are no photos or videos of LocalThunk, an anonymous computer programmer who lives in the vast and desolate prairies of Canada's Saskatchewan province, far from Silicon Valley.

Scientists observe 'negative time' in quantum experiments

Scientists have long known that light can sometimes appear to exit a material before entering it -- an effect dismissed as an illusion caused by how waves are distorted by matter.

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World Bank spent almost $15 bn on fossil fuel projects since Paris deal: report

The World Bank has pumped $14.8 billion into fossil fuel projects globally in the period following the landmark Paris climate accord, a report said Thursday.

In Senegal, ancient male rite collides with modern times

The dancers are a blaze of colour, swirling amid a deafening, pounding noise.

Month before COP27, host Egypt faces heat over rights, climate action

A month before Egypt hosts the UN climate change conference, Cairo is finalising the list of world leaders coming as it weathers criticism over its human rights and environmental records.

Amid Ukraine war, US flies Russian cosmonaut to ISS

A SpaceX rocket carrying a Russian crew member blasted off from Florida Wednesday on a voyage that carries significant symbolism as war rages in Ukraine.

The five scientists who won two Nobel prizes

American Barry Sharpless on Wednesday became only the fifth person ever to win a second Nobel Prize, two decades after being awarded his first.

US duo and Dane win Nobel for 'click chemistry'

A trio of chemists from the United States and Denmark who laid the foundation for a more functional form of chemistry where molecules are snapped together on Wednesday won the Nobel Chemistry Prize.

Two Americans and a Dane win chemistry Nobel

The Nobel Chemistry Prize was on Wednesday awarded to a trio of chemists from the US and Denmark who laid the foundation for a more functional form of chemistry.

Nobel physics winner wanted to topple quantum theory he vindicated

American physicist John Clauser won the 2022 Nobel Prize for a groundbreaking experiment vindicating quantum mechanics -- a fundamental theory governing the subatomic world that is today the foundation for an emerging class of ultra-powerful computers.

Alain Aspect, Nobel-winning father of quantum entanglement

Alain Aspect, who won a long-expected Nobel Physics Prize on Tuesday, not only helped prove the strange theory of quantum entanglement but also inspired a generation of physicists in his native France, according to former students and colleagues.

The Nobel winners who helped prove quantum 'spooky action'

Physicists Alain Aspect, John Clauser and Anton Zeilinger developed experimental tools that helped prove quantum entanglement -- a phenomenon Albert Einstein famously dismissed as "spooky action at a distance" -- is real, paving the way for its use in powerful computers.

Quantum entanglement: the 'spooky' science behind physics Nobel

This year's physics Nobel prize was awarded Tuesday to three men for their work on a phenomenon called quantum entanglement, which is so bizarre and unlikely that Albert Einstein was sceptical, famously calling it "spooky".

French-US-Austrian trio win physics Nobel for quantum mechanics work

A trio of physicists on Tuesday won the Nobel Prize for discoveries in the field of quantum mechanics that have paved the way for quantum computers, networks and secure encrypted communication.

Chile's distant paradise where scientists study climate change

Hidden inside pristine forests in Chile's deep south, known as the end of the world, lie potential early warning signs of climate change.

Nobel Physics Prize could focus on light

Bending and manipulating light to make objects invisible or harnessing it more efficiently to produce electricity are among the discoveries tipped to win the Nobel Physics Prize on Tuesday.

Nobel shines light on paleogenetics, study of ancient DNA

While some may have been surprised that the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to a paleogeneticist Monday, researchers say understanding our distant ancestors helps explain modern human health -- even when it comes to Covid.

Moroccan nomads' way of life threatened by climate change

In the blistering desert of Morocco, the country's last Berber nomads, the Amazigh, say their ancient lifestyle is under threat as climate change brings ever-more intense droughts.

King Charles III won't attend COP27 after Truss reportedly 'objected'

King Charles III will not travel to next month's United Nations climate summit in Egypt, Buckingham Palace confirmed on Sunday, after UK Prime Minister Liz Truss reportedly "objected" to the keen environmentalist attending.

Jonathan Franzen: critics right to suspect 'white male authors'

Jonathan Franzen, a writer beloved by millions of readers, likes coming to Europe where he doesn't face "the baggage" his public persona carries back in the United States.

Rich nations to face climate pressure at pre-COP27 talks in DR Congo

Environment ministers from some 50 countries gather in DR Congo on Monday for the pre-COP27 climate talks, with rich countries expected to come under pressure to contribute more to fight global warming.

NASA, SpaceX study boosting Hubble to extend its lifespan

NASA and SpaceX have agreed to study the feasibility of awarding Elon Musk's company a contract to boost the Hubble Space Telescope to a higher orbit, with a goal of extending its lifespan, the US space agency said Thursday.

Hurricane Ian a 'catastrophe' for Cuba's vital cigar sector

Western Cuba's tobacco growing heartland has been left devastated by Hurricane Ian with piles of wood and tiles where once stood farms.

New asteroid strike images show impact 'a lot bigger than expected'

The James Webb and Hubble telescopes on Thursday revealed their first images of a spacecraft deliberately smashing into an asteroid, as astronomers indicated that the impact looks to have been much greater than expected.

First images of asteroid strike from Webb, Hubble telescopes

The James Webb and Hubble telescopes on Thursday revealed their initial images of a spacecraft deliberately crashing into an asteroid, marking the first time the two most powerful space telescopes have observed the same celestial object.

Tracing uncertainty: Google harnesses quantum mechanics at California lab

Outside, balmy September sunshine warms an idyllic coast, as California basks in yet another perfect day.

High stakes for climate-change race in Brazil vote

The image would indelibly mark President Jair Bolsonaro's term: the sky over Sao Paulo turning dark at 3:00 pm as smoke from fires in the Amazon rainforest engulfed Brazil's biggest city.

Australia's largest carbon emitter to exit coal by 2035

Australia's biggest carbon emitter AGL announced Thursday it will close one of the country's most polluting coal-fired power stations by mid-2035, a decade earlier than previously targeted.

Cristoforetti becomes first European woman to command ISS

Italy's Samantha Cristoforetti on Wednesday became the first European woman to take over command of the International Space Station during a ceremony broadcast live from space.

Fish fossils found in China offer clues on human evolution: researchers

Fish fossils dating back 440 million years are helping to "fill some of the key gaps" on how humans evolved from fish, researchers said on Wednesday.

Half world's birds in decline, species moving 'ever faster' to extinction

Almost half of all bird species are in decline globally and one in eight are threatened with extinction, according to a major new report warning that human actions are driving more species to the brink and nature is "in trouble".

'Incredible': Astronomers hail first images of asteroid impact

The asteroid is flying through space in the grainy black and white video, when suddenly a massive cloud of debris sprays out in front of it, meaning only one thing: impact.

Swiss glaciers melting away at record rate

Switzerland's glaciers lost six percent of their total volume this year due to a dry winter and repeated summer heatwaves, shattering previous ice melt records, a report revealed Wednesday.

Cyber warfare rife in Ukraine, but impact stays in shadows

Hackings, network sabotage and other cyber warfare campaigns are being intensely deployed by both sides as Russia's invasion of Ukraine grinds on, though the covert operations have not proved decisive on the battlefield -- at least so far.

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