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TUESDAY, 20 JANUARY 2026, 19:43

Education

‘Just not monetizable’: humanities programs face existential crisis at US universities

Today at 14:00 PM, via The Guardian

Fears over the future of humanities spread amid layoffs and restructurings at scores of public and private universities

Last month, students at Montclair State University in New Jersey held a mock funeral outside the university’s college of humanities and social sciences building. Carrying bouquets of flowers, they stood by a tombstone inscribed with the names of the school’s 15...

Science/Tech

He Went To Prison for Gene-Editing Babies. Now He’s Planning To Do It Again

Today at 19:21 PM, via Slashdot

He Jiankui, the Chinese scientist who served three years in prison after creating the world’s first gene-edited babies in 2018, is now preparing for another attempt at germline editing — this time to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. In an interview, He said he has established an independent lab in south Beijing and raised $7 million from private donors to fund research into introducing a protective...

Science/Tech

Europe Must Invest in Open Source AI or Cede To China, Schmidt Says

Today at 18:44 PM, via Slashdot

An anonymous reader shares a report: Europe must invest in its own open source artificial intelligence labs and address soaring energy prices, or it will quickly find itself dependent on Chinese models, former Google chief executive and tech investor Eric Schmidt said. “In the US, the companies are largely moving to closed source, which means they’ll be purchased and licensed and so forth. And...

Science/Tech

UK study to examine effects of restricting social media for children

Today at 18:22 PM, via The Guardian

Trial involving 4,000 children will explore impact on mental health, sleep and time spent with friends and family

A pioneering investigation into the impact of restricting social media access for children in the UK has been announced as politicians around the world consider action on the issue.

In December, Australia became the first country to ban under-16s from social media, with governments...

Science/Tech

Ukraine To Share Wartime Combat Data With Allies To Help Train AI

Today at 18:05 PM, via Slashdot

An anonymous reader shares a report: Ukraine will establish a system allowing its allies to train their AI models on Kyiv’s valuable combat data collected throughout the nearly four-year war with Russia, newly appointed Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has said. Fedorov — a former digitalisation minister who last week took up the post to drive reforms across Ukraine’s vast defence ministry and...