What began with a quiet release from GPTZero turned into a thunderclap across academic corridors. 51 accepted NeurIPS papers with more than 100 citations that just didn’t exist were identified via their audit, which was subtly named “Hallucination Check.” Not misquoted. Not outdated. Invented. Entirely. For a moment, the stillness spoke all. NeurIPS, long considered the epicenter of artificial intelligence discoveries, was suddenly facing into a mirror held up by the very tools it helped inspire. However, the reflection was terribly warped. ItemDetailsEventHallucinated citations in 2025 NeurIPS conferencePapers Affected51 accepted papers with over 100 fake citationsDetection MethodGPTZero’s “Hallucination Check” toolConference…
Author: Janine Heller
Citadel has been navigating the financial markets for years with the dexterity of an experienced chess player—calculating, flexible, and sometimes ruthless. On January 22, 2026, it played a startlingly effective hand. Ubisoft, the once-revered Paris-based game developer, fell under the weight of a large profit warning and unexpected development cancellations. Citadel remained unflinching. Rather, it discreetly made about a quarter of a billion euros in what turned out to be one of the most profitable short positions in recent memory. Ubisoft’s stock dropped 30% after it discontinued six projects, most cruelly a long-anticipated remake of Prince of Persia. For investors,…
Not everything announced in Davos is supposed to be signed. At the 2026 meeting, as cheers went out for a newly formed global security initiative—branded with all the theatrical flair of a Netflix special and named “Trump’s Board of Peace”—Britain discreetly took a step back. The visuals were loud, but London’s response was noticeably subdued. Yvette Cooper, the UK’s Foreign Secretary, handled the event with a degree of professionalism rarely seen on Davos platforms. Speaking with the BBC, she appreciated the offer but expressed “wider legal concerns” that reach beyond any immediate advantage. Her speech was cool, but the implications…
Researchers were astounded in 2002 when Betty, a young New Caledonian crow, pulled out food from a tall cylinder at Oxford by curving a piece of wire into a hook. Not because she succeeded—but because she appeared to plan it. No trial, no mistake. Just action, precise and deliberate. At first sight, it seemed like a one-off fluke. A lucky crow. However, as more research was conducted over time, Betty’s behavior started to resemble something more expansive and remarkably akin to innovation. More crows solved tool-based challenges. More examples indicated an ability to strategize, to mimic, to prepare. Betty was…
Janine never fussed over calories. She always joked that she had a “hollow leg” that food couldn’t fill, and she would always go for seconds at family dinners. Nobody ever accused her of trying, despite the fact that her slender figure attracted both praise and suspicion. That ease, traditionally put up to chance or metabolism, now has a scientific name—ALK. Discovered in 2020 through an international research effort lead by Cambridge scientists, this gene appears to subtly change how the body controls hunger, heat, and fat. ElementDescriptionGene NameALK (Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase)Discovery TimelineIdentified in 2020 by Cambridge-led international teamBiological RoleInfluences metabolism…
It started with scarcity. Israel, trapped in by desert and mounting demand, went toward the sea not out of pleasure but need. Now, its gleaming desalination plants do more than provide— they lead. Israel has become a desalination powerhouse in the last 20 years. Not by spectacular innovation alone, but by obsessively refining and integrating every piece of the jigsaw. The outcome? Seawater that’s not just safe to drink—it’s strikingly more inexpensive than tap water in many cities. CategoryDetailPrimary TechnologyHigh-efficiency reverse osmosis (RO)Energy UsageAs low as 3 kWh per cubic meterShare of National SupplyOver 80% of Israel’s drinking water comes…
There hasn’t been a game that subtly defied expectations since Journey or Undertale. Clair Obscur: With 436 Game of the Year awards, Expedition 33 not only won praise from critics but also completely broke the bar for what a sleeper smash could accomplish. That figure isn’t merely symbolic. It’s statistically historic. By surpassing Elden Ring’s 429 GOTY tally, it redefined what a “game of the year” actually means. And it did so without relying on explosive combat equipment or billion-dollar budgets. Instead, it leaned into artistic vulnerability — a palette of gentle brushstrokes painted into gameplay, story, and performance. DetailInformationGame…
A Tokyo-based robotics business attempted, somewhat obstinately, to hire only local developers in 2016. Two years later, amid missed deadlines and diminishing applicant pools, management reluctantly extended the search. The first international hiring arrived quietly. Within months, production had substantially improved. That tiny turn now feels like a glimpse of something far larger. Over the past decade, Japan’s demographic arithmetic has grown extraordinarily evident. Over thirty percent of people are older than sixty-five. Birth rates remain drastically reduced. The working-age base is dwindling with a certainty that politicians can no longer ignore. In the context of growing digital transformation, this…
Roughly 4,000 meters beneath the surface of the Pacific, inside a secluded region dubbed the Clarion–Clipperton Zone, a quiet but astonishing operation is taking place. Metal-rich formations known as polymetallic nodules — resembling blackened marbles spread across the seafloor — are creating oxygen in utter darkness. Until recently, this phenomena was unimaginable. We thought that photosynthesis, which occurs in the presence of sunshine, leaves, and plankton, was the source of oxygen. These nodules, however, contradict that story. Acting like microscopic geobatteries, they exploit natural electrical gradients to divide saltwater into hydrogen and oxygen. No chlorophyll, no daylight, no bacteria involved.…
In late December 2025, as cameras flashed in Brussels and interpreters leaned carefully over their headsets, the handshake between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky was presented as a breakthrough. The atmosphere felt cautiously hopeful, almost deliberately composed, as if everyone in the room understood that symbolism sometimes travels faster than artillery. The term “Peace Framework” has been discussed with remarkably similar urgency in Washington, Kyiv, and other European capitals in recent months, moving from scholarly articles into headlines. Supporters describe it as particularly innovative, a structured method replacing vague ceasefires with measurable steps and continuous review. Critics, however, raise questions…