An intermediate-mass black hole lurking undetected in a dwarf galaxy revealed itself to astronomers when it gobbled up an unlucky star that strayed too close...

Imperial privacy experts have created an AI algorithm that automatically tests privacy-preserving systems for potential data leaks.

This is the first time AI has been used to automatically discover vulnerabilities in this type of system, examples of which are used by Google Maps and Facebook.

The experts, from Imperial’s Computational Privacy Group, looked at attacks on query-based systems (QBS)—controlled interfaces through which analysts can query data to extract useful aggregate information about the world. They then developed a new AI-enabled method called QuerySnout to detect attacks on QBS.

QBS give analysts access to collections of statistics gathered from individual-level data like location and demographics...

Discovery could immediately suggest new avenues for drug development. Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered that the neurotransmitter adenosine effectively acts as a brake to dopamine, another well-known neurotransmitter involved in motor control.

Scientists found that adenosine operates in a kind of push-pull dynamic with dopamine in the brain; the discovery published today in the journal Nature.

“There are two neuronal circuits: one that helps promote action and the other that inhibits action,” said senior author Haining Zhong, Ph.D., scientist with the OHSU Vollum Institute...

Researchers induced bone regeneration with a special hydrogel that mimics the bone’s natural environment...