8 Astronomers have found an “invisible” object that defies stellar theory
It’s likely an ultra-rare supermassive neutron star. (404 Media)
+ New research has corroborated the first black hole image. (New Scientist $)
+ The search for dark matter has been blown open. (MIT Technology Review)
9 Life may have started with metabolism, not genes
Self-sustaining chemical cycles could have come first. (Quanta)
10 Brain surgery has left a man seeing cat eyes on people
Researchers used AI to render what he sees. (Gizmodo)
Quote of the day
“I know more about being a progressive than almost anybody on the planet, and I absolutely believe Palantir—all of our products—are essentially progressive.”
—Alex Karp, Palantir’s CEO, tells Politico that he’s a devoted Democrat despite recently backing Trump.
One more thing
How Chinese short dramas became AI content machines
China’s short drama industry is fueled by bite-sized, melodramatic, and smutty shows built for smartphone scrolling. Now, many are being made entirely with AI: no actors, camera operators, cinematographers, or CGI specialists required.
An average of 470 AI-generated short dramas were released every day in January. Production timelines have shrunk from months to weeks, while costs have dropped by up to 90%. Storytelling is also increasingly driven by performance data.