Author: Vidya Saras

AI models may be a bit like humans, after all.A new study from the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M, and Purdue University shows that large language models fed a diet of popular but low-quality social media content experience a kind of “brain rot” that may be familiar to anyone who has spent too long doomscrolling on X or TikTok.”We live in an age where information grows faster than attention spans—and much of it is engineered to capture clicks, not convey truth or depth,” says Junyuan Hong, an incoming assistant professor at the National University of Singapore who worked…

Activism / October 21, 2025 The city’s anti-ICE actions and No Kings demonstration have commanded mass attention, but still are no match for the impunity of the MAGA deportation state. Ad Policy Protesters turn out for Portland’s No Kings rally on October 18. (Mathieu Lewis-Rolland / Getty Images) Last week, perennially trendy Portland sandwich shop Lardo posted an image on its Instagram timeline of a man in a frog costume drinking a beer. On the face of it, it was kind of funny, but the caption told an entirely more nuanced story: If you were to show up at the…

On Oct. 20 during its annual meeting, the National Academy of Medicine announced the election of 100 new members, including MIT faculty members Dina Katabi and Facundo Batista, along with three additional MIT alumni.Election to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine, recognizing individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.Facundo Batista is the associate director and scientific director of the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, as well as the first Phillip T. and Susan M. Ragon Professor in the MIT Department…

Financial regulators in Canada this week levied $176 million in fines against Cryptomus, a digital payments platform that supports dozens of Russian cryptocurrency exchanges and websites hawking cybercrime services. The penalties for violating Canada’s anti money-laundering laws come ten months after KrebsOnSecurity noted that Cryptomus’s Vancouver street address was home to dozens of foreign currency dealers, money transfer businesses, and cryptocurrency exchanges — none of which were physically located there. On October 16, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada (FINTRAC) imposed a $176,960,190 penalty on Xeltox Enterprises Ltd., more commonly known as the cryptocurrency payments platform Cryptomus.…

That theatrical bravado, somehow transplanted onto the screen, means that as Re-Animator rockets to a bloody climax, it becomes “not just a gore film which delivers splattery mayhem [but] also a wildly effective dark comedy”, says Duffy.According to Combs, however, Gordon genuinely believed he was making a serious film, and the decision to play for laughs was largely down to the individual actors. “Our instincts told us we have to find release points for the audience,” he says. “I didn’t really talk to Stuart about it – neither did Bruce [Abbott] – but it’s something we decided to do. Otherwise,…

The “Leprechaun” franchise isn’t as popular as “Halloween,” “Friday the 13th,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” and other long-running horror sagas. However, it’s endured for over 30 years, so credit where it’s due. What’s more, in the year 2025, there are people out there trying to get more “Leprechaun” movies made — a testament to the franchise’s influence if there ever was one. This brings us to “Leprechaun Revenge,” Michael and Jason Leavy’s bloody fan film starring Mark Holton and Linden Porco — both of whom will be familiar faces to anyone who’s…

By Erika Mae P. Sinaking THE GOVERNMENT is set to implement major reforms in the country’s contractor licensing system as it overhauls the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) amid investigations into anomalous flood control projects, Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina A. Roque said on Wednesday. Appearing as a resource person before the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), Ms. Roque said members of the board as well as executive directors of PCAB and the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP) will be replaced. “We are just waiting for the appointments,” Ms. Roque told a news briefing. The Department of Trade and…

Dogecoin is back pressing a long-standing resistance cluster as two prominent traders map the next pivotal steps. Cantonese Cat highlights a stubborn monthly Fibonacci ceiling at the 0.886 retracement—marked on his chart at $0.26633—while top trader Kaleo (who is leading the Synthetix trading challenge) points to a thin-liquidity pocket on lower time frames that he believes could enable a “swift reclaim” of $0.25. Long-Term Perspective On Dogecoin On the monthly grid shared by Cantonese Cat, the key levels are unambiguous. DOGE’s primary resistance remains the 0.886 retracement at $0.26633, just below the cycle reference at 1.000, labeled $0.73905. Support beneath…

Creamy, Marry Me Chicken is a family favorite in our house at mealtime. If you haven’t heard of the recipe before, it’s basically chicken cooked in a cream sauce, flavored with sundried tomatoes and herbs. The flavor is phenomenal! These Marry Me Chicken meatballs are just as good, but in a bite sized form.  Anytime I can cut down on meal prep time or make things easier, the better. With a housefull of kids (including the neighbor kids many days!) I need something that’s quick and easy. I also don’t want to sacrifice flavor for easy though.  Marry Me Chicken…

In this case study, I will walk you through the process of creating my portfolio website — from early prototypes and technical experiments to the final glitched-out 3D world that became Weisdevice. What began as a small personal exploration of form, sound, and motion gradually evolved into a reflection of my creative process: a user-friendly website that doesn’t confuse visitors, yet embraces an imperfect, sometimes chaotic style, deeply focused on the intersection of design, technology, and emotion. Concept The 3D world centers on an imperfect old robot. She’s not very advanced and occasionally malfunctions, but keeps focusing on her experiments…