"5 ways to make Halloween decoration friendlier to wildlife."

Views expressed in this science and technology update are those of the reporters and correspondents.  Accessed on 16 October 2026, 1401 UTC.

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Russ Roberts (https://hawaiisciencemonitor.blogspot.com),

Scientific American Content

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34

Today

5 ways to make Halloween decorations friendlier to wildlife

47min

You don’t need to sacrifice spookiness to keep real owls, bats and snakes safe

How many planets could fit in the solar system?

2h

As far-fetched as it may seem, quirks of orbital mechanics could allow hundreds of planets to be packed around a star

Are you addicted to your phone? What scientists say about screen time and social media

2h

Experts unpack the science of screen addiction and how to build a healthier relationship with technology

Yesterday

Google’s quantum Willow chip may be able to grow ‘magic states’

Google reduces quantum errors fortyfold

•

18h

The work could help improve quantum computers’ accuracy in complex calculations

Scientists discover an ancient shipwreck dating to when the Great Pyramid was built

22h

The wreck was found with relatively intact cargo on the seabed off the coast of Türkiye and is believed to be between 4,700 and 4,400 years old

Can AI break encryption? OpenAI’s new math has cryptographers divided

22h

OpenAI’s bumper crop of 722 math papers wowed and worried the research community—and cryptographers are split over whether the algorithms that protect our texts and bank log-ins are next

Scientists vote to end leap seconds, redefining how the world keeps time

Leap seconds may end

•

23h

A new system, called the “leap hour,” will allow Earth’s rotation and official time to fall out of alignment by a full hour

What would it take to terraform Mars? Erika DeBenedictis has ideas

Microbe may help settle Mars

•

1d

The CEO of Pioneer Labs, a biotech startup developing Mars-adapted microbes, is on a quest to make alien worlds nice places to live

Anthropic’s AI worm research raises new fears about smart device security

Anthropic warns of AI worms

•

1d

Researchers explored how AI could spread through everyday gadgets. But cybersecurity experts have seen these tricks before

Honeybees deemphasize potential ‘misinformation’ in their waggle dances

1d

Confident bees work harder to convince their peers of tasty treats

Oct 14, 2026

New ‘First Proof’ exam reveals how AI-powered math is a pay-to-play sport

1d

The benchmark confirms that some AIs are becoming exceptional tools for research-level math. But open-source models still struggle

NIH appears to shut down public comments on science peer-review rule change ahead of schedule

1d

The proposed change to how the National Institutes of Health handles grant applications has been criticized by scientists as reducing transparency

Microplastics are linked to inflammation—scientists might have finally worked out why

Microplastics may harm human health

•

1d

Microplastics interact with water to create highly reactive molecules, a new study finds

How a year of extreme weather and a ‘Super El Niño’ will affect fall foliage

1d

Leaf-peeping season is ramping up—here’s what to expect

Stunning video reveals the year-round dance of the sun’s corona

1d

NASA’s PUNCH mission is showing a rarely seen aspect of our nearest star—the churning chaos of the solar corona

Climate scientists issue a sobering diagnosis about Earth's 'vital signs'

Climate report urges faster action

•

1d

“The climate emergency is already here”

An ancient Chinese math puzzle shows how to win at cards, horse races and gerrymandering

1d

A stratagem that dates back two millennia leads to a math puzzle that took 30 years to solve

Amateur astronomer harnesses AI to find a possible hidden exoplanet

AI finds TESS planet candidate

•

2d

Evidence for this possible super-Earth has been lurking for years in NASA data. Pavel Rabtsevich found it—with a little help from AI

Claude just found a CRISPR-like DNA pattern, but even Anthropic's scientists aren't sure what it does

Claude enzyme discovery claim disputed

•

2d

The large language model took less than a day to identify the curious stretch of DNA

Are Blue Zones real? One researcher finds the data deeply flawed

2d