It feels like every day there’s a science story that comes along ready to blow our tiny minds, and today is no exception. A series of ancient interconnected cities have been discovered in the remote El Mirador jungle Guatemala, and it’s changing our entire understanding of the ancient civilisation. More than 400 settlements have been uncovered with some dating back as far as 1,000 BC. They’re linked by roads too, and it’s led them to be described as “the first freeway system in the world”. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Richard Hansen, a research professor at the University of Idaho, is an expert on the project and he’d called the findings a “game-changer”. It was previously thought that the Mayan peoples were nomadic, but these cities have changed the scientific community’s understanding. Speaking to the Washington Post, Hansen said: "We now know that the Preclassic period was one of extraordinary complexity and architectural sophistication, with some of the largest buildings in world history being constructed during this time.” On top of the 110 miles of interconnected roads, the discoveries also showed evidence of organised agriculture and even hydraulic systems. The findings are the result of work which first began in 2015, which saw lidar technology uncovered signs of ancient structures below the surface. Archaeologist Enrique Hernández, from San Carlos University said about the findings: “Now there are more than 900 [settlements]… We [couldn’t] see that before. It was impossible,” he said. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Apple will release a range of Macs alongside the unveiling of its headset at an event next week, rumours have suggested. The company is holding its Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC, on 5 June in California. It will see Apple executives reveal a host of new products. Usually, the focus of the summer event is software, and Apple will reveal new versions of the software that powers all of its products. But the hottest rumour is the unveiling of Apple’s long-awaited augmented reality headset. That could be joined by new Macs that will also be unveiled during the keynote event, according to multiple reports. That mighttinclude a new MacBook with a larger 15-inch display. Apple might also refresh some of its existing computers – the Mac Studio and smaller MacBook Pro and Air – with the M2 chip that it has gradually been adding to its products. Apple has already fitted MacBooks with those new chips, as well as faster M2 Pro and M2 Max processors. But the Mac Studio has been stuck with versions of the M1 since it was released in May last year, leading to calls for it to be updated. The existing version of the Mac Studio as well as versions of the MacBook Air and Pro will be eligible to be traded in from 5 June, the same day as the keynote event, according to reputable Apple reporter Mark Gurman. “Read into that as you will,” he said in a tweet, presumably suggesting that those computers would be getting new updates during the same event. Apple has also been rumoured to be working on another generation of Mac chips, likely known as M3. But those are not expected yet, and the company is still to update many of its computers with the existing generation. Apple is also still yet to release a version of the Mac Pro that includes its own chips, with the old Intel-powered computer still on sale, and is behind schedule after indicating that all of its computers would have made that transition by now. There is no indication that long-rumoured computer will finally be arriving at WWDC.

Mysterious blasts coming from deep in space could be the result of “starquakes”, according to a new study. For years, scientists have been observing fast radio bursts, or FRBs, coming from distant parts of space. They are very intense, very short blasts of energy – and despite finding many of them, researchers still do not know where they are coming from or how they might be formed. Now, scientists have spotted that there is appears to be similarities between those FRBs and earthquakes. Researchers behind the new study suggest that the blasts could be the result of similar behaviour on neutron stars, known as starquakes. It is just one possible explanation for the unusual bursts, which have led to suggestions they could be anything from neutron stars colliding with black holes to alien technology. Most have settled on the belief that at least some of those FRBs come from neutron stars, however, which are formed when supergiant stars collapse into an incredibly dense, small object. In the new study, researchers looked at data from nearly 7,000 bursts, taken from three different sources that are sending out repeated FRBs, examining the time and energy that they emerged in. They then also looked at earthquake information taken from Japan, and data on solar flares, and looked to compare the three. There was little connection between FRBs and solar flares, the researchers found. But there was a striking similarity between the blasts and earthquakes. “The results show notable similarities between FRBs and earthquakes in the following ways: First, the probability of an aftershock occurring for a single event is 10-50%; second, the aftershock occurrence rate decreases with time, as a power of time; third, the aftershock rate is always constant even if the FRB-earthquake activity (mean rate) changes significantly; and fourth, there is no correlation between the energies of the main shock and its aftershock,” said Tomonori Totani from the University of Tokyo, one of the leaders of the study. The findings have led scientists to speculate that there is a solid crust on the outer surface of neutron stars. That crust then experiences starquakes in the same way the Earth’s surface does – and those quakes then let out powerful blasts of energy that make their way to us as FRBs. But researchers say they will need to further examine those FRBs to better understand the connection between the two – as well as to help give us information about quakes and other physical phenomena that are closer to home. “By studying starquakes on distant ultradense stars, which are completely different environments from Earth, we may gain new insights into earthquakes,” said Professor Totani. “The interior of a neutron star is the densest place in the universe, comparable to that of the interior of an atomic nucleus. “Starquakes in neutron stars have opened up the possibility of gaining new insights into very high-density matter and the fundamental laws of nuclear physics.” The research is described in a new paper, ‘Fast radio bursts trigger aftershocks resembling earthquakes, but not solar flares’, published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

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A photo of MrBeast shared by the streaming platform Kick asleep on a plane has fans concerned that the most subscribed YouTuber on the planet is broke. MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, has a reported net worth of $100 million but has spoken in the past about how much money he loses when filming his highly produced and expensive YouTube videos as well as having his own Feastables and MrBeast burger ranges and advertising and sponsorship deals. However, fans have been alarmed at an apparent image of the 25-year-old asleep on a plane while flying in economy class when he could easily afford to fly in the more lavish business seats in first class or even on a private jet. The image which has since gone viral saw Kick say on their X/Twitter account "bro wtf MrBeast doing in economy?" without any indication as to whether the person in the picture was actually the YouTuber or not. Many fans of MrBeast have since latched onto the photo asking if he is in financial trouble while others weren't convinced. Dexerto have reported that the person in the picture could be a lookalike while a community note on a Drama Alert tweet also stated that there was no proof that MrBeast was actually in the photo, while also stating that it was actually a Taiwanese airline and not a Spirit Airlines plane. MrBeast is yet to respond to the image but it is highly unlikely that he is broke given that his most recent YouTube video has more than 98 million views. Regardless even if it is him, just because he's very rich doesn't mean he has to spend frivolously or think that he is above anyone else on a plane. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Videos of the prominent YouTuber MrBeast being arrested by the police have been going viral on social media

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WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 20, 2023--

Elon Musk called for a “regulatory structure” for artificial intelligence after warning US senators about risks to civilization