Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Scientists have identified a previously unknown frog species living in the seasonally flooded forests of the western Amazon. Named Adenomera varcena, the species adds to growing evidence that Amazonian biodiversity is even richer than it appears. The discovery also highlights the importance of cryptic diversity, in which animals that look nearly identical can actually belong to separate species. Researchers distinguished the new frog by combining several lines of evidence, including its DNA and distinctive call. The findings were published in the journal Ichthyology & Herpetology. The research team includes Célio F. B. Haddad, a professor at São Paulo State University…

I congratulate the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism for exposing the disgraceful state of residential childcare and the use of illegal children’s homes (Councils pay more than £125m a year placing vulnerable children in illegal care homes in England, 8 September). However, this is a symptom not a cause.While there are good private children’s homes (I’ve worked with some), they are defined by personal and family commitment, not profit. The same relationships are required whoever runs a children’s home, whether a charitable organisation or local authority. Without the personal, unflinching commitment of councillors, managers, social workers and, crucially,…

Claim: Musician Macklemore once performed in a Jewish caricature costume that featured antisemitic tropes. Rating: Context In May 2014, Macklemore performed in a costume that featured several antisemitic tropes: a very large hooked nose, a fake black beard and a black, bowl-cut wig reminiscent of a kippah — a Jewish skullcap. His outfit also resembled the suits some Orthodox Jewish men wear. After experts and Jewish people online pointed out the tropes, Macklemore said in a lengthy post on his website that he did not realize his choice of costume evoked antisemitic imagery and apologized, linking to the Anti-Defamation League’s…

Tehran gives Swedish official 48 hours to leave as Iran says Stockholm is bowing down to outside pressure.Published On 18 Sep 202618 Sep 2026Iran has ordered a Swedish diplomat to leave the country one day after Sweden expelled an Iranian embassy official in Stockholm.Sweden’s action was described by Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as “unjustified” on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list“Without doubt, this action by the Swedish government is the result of the influence of the Zionist regime and an effort to disrupt the normal activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Embassy in Stockholm,” the Foreign…

Labour has been urged to lay out a credible plan for the future of British Steel, as the government spending watchdog warned of the “startling” costs of keeping the struggling manufacturer in business with no end in sight.British Steel was taken into public ownership in July to protect “the future of steel production”, 15 months after the government stepped in to prevent the closure of its steelworks in Scunthorpe and the loss of 4,000 jobs.But it is costing £1.3m a day to keep the company running, with the total estimated cost reaching as much as £1.5bn by 2028. By mid-June,…

Rika Antonova has been working in the field of robotics since 2015 and is currently an associate professor at the Department of Computer Science and Technology at the University of Cambridge.Her research is focused on, external developing software and hardware that can aid robots to learn complex behaviour.Antonova works with a training system called MuJoCo, owned by Google’s DeepMind since 2021. It’s open-source software, which means researchers can use it for free, and are allowed to tinker with the code.”It is very, very user-friendly. So for research groups or for small start-ups, that’s useful,” she says.She says that Vsim’s approach…

Microsoft reminded customers this week that devices running Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro editions will stop receiving updates next month. However, under Microsoft’s lifecycle policy, Windows 11 24H2 Enterprise and Education editions remain under mainstream support until October 2027. “On October 13, 2026, Windows 11, version 24H2 Home and Pro editions, and Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016 will reach end of updates,” Microsoft said in a message center update. “After this date, devices running these editions will no longer receive monthly security and non-security preview updates containing protections from the latest security threats.” Customers are now advised to upgrade…

State hackers drive 420% surge in onchain malware, Chainalysis findsNorth Korean and Iran linked hackers were responsible for the majority of the 420% increase this year in malware on public blockchains according to a Chainalysis report. State-linked hackers accounted for roughly two-thirds of new activity whereby attackers stored malware instructions or infrastructure information on public blockchains.Chainalysis also identified UNC5342, a North Korea linked group, to previously unattributed activity spanning Tron, Aptos and BNB Smart Chain.Chainalysis said using public blockchains increases the durability of malware campaigns because the stored information remains accessible after domains, servers or code repositories are taken down. In…

The World Institute of Kimchi (President: Hae Choon Chang), a government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT, announced that a lactic acid bacterium isolated from kimchi can help promote the removal of nanoplastics from the body by binding to them in the intestine. Nanoplastics are ultrafine plastic particles measuring less than 1 micrometer (μm; one-thousandth of a millimeter) that are generated during the degradation of larger plastic materials. These particles can enter the human body through food and drinking water. Due to their extremely small size, nanoplastics may cross the intestinal barrier and accumulate in organs such…

Following a familiar pattern, coverage of the glacier collapse on the Nepal-Tibet border three weeks ago has subsided with the initial shock. But while the world’s attention has shifted, Nepal remains in the midst of an appalling tragedy. As well as at least 1,300 people who are known to have been killed, more than 5,000 are missing, some of them trapped in tunnels linked to the 13 hydropower plants that were damaged by the floods. On Wednesday four bodies were recovered from one of these tunnels, with searches ongoing. Families of the missing people are desperate for news.Last week the…