A publisher retracted several scientific papers after it was discovered they had been generated by a computer.
Why it matters: Computer-produced fraudulent papers have been a problem in academia for years, and as AI text-generation capabilities improve, it may become increasingly difficult to tell the real from the fake.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a briefing on Wednesday that the Biden administration is sending emergency generators to Texas amid ongoing power outages and freezing weather.
Why it matters: Huge swaths of Texas have been without electricity for days due to critical failures in the state's power grid. The outages come while a winter storm continues to pummel the state, causing unsafe conditions and a desperate need for heat.
Scientists have extracted and sequenced DNA from mammoth specimens that are more than a million years old, the oldest genetic material analyzed to date.
Why it matters: The study pushes back how far researchers can trace genetic changes, allowing them to capture the variations in DNA that occur as new species emerge.
Axiom Space, a Houston-based developer of what would be the world's first commercial space station, raised $130 million in Series B funding led by C5 Capital.
Why it matters: Axiom represents what many believe is the future of space, whereby NASA becomes a customer everywhere in low-Earth orbit so that it can focus on the Moon, Mars and beyond.
NASA's Perseverance rover, which launched to Mars in July, is set to arrive at the Red Planet Thursday.
Why it matters: The rover is expected to hunt for signs of past life in the remains of what scientists think was once a river delta billions of years ago.
A cluster of stars 7,800 light-years away has a group of relatively small black holes hiding in its center.
The big picture: By learning more about this unexpected arrangement of stars and black holes, scientists might be able to piece together a better understanding of the complexities around how black holes behave.
More than 4.3 million Texas homes and businesses are without power as of Tuesday morning, per the tracking service poweroutage.us.
Why it matters: Bitter cold temperatures and winter storms are wreaking havoc on the power system in Texas and its refineries, and affecting other states too.
The Biden administration is staying the course set out by the Trump administration when it comes to space, at least for now.
Why it matters: Administrations often abandon their predecessors' goals in favor of new ones when they come to power. That kind of "moonshot whiplash" can leave NASA stuck on Earth because it takes consistency between administrations to accomplish large exploration goals.
Over 150 million Americans are under winter storm warnings, as a subfreezing cold snap sweeps across the U.S., bringing with it heavy snow and dangerous, icy conditions.
The big picture: Hundreds of flights have been canceled and millions were without power across the U.S. Monday. Controlled outages were scheduled to take place in 14 central states to prevent uncontrolled cuts amid record freezing conditions. At least two people have died in Texas during the storm.
