An archaeological excavation in England has unearthed a Viking Age mass grave containing ten dismembered individuals and a remarkably tall man who survived ancient brain surgery for a pituitary tumor. This grim discovery near Cambridge, hinting at a violent end during 9th-century Anglo-Saxon and Viking conflicts, offers invaluable insights into both brutal historical events and surprisingly advanced medical practices of the era.
AI powerhouse Anthropic has secured a staggering $30 billion funding round, catapulting its valuation to an incredible $380 billion with leadership from GIC and Coatue. This massive investment solidifies Anthropic's position alongside tech giants like OpenAI and SpaceX, hinting at potential public offerings that investors are eagerly anticipating this year.
Microsoft is making a bold move towards AI self-sufficiency, with CEO Mustafa Suleyman confirming the tech giant will launch its in-house MAI-1-preview model in August 2025 to power Copilot, significantly reducing its reliance on OpenAI. This strategic pivot, following a restructured partnership for greater independence, also includes diversifying its AI supplier base by hosting models from xAI, Meta, and Mistral, as Microsoft aims to build superintelligence with frontier foundation models.
A leading bioethicist firmly states that human head transplants remain an impossible feat, primarily due to the insurmountable challenge of functionally reconnecting the spinal cord. Beyond the technical hurdles, the medical community also grapples with profound ethical dilemmas, dismissing controversial claims while highlighting critical concerns about identity and sensory overload for any potential recipient.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party secured a stunning landslide victory in the February 2026 parliamentary elections, returning to power after two decades in the first election since the 2024 July Revolution. BNP leader Tarique Rahman is now poised to become Prime Minister after the party won over 200 seats, with international congratulations following the peaceful election.
Scientists at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology have made a groundbreaking discovery, identifying QT45, a tiny RNA molecule capable of self-replication. This exciting finding significantly strengthens the "RNA World" hypothesis, suggesting life could have spontaneously emerged from simpler chemical building blocks on Earth and potentially other planets.
