Discovery

The New York Times reports on questions over whether Anthropic's Claude AI independently produced a genuine scientific finding. A researcher at the University of Copenhagen said his team had been sharing its research with the model, and that the AI's new result matched their own work, raising doubts about claims of an autonomous discovery and fueling debate over how much credit the system deserves.

Archaeologists in Turkey have recovered a fragment of the Egyptian-Hittite peace treaty, regarded as the oldest known peace agreement in the world, dating to the 13th century BC after the Battle of Kadesh. The find offers fresh physical traces of a diplomatic accord signed between Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II and Hittite king Hattusili III, drawing interest from history and archaeology enthusiasts.

A scientist working from an $80-a-night motel room has reportedly made a discovery that could shed light on how life first emerged on Earth. The unusual setting — ordinary budget accommodation rather than a laboratory — is drawing as much attention as the finding itself, with readers debating how low-cost, improvised research conditions could produce results relevant to one of science's biggest open questions.

Researchers have found that bacteria living on the gills of coral reef fish carry genes for chemosynthesis, meaning they may be able to produce energy from chemicals rather than light. The discovery, reported by Phys.org, suggests fish gills could host microbial communities with an unusual metabolism, expanding what scientists know about where chemosynthetic microbes live.