Wall Street’s market forecasts are too tepid. The S&P 500 could rally next year on a combination of AI growth and deregulation. But investors should prepare for a wilder ride.
The Federal Reserve could find it harder to balance growth and inflation next year, given the incoming Trump administration’s policies. So far, the forecast looks sunny.
An injectable HIV drug with a novel mechanism shows remarkable ability to prevent infection
Mantle waves sculpt the continents
When the forces of plate tectonics tear continents apart, it’s an incredibly violent process, unfolding in slow motion. It was also thought to be very local: Magma from hot, rising mantle rock seeds volcanoes along the rift zone, while the far-removed cold interiors of continents remain intact.
Multicellularity came early for ancient eukaryotes
Microscopic algalike fossils from China reported early this year astounded evolutionary biologists with their extreme age. Dated at 1.6 billion years old, the specimens suggest one of the hallmarks of complex life—multicellularity—arose far earlier than previously thought.
A new type of magnetism emerges
For 98 years, physicists knew of two types of permanently magnetic materials. Now, they’ve found a third. In familiar ferromagnets such as iron, unpaired electrons on neighboring atoms spin in the same direction, magnetizing the material so that, for example, it sticks to a refrigerator. Antiferromagnets such as chromium have zero overall magnetism, but they possess an atomic-scale magnetic pattern, with neighboring electrons spinning in opposite directions. Novel altermagnets—hypothesized 5 years ago—share aspects of both.
The Economist (December 12, 2024): The EconomistFast forward into the future, when building in space is normal, from huge satellites and spacecraft in orbit, to entire cities on the Moon and Mars. Could robots guided by AI make it happen?
Video timeiine: 00:00 – Future of building in space 00:43 – Machina Labs 02:15 – Could we 3D print in space? 02:44 – Infrastructure on the Moon 03:25 – AI & robotics on Mars 04:41 – History of AI in space 05:41 – Challenges to space technology
Not even the most optimistic of rebels could have predicted the rapid collapse, last weekend, of the Assad dynasty that ruled Syria with an iron fist for more than 50 years. Yet while there was relief and joy both inside Syria and among the nation’s vast displaced diaspora, it was also accompanied by apprehension over what might come next.
1
Spotlight | Russia and Ukraine wait warily for Trump transition The idea of the US president-election as a saviour for Ukraine, as unlikely as it may seem, holds an appeal for an exhausted nation without a clear path to victory. Shaun Walker and Pjotr Sauer report
2
Environment | The jailed anti-whaler defiant in face of extradition threat Capt Paul Watson talks to Daniel Boffey about his arrest on behalf of the Japanese government, his ‘interesting’ Greenland prison, and separation from his children
3
Feature | The growing threat of firearms that can be made at home One far-right cell wanted to use 3D-printed guns to cause ‘maximum confusion and fear’ on the streets of Finland. Could the police intercept them in time? By Samira Shackle
4
Opinion | Farage is lying in wait. Britain can’t afford for Starmer to fail It is not enough for the Labour leader’s ‘milestones’ to be achieved. Voters must feel the improvement in their daily lives, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland
5
Culture | The best books of 2024 From a radical retelling of Huckleberry Finn to Al Pacino’s autobiography, our critics round up their favourite reads of the year
Times Literary Supplement (December 11, 2024): The latest issue features ‘The tragic Queen of France’ – The legend of Marie Antoinette; William Dalrymple’s Indian empire; Mary Beard – A night at the museum; The coffee house scientist; What Kindle readers want…
“When you invent the ship, you must also invent the shipwreck; when you invent the plane, you must also invent the plane crash; and when you invent electricity, you invent electrocution… Every technology carries its own negativity, which is invented at the same time as technical progress.” –Paul Virilio
“The human spirit must prevail over technology.” –Albert Einstein
Science Magazine – December 13, 2024: The new issue features 
Boomers Daily 