House Democrats are demanding answers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and urging it to halt rumored changes they say could undermine its mission. One of the US government's top scientific research labs is taking steps that could drive away foreign scientists, a shift lawmakers and sources tell WIRED could cost the country valuable expertise and damage the agency's credibility. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) helps determine the frameworks underpinning everything from cybersecurity to semiconductor manufacturing. Some of NIST's recent work includes establishing guidelines for securing AI systems and identifying health concerns with air purifiers and firefighting gloves. Many of the agency's thousands of employees, postdoctoral scientists, contractors, and guest researchers are brought in from around the world for their specialized expertise.

Fungal diseases are a major threat to the global banana supply. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. The popular fruit is threatened by a fungal disease called Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB), which blocks the flow of nutrients and makes it wilt. In the 1950s, the pathogen even made one species-Gros Michel bananas-functionally extinct. Fear not though, scientists are on it.

When a SpaceX rocket failure set the skies aflame over western Europe last February, no-one was sure if the debris was also polluting our atmosphere. Now scientists are directly linking the uncontrolled rocket re-entry to a plume of lithium measured less than 100km above Earth. It is the first time researchers have drawn a direct link between a known piece of space debris crashing to Earth and pollution levels. They warn that as SpaceX chief Elon Musk pledges to launch one million satellites in the coming years, this contamination could be the tip of the iceberg. The scientists were already investigating the problem of pollution from space debris when they realised a SpaceX Falcon 9 had failed in flight.

AI enables a Who's Who of brown bears in Alaska Being able to distinguish individual animals - including their unique history, movement patterns and habits - can help scientists better understand how their species function, and therefore better manage habitats and study population dynamics. Today, most computer vision systems for tracking animals are effective on species with patterns and markings, such as zebras, leopards and giraffes. The task is much more complicated for unmarked species where individual differences are harder to spot. Distinguishing a particular brown bear from its peers in a non-invasive way requires an incredible eye for detail and years of viewing the same bears over time. What's more, these bears emerge from hibernation in the spring with shaggy fur and having lost quite a bit of weight and then substantially increase their body weight feasting on salmon, as well as fully shedding their winter coat - that's enough to throw off experts as well as AI algorithms.

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Whether it's the ocean's deepest hydrothermal vents or tall mountain peaks, bacteria is likely surviving and thriving. Ice caves can host a wide variety of microorganisms and offer biologists a bevy of genetic diversity that still has to be studied. And it could help save lives. A team of scientists in Romania tested antibiotic resistance profiles with a bacterial strain that was hidden in a 5,000-year-old layer of ice inside an underground ice cave.

An elephant foot bone found by archaeologists digging in southern Spain may be evidence that a troop of war elephants stomped through ancient Europe. It would be the first concrete proof of the legendary Carthaginian General Hannibal's troop of battle elephants, according to academics. Drawings of Hannibal's war against the Romans had long suggested that the beasts were used in fighting, but no hard evidence backed up the theories. Now the creatures' skeletal remains appear to have been found in an Iron Age dig near Cordoba. Beyond ivory, the discovery of elephant remains in European archaeological contexts is exceptionally rare, says the team of scientists in a paper published in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

César de la Fuente is on a mission to combat antimicrobial resistance by looking at nature's own solutions. César de la Fuente is an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he leads the Machine Biology Group. When he was just a teenager trying to decide what to do with his life, César de la Fuente compiled a list of the world's biggest problems. He ranked them inversely by how much money governments were spending to solve them. Antimicrobial resistance topped the list. Twenty years on, the problem has not gone away.

Woke ESPN star claims she felt'ill' sitting near JD Vance while watching Winter Olympics Nancy Guthrie note sender says they're'ready to name names' in exchange for cash and doesn't trust police: Live updates I knew Kurt Cobain and that vindictive moron Courtney... the truth about his'murder' is more twisted than you realize. Amazing new side-effect of nicotine - it can help you eat less, live longer and even sharpen your brain. Disturbing new surveillance camera details that could explain how Nancy Guthrie's abductor fled without a trace as flip-flopping sheriff makes another evidence confession Read the disturbing emails between Epstein and new age guru Deepak Chopra that are buried in bombshell files: 'Only sinners invited'... 'Bring your girls' Melania Trump's favorite lipsticks revealed... and the eyeshadows she can't live without Pancreatic cancer explosion: As cases surge in young people, survivors reveal subtle early signs that are easily dismissed... and doctors share lifestyle tweaks that help PREVENT it Distraught family ordered to remove HEADSTONE atop two young brothers' graves that features very inappropriate images HGTV star was canned after vile video leak... now insiders make bombshell claims about what else she was doing behind the scenes: 'Unhinged' Israeli hostage reveals how she survived being tortured and sexually assaulted'almost every single day' during 482 days in Gaza - with only the thought of her kidnapped boyfriend keeping her going Lindsey Vonn's surgeon speaks out amid amputation fears to reveal star's'delicate' situation after horror Winter Olympics crash Pam Bondi is caught SPYING on lawmakers reviewing Epstein files'torture video' Can you name all three nepo babies in this photo taken during New York fashion week? Pretty Denver suburb descends into vagrant-filled hellhole... with lawmakers dismissing residents concerns by telling them that'homelessness is a complex issue' Iconic 80s heartthrob who starred with Sean Penn in coming-of-age classic is seen at 69... who is he? Scientists may have spotted a long-lost Soviet Union Lander, more than 60 years after it vanished on the surface of the moon.

Woke ESPN star claims she felt'ill' sitting near JD Vance while watching Winter Olympics Nancy Guthrie note sender says they're'ready to name names' in exchange for cash and doesn't trust police: Live updates I knew Kurt Cobain and that vindictive moron Courtney... the truth about his'murder' is more twisted than you realize. Amazing new side-effect of nicotine - it can help you eat less, live longer and even sharpen your brain. Disturbing new surveillance camera details that could explain how Nancy Guthrie's abductor fled without a trace as flip-flopping sheriff makes another evidence confession Read the disturbing emails between Epstein and new age guru Deepak Chopra that are buried in bombshell files: 'Only sinners invited'... 'Bring your girls' Melania Trump's favorite lipsticks revealed... and the eyeshadows she can't live without Pancreatic cancer explosion: As cases surge in young people, survivors reveal subtle early signs that are easily dismissed... and doctors share lifestyle tweaks that help PREVENT it Distraught family ordered to remove HEADSTONE atop two young brothers' graves that features very inappropriate images HGTV star was canned after vile video leak... now insiders make bombshell claims about what else she was doing behind the scenes: 'Unhinged' Israeli hostage reveals how she survived being tortured and sexually assaulted'almost every single day' during 482 days in Gaza - with only the thought of her kidnapped boyfriend keeping her going Lindsey Vonn's surgeon speaks out amid amputation fears to reveal star's'delicate' situation after horror Winter Olympics crash Pam Bondi is caught SPYING on lawmakers reviewing Epstein files'torture video' Can you name all three nepo babies in this photo taken during New York fashion week? Pretty Denver suburb descends into vagrant-filled hellhole... with lawmakers dismissing residents concerns by telling them that'homelessness is a complex issue' Iconic 80s heartthrob who starred with Sean Penn in coming-of-age classic is seen at 69... who is he? Widespread cell phone disruptions are set to hit thousands of Americans across Texas just as the state recovers from chaos in El Paso this week.

Woke ESPN star claims she felt'ill' sitting near JD Vance while watching Winter Olympics Nancy Guthrie note sender says they're'ready to name names' in exchange for cash and doesn't trust police: Live updates I knew Kurt Cobain and that vindictive moron Courtney... the truth about his'murder' is more twisted than you realize. Amazing new side-effect of nicotine - it can help you eat less, live longer and even sharpen your brain. Disturbing new surveillance camera details that could explain how Nancy Guthrie's abductor fled without a trace as flip-flopping sheriff makes another evidence confession Read the disturbing emails between Epstein and new age guru Deepak Chopra that are buried in bombshell files: 'Only sinners invited'... 'Bring your girls' Melania Trump's favorite lipsticks revealed... and the eyeshadows she can't live without Pancreatic cancer explosion: As cases surge in young people, survivors reveal subtle early signs that are easily dismissed... and doctors share lifestyle tweaks that help PREVENT it Distraught family ordered to remove HEADSTONE atop two young brothers' graves that features very inappropriate images HGTV star was canned after vile video leak... now insiders make bombshell claims about what else she was doing behind the scenes: 'Unhinged' Israeli hostage reveals how she survived being tortured and sexually assaulted'almost every single day' during 482 days in Gaza - with only the thought of her kidnapped boyfriend keeping her going Lindsey Vonn's surgeon speaks out amid amputation fears to reveal star's'delicate' situation after horror Winter Olympics crash Pam Bondi is caught SPYING on lawmakers reviewing Epstein files'torture video' Can you name all three nepo babies in this photo taken during New York fashion week? Pretty Denver suburb descends into vagrant-filled hellhole... with lawmakers dismissing residents concerns by telling them that'homelessness is a complex issue' Iconic 80s heartthrob who starred with Sean Penn in coming-of-age classic is seen at 69... who is he? READ MORE: How AI cops will be used to patrol Britain's streets Robot police officers will be patrolling our streets in just five years, an expert has predicted.