💯 this. I love examining PhDs, feels like a privilege to read/explore the culmination of someone’s doctoral journey.

(and sadly haven’t done that many over the last few years due to my current role — but always open to invitations!)

Antonia Romeo to set out civil service aims and rewrite code The cabinet secretary, who took on the role on February, will set out her vision as Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘principal policy adviser’

Excl: Dame Antonia Romeo has tightened her grip on No 10 and Whitehall as she became the first cabinet secretary in a decade to publish her personal objectives.

www.thetimes.com/article/fa65...

Cambodia unveils a statue of famous landmine-sniffing rat Magawa The statue honours the late African giant pouched rat who sniffed out more than 100 landmines during his lifetime.

Great headline: Cambodia unveils statue to honour famous landmine-sniffing rat www.bbc.com/news/article...

Semiconductor Manufacturers Feel the Heat: Considering technologies for improving thermal management cacm.acm.org/news/semicon...

Are Strings Still Our Best Hope for a Theory of Everything? | Quanta Magazine Columnist Natalie Wolchover examines the latest developments in the “forever war” over whether string theory can describe the world.

58 years after it first appeared, string theory remains the most popular candidate for the “theory of everything.” This is much to the chagrin of its rather vocal critics. @nattyover.bsky.social reports: www.quantamagazine.org/are-strings-...

In Memoriam: Vicki L. Hanson cacm.acm.org/news/in-memo...

Engineering Ethics: Q&A with Dr Natasha McCarthy Blog with Dr Natasha McCarthy exploring the ethics behind technology stewardship

Engineers: what will your work look like in 100 years time? raeng.org.uk/blogs/engine... <— importance of technology stewardship, with responsibility for the future of technology, society and the environment @raeng.org.uk

Great post on JPEG compression by @sophielwang.bsky.social…

A Bored Chinese Housewife Spent Years Falsifying Russian History on Wikipedia She “single-handedly invented a new way to undermine Wikipedia,” says a Wikipedian.

A Bored Chinese Housewife Spent Years Falsifying Russian History on Wikipedia www.vice.com/en/article/c... (HT @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com)

Building a future tech sector that works for everyone

DSIT Women in Tech taskforce call for evidence on "the impact of emerging technologies on women’s participation, progression and leadership in tech" - www.gov.uk/government/c...

Congratulations Sam — see the AcSS email this morning, great to see.

Broken DOI?

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!

Very sad news…

Very fun read: “How far back in time can you understand English? An experiment in language change”

www.deadlanguagesociety.com/p/how-far-ba...

A collage of traditional illustrations celebrating Zelda 1’s 40th anniversary. A gleeok, Zelda and Link holding up pieces of the Triforce, Pink Link, and three Link illustrations surround the Zelda 1 title screen logo.

Happy 40th Anniversary, Zelda 1 and The Legend of Zelda!! 🔺💕💣✨🧚🏼‍♀️

#Zelda #Artposting

Director General for Emerging Technology and Artificial Intelligence Department for Science, Innovation & Technology Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 22nd March 2026 Department for Science, Innovation & Technology Apply at advertiser's site Reference number 450276 Salary £174,000

Significant job this one. A chance to shape tech to work for the public interest.

Director General for Emerging Technology and Artificial Intelligence at the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology. (£174k)
www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/jobs.cgi...

What happens to a car when the company behind its software goes under? Connected car servers won't be online indefinitely, and startups often go bust.

What happens to a car when the company behind its software goes under? arstechnica.com/cars/2026/02...

New report urges broader definition of “open research" to include arts, humanities and social science practices As Open Research gains traction across the research landscape, a new report challenges funders and institutions to expand their understanding of openness to better reflect arts, humanities and social ...

New report urges broader definition of “open research" to include arts, humanities and social science practices www.lib.cam.ac.uk/stories/morp... #openresearch

The RAM shortage is coming for everything you care about Did you think you could escape?

In related news: "The RAM shortage is coming for everything you care about" www.theverge.com/tech/880812/...

Thanks Eerke — I had completely forgotten to reply to Jon’s post so will do so! Keen to have wider engagement from the CS community as this work progresses, especially from both a technical and metascience perspective.

👌

WD and Seagate confirm: Hard drives for 2026 sold out Hyperscalers are tearing hard drives out of the hands of manufacturers. Prices are therefore also rising for SSDs.

WD and Seagate confirm: Hard drives for 2026 sold out

[Email to journal editors after manuscript rejection]

Old burgundy UK passport and new navy blue UK passport

End of an era

North London measles outbreak hits several schools with tens of children infected A number of children have been hospitalised as officials urge families to check they are up to date with their vaccines.

'Fast-spreading' measles outbreak hits several schools in London www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

‘Regrets? Number one: smoking. Number two: taking it up the wrong hole’: Tracey Emin on reputation, radical honesty – and Reform She scandalised the art world in the 1990s with her unmade bed, partied hard in the 2000s – then a brush with death turned the artist’s life upside down. Now she’s as frank as ever

‘Regrets? Number one: smoking. Number two: taking it up the wrong hole’: Tracey Emin on reputation, radical honesty – and Reform

A post on threads from user stephens_bens. It reads 'I'll always remember an interview with Steve Buscemi on Bulleye, Jesse Thorn asked him "As an actor with many decades of varied and outstanding roles across your career, does it ever bother you that one of the things you will most be remembered for is a 3-second gif in which you're wearing a backwards baseball cap and carrying a skateboard?" And without missing a beat, Buscemi replied "I'm carrying *two* skateboards." And you know what? He is.' Below that is a screen cap of Buscemi's famous "fellow kids" moment.

I never noticed this either.

Wales is fixing its ambulance service — by sending out fewer ambulances The Welsh ambulance service was in a dangerous crisis. Now drones, volunteers, video calls and AI are helping call handlers in Newport send ambulances only to the 999 callers who really need one

Wales is fixing its ambulance service — by sending out fewer ambulances www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcar...

The last nuclear weapons treaty between the US and Russia is about to fall—and no one seems to care Experts warn there will be no legally-binding limits on the two countries' nuclear forces for the first time in 50 years. Is a new arms race breaking ...

“When the New START treaty lapses [in Feb 2026], there will be no legally-binding limits on the two countries’ nuclear forces for the first time in nearly 50 years…” www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/essays/39579...