Author(s): Michael Schirber
Neutrino astronomy and the effort to build a cubic-kilometer-sized detector at the South Pole are recognized by the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics.
[Physics 19, 138] Published Tue Oct 06, 2026
OmniFocus 4.9 adds support for Siri AI, optional new date parsing assistance via Apple Intelligence, and a range of new and updated App Intents exposed as Shortcuts actions.
[…]
In our testing we’ve found that the new Siri AI hasn’t yet learned how to work with app capabilities that it hasn’t specifically been trained on, even for App Intents that are available in Shortcuts and Spotlight. For example, its understanding of how to work with OmniFocus is based on how it’s been trained to work with the Reminders app. Our work in OmniFocus 4.9 means that Siri now knows about “reminders” in OmniFocus (i.e. actions and Inbox items), “lists” (i.e. projects) which contain reminders, and any “groups” (i.e. folders) that lists have been organized into. Siri can assign and edit reminder due dates, flags, repeat schedules, and notes and image attachments in OmniFocus. This is another great leap forward! But as soon as you try to go beyond what Reminders can do, you find its limits: for example, it doesn’t understand the distinction between due dates, planned dates, and defer dates.
Siri also doesn’t really understand much about how our document-based apps work, because Apple hasn’t trained it on our specific apps or anything equivalent. So, Siri doesn’t know how to make an outline, or a diagram, or a Gantt chart. We expect this to improve over time—after all, we’ve worked with other language models that do understand how to make those things—but it’s important to understand Siri’s current limits.
[…]
With Siri AI, Spotlight becomes even more important as a source for personal context. You can ask Siri about content in your OmniFocus database, so Siri can summarize the actions you’ve completed this week, or tell you what items you might consider working on soon.
My favorite change in OmniFocus 4.9 seems less exiting, but I’m irrationally happy about it. Last year, as part of the Liquid Glass update, they redesigned the Perspectives Bar on iOS to automatically collapse and expand as you scroll. I found the animations distracting, it messed up my muscle memory, and it required lots of extra taps. In 4.9, there’s a new Show Perspective Bar option, which you can set to Automatically (the 4.8 behavior), Manually (stay collapsed but expand when you tap), or Always (show the expanded state all the time, nothing moves). This is, of course, what I chose.
I’m still seeing the previously mentioned glitches in the Mac app with tabbing, spontaneous tag collapsing, and the window moving itself between spaces. The iOS app sometimes still shows an out-of-date list of flagged actions.
Previously:
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
A new technique for generating solid fibers from a liquid jet is easier to model—and thus easier to control—than past methods.
[Physics 19, 137] Published Fri Oct 02, 2026
Author(s): Michael Schirber
A carbon nanotube foam springs back to its initial state, regardless of the speed of the compression, a property that could lead to a new type of shock absorber.
[Physics 19, 129] Published Fri Sep 18, 2026
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
Chess grandmasters move toward a less complex game faster than AI players, suggesting different approaches for balancing short- and long-term prospects.
[Physics 19, 126] Published Fri Sep 11, 2026
Author(s): Susan Curtis
Using high-power lasers to drive highly magnetized plasmas, researchers have probed the stellar processes that control coronal mass ejections.
[Physics 19, 123] Published Fri Sep 04, 2026
Author(s): Michael Schirber
New estimates suggest that some crypto-security systems may soon become vulnerable to quantum-powered break-ins.
[Physics 19, 117] Published Fri Aug 21, 2026
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A model that captures how crater-forming impacts redistribute lunar dirt will help researchers read the cosmic timeline found in samples returned from the Moon.
[Physics 19, 116] Published Fri Aug 14, 2026
Author(s): Philip Ball
Two research teams have run small-scale demonstrations of voting protocols that could ensure election security using the principles of quantum mechanics.
[Physics 19, 113] Published Fri Aug 07, 2026
Author(s): Samuel Jarman
Two types of ant colonies—one that experiences sudden bursts of activity and one that doesn’t—exemplify two distinct phases of collective behavior.
[Physics 19, 111] Published Wed Aug 05, 2026
The problem is that PAMS is drunk with power and flattens everything on its way[…]
That includes:
- emphasis by italics or bolding
- links
- bulleted and numbered lists
- strike-through text
- headlines
None of these are “style.” This is actual information that should not be removed.
Sometimes, Paste and Match Style is what you want, but I like when apps also provide other options, as he discusses. For example, the Omni apps now offer Paste and Merge Styles.
Previously:
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
Simulations reveal disordered structures that are also surprisingly resistant to impacts and cracks.
[Physics 19, 108] Published Fri Jul 31, 2026
Author(s): Philip Ball
Decades-old experiments have now been enlisted to set new bounds on the properties of a hypothetical particle that bears a tiny fraction of the electron’s charge.
[Physics 19, 102] Published Fri Jul 10, 2026
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
A study of online language shows that niche terms—like the name of a narrowly popular music group—spread less quickly than mainstream words.
[Physics 19, 99] Published Mon Jul 06, 2026
Author(s): Michael Schirber
A solar storm hitting Earth appears to have reduced the amount of incoming high-energy cosmic rays, suggesting a new way of measuring solar activity.
[Physics 19, 92] Published Fri Jun 26, 2026
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
Researchers boosted the sensitivity for measurements of the motion of a levitated nanoparticle, with potential uses in dark matter searches.
[Physics 19, 84] Published Fri Jun 12, 2026
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
Sound wave scattering can be increased in one frequency range only by reducing scattering in another range, according to experiments—a discovery relevant for acoustic engineering.
[Physics 19, 80] Published Fri Jun 05, 2026
Author(s): Susan Curtis
A theoretical approach that attempts to account for the psychology of human decision-making offers strategies for success in business, professional life, and politics.
[Physics 19, 78] Published Fri May 29, 2026
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