Precedence Research

New research suggests slow earthquakes — gradual fault movements that can precede major quakes — may be set off by tidal stresses from the Sun and Moon. The forces are described as comparable to a slight push from a hand, but when timed with a fault already near failure, they can be enough to get it moving. The findings could improve understanding of when slow slip events might escalate into destructive earthquakes.

Stanford University has asked the National Labor Relations Board to postpone an election on union representation for its undergraduate research assistants, echoing the legal fight that began with Columbia University's graduate and undergraduate workers. The move extends the national dispute over whether student workers at private universities count as employees under labor law, with Stanford arguing the issue should be resolved before a vote proceeds.

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has affirmed a revised ruling finding that ROSS Intelligence's AI legal research platform was not protected by fair use, in a decision issued under seal. The long-running copyright dispute with Thomson Reuters over the use of legal headnotes to train AI tools remains a closely watched test case for the AI industry.

New research suggests slow-slip earthquakes, which can precede major temblors, may be triggered by tidal stresses from the Sun and Moon. Scientists report that gravitational forces from celestial bodies can nudge fault segments into slow ruptures, offering a potential early indicator of damaging earthquakes. The findings are drawing attention among geophysicists and seismology watchers.

A US federal appeals court has ruled in favour of Thomson Reuters in its copyright lawsuit against legal research startup ROSS Intelligence. The Third Circuit's decision marks a significant development in the long-running dispute over whether ROSS unlawfully copied content from Thomson Reuters' Westlaw legal research database to build its competing AI-powered legal search product, with implications for copyright law and AI training data.

Researchers have used acoustic modelling and artificial intelligence to reconstruct how ancient Etruscan tombs in Italy may have sounded, shedding new light on burial rituals and the culture that preceded Rome. The project, described as 'confronting demons', suggests sound played a central role in funerary practice and offers archaeologists a fresh way of interpreting pre-Roman heritage sites.