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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaMolly the magpie: Australia debates seizure of Insta-famous birdPublished1 hour agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, @peggyandmollyImage caption, “Peggy and Molly” regularly feature in videos playing together and have millions of fans on social mediaBy Hannah Ritchiein SydneyAn Australian state premier has backed a campaign to return an Instagram-famous magpie to its human carers after it was seized by wildlife authorities.The bird, dubbed Molly, was rescued as a chick by a Queensland couple and formed an unlikely bond with their bull terrier, Peggy.More than two million people follow a “Peggy and Molly” profile online.Queensland’s leader Steven Miles says Molly should be reunited with the family, contradicting state officials. “I think sometimes common sense needs to prevail… and if you look at the story, there is a better outcome possible,” Mr Miles said on Thursday. In an emotional video, Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen announced they had “surrendered” Molly to Queensland’s environment department earlier in the week, because of a “small group of people constantly complaining” about the animal being in their care. “We are asking why a wild magpie can’t decide for himself where he wants to live and who he wants to spend his time with?” the couple said in a post online. More than 50,000 fans have signed a petition to reconcile the “bonded animals” who have appeared together in videos for four years. One cited Molly’s imitations of a dog barking as proof it was “her family”. The state’s Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (Desi) said it acknowledged the “community interest in Molly”, but warned that magpies were not domestic animals and should only ever be housed temporarily for the purpose of “rehabilitation”. “The magpie is currently under the care of Desi. Unfortunately, it has been highly habituated to human contact and is not capable of being released back into the wild,” a spokesperson said. Ms Wells and Mr Mortensen have signalled they will continue their campaign, arguing that Molly would have faced “certain death” had it not been housed.Australian magpies – which can live up to 30 years – are a protected native species and are considered vital to the nation’s ecosystem. Related TopicsQueenslandAustraliaMore on this storyInside the Australian magpie’s annual reign of terrorPublished28 September 2023Top StoriesDivers recover bodies in Baltimore bridge collapse watersPublished5 hours agoKing sends ‘hand of friendship’ recorded messagePublished6 hours agoPupil behaviour getting worse, say teachersPublished4 hours agoFeaturesThe Papers: Sewage ‘outrage’ and ‘King calls for kindness’ The families borrowing to pay for careFather of three among Baltimore bridge victimsUS guns pour into Haiti, fuelling surge in violenceBill Nighy on playing an England manager with a differenceI’m not ashamed of who I am any more, says LionessWhy some Tory MPs are stepping downLost IRA film shows planting and detonation of bombAfter Moscow attack, migrants from Central Asia hit by backlashElsewhere on the BBCDid The Terminator predict the future correctly?!Beth Singler explores the creation and enduring influence of the film, 40 years after its releaseAttributionSoundsBlowing the lid on a baffling online scamPolly Weston’s determined to get to the bottom of the con involving a £138 dehumidifierAttributionSoundsCan you sort these monarchs into the correct order?Test your memory and reorder ten royal faces, from the earliest to the most recentAttributionBitesizeThe dressing room killing which shook wrestling’Villain of the ring’ Bruiser Brody’s extraordinary life, legend and deathAttributionSoundsMost Read1Gogglebox star, 40, dies after fall from height2Pupil behaviour getting worse, say teachers3Man seriously injured after stabbing on London train4Son ‘numb’ as whole-life killer may be released5France to sue teen over headscarf row claim6King sends ‘hand of friendship’ recorded message7Sewage ‘outrage’ and ‘King calls for kindness’8Easter travel warning as millions set to hit roads9Divers recover bodies in Baltimore bridge collapse waters10Girl, 10, left inoperable after surgery axed seven times
[ad_1] The bird – known by millions online as “Molly” – was removed from its carers by wildlife officials.
![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityBusinessMarket DataEconomyYour MoneyCompaniesTechnology of BusinessCEO SecretsArtificial IntelligenceHow AI is helping the search for extraterrestrial lifePublished24 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The Very Large Array facility in New Mexico is searching for signs of alien lifeBy Emma WoollacottBusiness reporterThere are between 10 and 50 billion potentially habitable worlds in our galaxy, says Bill Diamond. It makes his job rather difficult.Mr Diamond is the chief executive of the US-based research organisation Seti Institute. The letters “Seti” are an acronym for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.”Seti, as an endeavour, is looking for science and technology beyond the solar system as evidence of life and intelligence, and that’s by and large a needle in a haystack problem,” he says.”We’re looking for something that is likely exceedingly rare, and may be very difficult to find and extract from the background phenomena that you’re observing at the same time.”But new tools are helping the search. The ability of artificial intelligence (AI) to both handle massive datasets – and to spot anomalies – is transforming the hunt for alien intelligence.One such project involves a Seti Institute partnership with the US’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory in New Mexico. This federal facility uses radio frequencies to study celestial objects, such as planets, stars and asteroids.Seti is building a parallel, AI-powered software system for the observatory’s core facility, the Very Large Array. Built between 1973 and 1981, the VLA comprises 28 large, 25m diameter, dish antennas spaced out across a desert plain. Imagine the satellite dishes you find on people’s homes, just on a giant scale.When operational, the AI will be able to process every bit of data captured – two terabytes (TB) every second. To put that into context, modern laptops now typically have around 1TB of total storage.Image source, Bill DiamondImage caption, Mr Diamond says that the use of AI is already invaluableMr Diamond says that the increased use of AI is already proving to be “indispensable” as his institute continues to hunt for alien life.He points to AI making it possible to search for new types of radio signals from alien sources. He explains that traditionally, Seti has looked for narrowband signals similar to those used by human beings.”But there was always the question ‘what if there’s an alien advanced technology that is using wideband [radio]?’. And if that’s the case, our traditional methods wouldn’t work, it would look like a bunch of noise on the screen.”However, Mr Diamond says that the ability of AI to handle massive amounts of data means it’s possible to take millions of “snapshots” of this snowy audio picture over time, and to start to look for patterns. “It’s a way of adding on a new thing to look for.”Another project with which Seti collaborates is Breakthrough Listen. Backed by more than £100m of private sector funding, this scheme is scanning a million stars, and 100 galaxies, across a wide range of radio and optical bands, to look for evidence of technological life. One project member, University of Toronto student Peter Ma, recently developed a new AI system designed to examine telescope data, and distinguish between possible real signals from aliens, and interference. His team did this by simulating both types of noise, and then training their AI to differentiate between the two.Mr Ma says that an alien signal would, for example, “only appear when we point our telescopes at it… and disappear when we point away”. The project has already identified eight potential alien signals that went undetected by traditional analysis. However, Mr Ma believes that as the observations haven’t yet been repeated they are probably false positives.AI is also being used to try to detect signs of life of a more modest nature, and closer to home.Last year, Nasa’s Perseverance rover started collecting samples from the Jezero Crater on Mars, which will, if all goes well, be returned to Earth in several years’ time.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Nasa’s Perseverance rover is collecting rock samples from the surface of MarsAlready, scientists believe that the rover’s Sherloc instrument has detected organic compounds, which glow under ultraviolet light. However, organic compounds can be created by non-biological processes, meaning that it’s not yet possible to say whether they derive from past life on the planet.All this could change, though, thanks to new research from the Carnegie Institution for Science, which is using AI to analyse rock samples for signs of present or past life. The team found that the AI is able to distinguish former living and non-living material, with an accuracy of almost 90%.”This is a very new approach to searching for molecular biosignatures,” says joint lead researcher Dr Robert Hazen.”We employ machine learning to look at all of the vast amount of data from an analytical method that produces half a million data points per sample. So we’re seeking subtle patterns in molecular distributions.”Read additional stories on artificial intelligenceThe first plans are to use the system to analyse ancient samples from Earth, as well as some Martian samples in the form of meteorites. But, says Mr Hazen, “We could, for example, fly an instrument through the plumes of Enceladus [one of Saturn’s moons], or land a carefully designed instrument on Mars.”It’s early days, and any promising results generated by AI need to be validated by other observations, or by physics-based models, before they can be shouted from the rooftops. But as more and more data is collected and analysed, the chances of detecting alien life – if it exists – are increasing all the time.In the meantime, though, says Mr Diamond, “The progress is measured in the scale of the effort, not yet in the results.”Related TopicsArtificial intelligenceTop StoriesCommons descends into chaos over Gaza votePublished1 hour agoWatch: Angry scenes as MPs clash over ceasefire vote. VideoWatch: Angry scenes as MPs clash over ceasefire votePublished3 hours agoAnti-terror failures leave public at risk – ex-adviserPublished2 hours agoFeatures’Dad, please don’t go out’: The Gazans killed as Israel freed hostages’Premier League caught my online troll. Should I forgive him?’Watch: Chaos in the Commons over Gaza ceasefire vote. VideoWatch: Chaos in the Commons over Gaza ceasefire voteListen: Newscast – Disorder Disorder in the House of Commons. AudioListen: Newscast – Disorder Disorder in the House of CommonsAttributionSoundsK-Pop acts outsold everyone except Taylor Swift in 2023The strangers who saved each other’s livesWatch Big Keith’s iconic scotch egg scene from The Office. VideoWatch Big Keith’s iconic scotch egg scene from The Office’I was raped more than 100 times by grooming gang’Election poll tracker: How do the parties compare?Elsewhere on the BBCCan Molly keep her life afloat?A moving portrayal of a daughter’s love in the face of her father’s struggleAttributioniPlayerThe Swedish furniture king’s billionaire lifestyleDeconstructing IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad and his eccentric way of livingAttributionSoundsWhat is it really like to be a monk?’To be a monk is something very vast, very high and very beautiful’AttributioniPlayerHow did a booming computer manufacturer go bust?Commodore computers were huge in the 1980s, so why couldn’t the business adapt and survive?AttributionSoundsMost Read1Commons descends into chaos over Gaza vote2Russia ‘struggling with supply of weapons’ for war3New images show British ship in Red Sea has not sunk4Australian bishop Christopher Saunders charged with rape5The Office actor Ewen MacIntosh dies aged 506Met Police take no further action against Wootton7King ‘reduced to tears’ by cancer support messages8Prevent failures leave public at risk – ex-adviser9Cordon around unexploded WW2 bomb to be extended10’Dad, please don’t go out’: The Gazans killed as Israel freed hostages](https://newsinsightplus.com/wp-content/uploads/https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/11C0F/production/_132691727_gettyimages-1205366009.jpg)
