Pipes Feed Preview: Science - Ars Technica & Tech

Cockroaches scurry around with thousands of pieces of bacterial genomes

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 21:54:41 -0000

Transferring genes across species doesn't just happen in microbes.

Last week, we looked at a new study of <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/the-first-complex-cells-had-genes-from-a-complex-mix-of-species/">the origin of complex cells</a>, one that showed that our ancestors' genomes were pieced together from bits and pieces of multiple species. It put a spotlight on a phenomenon called horizontal gene transfer, in which a gene from one species is incorporated into the genome of a distantly related species. The frequency of horizontal gene transfer means that, in addition to the neatly branching trees that relate species by common descent, there are small threads connecting distant branches of the tree of life. It's easy to see why horizontal gene transfer would be common among microbes. They often live in complex communities that are likely awash in the DNA of dead and damaged cells. Plus, bacteria and archaea lack a membrane between their DNA and the rest of the cell, making it easier for environmental DNA to find its way to the genome. However, a new study this week shows that horizontal gene transfers are remarkably common even in multicellular animals. And it does so by examining the genomes of multiple cockroach species, which have had bits of bacterial DNA for millions of years.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/cockroaches-scurry-around-with-thousands-of-pieces-of-bacterial-genomes/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/cockroaches-scurry-around-with-thousands-of-pieces-of-bacterial-genomes/#comments">Comments</a>

Trump admin abandons fight against wind energy as clean energy output surges

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 16:49:09 -0000

Legal victories have dampened the Trump admin’s efforts to halt wind and solar power.

The Trump administration has abandoned its effort to halt wind energy projects across the United States and dropped its challenge to the<a href="https://www.law360.com/articles/2419630/trump-s-unlawful-freeze-of-wind-projects-gets-blocked"> court ruling</a> that tossed President Donald Trump’s order freezing federal permitting and leasing for wind projects. States that challenged the order hailed the development as one of the most significant legal victories against the Trump White House’s campaign against the energy transition. On Monday, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit <a href="https://www.mass.gov/news/ag-campbell-secures-final-victory-as-court-dismisses-trump-administrations-appeal-in-case-over-federal-offshore-wind-permitting-pause">dismissed the appeal</a> after the Justice Department filed a motion for its voluntary dismissal on June 10. The case against Trump’s executive order was filed in May 2025 by a coalition of attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, DC, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/trump-admin-abandons-fight-against-wind-energy-as-clean-energy-output-surges/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/trump-admin-abandons-fight-against-wind-energy-as-clean-energy-output-surges/#comments">Comments</a>

Key mission for Europe's commercial space enterprise scrubbed again

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 23:40:38 -0000

Isar Aerospace is not hurting for money, but it is sorely lacking in the currency of flight experience.

Isar Aerospace still commands top position among a new generation of European rocket startups, but the company's efforts to launch a critical test flight of its Spectrum rocket continue to encounter roadblocks. The latest delay came Monday, when Isar scrubbed a launch attempt after "detecting off nominal behavior in the vehicle's fluid systems," according to a social media post. "The teams are analyzing the new data to isolate the root cause." The two-stage, 92-foot-tall (28-meter) Spectrum rocket was awaiting liftoff from Andøya Spaceport in northern Norway. It was the fourth time in five months that Isar Aerospace, headquartered near Munich, Germany, had reached a target launch date for the second test flight of the Spectrum launch vehicle.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/06/key-mission-for-europes-commercial-space-enterprise-scrubbed-again/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/06/key-mission-for-europes-commercial-space-enterprise-scrubbed-again/#comments">Comments</a>

Good news—we have extra time before the Sun ends life on Earth

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 16:28:17 -0000

Will the Sun roast Earth’s plants or starve them?

It’s a bit worrying when a scientific paper begins, “How long will life on Earth survive?” But in this case—a study by Jacob Haqq‐Misra of Blue Marble Space and Eric Wolf at the University of Colorado Boulder—the billion-plus-year timeline under consideration shouldn’t cause you too much existential panic. The context for this question is that we understand the Sun will brighten as it eventually matures into a red giant that swallows the Earth in a solar furnace. So, where along that 5 billion-year path will life on Earth, in fact, be cooked? <h2>Weathering and the weather</h2> This isn’t just a question of incoming radiation. Among the thermostat-like stabilizing feedback loops in Earth’s climate, the cycling of CO2 through the solid Earth is a major factor over timescales this long. The weathering of silicate rocks at the surface converts atmospheric CO2 into carbonate that ends up on the seafloor, where it can be subducted into the mantle with tectonic plates. (And eventually, it can cycle back out to the atmosphere through volcanoes.)<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/good-news-we-have-extra-time-before-the-sun-ends-life-on-earth/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/good-news-we-have-extra-time-before-the-sun-ends-life-on-earth/#comments">Comments</a>

Did a medieval flying monk spot Halley's comet, twice? It's complicated

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 16:02:53 -0000

University of Leicester historian thinks Eilmer of Malmesbury saw two different comets: in 1018 and 1066.

Early in the 11th century, a young Benedictine monk <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eilmer_of_Malmesbury">named Eilmer</a> jumped from the 150-foot tower of his abbey in the small English town of Malmesbury, wearing a pair of crude wings he’d fashioned from willow wood and cloth. Eilmer managed to glide a good 600 feet, passing over the city wall before crash-landing in a small valley near the river Avon. The fall broke both his legs, crippling him. Malmesbury Abbey still boasts a stained-glass window in honor of Brother Eilmer. This legendary experiment in medieval aviation comes to us via 12th-century historian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_of_Malmesbury">William of Malmesbury</a> in an account written circa 1125, although William neglected to provide future historians with an exact date for the feat. But William does mention another key episode in Eilmer's life when the monk was "advanced in years": Eilmer witnessed Halley's comet in 1066, commenting, "It is long since I saw you." Some historians <a href="https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2026/01/halleys-comet-wrongly-named-11th-century-english-monk-predates-british-astronomer">have interpreted</a> this to mean that Eilmer saw Halley's comet on an earlier fly-by in 989, when he would have been a young boy. Assuming Eilmer was at least 5 years old in 989, he would have been born no later than 984. This would make Eilmer in his 80s in 1066, with his attempt at flight—which occurred when he was "in his first youth"—likely falling between 1000 and 1010. However, it's an estimate that is based on a lot of assumptions, according to James Aitcheson of the University of Leicester, who argues in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/nq/advance-article/doi/10.1093/notesj/gjag066/8671576?login=false">a paper</a> published in the journal Notes and Queries that Eilmer may have seen a different comet altogether in his youth—the comet of 1018. If so, he would have been born much later, and the date of his flight would have occurred between the 1020s and 1040s.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/did-a-medieval-flying-monk-spot-halleys-comet-twice-its-complicated/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/did-a-medieval-flying-monk-spot-halleys-comet-twice-its-complicated/#comments">Comments</a>

Threads of underground fungal networks are long enough to reach beyond the Solar System

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 11:18:42 -0000

Researchers have quantified the length and mass of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal networks globally.

Hidden underground around the world lie 110 quadrillion kilometers of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal networks—webs of ultra-thin threads that, if connected in a single line, would stretch almost a billion times the distance between the Earth and the sun, according to new research published in Science on Thursday. These fungal communities form intimate relationships with the roots of plants, which they provide with nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen in exchange for carbon, 1 billion tons of which the networks sequester underground annually, previous research has found. If the fungal network wasn’t storing it, that carbon would be warming the atmosphere. But those networks have never been mapped globally until now. The <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adu4373">new study</a> led by <a href="https://www.spun.earth/?r=0">Society for the Protection of Underground Networks</a>, or SPUN, an organization founded to map mycorrhizal fungi networks, used a combination of literature review, soil samples from around the globe, machine learning and laboratory testing to estimate the distribution and mass of these systems and <a href="https://spun-625.pages.dev/story/a-hidden-infrastructure">map</a> where they are densest.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/threads-of-underground-fungal-networks-are-long-enough-to-reach-beyond-the-solar-system/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/threads-of-underground-fungal-networks-are-long-enough-to-reach-beyond-the-solar-system/#comments">Comments</a>

Have politics finally come for the National Academies of Science?

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 18:31:36 -0000

A pending report on climate attribution may be setting the stage for conflict.

Founded during the US Civil War to provide advice to the government, the National Academies of Science have become one of the most prestigious scientific organizations. Its primary function is to prepare comprehensive reports on scientific and technological issues, aided by its ability to attract top talent from across the country. Those reports have not been afraid to weigh in on <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2009/02/national-academies-we-need-better-science-in-the-courtroom/">matters of public controversy</a> and risk offending powerful groups, which it has managed to do without losing the respect of the governmental organizations that fund these reports. But this year, there have been increasing signs that the Academies' ability to dodge political firestorms has reached its limit. Yesterday, a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/11/fossil-fuels-national-academies-climate-science-00897237">deeply reported story</a> from Politico explained the breakdown between the National Academies and Republican politicians. The National Academies is preparing an expert report on attribution of weather events to human-driven climate change, and fossil fuel companies are worried it will lead to findings of liability in the many cases where those companies are being sued.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/have-politics-finally-come-for-the-national-academies-of-science/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/have-politics-finally-come-for-the-national-academies-of-science/#comments">Comments</a>

After nearly breaking, NASA's Deep Space Network "worked well" on Artemis II

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 18:34:01 -0000

"Some missions are using more than what their paperwork would say."

NASA pushed its Deep Space Network beyond its limits during the Artemis I mission nearly four years ago. The global array of deep space communications antennas couldn't keep up with the routine demands of 40 robotic science missions and the extraordinary surge required by NASA's Orion space capsule as it flew around the Moon. The <a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/nasas-artemis-i-mission-nearly-broke-the-deep-space-network/">experience in late 2022</a> reduced or delayed downlinks from several high-profile science missions, including the James Webb Space Telescope and Mars rovers, as the data-hungry Artemis I mission took priority on NASA's communications network. And that was before the first Artemis mission with astronauts onboard. When Artemis II launched April 1, NASA called upon the Deep Space Network (DSN) again to connect Mission Control to the Orion capsule as it soared more than a quarter of a million miles from Earth. With a crew of four flying inside the spacecraft, the agency's appetite for data from Orion on Artemis II was even higher than it was on Artemis I. But at a little more than nine days, the Artemis II mission was shorter than the 25 days Artemis I spent in space, helping alleviate the communications overload. Artemis I also launched 10 small CubeSats into deep space, many of which required tracking and telecom services from the DSN. Artemis II carried fewer CubeSats.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/06/after-nearly-breaking-nasas-deep-space-network-worked-well-on-artemis-ii/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/06/after-nearly-breaking-nasas-deep-space-network-worked-well-on-artemis-ii/#comments">Comments</a>

Did Iron Age Britons remove brains of the dead?

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 17:21:53 -0000

Archaeologists found apparent scrape marks inside a skull; long bones may have been sharpened into tools.

Very little is known about funerary practices in Iron Age Britain, since few human remains have survived. However, the environment in northwest Scotland is more conducive to preserving bone from that period. Archaeologists have previously noted evidence of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cladh-Hallan-Roundhouses-stratigraghy-organisation/dp/1789256933">postmortem manipulation</a> of human remains, such as mummification, and of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/1461957112Y.0000000004">modifying human bones</a> into tools or decorative artifacts. Now <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/reconnecting-the-dead-in-iron-age-britain-funerary-processing-and-longdistance-connectivity-at-loch-borralie-scotland/450BC6B98B6F1FECE3E42941F26C8619">a new paper</a> published in the journal Antiquity describes evidence of postmortem brain removal in remains from that region, as well as sharpened limb bones, possibly for use as tools. The remains in question were found in 2000 at a burial cairn in Loch Borralie, near the most northwest tip of the Scottish mainland, after erosion revealed a human cranium. The excavated remains belonged to two individuals: one an adult female and the other a juvenile of (at the time) indeterminate sex; the cranium belonged to the latter. The authors of the new paper conducted a fresh osteoarchaeological analysis as well as multi-isotope and ancient DNA analysis. Radiocarbon dating of molar teeth from both sets of remains placed their deaths as occurring between 50 BCE and 70 CE. In the case of the female individual, the authors noted an unusual break at the base of the cranium that likely occurred near the time of death. It's the kind of fracture that one gets from high-velocity impacts, including vehicular collisions, sporting accidents, falls, assaults, or even long-drop hanging. But the known forensic patterns observed in the aforementioned scenarios don't exactly match the pattern of the Iron Age cranium, leading the authors to conclude that it likely resulted from a targeted impact. They also noted perimortem fractures on both scapulae.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/did-iron-age-britons-remove-brains-of-the-dead/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/did-iron-age-britons-remove-brains-of-the-dead/#comments">Comments</a>

Alaskans will be flying blind after NSF decommissions ocean monitoring network

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:19:00 -0000

Alaska's multibillion-dollar fishing industry and vulnerable coastal communities at risk.

The upcoming loss of a deep-ocean monitoring system is triggering deep anxiety in Alaska, the nation’s top <a href="https://www.alaskaseafood.org/industry/economic-harvest-data/economic-impact/">fish-producing</a> state, where temperatures are warming <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/new-report-highlights-alaska%E2%80%99s-last-five-years-dramatic-climate">twice as quickly</a> as the global average. The National Science Foundation <a href="https://oceanobservatories.org/2026/05/announcement-on-ooi-descoping/">announced</a> plans in May to decommission the <a href="https://oceanobservatories.org/">Ocean Observatories Initiative</a>, a nearly $368 million network of scientific instruments that tracks ocean chemistry, wave action, water temperature, salinity, and a host of other metrics. The real-time information from these ocean observatories helps scientists, fishery managers, coastal hazard planners, and even the <a href="https://www.dvidshub.net/video/793230/operation-northern-edge-why-navy-trains-gulf-alaska">military</a> plan and prepare for the future. Whether that’s calculating how much fish can be harvested or when a marine heatwave or giant wave action may be occurring, the data is used by a plethora of sources.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/alaskans-will-be-flying-blind-after-nsf-decommissions-ocean-monitoring-network/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/alaskans-will-be-flying-blind-after-nsf-decommissions-ocean-monitoring-network/#comments">Comments</a>

The first complex cells had genes from a complex mix of species

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:44:12 -0000

Our ancestors' genomes were built through successive waves of gene transfers.

We tend to view ourselves and the complex cells that build us as a distinct branch of the tree of life from the compact, seemingly featureless cells of bacteria and archaea. But we've found that our genome is actually a hybrid, a mish-mash of genes from bacteria and archaea, along with some that have evolved in our own lineage. Scientists gradually settled on a simple explanation for this: the first complex cells were the product of a fusion between archaeal cells and bacteria, with the bacteria ultimately evolving into the mitochondria, a chemical-power-generating structure that still retains a bit of its own genome. Over time, many of the other bacterial genes were transferred to the nucleus of what was becoming what we now call a eukaryote, intermingling with the archaeal genes there. But a new study has taken a careful look at some of the genes shared by all eukaryotes and comes to the conclusion that the reality is a little more complicated and that there were several waves of gene transfers from bacteria. The big picture of a merger between bacteria and archaea is still right, but it was only part of a picture where gene transfers among species were commonplace.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/the-first-complex-cells-had-genes-from-a-complex-mix-of-species/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/the-first-complex-cells-had-genes-from-a-complex-mix-of-species/#comments">Comments</a>

Diabetes org apologizes for ejecting scientists over criticism of Trump

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 22:16:57 -0000

For days after the stunning incident, the ADA had doubled-down on the choice.

Amid intense backlash, the head of the American Diabetes Association posted <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7K2j3Rs-Qg">a video</a> Wednesday apologizing for the organization's decision on Friday to forcefully remove <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/scientists-ejected-from-diabetes-conference-for-distributing-journal-reprints/">five leading diabetes scientists</a> from the association's annual meeting. The scientists were ejected for handing out copies of an April editorial—published in the ADA's own journal Diabetes Care—that sharply criticizes the Trump administration for the damage and destruction it's wreaking on biomedical research. The five scientists included Steven Kahn, professor of medicine at the University of Washington, who is the editor-in-chief of Diabetes Care and a co-author of the editorial. It also included former ADA President Desmond Schatz of the University of Florida. The scientists were distributing the editorial outside the conference's opening speech, which was originally scheduled to be given by Jay Bhattacharya, head of the National Institutes of Health under Trump. Bhattacharya canceled at the last minute, and senior NIH official Rick Woychik took his place.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/06/diabetes-org-apologizes-for-ejecting-scientists-over-criticism-of-trump/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/06/diabetes-org-apologizes-for-ejecting-scientists-over-criticism-of-trump/#comments">Comments</a>

Three key vital signs make up the "urban pulse" of a city

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 20:35:22 -0000

Cities are dynamic, not static grids, and urbanization is a "spiky," cyclical, and asynchronous process.

People often speak metaphorically of the heartbeat or pulse of a city, but according to the authors of a <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2537770123">new paper</a> published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, cities do indeed have an "urban pulse"—an indication of urban "metabolic activity" that can be measured to suss out telltale patterns. And those patterns could help inform future public policy around urban planning. The precise definition of urbanization has shifted over the centuries. Zhe Zhu of the University of Connecticut and his fellow authors adopted a broad version for their study. It features fundamental "processes of concurrent change in at least six dimensions, including demography, economy, infrastructure, environment, governance and culture," they wrote. "Together they give rise to outcomes, measurable results of the process, such as population growth, urban land expansion, GDP growth, and innovation." Their chosen metrics reflect this dynamic view: Cities are not static grids but "living, adaptive ecosystems." “For decades, we had just been capturing the outcome of urbanization—a house that’s been built, or a road expansion,” <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1131362">said Zhu</a>. “But you don’t really see the dynamics within an urban area. This is going to be a very impactful tool influencing not only top-down policy decisions from governments but also bottom-up decisions from everyday people navigating their cities.” One day we may be able to check a neighborhood's "urban pulse" while house-hunting, for instance, or while scouting potential locations for a new business.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/study-how-to-take-the-urban-pulse-of-a-city/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/study-how-to-take-the-urban-pulse-of-a-city/#comments">Comments</a>

Commonwealth Fusion makes the physics case for its 400 MW reactor

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 20:25:56 -0000

Five peer-reviewed papers update the design and model its expected output.

The scientific community has a plan for achieving fusion power. It involves getting a better understanding of how to control fusion in a tokamak-style reactor using the currently under construction <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITER">ITER reactor</a>, and then using that knowledge to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEMOnstration_Power_Plant">build DEMO-style plants</a>. But ITER isn't even expected to see hot plasmas until the middle of the 2030s, by which point solar panels will be so cheap that we'll probably all be getting them free in our cereal boxes. Commonwealth Fusion is a startup that's basically asking "what if we did that, but now?" Its ITER equivalent, a tokamak called SPARC, is over 70 percent complete and is planned to be operating as soon as next year. The company already has a site and customers for the power-generating follow-on, called ARC. Both of those projects are predicated on using high-temperature superconductors to generate an extremely powerful magnetic field that will allow the company to build a smaller reactor, and thus get things done faster. Years of running plasmas through tokamaks has given us confidence that the basics of these plans are sound. But there are lots of potential devils in the details (otherwise there'd be little need for experimental reactors). So Commonwealth's scientists, in collaboration with the academic community, have recently released five peer-reviewed papers that detail its plans for ARC: what our best models tell us now, and what we'll still need to learn from SPARC to finalize the design of a production fusion plant.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/__trashed-19/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/__trashed-19/#comments">Comments</a>

Gold isn’t inert, it just has bodyguards protecting it

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 14:23:59 -0000

Individual gold atoms move around to form oxidation-proof structures.

Gold is weird. It's one of the few metals that doesn’t really oxidize. Even silver and copper—from the same column of the periodic table—form weak oxides. Naively, you might expect that gold would tarnish just like silver. Gold also sits right next to platinum, but it has none of that metal’s catalytic properties. Then came gold nanoparticles that acted like catalysts, and we were confused by their apparent willingness to take part in chemical reactions. Now, a pair of scientists has <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/g3bc-t1qv" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explained that gold’s inertness</a> isn’t inherent to the atom but rather to the surfaces that gold crystals form. Before we get to the results, let’s first take a look at the traditional explanation for gold’s inertness and why an inert material that has no catalytic activity suddenly acts as a catalyst when in its nanoparticle form.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/gold-isnt-inert-it-just-has-bodyguards-protecting-it/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/gold-isnt-inert-it-just-has-bodyguards-protecting-it/#comments">Comments</a>

FCC lifts looming deadline for Amazon Leo satellite broadband constellation

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:59:40 -0000

The waiver "serves the public interest by promoting a second large satellite broadband constellation."

The Federal Communications Commission has waived a requirement for Amazon to launch half of its satellite broadband constellation by the end of July, a key regulatory reprieve that buys the tech giant time to get more of its spacecraft into orbit. Amazon won regulatory approval for the Amazon Leo network in July 2020. The FCC's authorization came with two deadlines. First, Amazon had to launch half of its 3,232 satellites by July 30, 2026, in order to maintain authorization to launch the rest of the network. The regulator gave Amazon a deadline of July 30, 2029, to have all of its first-generation satellites in orbit. It has been apparent for some time that Amazon would not meet the FCC's requirement to launch half of its satellites—1,616 spacecraft—by the end of next month. Amazon filed an application in January requesting the FCC extend the deadline to July 2028 or waive it altogether. The commission decided on the latter option, removing any time limit for the 50 percent deployment milestone, but keeping the July 2029 deadline in place for the entire constellation.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/06/fcc-lifts-looming-deadline-for-amazon-leo-satellite-broadband-constellation/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/06/fcc-lifts-looming-deadline-for-amazon-leo-satellite-broadband-constellation/#comments">Comments</a>

Your empty cuppa could capture carbon

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 18:50:10 -0000

Polystyrene can be upcycled into carbon sponge material.

Humanity has littered the sky with the refuse of fossil fuel use, releasing enough CO2 to change the planet’s climate. We are also chucking incredible sums of carbon in the form of plastics into landfills and into the environment around (and <a href="https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/01/plastic-is-everywhere-including-our-food-and-bottled-water/">inside of</a>) us. What if cleaning up one of these problems could also help clean up the other? A new study led by Ruth Ebenbauer at Aarhus University experiments with this idea by upcycling discarded polystyrene into (part of) a material commonly used in carbon-capture systems. <h2>Adding amines</h2> This material is based on amines—a simple chemical group that conveniently acts like a sponge for CO2. An amine will grab CO2 molecules when exposed to them, but let go of the CO2 when heated or depressurized, leaving it ready to go again. The first “CO2 scrubbers” tried in smokestacks used amines dissolved in water to do this, but solid amines are used in all kinds of carbon-capture systems now because they require less energy. These solid materials—often made into granules similar to the activated carbon in a water filter—have high surface area and high porosity, so the amines can efficiently partner up with CO2 molecules.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/your-empty-cuppa-could-capture-carbon/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/your-empty-cuppa-could-capture-carbon/#comments">Comments</a>

The weather and climate science AI revolution isn’t revolutionary

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 11:00:58 -0000

Machine learning has its limits—how is it being used?

It feels like there's no escaping AI right now, whether you’re trying to type a sentence without being interrupted by a digital “assistant” or struggling to find a new refrigerator that doesn’t require a Wi-Fi connection for some reason. You’d be forgiven for wondering if we’re in the midst of a quantum leap in tech or whether people are just hyping up a heap of slop. So what should we make of the growing use of AI in weather and climate modeling? The conversation didn't get off to a great start earlier this year when a National Weather Service office posted a forecast map <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026/01/06/nws-ai-map-fake-names/">featuring nonexistent cities</a> in Idaho with names like “Whata Bod” and “Orangeotild.” Thankfully, that was just an AI-generated image produced for social media, not the actual forecast model. Meteorologists and climate scientists are not yet being replaced by large language model prompt engineers.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/the-weather-and-climate-science-ai-revolution-isnt-revolutionary/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/the-weather-and-climate-science-ai-revolution-isnt-revolutionary/#comments">Comments</a>

Scientists ejected from diabetes conference for distributing journal reprints

Sat, 06 Jun 2026 20:53:07 -0000

Those ousted included ADA journal Editor-in-Chief Steven Kahn and former ADA President Desmond Schatz.

Five leading scientists <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/05/well/ada-conference-diabetes-trump.html">were ousted</a> from the annual <a href="https://professional.diabetes.org/scientific-sessions">meeting</a> of the <a href="https://diabetes.org">American Diabetes Association</a> (ADA) in New Orleans on Friday. Their crime: handing out copies of an editorial, <a href="https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/49/6/901/164764/Misguided-Brushes-of-a-Pen-Continue-to-Dismantle">published</a> in the journal Diabetes Care on April 29, sharply criticizing the Trump administration's ongoing attacks on scientific research. Those ousted were Steven Kahn, professor of medicine at the University of Washington and editor-in-chief of Diabetes Care, who co-authored the published editorial; former ADA President Desmond Schatz of the University of Florida, Gainesville; Aaron Kelly, pediatrics professor at the University of Minnesota; Justin Ryder of Northwestern University; and Irl Hirsch, also of the University of Washington. The five were handing out reprints of the editorial outside a room where NIH director Jay Bhattacharya had been scheduled to speak. Bhattacharya canceled and another NIH official spoke in his stead. "They physically grabbed us, forced us out of the conference center, and now are telling us we can no longer attend this meeting," Kelly <a href="https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/121619">told MedPage Today</a>, which first reported the incident. "They're taking our lanyards. It really has come to this in America. Censorship is real. America needs to stand up. Scientists, stand up. Physicians, stand up."<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/scientists-ejected-from-diabetes-conference-for-distributing-journal-reprints/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/scientists-ejected-from-diabetes-conference-for-distributing-journal-reprints/#comments">Comments</a>

Some ancient microbes frozen with Ötzi the Iceman are still growing

Sat, 06 Jun 2026 11:15:51 -0000

What’s the difference between a person, an artifact, and an ecosystem?

Ötzi the Iceman, Europe’s most famous mummy, is crawling with microbes, some long dead, some still eking out a living after thousands of years, and some very modern. After he died in the Ötztal Alps, the Copper Age man now known as Ötzi lay alone and forgotten for 5,300 years, until a group of hikers stumbled on his freeze-dried remains in 1991. Since then, he’s received a lot of attention from scientists, who have <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/08/surprise-otzi-the-iceman-was-bald-and-had-darker-skin-than-presumed/">sequenced his DNA</a>, pored over <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/07/otzi-the-icemans-last-meal-shows-how-copper-age-people-ate-on-the-run/">his last meal</a> and the remains of his gut microbes, and examined his clothes and<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/06/otzi-the-iceman-spent-his-last-days-trying-to-repair-his-tools/"> his broken tools</a>. Today, Ötzi lies in a high-tech resting place at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Italy, where, it turns out, his body is still home to a handful of cold-adapted yeast species that have probably been with him since just after he died. <h2>Slightly morbid souvenirs from the Alps</h2> Microbiologist Mohamed S. Sarhan (of the Institute of Mummy Studies at the private Eurac Research center) and his colleagues recently sampled material from Ötzi’s stomach and meltwater from inside his body, swabbed his skin, and even sampled airborne microbes from his frozen storage room and the lab outside it. They also took samples from a block of frozen alpine soil taken from next to Ötzi’s body back in 1991.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/otzis-mummified-body-is-home-to-ancient-strains-of-yeast-and-bacteria/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/otzis-mummified-body-is-home-to-ancient-strains-of-yeast-and-bacteria/#comments">Comments</a>

Android 17 starts hitting Pixel phones and watches today

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 18:00:08 -0000

Pixels will get their OTA in the coming weeks, but don't expect monumental changes.

Android 17 has been in testing since <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/02/the-first-android-17-beta-is-now-available-on-pixel-devices/">early this year</a>, with the final beta hitting devices just a couple of weeks ago. Insofar as a mature operating system like Android still has big days, this is one of them. The official Android 17 build is <a href="https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/platforms/android/android-17-features">starting its rollout on Pixel phones</a>, adding a small set of new features and laying the groundwork for the future. This release also coincides with a Pixel Drop and a new version of Wear OS (based on Android 17) on Pixel Watches. Google no longer uses an unmodified version of Android on its phones—the Pixel build includes numerous features that are distinct from Android 17 itself. Other device makers will include versions of some of these features when they eventually update their phones, but for now, Google's Pixel phones are the only way to experience Android 17. The multitasking Bubbles system in Android 17 expands on a similar (but underutilized) messaging feature. In Android 17 on Pixels, you can long-press on any app icon to open that app as a floating window. When minimized, these bubbles stay on top of other apps. On foldable phones, the bubbles dock into a "bubble bar" for easy multitasking.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/android-17-starts-hitting-pixel-phones-and-watches-today/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/android-17-starts-hitting-pixel-phones-and-watches-today/#comments">Comments</a>

Commodore’s newest gadget is a flip phone that blocks social media and browsers

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 09:00:51 -0000

Commodore's Callback 8020 is a phone “where the customer is not the product."

The next gadget to bear the storied Commodore branding will be a flip phone. The name behind the <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/08/three-decades-of-the-commodore-64/">bestselling desktop PC</a> in history came back about a year ago. Christian “Peri Fractic” Simpson, best known for running the Retro Recipes (now known as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@RetroRecipes">Retro Recipes x Commodore</a>) YouTube channel, acquired the Commodore Corporation and "100 percent of the original and official trademarks that defined the Commodore name since 1983,” per a July 2025 press release. Simpson <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke-Ao-CpI7E">said</a> the price was “in the low seven figures.” Since the acquisition, the brand released the <a href="https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/commodore-64-ultimate-review">Commodore 64 Ultimate</a> and the <a href="https://www.mini-itx.com/store/c64x">Commodore 64X PC</a>, a mini PC housed in a chassis that resembles the Commodore 64. Today, the new Commodore announced a new device in a dated design: a flip phone.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/commodores-newest-gadget-is-a-flip-phone-that-blocks-social-media-and-browsers/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/commodores-newest-gadget-is-a-flip-phone-that-blocks-social-media-and-browsers/#comments">Comments</a>

Fox’s $22B Roku acquisition aims to expand its reach into smart TVs, advertising

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 18:29:47 -0000

Fox plans to take over Roku's streaming hardware, OS, and FAST services.

Fox Corporation has agreed to buy Roku Inc. for $160 per share, an approximate enterprise value of $22 billion, the firms announced today. The acquisition would unite Fox’s broadcast channels, including Fox, Fox News, Fox Business, and FS1, as well as its streaming businesses, including Tubi, a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) platform that Fox bought in 2020, with Roku’s own FAST service, The Roku Channel, and Roku’s streaming hardware business, including its streaming sticks and smart TVs. Roku says it has 100 million households using its platform. The most valuable part of Roku’s business isn't its hardware, which lost $19.1 million in the quarter ending March 31, 2026, but its the operating system (Roku OS) and advertising business. In that same quarter, Roku’s advertising and subscriptions business posted a gross profit of $584.1 million, with the advertising business pulling in $371 million in revenue. The COVID-19 pandemic helped Roku become profitable in 2021, but the company didn’t see annual <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/rokus-new-ad-deals-and-cost-cuts-help-it-end-a-three-year-profit-slide-0c5678ad">profitability again until 2025</a>.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/foxs-22b-roku-acquisition-aims-to-expand-its-reach-into-smart-tvs-advertising/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/foxs-22b-roku-acquisition-aims-to-expand-its-reach-into-smart-tvs-advertising/#comments">Comments</a>

20 years of Intel Macs: Why Apple switched, and why it switched again

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 16:32:14 -0000

Remembering the ups and downs of the Intel Mac era as it finally winds down.

The release of macOS 27 later this fall won't quite close the book on the Intel Mac. The last handful of models that could run macOS 26 Tahoe will be eligible for security and Safari updates for two more years, and elements of the Rosetta compatibility layer for running Intel code on Apple Silicon Macs will be with us in some form for some indeterminate amount of time after that. But macOS 26 is definitely the last chapter of the Intel Mac story. Anything that happens after this is a coda or an epilogue. Most of our WWDC coverage has been forward-looking, so indulge us if you will in a look backward at the full history of the Intel Mac, a partnership between two companies that made Macs dramatically better, until it started making them worse.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/20-years-of-intel-macs-why-apple-switched-and-why-it-switched-again/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/20-years-of-intel-macs-why-apple-switched-and-why-it-switched-again/#comments">Comments</a>

Cameras, sensors, and 3D body scans: All the tech helping eliminate blown calls

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 11:45:18 -0000

This World Cup, refs will use digital twins of each player to view plays from every angle.

At the 2026 <a href="https://www.wired.com/tag/world-cup-2026/">World Cup</a>, the refs on the field and the officials on the sidelines will be able to use an abundance of tech to help call penalties, spot offside violations, and make other consequential decisions. The video assistant referee system, known as VAR, and the semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) have been used in <a href="https://www.wired.com/tag/soccer/">soccer</a> for years. But the setup at this summer's World Cup represents some of the most advanced uses of adjudication tech to date—not just in soccer, but across all high-level sports. During each match, the pitch will be awash in sensors, cameras, and new computer vision software. One especially notable advancement this year is the use of digital twins. Every player in the World Cup has had their body scanned by a computer. The digital twin of any athlete—which precisely matches their height, limb length, and shoe size—can be dropped into a virtual simulation of the game to determine their exact position relative to the ball, boundary lines, and other players. Officials can use all of this data to help spot infractions, determine penalties, and smooth out the edges of the beautiful game.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/cameras-sensors-and-3d-body-scans-all-the-tech-helping-eliminate-blown-calls/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/cameras-sensors-and-3d-body-scans-all-the-tech-helping-eliminate-blown-calls/#comments">Comments</a>

AcuRite admits new app falls short, delays old app’s May shutdown to fix problems

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 19:08:54 -0000

The old app "still needs to be retired," AcuRite tells us.

Smart weather-monitoring device vendor AcuRite has delayed plans to force users onto a new companion app. The transition from My AcuRite to AcuRite NOW, which AcuRite previously set for May 30, “has raised serious questions and concerns among many long-time users,” AcuRite’s VP of product development, Jeff Bovee, told Ars Technica. AcuRite, whose devices include weather stations, rain gauges, and indoor thermometers, told customers that it would <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/05/weather-monitoring-firm-hangs-dark-cloud-over-customers-heads-by-forcing-new-app/">shut down My AcuRite</a> at the end of May. Devices owners would have to use AcuRite NOW, an iOS and Android app launched in June 2025, to control their gadgets instead. Some long-time users lamented being forced to new software when the current software worked fine, if not better, than the new app. When Ars <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/05/weather-monitoring-firm-hangs-dark-cloud-over-customers-heads-by-forcing-new-app/">first reported</a> on AcuRite in May, AcuRite NOW lacked some features of My AcuRite, including the ability to rename multiple temperature sensors, report temperatures in non-integers, as well as an online dashboard option. Users have also highlighted problems uploading data to weather sites and a poor layout with wasted space.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/iot-gadget-firm-acurite-delays-forced-app-migration-due-to-new-apps-shortfalls/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/iot-gadget-firm-acurite-delays-forced-app-migration-due-to-new-apps-shortfalls/#comments">Comments</a>

Several things I like about macOS 27 Golden Gate that have nothing to do with AI

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 11:00:32 -0000

AI aside, Golden Gate includes a bunch of subtle-but-helpful improvements.

Apple Intelligence and Siri AI have sucked most of the oxygen out of the room at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference this year—understandable, maybe, given that the AI-powered Siri delays are all anyone has wanted to ask any Apple executive about for the last two years. But Apple Intelligence is just one of the three big focus areas Apple outlined during its keynote this week. The second is new parental controls—overdue, but promising-looking, as the parent of a 6-year-old with an iPad that I only begrudgingly connect to the Internet. And the third is "platform improvements," a catch-all for a wide range of fit-and-finish changes aimed at boosting responsiveness and addressing common user complaints. I have the first beta of macOS 27 Golden Gate running on an M1 MacBook Air—the oldest, slowest hardware Apple supports now that Intel compatibility is out the window. With some help from <a href="https://blog.oneberri.com/posts/wwdc26-the-small-things">Apple's densely packed wall-of-features slide</a>, here are a few things from the "platform improvements" column I like the most, plus one item I'd still like to see.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/five-things-i-like-and-one-thing-i-still-want-in-the-macos-27-golden-gate-beta/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/five-things-i-like-and-one-thing-i-still-want-in-the-macos-27-golden-gate-beta/#comments">Comments</a>

Logitech’s foldable mouse is for people who refuse to carry a mouse with them

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 19:57:56 -0000

The Mobi Fold is an $80 Bluetooth mouse with a silicone-wrapped hinge.

I see it often. Hardworking professionals in cafés, airports, or parks hunched over a laptop while carefully dragging their fingers over their PC’s trackpad to navigate some email, project, or alert that can’t be ignored. They would prefer a mouse to a trackpad, but are reluctant to travel with one. When you’re on the go, carrying a mouse can seem burdensome or unnecessary. But I’d argue that it’s worth the boost in efficiency and comfort when navigating your computer, tablet, <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/12/best-iphone-travel-accessories/">or phone</a>. For the people who refuse to carry a bulky mouse with them, even when they plan to use their computer away from their desk, I’m glad Logitech launched the Mobi Fold, a foldable, wireless mouse. But I’d still push reluctant mobile mouse users toward something even more comfortable. <h2>Logitech’s Mobi Fold</h2> <img width="640" height="423" src="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Logitech-Mobi-Fold-folded-640x423.jpg" class="right medium" alt="Logitech Mobi Fold going into someone's back pocket" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Logitech-Mobi-Fold-folded-640x423.jpg 640w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Logitech-Mobi-Fold-folded-1024x676.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Logitech-Mobi-Fold-folded-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Logitech-Mobi-Fold-folded-1536x1015.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Logitech-Mobi-Fold-folded-980x647.jpg 980w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Logitech-Mobi-Fold-folded-1440x951.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Logitech-Mobi-Fold-folded.jpg 1794w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"> The mouse's PAW3222 sensor supports 400-4,000 DPI in 100-DPI increments. Credit: Logitech The <a href="https://www.logitech.com/en-us/shop/p/mobi-fold-mouse">Logitech Mobi Fold</a> released today for $80 folds in half so that it’s easy to carry around. Logitech’s announcement claimed that it found that “while 72 percent of professionals own a mouse, only 26 percent actually use one when working in public places.” The announcement didn’t explain Logitech’s methodology, but it seems that someone at the Swiss company has also grimaced at the awkwardly bent wrist of people using laptop trackpads in public.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/logitechs-mobi-fold-folds-for-travel-but-i-prefer-a-different-portable-mouse/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/logitechs-mobi-fold-folds-for-travel-but-i-prefer-a-different-portable-mouse/#comments">Comments</a>

Cheap Iranian drone downed $25 million US Army helicopter—maybe by chance

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 17:04:47 -0000

The US military struck Iran again after an Iranian drone’s lucky midair strike.

A US Army helicopter gunship was apparently struck by an Iranian Shahed drone before going down near the Strait of Hormuz—but it's unclear whether the one-way attack drone was deliberately aimed or achieved more of a lucky accidental strike. Axios correspondent <a href="https://x.com/BarakRavid/status/2064392995118411871">Barak Ravid</a> first reported an unnamed US government official’s comments that an Iranian drone had hit the US Army AH-64 Apache helicopter before the latter went down on June 8. The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/09/us/politics/trump-helicopter-iran-war.html">New York Times</a> later confirmed that reporting through more anonymous US officials, including one official who said US military investigators were still evaluating whether the Iranian drone strike on the helicopter was intentional or accidental. Iran has fired thousands of such Shahed drones against a wide range of military and civilian targets in the Gulf region since February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel began the war by jointly attacking Iran with a barrage of bombs and missiles. But Shahed drones have mainly struck stationary targets such as <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/05/amazon-stuck-with-months-of-repairs-after-drone-strikes-on-data-centers/">Amazon data centers</a> and energy facilities, sometimes hitting slow-moving <a href="https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/04/crypto-scam-lures-ships-into-strait-of-hormuz-falsely-promising-safe-passage/">commercial ships</a> in the <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/iran-demands-big-tech-pay-fees-for-undersea-internet-cables-in-strait-of-hormuz/">Strait of Hormuz</a>.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/cheap-iranian-drone-downed-25-million-us-army-helicopter-maybe-by-chance/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/cheap-iranian-drone-downed-25-million-us-army-helicopter-maybe-by-chance/#comments">Comments</a>

Paramount accuses Netflix of "scorched-earth campaign" against WBD merger

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 20:15:45 -0000

Netflix's response: "Absurd."

Paramount Skydance is accusing Netflix of maintaining a campaign against its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). In a June 5 letter <a href="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/paramount-response-letter.pdf">(PDF) </a>addressed to Jared A. Hughes, acting section chief of the Media, Entertainment, and Communications Section of the US Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Antitrust Division, and A. Maya Kahn, a trial attorney for the Antitrust Division, and first reported on by <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/09/paramount-blasts-netflix-pushes-back-on-teamsters-00954087">Politico</a> today, Paramount chief legal officer Makan Delrahim accused Netflix of trying to influence stakeholders about the merger. The letter reads: <blockquote>Indeed, Netflix’s panic-level response and scorched-earth campaign to try and poison regulators and other stakeholders against the Transaction shows just how seriously Netflix takes Paramount as a scaled competitor.</blockquote> The letter from Delrahim, a former assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division, is a response to a letter that The International Brotherhood of Teamsters sent to the DOJ in March. The teamsters' letter argued that Paramount and WBD's merger would threaten film and TV workers. The union, which has 1.3 million members, asked the DOJ to block the merger "unless substantial and enforceable safeguards are put in place to increase domestic production and protect jobs," per an announcement from the group.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/netflix-trying-to-poison-regulators-about-wbd-merger-paramount-lawyer-claims/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/netflix-trying-to-poison-regulators-about-wbd-merger-paramount-lawyer-claims/#comments">Comments</a>

One day after discovery, Meta pulls facial recognition code from its smart glasses

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 16:31:10 -0000

Meta won't say why or whether it's coming back.

One day after <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/meta-smart-glasses-face-recognition-nametag-connections/">WIRED revealed</a> that <a href="https://www.wired.com/tag/meta/">Meta</a> had quietly embedded an unreleased <a href="https://www.wired.com/tag/face-recognition/">face-recognition</a> system into an app installed on more than 50 million phones, the company removed it, according to a WIRED analysis of the latest version’s code. The most recent version of Meta AI, a companion app for its line of <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/best-meta-glasses/">smart glasses</a>, strips out the unactivated software components that powered the system Meta internally called NameTag. The version published the day of WIRED’s report included several code libraries explicitly named for face recognition. Friday’s release includes none of them. Andy Stone, Meta's vice president of communications, told WIRED on Monday that the feature is purely exploratory, adding: “No final decision has been made on what to do here, if anything.”<a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/one-day-after-discovery-meta-pulls-facial-recognition-code-from-its-smart-glasses/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/one-day-after-discovery-meta-pulls-facial-recognition-code-from-its-smart-glasses/#comments">Comments</a>

Drone boat picked up downed US Army helicopter pilots—a first for sea rescues

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 15:44:36 -0000

US Navy’s Task Force 59 achieved the drone rescue at sea near Strait of Hormuz.

A drone boat picked up two US Army pilots from waters near the Strait of Hormuz after their helicopter gunship went down, US military officials said. The incident apparently represents the first time the US military has used a drone for such a rescue mission at sea. The two crew members from the US Army AH-64 Apache were “rescued by American forces” at 7:33 pm US Eastern Time after their helicopter went down off the coast of Oman on June 8, according to a US Central Command <a href="https://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/PUBLIC-RELEASES/Article/4511869/us-army-crew-safely-rescued-after-helicopter-lost-at-sea/">press release</a>. That press release mentioned support from US Navy units including the US 5th Fleet’s <a href="https://www.cusnc.navy.mil/Task-Forces/">Task Force 59</a>, which is charged with integrating uncrewed aerial, surface, and underwater vehicles, alongside AI, into 5th Fleet maritime operations. Anonymous US military officials initially told <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-apache-helicopter-crash-strait-of-hormuz-first-sea-drone-rescue/">CBS News</a> that the Apache air crew was rescued by an uncrewed surface drone operated by Task Force 59 from the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. The officials also described the incident as the first time the military had used a drone to rescue people from the water.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/us-military-claims-first-drone-boat-rescue-of-downed-helicopter-crew/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/us-military-claims-first-drone-boat-rescue-of-downed-helicopter-crew/#comments">Comments</a>

macOS 27 requires Apple Silicon, as Apple draws down the Intel Mac era

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 21:03:56 -0000

You'll need an M1 or better to run the next release of macOS.

As Apple <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/06/apple-details-the-end-of-intel-mac-support-and-a-phaseout-for-rosetta-2/">announced last year</a>, this year's macOS release will end support for Intel Macs. The macOS 27 Golden Gate release will require a Mac with an Apple Silicon chip inside, including the original M1 that launched in the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini back in late 2020. Intel Macs running macOS 26 Tahoe can expect security and Safari patches for about two more years after the release of macOS 27 Golden Gate. Macs running macOS 15 Sequoia will receive one more year of updates. Apple Silicon Macs will still be able to run Intel Mac apps via the Rosetta 2 compatibility layer in macOS 27, but future releases will begin to limit the technology (Apple has said it will mainly be used to support older games that still use Intel code). This change has been a long time coming, and every new macOS release has left <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/06/one-last-look-at-software-support-as-macos-26-tahoe-winds-down-the-intel-mac-era/">a longer and longer list</a> of Intel Macs behind. But many Mac owners who purchased late-model Intel machines in 2019 and 2020 could still run the latest version of the operating system, and third-party utilities like the <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/10/opencore-legacy-patcher-project-brings-macos-sonoma-support-to-16-year-old-macs/">OpenCore Legacy Patcher</a> helped more adventurous Mac owners use their unsupported hardware a bit longer.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/macos-27-requires-apple-silicon-as-apple-draws-down-the-intel-mac-era/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/macos-27-requires-apple-silicon-as-apple-draws-down-the-intel-mac-era/#comments">Comments</a>

iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 don't drop support for any iPhones—and just a few iPads

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 20:55:58 -0000

This promises to be a solid release for aging iPhones.

If you're using older iPhone or iPad hardware and you're hoping to keep running Apple's latest operating systems, this year's releases bring mostly good news. The iOS 27 update will run on all iPhones that can run iOS 26, all the way back to the iPhone 11 and second-generation iPhone SE. The iPadOS 27 update is slightly less generous, dropping support for the 3rd-generation iPad Air, 8th-generation iPad, and 5th-generation iPad mini (all of these devices used an older A12 Bionic chip; supported devices now use an A13 or better). Apple says owners of older devices should see performance improvements in iOS 27, thanks in part to an updated CPU scheduler. This scheduler was apparently already included with newer iPhones but has been ported back to older devices with this release. <figure> <img decoding="async" width="1024" height="853" src="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-08-at-11.57.43-AM-1024x853.png" class="ars-gallery-image" alt="" loading="lazy" aria-labelledby="caption-2158490" srcset="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-08-at-11.57.43-AM-1024x853.png 1024w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-08-at-11.57.43-AM-640x533.png 640w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-08-at-11.57.43-AM-768x640.png 768w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-08-at-11.57.43-AM-1536x1279.png 1536w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-08-at-11.57.43-AM-980x816.png 980w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-08-at-11.57.43-AM-1440x1199.png 1440w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-08-at-11.57.43-AM.png 1566w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"> <figcaption> <div class="caption font-impact dusk:text-gray-300 mb-4 mt-2 inline-flex flex-row items-stretch gap-1 text-base leading-tight text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-300"> <div class="caption-icon bg-[left_top_5px] w-[10px] shrink-0"></div> <div class="caption-content"> Apple's iOS 27 compatibility list. Credit: Apple </div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img decoding="async" width="1024" height="634" src="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-08-at-11.58.37-AM-1024x634.png" class="ars-gallery-image" alt="" loading="lazy" aria-labelledby="caption-2158491" srcset="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-08-at-11.58.37-AM-1024x634.png 1024w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-08-at-11.58.37-AM-640x397.png 640w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-08-at-11.58.37-AM-768x476.png 768w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-08-at-11.58.37-AM-1536x952.png 1536w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-08-at-11.58.37-AM-980x607.png 980w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-08-at-11.58.37-AM-1440x892.png 1440w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-08-at-11.58.37-AM.png 1614w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"> <figcaption> <div class="caption font-impact dusk:text-gray-300 mb-4 mt-2 inline-flex flex-row items-stretch gap-1 text-base leading-tight text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-300"> <div class="caption-icon bg-[left_top_5px] w-[10px] shrink-0"></div> <div class="caption-content"> Apple's iPadOS 27 compatibility list. Credit: Apple </div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> But many of the new features Apple mentioned require support for Apple Intelligence, which remains confined to newer devices with at least 8GB of RAM. Apple Intelligence still requires an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, an iPhone 16 or newer, or an iPhone Air. On the iPad, support requires an iPad Air or iPad Pro with an M1 or newer.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/ios-27-and-ipados-27-dont-drop-support-for-any-iphones-and-just-a-few-ipads/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/ios-27-and-ipados-27-dont-drop-support-for-any-iphones-and-just-a-few-ipads/#comments">Comments</a>

Gemini 3.5 and Antigravity come to Google NotebookLM

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 19:00:30 -0000

NotebookLM is getting a big upgrade, but it's only for AI Ultra and enterprise accounts right now.

Google's NotebookLM was one of the company's first forays into generative AI technology, and in un-Googley fashion, it hasn't been shut down yet. In fact, NotebookLM is getting one of its biggest updates, ever, today, moving to the latest Gemini 3.5 model, support for more file types, and streamlined web source integration. Google also says NotebookLM will be able to do more with all those queries thanks to embedded support for Antigravity. Gemini 3.5 Flash <a href="https://arstechnica.com/google/2026/05/google-announces-agent-optimized-gemini-3-5-flash-and-a-do-anything-model-called-omni/">debuted at Google I/O this year</a>, promising much faster and more efficient processing. Google has claimed that companies worried about token costs can save big by moving their projects to the new Flash model while also getting outputs that are of similar or better quality. Those improvements are now filtering down to other Google products. NotebookLM, which launched in 2023 at the very beginning of the AI boom, lets you analyze specific sources like documents and webpages with Google's latest AI models. <img width="1000" height="562" src="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_NewGraph_2x.width-1000.format-webp.png" class="fullwidth full" alt="NotebookLM evaluation graph" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_NewGraph_2x.width-1000.format-webp.png 1000w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_NewGraph_2x.width-1000.format-webp-640x360.png 640w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_NewGraph_2x.width-1000.format-webp-768x432.png 768w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_NewGraph_2x.width-1000.format-webp-384x216.png 384w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_NewGraph_2x.width-1000.format-webp-980x551.png 980w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px"> The upgraded NotebookLM beats the old version in all of Google's "core evaluation dimensions." Credit: Google Google conducted side-by-side evaluations of NotebookLM on the old Gemini 3.1 branch and with the updated 3.5. The company is being somewhat vague about the nature of the tests, breaking things up into "top five core evaluation dimensions," which are Accuracy and Quality, Multilingual Support, Large Document Analysis, Document Creation, and Advanced Research. In these tests, <a href="https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/notebooklm/better-research-notebooklm/">Google says</a> NotebookLM averaged a 65 percent win rate versus the older model.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/06/gemini-3-5-and-antigravity-come-to-google-notebooklm/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/06/gemini-3-5-and-antigravity-come-to-google-notebooklm/#comments">Comments</a>

Apple's iOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, and other updates focus on refinement

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 18:07:13 -0000

Apple's OSes come with Liquid Glass tweaks and performance optimizations.

Apple has taken the wraps off of its next-generation operating system updates at its Worldwide Developers Conference today, including iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate. And while the long-awaited Siri AI update is the headliner, Apple also emphasized its efforts to optimize its software, improving its performance and reliability. For starters, the company is continuing to refine the Liquid Glass design language that it introduced last year. A slider in the Settings will allow users fine-grained control over the translucency of the Liquid Glass effect, ranging from maximally transparent and glassy to fully tinted. Last year's redesigned icons are also being re-redesigned with more glass layers, which Apple says will make them sharper and more distinctive. On macOS, Apple has also changed the way app toolbars and sidebars work, making toolbars more distinct, making the contents of sidebars extend all the way to the edge of the window, and reintroducing color to sidebar icons. Mac windows are also getting a "tighter corner radius," to address complaints about the way window resizing works in macOS 26 Tahoe.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/apples-ios-27-macos-27-golden-gate-and-other-updates-focus-on-refinement/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/apples-ios-27-macos-27-golden-gate-and-other-updates-focus-on-refinement/#comments">Comments</a>

The Fitbit Air is a good wearable weighed down by a chatty AI "coach"

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 15:40:48 -0000

The Air succeeds as a minimalist, reliable fitness tracker, but Google's AI Health Coach feels unnecessary.

Smartwatches can track your health stats, but they also do a lot of other things you might not always want or need. The $100 <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/05/google-unveils-screenless-fitbit-air-and-google-health-app-to-replace-fitbit/">Fitbit Air</a> tracker ditches the screens that have become common on people's wrists, leaving behind a tiny puck of health sensors you can often forget you're wearing. You will not, however, forget that Google's new health platform is built around AI. The Air has no speaker, and there's only one LED on the side to indicate battery level. You can double-tap the tracker to check the level, and that's about the end of on-device features. The vibration motor is only for alarms—it can't sync with notifications on your phone. That makes sense, given there is no screen to tell you what that buzz was all about. <img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Fitbit-Air-2.jpg" class="fullwidth full" alt="Fitbit Air side view" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Fitbit-Air-2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Fitbit-Air-2-640x360.jpg 640w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Fitbit-Air-2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Fitbit-Air-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Fitbit-Air-2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Fitbit-Air-2-384x216.jpg 384w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Fitbit-Air-2-1152x648.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Fitbit-Air-2-980x551.jpg 980w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Fitbit-Air-2-1440x810.jpg 1440w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px"> The Fitbit Air doesn't have a display or buttons—just a small LED on the side for battery status. Credit: Ryan Whitwam The stock Performance Band is simple, consisting of a smooth polyester yarn with small velcro pads and a metal loop. It's durable but does seem to absorb a bit of moisture. For swimming or heavy workouts, you'll probably want the silicone active band. This one hides the Air puck a bit more effectively, and it looks good in a sporty way.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/the-fitbit-air-is-great-but-googles-ai-is-too-nice-to-be-your-coach/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/the-fitbit-air-is-great-but-googles-ai-is-too-nice-to-be-your-coach/#comments">Comments</a>

Review: AMD's Radeon RX 9070 GRE is a disappointing way to spend $549

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 11:00:55 -0000

The superior RX 9070 also launched for $549 just over a year ago.

At some point during the fog of 2021 or 2022, I noticed that my son's preferred brand of fruit snacks had switched from including 0.9 ounces per pouch to 0.8 ounces per pouch. Most <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrinkflation">shrinkflation</a> is meant to fly under the radar, but in this case, I just happened to notice it. It felt bad! It's tangible evidence that your money is not going as far as it did in the very recent past. A little over a year ago, AMD launched the <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/03/amd-radeon-rx-9070-and-9070-xt-review-rdna-4-fixes-a-lot-of-amds-problems/">Radeon RX 9070</a> for a suggested retail price of $549. This month, it's launching the similarly named Radeon RX 9070 GRE for a suggested retail price of $549. This new card (actually the US launch of a GPU that's been available in China for a year or so) has 85 percent as many GPU cores, 75 percent as much memory, and 66 percent as much memory bandwidth as the regular RX 9070. We'll evaluate the RX 9070 GRE in the context of the current GPU market, where prices have been edging upward due to the same AI-driven RAM shortages and price hikes that have made PC building and buying such a miserable experience for the last few months. But it's hard not to be a little upset about such a clear example of GPU shrinkflation—the same money for a markedly inferior product.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/amd-radeon-rx-9070-gre-review-shrinkflation-isnt-just-for-groceries-anymore/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/amd-radeon-rx-9070-gre-review-shrinkflation-isnt-just-for-groceries-anymore/#comments">Comments</a>

New social features further Plex’s evolution from media server business

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 17:35:06 -0000

Plex is increaingly focusing on content discovery and streaming rentals.

Plex is adding new social features to the platform. As of today, users can make and share "personalized lists on Plex of any movie, show or episode," the company said in an announcement. Later this year, users will be able to import lists from other streaming services and react to other people's lists. This month, Plex will also launch a community forum that will allow people to "post and comment directly on any movie, show, season, or episode." Later this year, Plex will introduce "Match Scores" based on a viewer's history and past ratings to predict how much they'll like a show or movie, Plex said.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/new-social-features-further-plexs-evolution-from-media-server-business/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/new-social-features-further-plexs-evolution-from-media-server-business/#comments">Comments</a>

Microsoft plans Linux tools and an RTX Spark desktop for Windows developers

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 22:51:10 -0000

One hardware announcement and several software highlights from Microsoft Build.

Microsoft's Build developer conference <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/06/02/microsoft-build-2026-be-yourself-at-work/">kicked off today</a>, and as with almost everything the company has done in the last few years, Microsoft's opening keynote focused overwhelmingly on AI and other closely related technologies. There's <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2026/06/02/introducing-microsoft-scout-your-always-on-personal-agent/">Microsoft Scout</a>, an OpenClaw-based "Autopilot" agent that can hook into Microsoft 365 data to perform tasks for users; <a href="https://microsoft.ai/news/building-a-hillclimbing-machine-launching-seven-new-mai-models/">several new AI models</a>; an expanded preview of "<a href="https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftdefendercloudblog/start-secure-stay-secure-how-microsoft-is-closing-the-gap-from-code-to-runtime/4524580">Codename MDASH</a>," which is a "multi-model agentic scanning system" meant to detect and fix software vulnerabilities. A few of those announcements stood out to us as particularly interesting, either for esoteric technical reasons or because they seem like they may have some utility for those who aren't spending their every waking moment using generative AI tools. (Microsoft's <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/03/microsoft-keeps-insisting-that-its-deeply-committed-to-the-quality-of-windows-11/">recent efforts</a> to make its flagship operating system faster, more reliable, more useful, and less annoying didn't really come up, but there have been <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/05/five-years-later-windows-11-brings-back-much-missed-taskbar-options-and-more/">plenty</a> of other <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/05/windows-update-is-getting-better-at-saving-your-pc-from-buggy-drivers/">announcements</a> on that front <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/05/speed-boosting-low-latency-profile-is-one-of-the-improvements-coming-to-windows-11/">lately</a>.) On the hardware front, we didn't get any updates for existing Surface devices (not counting yesterday's Surface Laptop Ultra announcement), but we did get something new: the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box is "a compact developer PC" built around Nvidia's new RTX Spark chip with up to 128GB of built-in memory.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/microsoft-plans-linux-tools-and-an-rtx-spark-desktop-for-windows-developers/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/microsoft-plans-linux-tools-and-an-rtx-spark-desktop-for-windows-developers/#comments">Comments</a>

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