Sci-Tech news

• Democrats are getting a boost from an unlikely source: Laid-off tech workers with more free time

  13-10-2022 20:30 via nbcnews.com
  
  Emily Liu, 26, a tech worker in Southern California, was among hundreds of employees who lost their jobs last month when the communications technology company T
  
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• The moon is shrinking. Astronomers finally know how fast.

  14-10-2026 21:55 via popsci.com
  
  It’s true, the moon is shrinking. And astronomers now know how fast it’s contracting. While only satellite observations and the most delicate instruments can detect these shifts, the consequences of this shrinkage means moonquakes can occur anywhere on the lunar surface at a moment’s notice.A team led by Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum planetary geologist Thomas Watters detailed their findings in a study recently published in The Planetary Science Journal. Researchers
  
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• When ‘T. rex’ died, a new giant fungus named ‘D-rex’ took over

  14-10-2026 20:34 via popsci.com
  
  It’s a fungi-filled world and we are just living in it. There are roughly 150,000 to 157,000 known species of fungi, and now there is a new giant species to add to that tally. A team of scientists exploring the forests of Yunnan in southern China discovered the new fungus, which shows just how large these organisms can grow. The new species Dianjunus rex grows vertical fruiting bodies (the top part of the fungi that we usually see as a mushroom) that can grow as high as a foot (50 cen
  
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• An AI-racing drone beat the best humans and set a world record

  14-10-2026 20:00 via popsci.com
  
  Artificial intelligence is undeniably good at playing games, regardless of its larger societal and environmental impact. In 1997, IBM’s supercomputer Deep Blue famously beat chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, and nearly two decades later, Google’s AlphaGo managed to defeat a human champion at the much more complex game Go. Since then, another AI seems to beat humans at incredibly complex video games like StarCraft or Dota 2 every few months. Impressive as these feats are, AI has mostl
  
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• Trump Announces “Massive” Greenland Oil Exploration Plans

  14-10-2026 18:08 via technocracy.news
  
  Trump is roping in the North American Technate from Venezuela to Greenland, just like the early Technocrats wanted to do in the 1930s. The US doesn’t own Greenland, but that doesn’t deter him from declaring, “Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration is getting ready to begin in our new and beautiful Greenland!” Have Denmark and Greenland agreed to this? Apparently, control trumps ownership. ⁃ Patrick Wood, Editor.“Massive” oil, gas, and minerals explora
  
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• Sled dogs have stubby legs for a reason

  14-10-2026 17:00 via popsci.com
  
  They’re some of Earth’s most powerful athletes, traversing thousands of miles of rough terrain in sub-zero temperatures, through blinding snow, and biting winds. Sled dogs have been helping humans travel across the planet’s coldest regions for centuries, hauling supplies, people, and equipment across the snow and ice. In the process, this important role that goes above and beyond simply being “man’s best friend” could have a visible impact on their evolution.S
  
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• New weather model may finally offer a reliable six-week forecast

  14-10-2026 17:00 via popsci.com
  
  Even after decades of meteorological advances, weather forecasting remains infamously difficult. Today’s most trusted models are rarely accurate beyond a two-week window due to a constant cascade of atmospheric and climatic variables. These unpredictable meteorological interactions are the foundations of chaos theory. The interdisciplinary field studies how even the world’s most predictable systems can still produce completely unpredictable results, and was first developed by MIT mat
  
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• They Created a Cell That’s Almost Alive. What to Do With It Now?

  14-10-2026 16:00 via nytimes.com
  SpudCells may one day produce new medicines and materials. But first scientists have to improve them — and make sure they aren’t misused.
  
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• The criminal behind Los Angeles’ Griffith Observatory

  14-10-2026 14:57 via popsci.com
  
  Griffith Observatory is one of Los Angeles’s most iconic landmarks. Part of the city’s sprawling “urban wilderness,” Griffith Park, the free public science center boasts dozens of exhibits and displays, including one of the first planetariums in the United States and the most-viewed telescope in the world. But there’s a dark secret behind Griffith Observatory’s founding. It might never have been built if it weren’t for the desperation of its namesak
  
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• Ukraine says new Starlink restrictions disrupt military as it reels from intel gaps and Trump clash

  14-10-2026 14:51 via nbcnews.com
  
  Ukraine has accused Elon Musk’s SpaceX of disrupting its military operations by limiting Starlink internet services, as the country reeled from a pair of intense Russian missile attacks that it said came without the usual advance warning from allies.
  
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• Inflation jumps to 3.7% as gas and diesel prices squeeze consumers ahead of the midterms

  14-10-2026 14:34 via nbcnews.com
  
  Inflation in September picked back up again after three months of largely stagnating.
  
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• Patagonia now sells its Worn Wear collection of refurbished gear right alongside new products

  14-10-2026 14:25 via popsci.com
  
  People tend to hang onto their Patagonia gear, which can make it tricky to find second-hand. You flip through thrift racks, squint at blurry tag photos on eBay, or check WornWear.com, the separate storefront Patagonia has run its resale business through since 2017. That used shop is moving. As of October 14, Worn Wear’s used inventory lives on Patagonia.com, where secondhand garments and new ones share a cart, a checkout, and sometimes a shipping box.It’s the same site that runs Pata
  
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• Patagonia now sells it Worn Wear collection of refurbished gear right alongside its new products

  14-10-2026 14:25 via popsci.com
  
  People tend to hang onto their Patagonia gear, which can make finding it tricky to find second-hand. You flip through thrift racks, squint at blurry tag photos on eBay, or check WornWear.com, the separate storefront Patagonia has run its resale business through since 2017. That used shop is moving. As of October 14, Worn Wear’s used inventory lives on Patagonia.com, where secondhand garments and new ones share a cart, a checkout, and sometimes a shipping box.It’s the same site that r
  
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• OpenAI employee accused of bugging an executive conference room

  14-10-2026 05:02 via nbcnews.com
  OpenAI said the FBI has arrested Abdulrahman Alfozan, one of its employees, after being accused of bugging an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco office. Alfozan is a Saudi national and began working with OpenAI in 2025. NBC News' Liz Kreutz has more on the arrest and charges. 
  
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• Massive cyberattack targets refrigerators in supermarkets across France

  14-10-2026 02:55 via nbcnews.com
  Mountains of fresh and frozen food had to be thrown out after hackers cranked the temperature of refrigerators in supermarkets across France. Experts say it could signal a new cybersecurity threat that could impact Americans as well. NBC’s Tom Costello reports.
  
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• 'I am not an AI-friendly actor': Nicolas Cage says he refused to sign Amazon AI waiver

  14-10-2026 01:26 via nbcnews.com
  Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage spoke out against artificial intelligence and Amazon, the studio behind his show "Spider-Noir," saying he refused to sign an AI waiver. It comes as the debate over artificial intelligence divides Hollywood. NBC News' Chloe Melas reports.
  
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• F.B.I. Arrests OpenAI Employee Accused of Planting Bug in Office

  13-10-2026 23:31 via nytimes.com
  OpenAI said that the employee had placed a device built to evade detection and that he had planned to secretly record meetings in other sensitive spaces.
  
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• The ‘Holy Grail’ of baseball cards is up for auction

  13-10-2026 23:02 via popsci.com
  
  One of history’s most famous baseball cards is up for auction, and bidding has already surpassed $1 million with days left to go. Its official name of the 1909-11 T206 White Border Sweet Caporal 150/25 Honus Wagner PSA Authentic (Restored) is quite the mouthful, but Heritage Auction’s nickname for the memorabilia is much easier to remember. Simply put, the incredibly rare piece of history is the “Holy Grail” of baseball cards.“The T206 Wagner is the foundational tro
  
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• Apple just overhauled its smart-home lineup with a $299 HomeView smart display and speaker

  13-10-2026 21:15 via popsci.com
  
  My home runs on Apple’s smart-home platform, but it’s cobbled together like an automated Frankenstein’s monster. The brains live in an Apple TV and a HomePod on a shelf. The cameras, locks, and thermostats came from whoever bothered to support HomeKit. Apple HomeView is the company’s own answer: a $299 smart display with a square 7-inch screen, an A18 chip, and a camera that recognizes up to six people in the house by face.Three other announcements came with it. A fourth-
  
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• Apple just overhauled its smart-home lineup with a $299 HomeView smart display

  13-10-2026 21:15 via popsci.com
  
  My home runs on Apple’s smart-home platform, but it’s cobbled together like an automated Frankenstein’s monster. The brains live in an Apple TV and a HomePod on a shelf. The cameras, locks, and thermostats came from whoever bothered to support HomeKit. Apple HomeView is the company’s own answer: a $299 smart display with a square 7-inch screen, an A18 chip, and a camera that recognizes up to six people in the house by face.Three other announcements came with it. A fourth-
  
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• Apple just overhauled its smart home lineup with a $299 HomeView smart display

  13-10-2026 21:15 via popsci.com
  
  My home runs on Apple’s smart home platform, but it’s cobbled together like an automated Frankenstein’s monster. The brains live in an Apple TV and a HomePod on a shelf. The cameras, locks, and thermostats came from whoever bothered to support HomeKit. Apple HomeView is the company’s own answer: a $299 smart display with a square 7-inch screen, an A18 chip, and a camera that recognizes up to six people in the house by face.Three other announcements came with it. A fourth-
  
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• Use Crossword Generator to create challenging custom puzzles in 27 languages

  13-10-2026 21:09 via popsci.com
  
  Crossword puzzles range from those easy elementary school-level varieties up to nightmarish labyrinths of text. But crafting even the most simple versions remains its own artform. Seamlessly combining dozens of answers into a coherent, functional grid often requires years of practice, but digital strategist and creator Tex Jernigan has designed an impressive tool to level the playing field, so to speak: Crossword Generator.“Making my own puzzles is something I wanted to do for my neighborh
  
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• Anthropic says its AI model submitted a false cold case tip to Philadelphia police

  13-10-2026 20:24 via nbcnews.com
  
  The bad tip “had minimal impact,” but Anthropic said it takes the action seriously, as “the same behaviors could do far more harm as models become more powerful.”
  
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• How to watch Churchill’s famous polar bears live

  13-10-2026 20:01 via popsci.com
  
  The internet’s favorite Fat Bears in Alaska are not appearing on wildlife cameras quite as much these days. The salmon has been eaten, the Fat Bear Week crown has been won, and it’s time to survive the winter ahead. However,  some other bears from the great white north are getting their close-up.Explore.org and Polar Bears International run eight different livestreams from Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Known as the polar bear capital of the world, Churchill’s Wapusk Nationa
  
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• Britain faces ‘new era’ of security threats from Iran and Russia, MI5 says

  13-10-2026 19:23 via nbcnews.com
  
  Britain’s MI5 boss Ken McCallum warned of a range of threats posed by Russia, Iran, China, AI and terrorist groups.
  
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• Apple unveils new HomeView smart home hub

  13-10-2026 18:29 via nbcnews.com
  Apple has announced a new device called HomeView, a smart home hub designed to connect and control household devices, as well as make FaceTime calls and listen to music. NBC News’ Brian Cheung explains the features and Apple’s broader smart home strategy.
  
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• NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover sets distance record

  13-10-2026 18:01 via popsci.com
  
  NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has officially traveled 28.10 miles—farther across another planet’s surface than any other vehicle in history. Not only that, but the six-wheeled science lab accomplished this impressive feat almost entirely autonomously and in barely a third the time it took the previous recordholder.“The original mission called for no more than 12.4 miles of driving. We’ve blown well past that,” Steven Lee, Perseverance and Curiosity project ma
  
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• Monarch butterfly saved after landing in refried beans

  13-10-2026 17:06 via popsci.com
  
  A migrating monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) recently brought into Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown on New York’s Long Island came with a unique backstory. The male butterfly flew into a nearby house and landed on a pot of refried beans. The man living there took the butterfly out of the pan, but by morning the butterfly still could not fly. There was only one thing left to do for the injured insect—bring him to the professionals.“Butterflies are incredibly delicate, a
  
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• Romance scammers are getting harder to catch. The consequences are costly.

  13-10-2026 16:27 via nbcnews.com
  
  For people looking for love online, a match with a scammer could cost them their life savings.
  
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• In 1960, scientists predicted the world would end on November 13, 2026

  13-10-2026 15:02 via popsci.com
  
  In exactly a month, on November 13, 2026, the world will end. Fittingly, our impending apocalypse falls on Friday the 13th. At least, that was the prediction made by University of Illinois physicist Heinz von Foerster in a highly cited Science paper published in 1960. Though talks of supposed doomsday have renewed in recent months thanks to hyperbolic anxieties over runaway, sentient artificial intelligence, von Foerster had a much different calamity in mind. For more than a century, t
  
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