A concise digest of AI, space, science and startup news from public sources.
Gadgets
Two days after being placed on a paid leave of absence, Matt Mullenweg says he has been reinstated as CEO of Automattic, according to a Slack message seen by TechCrunch. As 404 Media reported on Wednesday, Mullenweg had…
Tech
The No. 2 exec at OpenAI also led Instacart through its IPO in 2023.
Gadgets
You only get one chance at a first impression, and getting to introduce Apple's first folding phone is certainly a strong way to start things off as Apple's CEO. On The Vergecast today, we're talking all about Apple's l…
Space
Scientists were shocked when they received the first images of Martian gullies. They were even more shocked as those gullies appeared to change over time. Their similarities to gullies seen on Earth were uncanny, but al…
Gadgets
After admitting earlier this year that its AI models had hacked other companies' systems on a handful of occasions, Anthropic released a new report on Wednesday detailing the attacks. It reveals a string of incidents di…
Gadgets
Frank Shaw is leaving Microsoft after 17 years as chief communications officer. In an internal note to his team, Shaw says he's "decided it is time for me to move on and try new things," after supporting Microsoft's com…
Gadgets
Just a couple of weeks before Meta Connect starts on September 23rd, UploadVR posted images seemingly revealing the design for Meta's "Project Phoenix" headset. The images, which UploadVR says were "found in the Horizon…
Gadgets
The Apple AirPods 5 are bringing active noise cancellation to the masses, and they're now available for preorder at a variety of retailers. They'll officially launch on September 18th, the same day as the Apple Watch Se…
Tech
In a Slack message seen by TechCrunch, Matt Mullenweg told Automattic employees he’s back in control of the company, days after its board put him on leave. Automattic has not yet confirmed the apparent reversal.
Space
NASA is bringing artificial intelligence to the study of the moon, helping researchers transform how they analyze its surface. In an ongoing collaboration with IBM Research and several academic institutions, NASA has la…
Space
Thanks to JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and its sample-return capabilities, we're on the cusp of receiving our first sample from the Martian system—not from Mars itself, but from its largest moon, Phobos…
Space
The eROSITA (extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array) telescope, the primary instrument aboard the Russian-German Spektr-RG space observatory, was developed by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestr…
Britain’s wasps have become mysteriously scarce this summer, and scientists suspect an unusual combination of temperature swings, heatwaves, and food shortages may be responsible. Even the wasps that remain appear unusu…
Unconventional quantum theories may imply that time itself has a tiny fundamental uncertainty, placing an ultimate limit on how precisely any clock could measure it. The effect is far beyond current detection, but it co…
Researchers have shown for the first time that human heart muscle cells can regrow after a heart attack. The finding overturns the idea that damaged areas of the heart are completely incapable of regeneration. Scientist…
Scientists have discovered that the Moon-forming collision may have depended heavily on how hot and physically strong early Earth and Theia were. New simulations found that some impacts create the familiar disk of debri…
UCLA researchers developed ready-made cancer-fighting T cells from cord blood stem cells that can attack solid tumors through two separate detection systems. In mice, a single dose controlled cancer and extended surviva…
Tech
Collaborative Fund just bought into D.C. United and its stadium, with firm founder Craig Shapiro pitching it as a way to showcase for the firm's startups.
Tech
Nvidia has its finger in every pie, and sees another year of plenty in its future, Jensen Huang says. But, he insists, its deals are not circular.
Tech
Mark Wahlberg joins Bruce K. Lee at Disrupt to discuss investing, entrepreneurship, healthcare, wellness, and building businesses.
Tech
The company said Pro subscriptions put the most strain on its systems, so it's pausing sign-ups while adding more capacity.
A new report released Thursday by Anthropic alleges persistent distillation attacks by China-based AI companies, which have escalated in recent months as competition in the space has intensified.
Space
On a mostly flat plain an hour north of Stockholm lies a collection of large burial mounds dating from an ancient culture at least 2,500 years old. These people were not Vikings; they were northern Germanic Goths, pagan…
Space
For years, scientists have relied primarily on radio imaging from techniques like very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) to study jets from the active galactic nuclei of supermassive black holes. This allows for the d…