Taking an air taxi to the airport may become as simple as ordering a ride share today. In our first episode in our summer series Tech Camp, we explore how a futuristic vehicle that transforms from helicopter to propeller plane is already taking flight in New York and San Francisco. This new kind of commuting might be here sooner than you think: A law just went into effect to build infrastructure for them in places like airports. Short Wave host Regina Barber speaks with the startup Joby and Georgia Tech aerospace experts about the safety, the science and what an actual ride would look like from app to air. Plus, we get into the history of the air taxis of the past and why those airlines no longer exist.
Interested in more tech episodes? Email us your question atshortwave@npr.org.
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Using satellite data, researchers connected harmful algal blooms with warm water and low water levels at one of Colorado’s largest reservoirs.
Review: iodéOS offers a frictionless de-Googled Android experience
Wherever in the world you go, the smartphone landscape is dominated by Android and iOS, and while this has always been problematic, recent events have made the dependency on two American tech giants for what is probably our most personal computing device even more problematic than it already was. We use our smartphones to keep our secrets, do our banking, interact with our governments, share our deepest thoughts with our friends and family, and a whole lot more. Having this invaluable tool the vast majority of us depend on tied entirely to Google and Apple is not just bad for the market, it’s also a downright threat to the national security of anyone not living in the US. Here in Europe, there’s been an awakening lately, with governments, companies, and people alike finally realising that having our entire digital infrastructure controlled by foreign, adversarial interests is a terrible idea. Sadly, breaking free from our Android and iOS chains is not so easy. The most ideal solution would be a truly open source alternative smartphone operating system, but that’s a hard sell for 99.9% of smartphone users who need the applications required to do their finances, talk to their friends, or interact with their governments. The cold and harsh truth is that with very few exceptions, these applications simply do not (yet) exist for smartphone operating systems that aren’t Android or iOS. The only viable alternative at this point in time is to take whatever’s left of the Android Open Source Project, remove anything that ties it to Google and its services, fill in the gaps with alternative services and applications, and sell it as a Google-free or de-Googled Android platform. There’s several projects in this space, and with Europe drunkenly stumbling out of the technological hole it dug itself into, it’s no surprise that two of the more popular alternatives to Apple or Google-controlled smartphones come from Europe (and from the same country, no less). Today, we’re taking a look at one of these: iodéOS. Iodé is a company based in Toulouse, France, which focuses on offering a Google-free Android called iodéOS, either preinstalled on phones you can buy, or as a ROM you can install yourself on supported devices. As a company, iodé makes its money through selling devices with iodéOS preinstalled, through an optional premium subscription (that I didn’t take a look at), and through donations, and all of their code is published as open source on their Gitlab instance hosted in France. Iodé loaned me a Fairphone 6 with iodéOS preinstalled, one of he many smartphones and tablets they sell through their online store for review. This isn’t going to be an Android review; you already know what Android is like, and there’s no need for me to rehash any of that. Instead, I want to focus on the things that make using de-Googled Android different from using Google Android. Don’t be afraid of microG There are various ways to go about making a de-Googled Android variant, and iodéOS chose the LineageOS route, with microG installed on top. For those unaware, microG is a project which aims to replace the various proprietary parts of Google Play Services, required by many Android applications, with open source reimplementations. While it doesn’t offer 100% compatibility, it works exceptionally well, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find applications just don’t work at all with microG. IodéOS updates its microG installation through a dedicated F-Droid repository that’s obviously enabled by default, so you don’t have to do anything yourself. Using microG instead of Google Play Services doesn’t mean you have to rely solely on whatever’s available in F-Droid, since there are a variety of alternative Play Store frontends available. IodéOS ships with the Aurora Store, which is an open-source frontend to the Play Store that can be used with or without a Google account. If you use it with your Google account, you’ll gain access to whatever applications you already own, including paid ones, but you won’t be able to buy applications inside Aurora. You can, however, buy an application on the Play Store website, after which it will show up in Aurora as well, assuming you’re logged in with the same account. Aurora also comes with something something called FakeStore, which is sadly an important part of the puzzle; it’s a stub application that has the same package name as the real Play Store. Some applications check whether the Play Store is available before working properly, so this is sadly needed to ensure maximum compatibility. The only issue I sometimes ran into with Aurora is that it would load up its listings, but then any application I tapped on said it was unavailable. When this happened, reloading the Aurora application always fixed the issue. Annoying, but not gamebreaking. A few things did not work for me when using microG on iodéOS, and they’re exactly the things you’d expect not to work. If you have a WearOS device, you’re out of luck; WearOS devices simply do not work when using microG, but there is a bounty to add support for it. If you want to use a smartwatch with iodéOS, there are various options available, such as Garmin devices, which is what I used during my testing and it worked flawlessly. Another feature from “regular” Android that simply won’t work is RCS. There’s only one RCS client available on Android, Google Messages, and as you can imagine, Google is in no rush to allow devices without Google Play Services to register for and use RCS messaging. Tying to register with Google Messages will fail, and there are no other RCS clients available (save for a few China and India-specific clients). There’s a microG bounty for this, too, but no luck so far. Of course, there are countless messaging platforms that work just fine on iodéOS – regular SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Signal, and so on – and especially if you’re European, it’s unlikely RCS support matters to you at all. I just don’t
Improved DEC Alpha emulator runs Windows 2000 for Alpha and OpenVMS and Tru64 with X11
Colour me positively surprised, as I had no idea Alpha emulation had progressed this much. As you might know, I’m involved a bit in the OpenVMS community and the Alpha emulation side via AXPBox. AXPBox (github) is a fork of the es40 alpha emulator by Camiel Vanderhoeven (who is now Chief Architect at VSI, the company that makes OpenVMS, for x86 nowdays). There have been many forks of es40 in the past and recently a new one has popped up with some great new features. Like speedups via a JIT compiler, S3 graphics port from MAME and ARC support, resulting in the ability to run Windows 2000 for the DEC Alpha. ↫ Remy van Elst Not only can you run the unreleased Alpha version of Windows 2000 on this forked emulator, it’s also capable of running OpenVMS and Tru64 UNIX. In fact, both OpenVMS and Tru64 can run their full X11 CDE desktops on the emulator as well, which is incredibly cool and a huge milestone. As the name of the original emulator implies, it’s emulating an AlphaServer Es40 from the turn of the century, which should be fast enough for enthusiast use. The last AlphaStation ever made, the ES47, is still very high on my list of computers I desperately want but will never have – they are incredibly rare, and whenever they do come up for sale, incredibly expensive. If you have one, consider yourself lucky, and please, write about it! Tell the world!
LineageOS and Android’s upcoming developer verification: what it is, and how it affects you
LineageOS, the de-Googled Android ROM that serves as the backbone for pretty much the entire custom Android ROM community, has published an article about what the Android developer verification changes mean for them. I really like the factual tone of their article, especially this part: Critics such as F-Droid, EFF, and “Keep Android Open” point out that this also happens to route every install path through Google-controlled infrastructure, hands Google a kill switch over any app or developer worldwide, and arrives shortly after Google’s antitrust lawsuits. Both things can be true at once: real fraud is a problem and the restriction of developers is a convenient side effect of solving it this way – and we’re not in a position to pretend we know Google’s internal reasoning. We’re just telling you what they’ve said and what it changes; you can weigh the “why” yourself. ↫ Nolen Johnson on the LineageOS website For LineageOS, these new verification measures don’t really mean much, as they don’t affect the project’s work or software. The developer verification infrastructure is a separate application that is part of Google Mobile Services, and LineageOS does not ship GMS nor does it ever intend to. As such, they don’t have to do anything, as this won’t be an issue unless LineageOS users choose to install a GApps package that happens to include the developer verification infrastructure. If Google were to move the developer verification infrastructure into Play Services in the future, LineageOS makes it clear they’ll disable it globally, as they have done with a number of other “annoying Play Services-provided over-the-air update implementations“. There really isn’t much more they can do; the rest is up to users and projects that use LineageOS as their base.
Composite video on the NES: why’s it so wobbly?
The Nintendo Entertainment System. Is it the platonic ideal of an 8-bit video game system? Well, only because it’s so prominent and successful– it’s actually kind of an oddball in its expandability and design. But there’s something else about it. The picture is a bit… wobbly. Well, over composite video anyway. Let’s dig in and learn a little big more about the nitty-gritty of composite video. ↫ Nicole Branagan As usual, the information density in this article by Branagan is kind of remarkable, especially when you consider it never overwhelms you. Such a great read.
Celebrating 250 Years of US Independence With $250 Off the Liberty Phone
In 1776, America didn't just reject a king - it rejected tolerance of oppressive governance, taxation without representation, and the idea that power is imposed by someone far away. The Liberty Phone channels the same rebellious spirit for our era, pushing back against Big Tech’s control through a privacy-first, user-owned approach. Use software you can understand, hardware you can shut off, and a system built to give control back to the user that operates it.
Red, white, and blue stars glitter like a sparkler being waved on a dark night in this new image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
ReactOS implements very first NT6 system call
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A fairly big moment for the ReactOS project: it has just received its very first system call from NT6. The system call that has been added is NtGetCurrentProcessorNumberEx, which is used for returning the processor number of the logical processor that a caller is running on. It’s unclear how long it will take ReactOS to become compatible with Windows Vista software, but it took Microsoft around half a decade to develop Vista after the release of XP and marked a major upgrade, even if it didn’t land well with users at the time. ↫ Paul Hill at Neowin It’s a milestone for sure, but not one that’s going to make a huge difference for ReactOS at this moment in time. Still, it’s a sign of things to come, even if the very nature of the ReactOS project means that whatever things are coming tend to take a while to arrive.
NASA’s Hubble Captures Crimson Cloud Sparkling with White, Blue Stars
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Blue and white stars shine brightly against crimson gas in this image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
Microsoft settles centuries of religious debate by providing clearest definition of hell to date: Windows with a website-based shell running only Copilot
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For how often people invoke it, the concept of “hell” in Christianity is remarkably vague and nebulous, as both the Old and New Testament barely go into detail about the concept. As such, I’m glad Microsoft has now given us a clear vision of hell and what, exactly, it looks like, ending centuries of denominational disagreements. Microsoft is currently selling the idea of Windows and Copilot as two separate things: an OS and an assistant riding along on top of it. However, a leaked video shows Project Aion, an internal prototype where Copilot doesn’t just sit inside Windows, it becomes Windows, swallowing the Start menu, the taskbar, and three decades of desktop conventions in the process. The footage is reportedly two years old, so Aion is most likely dead by now. But it’s the clearest look yet at how far Microsoft was willing to take its agentic AI ambitions. ↫ Alfonso Maruccia at Techspot Everything about this is dreadful. Obviously replacing the entire shell with “AI” nonsense is the main crime against usability here, but on top of that, this new shell is all just websites, all the way down, so everything is slow and stuttery. Since this runs on something called “Win3”, which appears to be a very minimal, stripped-down version of Windows intended to only run the Edge browser engine, you can’t run Win32 applications. If you do try to run a Win32 application, it will load the application in a remote virtual machine running in the cloud, which I;m sure does wonder for performance, responsiveness, and latency. We can all thank the lord this project is two years old and most likely cancelled by now, but we have no way of knowing if Microsoft is still intending for this to be the future direction of Windows. Since people don’t want to use “AI” of their own volition, it only makes sense in the technology industry’s sick, twisted mind to force people into using “AI” with efforts like this. Consent has never been Silicon Valley’s strength, after all. At the time of writing, Microsoft is 225 billion dollars in the red on “AI”, so I wouldn’t be surprised if attempts to replace the regular Explorer shell with something “AI”-based is still very much on the table in Redmond.
NASA’s Hubble Spots Star-Spangled Cosmic Scene
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More than 500,000 stars blaze red, white, and blue in this NASA Hubble image of the globular cluster Messier 3 (M3).
Vulkan-netbsd brings Vulkan to NetBSD
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NetBSD is the only BSD without a Vulkan stack (Mesa and Lavapipe), but that’s about to change. The effort to bring Vulkan to NetBSD is now in beta, with prebuilt binaries coming soon. Mesa configures, compiles, links, installs, and registers the Lavapipe software Vulkan driver on NetBSD 10.1 amd64, against LLVM 19.1.7. The driver (libvulkan_lvp.so, ~17 MB) installs into /usr/pkg/lib, and its ICD manifest (advertising Vulkan API 1.4) installs into /usr/pkg/share/vulkan/icd.d/, so a Vulkan loader on the system can discover it. ldd resolves every dependency cleanly. The entire process — environment setup, dependency builds, the Mesa build, and installation — is automated end to end and reproducible on a fresh install. ↫ vulkan-netbsd GitHub page It’s important to note that the next step in the process is to port the Vulkan loader, which is required to actually run Vulkan applications. This entire effort is still ongoing and seems to be handled mostly by Dean Howell alone, so expect breakage and incomplete documentation as development progresses. Still, this is a hugely important effort, and seeing it this far along is great news.
EveryMac celebrates 30th birthday
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EveryMac turned 30. On July 2, 1996, EveryMac.com launched. Thirty years is a long time — and a great deal has changed since then — but what has not changed is that EveryMac.com has been there to provide you with detailed info on every Mac from the original 128k to the current line. Thank you very much for your support through the years. ↫ EveryMac news item I thought OSNews was pretty unique with its founding in 1997, so it’s great to see another enthusiast’s website as old as ours. Amazing company to be in, too – EveryMac is an indispensable, tirelessly maintained, and stupidly accurate resource that I use countless times each year. Here’s to another 30 years.
This July 4th, are you a thrill- or chill-seeker?
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Independence Day is approaching!
Imagine if someone has procured illegal fireworks from a couple of states over. Are you:
1. first in line to light them?
2. content to watch while others set them off?
3. going to find a fire extinguisher — just in case — while loudly condemning the activity?
Ken Carter, a psychologist at Oxford College of Emory University, says everyone has a different level of sensation-seeking. This episode, we get into the factors at play, like people's brain chemistry, when deciding whether or not to do an activity, like setting off fireworks.
For low and average sensation-seekers, very thrilling activities like large, self-run fireworks displays can cause their bodies to produce a lot of cortisol, a stress hormone.
On the other hand, high sensation-seekers, Carter says, "don't tend to produce that much cortisol when they're in those highly chaotic experiences. So when they're seeing those fireworks, they actually produce higher amounts of another chemical called dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter or a chemical messenger that's involved in pleasure."
Carter has developed a 40-point self-assessment survey for people to figure out how much of a sensation-seeker they are. The survey can be found in his book, Buzz!
Interested in more psychology episodes? Email us your question atshortwave@npr.org.
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The clock is ticking for Android as a (somewhat) open platform. If you are running Android 8 or higher, a virus has been installed on your device and is silently awaiting remote activation. Over the past few months, devices around the world have been infected with this novel strain, with as many as 4 billion Android handsets and tablets estimated to have already been contaminated, meaning that around half of all humanity may be at risk from this threat. Disguising itself as the innocuously-titled “Android Developer Verifier” (ADV) process, this trojan horse runs surreptitiously in the background as a system service with full root privileges, quietly awaiting an activation signal. The service cannot be blocked, disabled, or removed. Unlike a commonplace bit of malware, this extraordinary strain won’t be detected and neutralized by Play Protect (the malware scanning and remediation service that is installed on all Android Certified devices). In fact, Play Protect is itself the vector through which this virus is transmitted and installed. That is because it is Google themselves who is propagating ADV. And once activated, this malevolent process has exactly one goal: to block you from running software by developers who haven’t been approved centrally by Google. ↫ The F-Droid news website If nobody steps up, if no regulator takes on Google in this matter, we could very well be looking at the end of F-Droid and similar open source application repositories on Android. I use F-Droid, and in fact, one of the most important and most-used application on my Pixel 10 Pro comes from F-Droid: Fennec. This Firefox fork is not available through any Google-sanctioned means, and I could just wake up one day and have the browser on what is supposed to be my phone stop working. Age verification, tying crucial services to iOS and Google Android, killing the ability to install your own software on your phone, purposefully making people hopelessly addicted to and dependent on “AI”, and so much more – we’re facing a multi-pronged attack designed to beat us into submission and give up on the idea of Free computing. I have to admit I’ve lost all hope we’ll be able to win this battle, as the combined interests of technology megacorporations and our own governments are just too powerful to fight. I feel like we’re living in the computing end times.
WinPE as a stateless harness for Windows driver testing and fuzzing
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What if you need to do very low-level testing involving the very guts of Windows NT, but don’t need most of the userland that sits on top? In fact, what if that userland only slows you down and complicates the work you’re trying to do? The solution is Windows PE (Windows Preinstallation Environment). It is an official, stripped-down environment distributed with every Windows ISO image. It runs entirely in RAM, requires as little as 512 MB of memory, and lacks support for DirectX, the PowerShell subsystem, or the standard graphical shell (Explorer). Booting by default with NT AUTHORITY\\SYSTEM privileges makes it an ideal test harness for both of these tasks. The following analysis focuses on the low-level mechanisms of WinPE, as well as BCD and QEMU modifications that allow transforming this system into an ultra-fast, idempotent testing environment. ↫ Piotr Bednarski Now, the kind of work Bednarski does isn’t the most common of tasks, but I’ve often wondered just how far you can get by bolting on whatever WinPE will allow you to. There were various unofficial third-party tools that built Windows live CDs based on WinPE, but I think most of those have died out by now. If you look hard enough, you can also find some other utilities people made for WinPE, including even some rudimentary web browsers. Regarding web browsers, modern efforts seem to run into issues. WinPE is not really meant for any advanced functionality, but I really do wonder how capable you can make it without turning it into regular Windows.
M/PC: a concatenative operating system for Varvara
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M/PC is a concatenative operating system for Varvara, inspired by Openfirmware, designed to manage files on system without a file browser. It uses the postfix notation, meaning that the function success their operands. ↫ M/PC website I’m not going to pretend to really understand what any of this means.
An A.I.-Generated Alexander Hamilton Chats About Economics at the Museum of American Finance, Opening This Weekend in Boston
The museum, which started in New York and hasn't had a permanent exhibition space in several years, depicts the history and influence of U.S. financial institutions
Scientists Say They've Made Cells That Feed, Grow and Reproduce, Bringing Them One Step Closer to Building Life From Scratch
The human-made cells show many hallmarks of life, but they can't make all their necessary internal structures or divide for that many generations
3D Printing Gives New Life to an Ancient Game Board Discovered at a Roman Fort Near Hadrian's Wall in England
Soldiers and civilians alike enjoyed strategy game Ludus Latrunculorum in the Roman Empire, especially in Roman Britain
Puzzled by Mark Rothko's Captivating Color Field Paintings? Look to the Renaissance Masters Who Inspired Him
During trips to Europe, the American painter developed a fascination with how 15th- and 16th-century artists and architects had designed their work to evoke specific feelings
NASA’s Artemis II Breaks Agency Streaming Record
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NASA’s live coverage of the Artemis II mission mission drew unprecedented public interest – including more than 149.4 million views of the launch, lunar flyby, splashdown on NASA-owned platforms, including the 24/7 streams covering the mission and the Orion spacecraft views – demonstrating strong, sustained global engagement throughout the mission. Around the Clock Live Broadcast NASA’s Artemis II Crew Launches to the Moon broadcast set unprecedented viewership records across the agency’s […]
The Oldest Black Church in the U.S., the Wright Brothers' Home and a New York Hospital Are Among the American Heritage Sites in Urgent Need of Preservation
For its “Irreplaceable America” list in honor of the 250th birthday of the U.S., the World Monuments Fund chose endangered historic sites of innovation, creativity and spirituality to publicize and support
An Archival Discovery Became a Treasure Map Leading a Diver to a 17th-Century Shipwreck Carrying Coins and Gold Jewelry
See artifacts recovered thanks to a clue about the last resting place of a lost captain from an East India Company ship that went down near the Isles of Scilly
Earth Might Be Home to 20 Million Insect Species—More Than Three Times as Many as Previously Thought, a Study Suggests
Recent estimates have come to the consensus that our planet hosts roughly six million species. But new research reveals that those counts may be drastically underestimated
Astrophysicists Puzzle Over Webb’s New Universe
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Faced with observations of early black holes and galaxies that weren’t expected to exist, scientists have come up with a wealth of new theories to explain them. Now they just need to figure out which ones are true.
NASA astronaut Chris Williams took this photo of an orbital sunrise from the International Space Station on June 26, 2026. In 24 hours, the space station makes 16 orbits of Earth, traveling through 16 sunrises and sunsets. Learn more about the orbiting laboratory. Image credit: NASA/Chris Williams
NASA’s Webb Reveals Stars Sparking to Life in Cosmic Celebration
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NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured the infrared light of numerous features that previously were impossible to see beyond the thick dust of the FS Tau star system. In addition to myriad background galaxies that burst into view like fireworks for the United States’ 250th anniversary celebrations, this image flickers with a number of […]
Joyride Through July With 12 Games Coming to GeForce NOW
Summer is heating up — and GeForce NOW is taking players along for the ride. Start the month with Monopoly: Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains, bringing a galaxy far, far away to the iconic board-game franchise, alongside 12 new games joining the cloud this month. Plus, don’t let the sun set on the biggest GeForce […]
NVIDIA Unlocks AI Compute at Scale, Inviting Partners to Power the AI Infrastructure Buildout
As AI moves from model development to production inference, compute demand is accelerating and shifting toward continuously operating AI factories that generate tokens at scale. This shift requires access to large‑scale, multi‑tenant accelerated computing that can come online quickly, stay highly utilized and support the economics of token‑scale AI services. Emerging AI companies historically have […]
What’s Up: July 2026 Skywatching Tips from NASA
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A predawn Moon-and-planets meetup, a returning comet, a great chance to see the Milky Way, and Saturn’s rings at a new angle. Skywatching Highlights Transcript An early morning hangout with the Moon and planets, a comet swings by, prime time for the Milky Way, and Saturn’s rings shine at a new angle. That’s What’s Up […]
OSNews statement on slopcoded “operating systems”
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Recently, there has been a surge in slopcoded new/hobby “operating systems”. Such slopcoded projects – which, due to the nature of “AI” tools, effectively consist of stolen code – will not be featured on OSNews and submitting them is fruitless. Other websites may choose to employ lower standards, as is their prerogative, but OSNews will not. I obviously cannot guarantee nothing will ever slip through the cracks, but I will take utmost care to ensure OSNews remains free of these so-called “sloperating systems”. Plagiarism, license-washing, and code theft have no place in the world of enthusiast and hobby operating systems.
European digital ID wallets are a gift to Google and Apple
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European governments are rolling out digital identity wallets, which are to be used by citizens to access services, and to verify their age online. As reported by Follow the Money and Android Authority, there is a serious problem with this: these wallets rely on safety services of Google and Apple. These are known as Google Play Integrity API, and Apple’s Managed Device Attestation. Such safety services (known as “remote attestation”) are used to ensure that wallet apps run on hardware that is not tampered with. In this article we explain why the EU-wallet case is part of a bigger problem: by embedding these safety services in public infrastructure, Europe risks making society dependent on private companies while serving their corporate interests. ↫ Danny Lämmerhirt Setting aside the age verification nonsense, the fact that some European government are tying their identification services to iOS and Google Android is absolutely bonkers, especially in this day and age. There’s endless talk about reducing European dependence on the American tech giants who seem all too eager to do roll over when the Trump regime so much as glances in their general direction, and yet, they seem to want to effectively force us citizens to use American tech products. Essential online tools, like banking, government services, communication services, digital driver’s licenses, and more, should not require the use of iOS or Google Android.
“Apple should end their prohibition on shapes in MacOS app icons”
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There’s a lot you can say about macOS, but one thing Apple used to be incredibly good at were making beautifully crafted, detailed icons. As with almost every other aspect of macOS, this deteriorated sharply over the years, with the recent macOS releases with Liquid Glass being an absolute low point. Not only have they become bland and featureless, Apple also started forcing every icons to have the exact same rounded-rectangle shape, making them even harder to distinguish from one another. Rogue Amoeba, a company with a long history of developing applications with beautiful iconography, published a blog post pleading Apple to go back to proper icon design. With last year’s release of MacOS 26 (Tahoe), Apple made a mess of app icons. In the first betas of MacOS 27 (Golden Gate), however, there are signs of a turnaround. We’re urging Apple to continue making improvements, by restoring the ability for MacOS app icons to have distinct shapes. ↫ Paul Kafasis at the Rogue Amoeba blog I really hope Apple will turn its icon ship around.
Alexander Hamilton's First National Bank Revolutionized the U.S. Economy. After Sitting Shuttered for Years, the Philadelphia Landmark Reopened as a Museum
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A controversial idea right after the American Revolution, the First Bank of the United States proved prescient. Visitors can now check out its historic home after a $43 million makeover
'The Greatest Cosmic Movie Ever Made': The World's Largest Digital Camera Begins a Historic, Decade-Long Survey of the Night Sky
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After a year of testing, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile has started capturing data as part of the much-anticipated Legacy Survey of Space and Time
NASA’s Chandra Examines Milky Way at Arms’ Length
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A new result using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory shows that the outer spiral arms in the Milky Way galaxy may reach wider than previously thought. This finding may lead astronomers to adjust their understanding of our home galaxy’s structure. A team of astronomers made this discovery by making precise measurements of distances to dust clouds […]
Vintage ‘READ’ Posters Adorning Libraries and Classrooms for Decades Go on Auction as the American Library Association Turns 150
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Taylor Swift, Serena Williams and famous fictional characters lent their iconic faces to encourage people to pick up a book
Linux ported to Sega’s Mega Drive
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If you have a Sega Mega Drive, you obviously want to run Linux on it. That’s something you can do now. You do need to have an EverDrive, but don’t worry, the port in question contains a custom fork of Qemu for those of us that don’t. I don’t know what else to say, other than I wonder why nobody did this sooner.
After Decades of Debate, Scientists Say These Fossils Belong to the Largest Known Scorpion, Which Lived 415 Million Years Ago
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Researchers have wondered whether Praearcturus gigas was a giant crustacean called an isopod or some other creature. A new analysis of museum specimens suggests that it was a scorpion that stretched more than three feet long
NASA Seeks Volunteers for New Yearlong Simulated Moon, Mars Mission
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NASA is recruiting research participants for the agency’s next simulated deep space mission. Beginning no earlier than August 2027, research volunteers will spend one year living and working in interplanetary environments at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, operating under isolated conditions expected during crewed missions to the Moon or Red Planet. Insights from this […]
LINK Spacecraft Set for Mission to Boost NASA’s Swift Observatory
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A first-of-its-kind mission to raise the orbit of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is poised for launch no earlier than Thursday, July 2, 5:09 a.m. EDT (9:09 p.m. UTC+12), from Kwajalein Atoll, part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. A robotic servicing spacecraft called LINK, built by Katalyst Space, will blast […]
As France Prepares to Light Up the Statue of Liberty for America's 250th, Peek Into the History of the Symbol of Trans-Atlantic Friendship
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Here’s how three French idealists—an abolitionist, a sculptor and the engineer behind the Eiffel Tower—brought the representation of freedom to life
NASA’s Webb Studies How Planet Survived Death of its Star
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NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is giving us new insight into the far-future of solar systems like our own, as the agency continues to reveal the secrets of the universe and our place in it. Billions of years ago, a Sun-like star nearing the end of its life swelled tremendously in size to become a […]
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4934-4940: In the Land of the Polygons
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Written by William Farrand, Senior Research Scientist, Space Science Institute Earth planning date: Friday, June 26, 2026 There were two planning cycles over this span of sols. The Monday planning took place with Curiosity situated within a unit that from orbital imagery appeared light-toned, and from earlier rover positions appeared smooth. Reaching this unit, the […]
This Ancient Monolith That Archaeologists Unearthed in Mexico May Depict People Receiving ‘Divine Liquid’ in a Ritual
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The stela was found with a large, decorated platform and remnants of offerings in the state of Veracruz
Caltech Welcomes Astrophysicist Ray Jayawardhana as New President
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Ray Jayawardhana begins his tenure today as the 10th president of the California Institute of Technology. His selection as Caltech’s president, and as the Sonja and William Davidow Presidential Chair and professor of astronomy, was announced Jan. 6. Jayawardhana succeeds Thomas Rosenbaum, who had served as Caltech’s president since 2014. Founded in 1891, Caltech manages […]
For the First Time, a Cell Built From Scratch Grows and Divides
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Scientists built a synthetic cell that combines more lifelike properties than ever before — proof of concept that it’s possible to bring nonliving materials to life, or something close to it, in the lab.
These Male Fruit Flies Have Sperm That Are Nearly as Long as Their Bodies. Here's How the Cells Don't Become a Tangled Mess
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Males of the species Drosophila melanogaster pack thousands of almost two-millimeter-long sperm cells into significantly smaller storage organs. A new study reveals how they move in an orderly manner
NVIDIA and Partners Build in America, for America
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NVIDIA and its partners are investing in American manufacturing, supply chains, energy grids and skilled workforces so the U.S. can produce the infrastructure needed for better healthcare, breakthrough scientific discovery, stronger industrial productivity and global technology leadership.
NASA’s TESS Mission Finds Planetary System in New Way
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For the first time, NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) mission has identified a planet orbiting a distant star thanks to ripples in space-time. Unlike the star-hugging transiting planets TESS regularly reveals, the newfound world is a super-Jupiter orbiting far from its host star. “When TESS launched, no one expected it to ever be capable […]
Is setting your trash on fire a good idea?
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The U.S. generates 292 million tons of trash each year – and that trash has to go somewhere. Sometimes, that’s to an incinerator, where it’s burned and turned into electricity. Proponents of incineration applaud the ability to generate energy from waste and divert garbage from landfills. Opponents worry about the potential health risks, especially to minoritized communities. Today on the show, we explore the good and the bad of waste-to-energy facilities – and even get to see one up close.
Interested in more deep dives into the often invisible science powering our lives? Email us your question atshortwave@npr.org.
Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. It includes perks like bonus episodes, early access, archive access, curated playlists and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
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See These Ancient Etruscan Frescoes That Italy Bought for Millions and Put on Public Display in Rome
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Found in a burial chamber, the artworks depict battles between ancient heroes in the Mediterranean world
These 17 Stunning Photos of the Strawberry Moon Show Earth's Natural Satellite in All Its Glory
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The first full moon of the summer delivered dazzling visuals from across the globe. Its low position in the sky from the perspective of the Northern Hemisphere gave it a golden hue
NASA’s Chandra Reveals ‘Red, White, Blue’ Universe for US 250th
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In celebration of the 250th birthday of the United States, NASA has unveiled four cosmic images from its Chandra X-ray Observatory rendered in red, white, and blue that represent the wonders of the universe the agency explores. The images are accompanied by a trio of new sonifications – a technique that translates astronomical data into […]
A Day of Flight Testing at NASA Armstrong
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Flight testing is a team sport. For nearly 80 years, teams at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, have used flight testing to push the limits of aerodynamics and advance aviation. Earlier this year, NASA’s Crossflow Attenuated Natural Laminar Flow (CATNLF) initiative tested a wing concept that would maximize the smooth flow of […]
Rembrandt Began a Biblical Painting. Another Artist Finished It 'Rather Crudely.' Now, Restorations Have Revealed the Long-Lost Original
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An art dealer stumbled across "Let the Little Children Come Unto Me" at a German auction house in 2014. Experts have now carefully removed layers of overpaint from the forgotten masterpiece
La NASA adjudica nuevas misiones científicas para Base Lunar y adelanta nuevas oportunidades
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Read this news release in English here. Nota del editor: Este comunicado se actualizó el 30 de junio de 2026 para aclarar la versión de desarrollo de ingeniería del rover PROMISE.La NASA anunció el martes la selección de tres empresas para llevar a cabo cuatro nuevas misiones a la Luna a finales de 2028 como […]
PureOS Development Report: May 2026
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Welcome back! In our last update, we announced the release of PureOS Crimson! We're thrilled to share this release with you, and we hope you love it as much as we do.
We skipped ahead a little bit in that post, since the release occurred in May and we were eager to share it. We made many more quality-of-life improvements in May leading up to the release. Our work is speeding up too: we're laying the foundation for PureOS Dawn, we just released the Librem 16 featuring PureOS Crimson, and we have many more projects picking up steam!
Notice ID: Coming Soon NASA’s Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate is seeking innovative ideas from industry partners through a new solicitation appendix under the NextSTEP-3 Omnibus Broad Agency Announcement. Appendix B: Moon Base Demonstrations calls for industry-led demonstrations, risk reduction, and special topic activities that enable an enduring human presence on the lunar surface. NASA’s Moon […]
NASA Awards More Moon Base Science, Previews New Opportunities
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Editor’s note: This release was updated on June 30, 2026, to clarify the engineering development version for the PROMISE rover. NASA announced Tuesday the selection of three companies to land four new missions on the Moon in late 2028 as part of the agency’s Moon Base Program. Astrobotic, Firefly Aerospace, and Intuitive Machines will deliver […]
Sold for Just £5,588, This Amber Pendant Turned Out to Be a Rare Tudor-Era Portrait of Elizabeth I. Now, It's Going on Auction for £100,000
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A master craftsman carved the likeness around 1600, possibly as a commission from the English monarch herself. A parrot on the back of the heart-shaped object symbolizes Elizabeth's status as a "virgin queen"
NVIDIA BioNeMo Agent Toolkit Brings Accelerated AI to Life Sciences Researchers in Claude Science
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Life sciences has entered an era of computational scale, and for more than a decade, NVIDIA has built the full GPU-accelerated computing stack — spanning hardware, frameworks, libraries, models, microservices and domain-specific tools — to help researchers run more sophisticated workflows and iterate faster. This week, Anthropic announced Claude Science, an AI workbench for science […]
As the Ocean Warms, a 'Cold Blob' in the Atlantic Has Puzzled Scientists. It Might Be a Warning Sign About a Key Current System
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A patch of water south of Greenland and Iceland has cooled by nearly 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since 1900. A new study suggests that it shows a crucial system of ocean currents is weakening, which could alter Earth's climate
Starry Chandelier Cluster
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This image released on June 26, 2026, features the globular cluster NGC 6723, sometimes called the Chandelier Cluster. Like its namesake, it sparkles with countless lights. However, each ‘lightbulb’ in this chandelier is an individual star 27,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius (the Archer). Globular clusters like NGC 6723 contain some of the oldest […]
How NVIDIA’s Inference Software Stack Powers the Lowest Token Cost
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As organizations move from AI pilots to production AI factories, infrastructure decisions have shifted from peak chip specifications to cost per token: how many useful tokens they can deliver per dollar, per watt and within required latency targets. Codesigned with NVIDIA GPUs, CPUs, networking and systems, and strengthened by a broad open source ecosystem, NVIDIA’s […]
How Jaiveer Singh Is Helping Robots — and Developers — Move Faster
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When Jaiveer Singh talks about robots, he doesn’t begin with spectacle. He begins with infrastructure: the boards inside machines, the software that lets developers see through a robot’s cameras and the engineering required before a robot can leave a demo floor to do something useful. As a robotics software engineer who leads the team behind […]
Why Did Neanderthals Go Extinct? Inbreeding Probably Wasn't to Blame for Their Demise in Northwestern Europe, a Study Suggests
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In contrast to those who resided in Siberia, Neanderthals who lived in what's now Belgium and France shortly before the species vanished seem to have been genetically diverse and healthy
Mars Rover Spots Complex Carbon on the Red Planet, Marking Yet Another Detection of a Building Block of Life
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Along with other recent discoveries, the new finding from Perseverance boosts the case that Mars once hosted conditions that could support living things—but it isn’t a definitive sign of ancient organisms
The Hall of Raphael Frescoes Where the Pope Lives at the Vatican Is Getting a Much-Needed Restoration With the Help of Lasers
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Conservators will spend the next five years cleaning and retouching the Renaissance frescoes, which date back to the early 16th century
Into the Omniverse: Three Workflows for Improving Vision AI Agent Accuracy With Synthetic Data and Fine-Tuning
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Editor’s note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on how developers, 3D practitioners, and enterprises can transform their workflows using the latest advances in OpenUSD and NVIDIA Omniverse. Vision AI agents are becoming a practical way to automatically turn video data from the physical world into operational intelligence in factories, […]
Ames Science Stars of the Month July 2026
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NASA Ames Science Stars of the Month: July 2026 The NASA Ames Science Directorate recognizes the outstanding contributions of (pictured left to right) Sungshin Choi, Yi-Chun Chen, Emma Yates, Eduardo Bendek. Their commitment to the NASA mission represents the entrepreneurial spirit, technical expertise, and collaborative disposition needed to explore this world and beyond. Space Biosciences […]
Ticks are a growing problem, no matter where you live
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In the grand scheme of things, Lyme disease is a fairly new scientific discovery. It was first traced back to ticks in the late 70s and early 80s. The tick-borne illness can cause a rash, fever, pain, neurological complications, and even facial paralysis. It’s spread by only two of the nearly 50 species of ticks in the United States. Historically, most Lyme cases were limited to a small region, including the Great Lakes area and northeastern US. But thanks to changing temperatures, animal migration and shifts in land use , scientists say tick territory is expanding. So what does that mean for Lyme disease risk? And do you have to be worried about it in your own backyard?
Interested in more episodes about pests and parasites? Email us your question atshortwave@npr.org.
Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. It includes perks like bonus episodes, early access, archive access, curated playlists and sponsor-free listening. Learn more atplus.npr.org.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
Microsoft now says 8GB RAM is fine for Windows 11, after years of pushing for 16GB
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There’s something poetic about the World Cup taking place in North America while Microsoft keeps scoring own goals like this. Microsoft updated its Surface buying guide to describe 8GB RAM as “great for everyday use like browsing, streaming, schoolwork, and productivity apps.” A companion FAQ adds that 16GB or more is what unlocks Copilot+ PC features. No acknowledgment that, for two years, Microsoft was the loudest voice telling everyone that 16GB was non-negotiable for a good Windows 11 experience. What makes this infuriating is that Microsoft is one of the biggest reasons why the RAM situation got so bad in the first place. ↫ Abhijith M B at Windows Latest This industry is a joke.
After the Founders Declared Independence, Printers Quickly Translated the Text for German-Speaking Americans
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The document, printed in a gothic typeface, was translated in Philadelphia. One of two surviving copies is going on display in Berlin ahead of America's 250th birthday
Northwest Earth and Space Science Pathways Project Celebrates Student Innovation Through ROADS from Earth to Venus National Challenge
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The Northwest Earth and Space Science Pathways (NESSP) project recently concluded its 2025–2026 ROADS (Rover Observation And Discoveries in Space) from Earth to Venus National Challenge, a NASA Science Activation program student challenge that engaged more than 500 students on 120 teams from eight states in authentic science and engineering experiences inspired by Venus exploration. […]
A Fossil From Antarctica Sat in a Drawer for 40 Years. It Turned Out to Be the First Dinosaur Bone Ever Found on the Continent
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After being forgotten for decades, the mysterious tail vertebra has finally been identified as part of a titanosaur. The discovery helps researchers understand how dinosaurs may have traversed Earth's southernmost regions
NASA, SBA Announce New Initiative to Scale American Space Economy
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NASA and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) launched the SBIC-NASA Initiative on Monday to increase investment in American manufacturers of industrial components and providers of technologies critical to space exploration to support a sustained presence on the Moon and Mars. Under the Memorandum of Agreement, NASA will identify technology priorities and connect businesses to funding opportunities […]
NASA’s Newest Wind Tunnel Builds on Legacy of Innovation
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For more than 100 years, wind tunnels at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, have helped shape the future of flight. Now, two of NASA’s longest-serving facilities — the 12-Foot Low-Speed Tunnel and the 20-Foot Vertical Spin Tunnel — will pass the torch to the Flight Dynamics Research Facility (FDRF), the first major NASA wind tunnel built in more than 40 years. “The FDRF […]
Genghis Khan Is Remembered for His Vast Empire and Fearsome Warriors. This Exhibition Explores His Cultural Legacy
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The Royal Armouries Museum will show nearly 250 rare artifacts—from saddles to early paper money—that reveal a side of the Mongol Empire that's often neglected
Astral is a hobby operating system with X.org, Minecraft, and now Wine
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Astral is a hobby operating system written in C for 64bit architectures, with a collection of ported software like X.org, fvwm, the xbps package manager, and tons more. I think it’s quite a neat system – the code’s on GitHub – made even neater by the fact it can run not only Minecraft, but now also has a working port of Wine that can run a few games. A few months ago, I posted about Astral, a hobby OS I have been working on over the years, running Minecraft. Since then, others have gotten modern versions of Minecraft to run as well as Factorio (using a glibc compatible libc). However, while these games are made or packaged in a way that makes it easier to get them to run under a new OS, most games are not. A lot of games are closed source and compiled for Windows, which makes something like Wine a necessity for playing them. One of my favorite games, Cogmind, falls under that umbrella. It is a 32-bit Windows only roguelike, and it became my goal to run it under Astral. While there was already an existing Wine port, it was extremely incomplete, as not even notepad.exe worked properly. To run Cogmind, the Wine port had to be finished, which also meant adding the ability to run 32-bit code on an otherwise 64-bit-only OS. ↫ Blog post on the Astral website This process obviously is quite involved, but in the end, they managed to get it working. Quite impressive.
The ‘papers, please’ era of the internet will decimate your privacy
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Imagine your favorite team just scored an incredible, last-second goal at the World Cup. So you log online to celebrate with other fans. But, using data it’s already collected on you, the social media platform you like to post on wrongly guesses that you’re under 16 so it forces you to go to a third-party verification app and provide images of your face or your government-issued ID. You don’t really know much about the verification app, what country it’s based out of, what happens with your information, and whether you’re protected from hackers or data breaches. You’re not happy about it, but you hand over a photo of your passport and hope it doesn’t come back to haunt you. Now imagine that instead of posting about sports, you’re criticizing a powerful politician, or talking about your experiences with abuse or addiction, or discussing embarrassing medical issues you’re facing. Suddenly this “papers, please” approach to the internet sounds even more invasive, right? Unfortunately, that’s the direction we’re all headed — even here in the United States — and we have good reason to be wary of the global rush to sacrifice user privacy on the altar of age verification. ↫ Sarah McLaughlin at Expression The insane push for age verification on the internet is the biggest threat to whatever’s left of the free internet. I have two young children – 3 and 5, currently – and I’m diametrically opposed to any kind of creepy verification processes that they claim are designed to keep kids like mine “safe”. Not only is their safety not predicated on giving up their privacy, my children are also not my or anyone else’s property; they have rights, and the right to privacy is one of them. Nobody mentioned in the Epstein files has been charged, by the way.
Humans and Great Apes Giggle With a Similar Rhythm and Timing, Suggesting We Have Shared Our Style of Laughter for 15 Million Years
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Understanding how laughter evolved can reveal the secrets of human speech
Scientists Double Down on Age of What Might Be Earth's Oldest Impact Crater, Dating It, Again, at More Than Three Billion Years Old
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Last year, geologists dated the crater in Western Australia at 3.47 billion years old, which was disputed by other experts. Now, they've revised the estimate to 3.02 billion years old—but some still aren't convinced
Claude Meets Blackwell Ultra: Anthropic’s Models Now Run on NVIDIA GB300 in Azure
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Anthropic’s Claude models in Microsoft Foundry — hosted on Microsoft Azure and running on NVIDIA GB300 Blackwell Ultra GPUs — are now generally available, giving Azure-native enterprises a powerful new way to build autonomous and domain-specific AI agents. As agentic AI continues to drive enterprise innovation and becomes more autonomous, organizations need access to computing […]
NASA Astronaut Chris Williams Preps for Spacewalk
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Flight engineer Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) helps flight engineer Chris Williams of NASA as he tries on his spacesuit on June 23, 2026, testing its comfort and mobility as well as its communications and life support systems inside the International Space Station’s Quest airlock. Williams will go on a spacewalk on June […]
Mapping Earth’s Observations, featuring Betsy Ford
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NASA’s Earth-observing satellites track an enormous range of phenomena: how aerosols move through the atmosphere, how moisture descends through soil, how land-cover shifts over decades. It’s some of the most consequential data NASA produces, informing science, policy, agriculture, and climate research around the world. As NASA’s Earth Science Division (ESD) manages this vast portfolio, they […]
NextSTEP-3 A: Lunar Enabling Technology
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Solicitation Number: 80GRC026R0008 May 19, 2026 – Synopsis issued June 29, 2026 – Draft BAA and Appendix A Issued | News Release NASA issued a draft Broad Agency Announcement under NextSTEP‑3, Appendix A, on June 29, 2026, to advance concepts that accelerate the technological readiness of critical systems for lunar surface and cislunar architecture. This solicitation seeks to close key technology gaps and […]
NASA Seeks Industry Input to Accelerate Lunar Surface Technologies
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Long-term lunar exploration requires technology, infrastructure, and operations that function together cohesively on the surface of the Moon. To accelerate the development of key lunar surface systems and reduce risk, NASA and industry must work together in the design, development, testing, and evaluation of innovative solutions that support U.S. space priorities. NASA is seeking feedback on a draft solicitation for the Lunar […]
In a Scientific First, Researchers Recovered Ancient DNA That Humans Left Behind on Rock Art and Cave Walls
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DNA preservation on cave walls is highly variable, but scientists say their work is an important step on the path toward gaining a deeper understanding of our creative ancestors
What Breaks a Cell’s Ribs Can Make It Stronger
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The mechanical process of cell division exerts powerful, if microscopic, forces. How do the molecular machines that power it manage the strain?
Open Models, Closed Environments: Palantir Brings Secure AI to US Agencies With NVIDIA Nemotron
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Showcasing the importance of open source innovation in American AI, Palantir’s new intelligent engine — introduced today — uses NVIDIA Nemotron open models to serve the needs of U.S. government agencies. Open source software has long been a pillar of U.S. technology leadership. In 1969, DARPA connected four university computers — from UCLA, Stanford, UCSB […]
Is working from home actually good for you?
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For many, being able to work from home is a boon: saving time on your commute, working in your sweatpants, throwing in a load of laundry before a meeting. People say it makes them happier. But a new study suggests that, despite all the advantages, working from home isn’t creating a happier workforce. It’s making people more socially isolated. We get into all the details with NPR mental health correspondent Rhitu Chatterjee.
Interested in more everyday science? Email us your question atshortwave@npr.org.
Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. It includes perks like bonus episodes, early access, archive access, curated playlists and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
Microsoft capitulates again, extends Windows 10 support by another year
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It’s been quiet for a few days since I’ve been sick, but I’m feeling a bit better since today marks the official end of my one month of using Windows 11 that you people donated for. An article about my experience is definitely upcoming, including whether or not I’ll actually stick with Windows 11 on my laptop or go back to Linux, but before we get there, let’s talk about Microsoft once again capitulating to the reality that a lot of people really don’t want to let go of Windows 10. In a surprising move, Microsoft has quietly confirmed that it’s extending Windows 10 support until October 12, 2027, which is one full year beyond the October 2026 cutoff that home users had been planning around. ↫ Abhijith M B at Windows Latest Hundreds of millions of people are still using Windows 10, and with the “AI” techbros buying up all the RAM and other chips for their pachinko machines – making this whole thing a bit of an own goal for prime “AI” booster Microsoft – buying new PCs that are actually compatible with Windows 11 isn’t exactly a fun prospect for the vast majority of us normal folk dealing with the cost-of-living crisis. As such, Microsoft really doesn’t have any other choice but to keep extending support for Windows 10. It ain’t much, but I’ll take any morsel of justice I can get. While everyone else has to pay for getting access to these Windows 10 updates, users in the European Union get them entirely for free thanks to the Digital Markets Act. This additional year, too, can be partially attributed to the DMA, as the very same consumer rights organisations who pressured Microsoft into giving EU users truly free access to the Extended Security Updates also put pressure on the company to offer these for more than just one year. Basic consumer protection legislation works.
Deep in the Mexican Jungle, Archaeologists Discovered a Lost Maya City That May Yield Clues About the Civilization Just Before It Collapsed
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Researchers hacked through more than three miles of vegetation to get to the site, which lies out of bounds of familiar logging tracks. There, they found unique carved stelae and altars
See the Most Detailed Photo of the Milky Way's Heart Ever Taken in Visible Light, Which Will Help Astronomers Hunt for Exoplanets
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The European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope was built to study dark matter and dark energy, but for one day last year, it captured the densely packed stars brightening the center of our galaxy
Years in the Making, National Geographic's Museum of Exploration Is Here to Take You on an Adventure
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The renovated space highlights the hallmarks of the iconic 138-year-old brand, from wildlife photography to the study of anthropology
Scientists Have Deciphered the Surviving Fragments of a 2,000-Year-Old Philosophical Treatise Frozen in Time by Mount Vesuvius' Eruption
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The papyrus manuscript was part of a vast library preserved by volcanic ash. Now, the remaining passages—which examine ethics, knowledge and human nature—are accessible for the first time since 79 C.E.
Too Hot for Art? Some Paris Museums and Landmarks Close or Reduce Hours Amid a Record Heat Wave in Europe
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Meanwhile, other institutions offer their air-conditioned spaces as a way for residents and tourists to beat the heat
NASA Announces Winners for 2026 Human Lander Challenge
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NASA has announced the top student-developed solutions for environmental control and life support systems in future crewed lunar landers from participants in the 2026 Human Lander Challenge. The announcement marks the culmination of months of research by university teams working to advance technologies supporting the agency’s Artemis program that will return American astronauts to the […]
NASA Tests New Refuel Device for Future In-Space Refueling Missions
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For NASA’s next generation of deep space exploration missions, spacecraft may need to refuel in Earth orbit before pushing farther into the solar system. Similar to how a gas pump needs a nozzle to fit your fuel tank, future spacecraft could require a special device in order to fill up prior to departure, known as […]
Norman Rockwell Captured the Hustle of the West Wing in Colorful Drawings Displayed for Decades in the White House. They’re Now on Public View for the First Time
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The works were commissioned to humanize President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the height of World War II
Partners, NASA Ready for June Launch of Swift Boost Mission
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A mission to raise the orbit of NASA’s Swift observatory is poised for launch June 30.
Early Humans May Have Used Fire 1.8 Million Years Ago, Nearly Doubling the Age of the Oldest Known Evidence for the Feat
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In Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa, burned bones were found in a dirt layer associated with Homo erectus. The inhabitants probably hadn't mastered fire-making, but researchers say they may have moved and maintained flames from a natural fire
NASA Identifies More Than 40 Space Technologies for Collaboration
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NASA selected 41 proposals from 37 companies to advance technologies in support of the agency’s goals to establish a long-term presence on the Moon and enable human exploration of Mars. These American companies, picked from NASA’s 2025 Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity (ACO), will mature technologies creating solutions for space transportation, planetary surface operations, and lunar […]
After 80 Years, Mathematicians Give Famed ‘Erdős Method’ an Upgrade
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Decades ago, Paul Erdős used randomness to illuminate the vast and weird world of networks. Now mathematicians are making his technique even more powerful.
Euclid, an ESA (European Space Agency) mission with NASA contributions, took a new look at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy, seen in this image released on June 24, 2026. This observation overlaps with a region scientists will observe with NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, launching later this summer. This sneak peek gives […]
Bringing Signals to NASA
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Growing up on the central California coast, watching rocket launches with his father was part of Eric Fernandez’s childhood routine. Fernandez had posters of rockets on the wall, but despite being fascinated by them, he never imagined one day this would be his career. Because both of his grandparents had served at Vandenberg Air Force […]
NASA’s PACE Mission Studies Smoke, Fires
With the North American fire season underway, and a record number of acres already burned nationwide, NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite’s three instruments are observing vegetation precursors to fires, along with plumes of smoke and their movement. This data will help scientists piece together clues that deepen their understanding of wildfires. […]
Hubble Spies Starry Chandelier
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the globular cluster NGC 6723, sometimes called the Chandelier Cluster.
Salty Clouds aren’t the only strange thing about this object in space
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There’s an object in space 25 times the size of Jupiter that’s stumped scientists for years. They haven’t been able to figure out if it’s a planet or a failed star. But scientists are one step closer to an answer thanks to the powerful James Webb Space Telescope. After analyzing data collected by the telescope, astronomers have uncovered unexpected new clues floating light years away from us: Salty clouds sitting in space as hot as some home ovens. And if this mystery isn’t enough, we have more to look forward to in this episode, including insights into the evolution of laughter and the burials of ancient human relatives.
Interested in more science in the news? Email us your question atshortwave@npr.org.
Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. It includes perks like bonus episodes, early access, archive access, curated playlists and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
Marshy, sandy terrain and an impassable inlet helped colonial forces repel British forces during a pivotal battle on the barrier island near Charleston, South Carolina, on June 28, 1776.
Expedition 73 Crew Reflects on Science, Teamwork, and Life in Orbit
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On June 16, astronauts and cosmonauts gathered at Space Center Houston to share stories from their missions aboard the International Space Station and recognize the teamwork and people on the ground that made their missions possible. The Expedition 73 Welcome Home Ceremony brought together members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10, Soyuz MS-27, and NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 missions. […]
Did These Prehistoric Primates Really Bury Just Their Female Dead Deep in a Cave?
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Researchers say that the fossilized bones of "Homo naledi," so far found exclusively underground in South Africa, lack a key genetic male marker
NASA, US Small Business Administration to Announce Partnership
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NASA and the U.S. Small Business Administration will sign a memorandum of agreement during a ceremony at 1 p.m. EDT, Monday, June 29, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The agreement will create a new interagency initiative that directly responds to President Donald J. Trump’s National Space Policy and supports the growth of the American space […]
NASA Welcomes Botswana as 68th Artemis Accords Signatory
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The Republic of Botswana signed the Artemis Accords Thursday during a ceremony hosted by NASA at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, becoming the sixth African nation to join a growing community of nations committed to the peaceful, transparent, and responsible exploration of space. “It is my privilege to welcome Botswana as the newest signatory of the Artemis Accords,” said NASA Deputy […]
NASA Selects Rocket Lab to Launch Sun, Earth Science Missions
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NASA has selected Rocket Lab to provide the launch service for both the agency’s PolSIR (Polarized Submillimeter Ice-cloud Radiometer) and Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor-2 (TSIS-2) missions. The two selections are part of NASA’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) launch services contract. This contract allows the agency to award fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity launch […]
Powerful Back-to-Back Earthquakes Killed at Least 188 People in Venezuela. Here's the Science Behind the Rare 'Doublet'
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On June 24, two quakes above magnitude 7 struck the northern part of the country only 39 seconds apart. While doublet sequences aren't unheard of in seismology, they are uncommon—especially in such short succession
Thunderbird Monthly Development Digest: June 2026
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Welcome back from the Thunderbird development team! The past few months have been exceptionally busy across the project. As we approach the midpoint of the year, we’ve been focused on a mixture of delivering user-facing features, investing in long-term architectural improvements, and preparing for the next ESR cycle. A significant amount of effort has gone […]
Keep Your Eyes Peeled for Gracie, a Reticulated Giraffe on the Loose in Texas
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The tall creature escaped from a private ranch this month, and she's been roaming the Texas Hill Country ever since
The Lost Memoir of a Hiroshima Survivor Was Rediscovered. Now, It Will Be Published as a Book and Adapted for Film
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Nearly 80 years ago, Kiyoshi Tanimoto documented the aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing during World War II. His manuscript was recently found in a U.S. library
Why Did the Handwriting in This 248-Year-Old Notebook Look Familiar? It Turned Out to Be a Forgotten Mozart Manuscript
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While working as a tutor in 1778, the composer created seven short pieces for flute and harp with his student's help. This month, audiences heard the works performed for the very first time
Millions of Stars in Cigar Galaxy
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NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently observed edge-on starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82), nicknamed the Cigar Galaxy. Webb’s new view of M82, added to archival data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, gives us a more complete picture of this starburst galaxy. Because Webb can see infrared light, it is able to peer through clouds of […]
This Strange, Feathered Dinosaur May Have Glided Between Trees Like a Flying Squirrel to Hunt Birds 120 Million Years Ago
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A fossil of the creature provides the first evidence that microraptors lived in what is now northwestern China. Its discovery might also solve an ancient murder mystery
Gray Whales Are Getting Struck by Ships in San Francisco Bay. Could This New A.I.-Powered Tech Save Them?
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The recently launched system involves two thermal cameras that can detect gray whales up to four miles away, giving ships enough time to slow down or change course—and avoid running into the marine mammals
What Is the Positive Grassmannian and Why Does It Show Up Everywhere?
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Lauren Williams tells 'The Joy of Why' how studying a fundamental object in algebraic combinatorics led to a career full of surprises.
The Ultimate Summer Sale Pairing: Steam Sale Meets GeForce NOW Discounts
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Summer savings are heating up. From the Steam Summer Sale to GeForce NOW membership discounts, this week’s GFN Thursday delivers double the deals and more ways to get the most value from cloud gaming. Plus, Dark Scrolls joins the growing Devolver lineup, alongside Square Enix’s The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales. They lead the […]
A Turquoise Tint for the Black Sea
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Phytoplankton added a milky blue hue to the waters of the Black Sea and nearby waterways in spring and summer 2026.
NASA’s TESS Mission Reveals the “Puffiest” Planets Ever Found
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NASA has revealed two new “super-puff” planets, giant worlds so light that their density is comparable to cotton candy. Scientists calculate that these Jupiter-sized planets are the “puffiest” worlds ever found.
Were Vikings Really ‘Uncivilized’ Barbarians? Large Textile-Production Site Discovered in Denmark Challenges That Stereotype
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The massive settlement, which spans more than a million square feet, likely dates to the late Iron Age or early Viking Age between 600 and 950 C.E.
NASA at the Ion: Orion Lessons from Artemis II Shape NASA’s Moon to Mars Path
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Seven weeks after the Orion spacecraft returned four astronauts from humanity’s first crewed journey around the Moon since Apollo, Artemis II Orion Vehicle Manager Branelle Rodriguez reflected on the mission’s achievements and how it is shaping NASA’s return to the lunar surface and future missions to Mars. Introduced by NASA’s Johnson Space Center Acting Director of Business Development and Technology Integration Monte Goforth, Rodriguez spoke at the Ion in […]
La NASA compartirá los últimos avances del programa Base Lunar
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Lea esta nota de prensa en inglés aquí. El administrador de la NASA, Jared Isaacman, ofrecerá una conversación virtual el martes 30 de junio a las 2:30 p.m. EDT (hora del este) para compartir las novedades más recientes sobre los planes de la agencia para construir una base en la superficie de la Luna. El […]
NASA to Share Latest Moon Base Mission Progress
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NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will host a virtual conversation at 2:30 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, June 30, to share updates to NASA’s plans to build a Moon Base on the lunar surface. Administrator Isaacman and Carlos García-Galán, Moon Base program manager, will discuss the next set of awards for new lunar lander missions and preview upcoming […]
A Stolen Picasso Just Turned Up During a Drug Raid Near Paris, Reportedly Taken From a Storage Facility
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The painting has been authenticated but not revealed. Reports suggest it is one of Picasso's portraits of Marie-Thérèse Walter
Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Might Be the Oldest Object Ever Seen in Our Solar System, a Study Suggests
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Based on the composition of gases spewed by the icy space rock, researchers estimate that our guest might be up to 12 billion years old—about three times the age of the solar system
Roman Telescope Comes to Kennedy
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In this June 21, 2026, photo, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope arrives at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard NASA’s Pegasus barge. After offloading and transportation to the spaceport’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, Roman will undergo processing ahead of launch, targeted no earlier than Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026. Named for NASA’s first […]
The ‘Odyssey,’ One of the World’s Oldest Stories, Gets a Modern Spin With A.I.-Generated Audiobook Narration by the Voice Clone of an Oscar Winner
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Meanwhile, other actors are pushing back against the use of artificial intelligence in creative projects, including through a new “human consent” registry tool
NASA’s HiRISE Captures Perseverance Marking a Milestone on Mars
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Description NASA’s Perseverance rover appears as a green speck on the Martian surface on June 13, 2026, a day before the robotic explorer marked a distance milestone, having traveled a full marathon (26.2 miles, or 42.195 kilometers) on the Red Planet. Perseverance reached that distance after five years and four months of driving — on […]
Euclid View of Milky Way Heart Previews Core Survey by NASA’s Roman
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A new look at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy by Euclid, an ESA (European Space Agency) mission with NASA contributions, overlaps with a region scientists will observe with NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, launching later this summer. This sneak peek gives astronomers a major jumpstart on a core Roman survey, helping scientists […]
The World's First Nuclear Clocks Are Ticking, Opening a New Way to Investigate Dark Matter and Other Mysteries of Physics
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Two independent teams of scientists have created the first functional clocks that can keep ultraprecise time using the nuclei of a radioactive element
How Physicists Track and Trap the Elusive Neutrino
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The hunt for these ghostly particles has required some of the most audacious experimental setups ever built.
This Newly Discovered Spider Builds a Unique Web That Catapults Ants Through the Air
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Flung prey can reach speeds of up to 14.4 feet per second, or a little less than ten miles per hour. An insect will land in the spider's main web about a foot above the spring-loaded trap
Career Spotlight: Electrician (Ages 14-18)
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What does an electrician do? Electricity powers the world, and electricians are the ones who get it where it needs to go. An electrician is an expert who is trained to make sure electrical systems and equipment are installed safely and working correctly. Electricians are involved in a variety of systems, including power, lighting, communications, […]
Revealing Its Original Shape, Not Seen in Centuries, Greece Restored Part of the Parthenon's Western Facade
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The project in Athens started in 2017 and involved quarrying, transporting, hand-carving and placing new marble blocks in one of the landmark’s triangular pediments
The First Edition of Emily Brontë's 'Wuthering Heights' Contained Incorrect Page Numbers, Missing Punctuation and Three Misspellings of the Word 'Heights'
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The haunting story set against the Yorkshire moors would become one of the most renowned novels of the 19th century. Now, a rare first-edition copy is heading to auction
Did Trump's foreign aid cuts fuel the Ebola outbreak?
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The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is growing – and is likely larger than official numbers show. The deadly disease spreads through bodily fluids, on average killing half the people it infects. And while officially declared in May, the case numbers point to the virus circulating for months without being detected. To make matters worse, there’s not a vaccine for this specific species of ebolavirus – at least, not yet. NPR global health correspondent Jonathan Lambert has been covering everything Ebola-related for the past month or so, and shares what he’s learned today.
Interested in more health and science news? Email us your question atshortwave@npr.org.
Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. It includes perks like bonus episodes, early access, archive access, curated playlists and sponsor-free listening. Learn more atplus.npr.org.
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Curiosity Blog, Sols 4927–4933: Let’s Drive to That Smooth Area
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By Susanne P. Schwenzer, Professor of Planetary Mineralogy at The Open University, UK Earth planning date: Thursday, June 18, 2026 In the area Curiosity is currently exploring, the science team has mapped several areas with different-looking surface texture on the orbital images. If you wanted to have a look yourself at what there is to […]
Playing the Moon Game
Apollo astronauts previewed their roles as lunar field geologists in Alaska’s Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.
NVIDIA and AWS Collaborate to Bring AI to Production at Scale
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Building AI systems at scale is demanding, requiring low-latency inference, fast vector search, strong GPU price-performance and infrastructure that can grow without multiplying operational complexity. NVIDIA’s latest work with Amazon Web Services (AWS) addresses each of those constraints. Across Amazon OpenSearch and Amazon EC2, NVIDIA AI infrastructure is giving enterprises more practical paths to deploy […]
NASA Names Sean Gallagher as Chief Information Officer
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NASA has selected Sean Gallagher as the agency’s chief information officer (CIO). In this role, he is responsible for the agency’s entire portfolio of Information Technology products and services. Gallagher has been serving in an acting capacity since January and his permanent role is effective immediately. “Sean Gallagher’s leadership has been instrumental in strengthening NASA’s […]
A Letter Signed by George Washington That Helped Pave the Way for American Independence Goes on Display in London
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Washington dictated and signed the letter in October 1781 to formally accept the British surrender at Yorktown, writing of his “ardent desire to spare the further effusion of blood”
In memory of the man who put red and green squiggles under words
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Every little thing in a graphical user interface that we take for granted today, no matter how small, was thought up by someone, at some point. Case in point: the little red squiggly lines underneath misspelled words. In one form or another, these are everywhere now, and have just become a regular staple of every single text editing field we encounter every single day and don’t stop to think about. Still, they were invented by someone, and we happen to know exactly who that was: Tony Krueger. In early versions of Word, the Spell Check feature was something that you explicitly invoked, and then you had to sit and wait while the program looked for all your potentially-misspelled words, and then showed them to you one at a time for a decision on what to do for each one. Word did introduce an Auto Spell Check feature to run spell check when the user was idle, so that when you hit the Spell Check button, the results were ready to go. However, the Auto Spell Check was still a blocking operation. As a result, a lot of users turned it off because it always seemed to decide “Now would be a good time to spell-check the document” just as you wanted to do something, forcing you to wait for the spell check pass to complete before you could, say, save and exit. Tony made the spell checker much more unobtrusive so that it didn’t interfere with your foreground work. And when it found a problem, instead of waiting for you to trigger a spell check, it immediately drew red squiggles under potentially-misspelled words (and later green squiggles under potential grammatical errors). ↫ Raymond Chen at The Old New Thing Tony Krueger passed away recently, after, among other things, having worked on an dizzying number of Microsoft Word releases. Imagine coming up with something that seems to basic and elementary to us now, and seeing it spread pretty much everywhere. I wonder what it must feel like to have invented something that seems so simple, most people don’t even realise they use it every single day.
This Magical Curse Written in Greek on a Small Lead Tablet Was Meant to Punish Enemies Nearly 2,000 Years Ago
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The lead curse tablet was discovered in a city square in the Netherlands and recently deciphered by researchers in Germany
KDE is going to fix network shares
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I’ve had my share of issues with network shares on any operating system, but since I mostly use KDE these days I found this deep dive into how, exactly, network shares work in KDE quite interesting. It turns out that while network shares in KDE’s Dolphin mostly work, it does involves a few layers that sometimes don’t interact well with each other, leading to really curious and annoying problems with mounted shares not appearing, permission issues, and so on. The biggest cause of problems is when using a non-KDE application in KDE that also happens to use a non-KDE save/open dialog. Such a non-KDE save/open dialog won’t be able to see any network shared mounted by KDE, and sadly, quite a few applications you’re likely to use on a KDE installation use non-KDE open/save dialogs, like Blender, GIMP, LibreOffice, OnlyOffice, Inkscape, Audacity, DaVinci Resolve, and more. That’s one hell of a list of applications to offer inconsistent or outright broken access to network shares you’ve set up and mounted in KDE. Luckily, this issue seems to be getting a ton of attention soon. All is not lost. Happily, KDE just received an investment of over €1.2 million from the Sovereign Tech Fund, and it includes funding for improvements to KDE’s network share handling! ↫ Nate Graham The project is in the planning phases at the moment, but they’re considering a whole slew of possible changes, fixes, and workarounds to make this stupid and annoying problem just go away. In 2026, nobody should be dealing with manually editing /etc/fstab or getting frustrated over supposedly disappearing network shares.
This Giant, Seven-Story Picnic Basket, Once Home to an Iconic American Brand, Could Be Yours for $8.5 Million
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The former Longaberger basket company headquarters in Ohio is for sale to a buyer who is willing to preserve its quirky design
CSDA Selects Eight Commercial Satellite Data Providers for On-Ramp 2 Contract Awards
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Eight commercial data providers received contracts to provide a range of data in support of NASA’s Earth science priorities.
58th Girl Scouts Unite Event
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58th Girl Scouts Unite Event, July 23-25, 2026 Join NASA in the Exhibit Hall (Booth #206) for Hyperwall Storytelling by NASA experts. Full Hyperwall Agenda below. Thursday, July 23 11:00AM – 11:15 AMFrom Daisy to NASA EngineerBarbara Hilton11:15AM – 11:30 AMExploring Mars, The Planet Next DoorLindsay Hays11:30AM – 11:45 AMGet Ready With Me: Going to […]
Thundermail June 2026 update: what we learned after the first few waves of invites
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Over the past several weeks, we have been welcoming early users from our waitlist into Thundermail, a few waves at a time. Many of you are now setting up your accounts, trying things out, and sharing your thoughts with us. Naming updates You may have noticed that we are now saying Thundermail more often, and […]
American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, June 25-29, 2026 Join NASA in the Exhibit Hall (Booth #2243) for Hyperwall Storytelling by NASA experts. Full Hyperwall Agenda below. FRIDAY, JUNE 26 SATURDAY, JUNE 27 SUNDAY, JUNE 28 MONDAY, JUNE 29
This is How NASA Flight Tests New Technology
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Flight tests are a big part of how NASA turns breakthrough ideas into reality. From flying humans faster than the speed of sound to proving designs that helped shape the space shuttle, flight testing transforms bold concepts into safer, more efficient technologies that benefit the public. “Flight tests are a way to safely and effectively […]
These Butterflies Can Live 25 Times Longer Than Their Relatives. They Might Provide Insights Into Healthy Aging in Humans
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Their unusual diet of pollen—rather than nectar—might partially explain why members of the Heliconius genus live so long, up to nearly a year
Hanging in the Balance
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The Moon appears half-illuminated in this photo captured by the Artemis II crew on flight day 6. The terminator – the difference between light and darkness – provides a stark contrast and even greater perspective of the Moon’s rocky, uneven, and otherworldly surface features. The near side, which is what we can see from Earth, […]
ARMD Research Solicitations (Updated June 23)
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THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED ON JUNE 23, 2026 This Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) solicitations page compiles the opportunities to collaborate with NASA’s aeronautical innovators and/or contribute to their research to enable new and improved air transportation systems. Most opportunities to participate in research are officially announced through the Web-based NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated […]
I Am Artemis: Jason Peterson
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Jason Peterson’s responsibilities for NASA’s Artemis II mission went beyond his usual role as the range operations manager at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
Peterson credits his military experience with preparing him for the 12-to-16-hour workdays that helped bring the Artemis II test flight around the Moon and into view for audiences around the world.
Female Dolphins Seem to Remember Which Males Were Aggressive During Mating Season—and May Try to Avoid Them
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When researchers played underwater recordings of pushy males, females that were capable of becoming pregnant swam away from the sounds
How Businesses Are Building Specialized AI They Can Trust
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Editor’s note: This post is part of the Nemotron Labs blog series, which explores how the latest open models, datasets and training techniques help businesses build specialized AI systems and applications on NVIDIA platforms. Each post highlights practical ways to use an open stack to deliver real value in production — from transparent research copilots […]
NVIDIA Powers Over 400 of the World’s 500 Fastest Supercomputers
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NVIDIA technologies power more than 400 of the world’s 500 fastest supercomputers — 81% of the TOP500 — according to the latest rankings released this week at the ISC High Performance conference in Hamburg, Germany.
What can a tornado teach us about kindness?
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One evening in May of 2011, tornado sirens went off in a small Missouri city called Joplin. Thousands of homes were destroyed in the tornado, about a third of the town’s 50,000 residents were displaced and around 160 people died. And in the months following the tornado, the town became known not just for the destruction, but the kindness and cooperation that led to its recovery. Scientists who have studied behavior after mass traumas say, disasters can spark an outpouring of kindness and powerful bonds between strangers. Reporter Pauline Bartolone joins Short Wave co-host Emily Kwong to share the science behind this phenomenon.
Interested in more science? Email us your question atshortwave@npr.org.
Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more atplus.npr.org.
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NVIDIA Brings Trusted, 24/7 AI Agents to Telecom Operations
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Telecom operators have seen remarkable returns from using generative AI to automate network management, customer care and back-office operations. Most of that impact has been task‑based: automation that speeds up predetermined steps while people manually correlate insights and direct next steps. Automation is no longer the finish line — it’s the launchpad to autonomy. The […]
Rising Waters Swamp Lake Naivasha
Relentless rains are threatening a lake in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley that has become a key hub in the global flower trade.
Purism Announces Launch of Its Librem 16 Laptop, the World’s Most Private and Secure Workstation
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Purism, an independent U.S. technology company dedicated to protecting users’ privacy, security, and online freedom, today announced the launch of its flagship laptop, the Librem 16.
NASA Awards Solutions for Federal Enterprise Procurement Contracts
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NASA will begin processing the awards of multiple contracts for the Solutions for Enterprise‑wide Procurement (SEWP) VI Government-wide Acquisition Contract. The contract provides streamlined access to commercial products and services, including hardware, software, cloud services, cybersecurity tools, engineering and consulting services, and data intensive mission support capabilities. This competitive acquisition was conducted within three categories: […]
Scientists May Have Discovered the Origins of the Euphrates River, Which Helped Nurture Some of the Earliest Known Civilizations
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The famous waterway began as two rivers, a new study suggests. Tectonic activity around five million years ago probably made them change course and merge, helping to birth the Fertile Crescent
NASA Sounding Rocket to Launch Student Experiments
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NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia is scheduled to launch a sounding rocket carrying student-developed experiments for the agency’s RockSatX and RockOn programs Wednesday, June 24, between 5:30 and 9:30 a.m. EDT, with a backup day on Thursday, June 25. The RockSat and RockOn programs provide technical training and hands-on experiences that prepare and equip […]
Fish and Humans Share Surprisingly Similar Sleep Habits, Including Daytime Naps
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A recent study suggests that zebrafish have four sleep substates, just like humans do—and one of them is akin to an afternoon snooze
NASA Invites Media to Botswana Artemis Accords Signing Ceremony
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The Republic of Botswana will sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony at 9:30 a.m. EDT Thursday, June 25, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson will host Botswana’s Minister of Communications and Innovation David Tshere and U.S. Department of State Senior Advisor for Space Gregory Autry for the event. This event […]
This Infamous ‘Death Railway’ Station, Built by Forced Labor From Prisoners of War and Civilians in World War II, Was Just Revealed in Thailand
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The Nithe Station, usually submerged under a reservoir, will be accessible this summer as officials drain the site to perform dam maintenance
Xfce’s new Wayland compositor sees first alpha release
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The developer working on Xfwl4, the Wayland compositor for Xfce, has published the new compositor’s very first alpha release. Considering it’s only been six months or so of work, it’s impressive to see the effort reach this state already. The end goal of xfwl4 is to behave as closely as possible to an Xfce desktop running on an X server. Ideally a user could switch between the two without even knowing there’s a difference. In reality, of course, it won’t be quite that seamless, and there’s still more work to be done to get as close as possible to that ideal. This is a first solid cut at it, at the very least. ↫ Brian Tarricone Being the very first alpha release, it won’t surprise you there’s a few things missing or broken at this point. Still, if you’re brave, you can download and build the release and try it out.
Scientists Identify Swaths of Coral Reefs That Might Be Able to Withstand Climate Change, Offering New Avenues for Conservation
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New research has mapped more than 64,000 square miles where the crucial habitat seems to be somewhat protected from the impacts of the warming ocean
Authorities Investigated Reports of an Illegal Excavation in Rome. Then, They Stumbled Upon an Ancient Villa Adorned With Mosaics
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In the second century C.E., Roman emperors such as Marcus Aurelius and Antoninus Pius frequented the area where the residence was found
Valve opens Steam Machine waitlist
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Valve officially made the Steam Machine available (sort of but not really) today, and if you were hoping for the president of the Yacht Collectors’ Club to have found a loophole through the RAM and storage crisis, I’ll be the bearer of bad news: the base Steam Machine model with 512GB of storage and no controller costs $1049 or €1039. It’s clear that this price is significantly higher than Valve had originally anticipated, as the company dedicates the first part of its press announcement to this sticker shock. Steam Machine, like our other hardware products, is made up of many components that we source from manufacturers around the world. The price at which we sell our hardware is a direct result of the cost of these components. We felt like we had a good understanding of how those costs might change over time when we first started sourcing them for Steam Machine back in 2023. That understanding was born from the many years of data we all have about the evolution of PC hardware prices – primarily, that it tends to get cheaper over time as new technology arrives. Over the past year or so, that has changed quickly and significantly, most visibly for RAM and storage components. There are a variety of reasons, all of which are affecting hardware products everywhere. The overall effect is that our original goal for the price of Steam Machine is no longer viable. So the prices we’re sharing today reflect the state of the world for manufacturing; or, more accurately, it reflects the price of the components as we’ve secured them over the past 6 months. Price wasn’t the only thing impacted by all of this: availability was as well. There were periods where we found we couldn’t source some of our components at all, at any price. More than anything else, this has impacted the number of units we’ve been able to produce for launch. ↫ Valve press announcement As Valve mentions, availability is also going to be an issue, and thus they’ve had to settle on a complex reservation and lottery system. Between now and 25 June, you can sign up for a model, after which the entire pool of reservations will be randomised to determine a waitlist order. As machines become available, they will simply go down the list from first to last as determined by that randomisation. In other words, you can’t just go out and buy one right away. At this price and for the hardware the Steam Machine contains – an AMD Zen 4 CPU with 6c/12t up to 4.8 Ghz, a custom RDNA3 GPU, and 16GB of DDR5 RAM and 8GB of DDR6 video RAM – you’re probably better off sticking with what you already have. Until the “AI” bubble pops and prices come down again, that is. Thanks, “AI” techbros. Everybody despises you.
At NASA, innovation begins well before an aircraft takes flight. The Experimental Fabrication Branch at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, transforms engineering concepts into mission‑ready hardware for research aircraft and technology development. This capability helps the agency deliver advancements that benefit the public by improving aviation safety, efficiency, and sustainability. The branch […]
NASA’s Chandra Finds Possible Supernova Remnant
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Using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers may have found a supernova remnant – seen in this June 11, 2026, image – in an intriguing neighborhood in the middle of the Milky Way galaxy. Supernova remnants are the expanding remains of exploded stars and provide elements like iron, oxygen, and silicon that are critical […]
NASA to Cover US Spacewalk 95, Host Preview News Conference
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NASA astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station on Tuesday, June 30, to replace a wrist joint on the orbital complex’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at approximately 8:35 a.m. EDT. Experts from NASA and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) will preview the upcoming spacewalk during a news conference at 2 […]
NASA’s Webb Finds Clues to Ancient, Distant Origin of Comet 3I/ATLAS
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As interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS began moving away from the Sun in December 2025, astronomers took the opportunity to turn NASA’s powerful James Webb Space Telescope in its direction and capture detailed measurements of its chemical components. The comet was freshly warmed from its closest pass by the Sun, and its ancient ice had been converted […]
A Dark Dimension Could Link Two of the Universe’s Great Unknowns
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Recent observations suggest that dark energy is changing over time. Theorists wonder if dark matter is, too.
Two Well-Preserved Roman Busts Were Discovered Inside a Wine Vat in Israel Near the Capital City of a Roman Province
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One is inscribed with the name "Lycurgus," suggesting the bust may depict the legendary founder of ancient Sparta
At ISC, JUPITER Shows What Exascale Science Looks Like
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JUPITER, Europe’s first exascale supercomputer at Germany’s Forschungszentrum Jülich, runs on NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchips and NVIDIA Quantum-X800 InfiniBand networking — and it’s had a busy year. As the international supercomputing community gathers at ISC in Hamburg this week, four projects running on JUPITER point to what exascale computing can actually do: map the human […]
NAIRR Science Program Reshapes Scientific Research, Powered by NVIDIA AI Infrastructure
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For the past two years, the U.S. National Science Foundation’s National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot program has driven innovative research across the U.S. for over 700 projects — spanning protein prediction and infectious disease outbreak management. NVIDIA contributed to the NAIRR pilot through a cloud-based resource that gives researchers dedicated access to a […]
From Materials Simulation to Experimental Astronomy, New NVIDIA AI Software Unlocks Scientific Discoveries
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At the ISC conference running in Hamburg this week, NVIDIA is introducing new software that speeds AI for science, from chemistry and materials discovery to the search for dark matter. The NVIDIA DAQIRI library and new NVIDIA ALCHEMI NIM microservices — as well as the NVIDIA cuPhoton reference code, coming soon — turn work that […]
NVIDIA Vera CPU Opens the Way for Agentic Scientific AI at Los Alamos National Laboratory
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Mission, Vision and Veritas — new Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) supercomputers to be built with HPE and NVIDIA — are tapping NVIDIA Vera CPUs to accelerate scientific discovery, unlocking agentic AI for science. The supercomputers will use the HPE Cray Supercomputing GX5000 architecture with the NVIDIA Vera Rubin platform, combining NVIDIA Vera CPUs, NVIDIA […]
Eco Wave Power Turns Waves Into Watts With NVIDIA AI Infrastructure and Digital Twins
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The next era of AI will not be defined by compute alone. Its growth will be determined by energy. As accelerated computing scales across AI factories, agentic AI, industrial AI, edge computing and physical AI — including robotics and autonomous systems — global electricity demand is rising at unprecedented speed. In many regions, expanding grid […]
Inside the mysterious minds of horses
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Janet Jones has been fascinated by horses since childhood. She’s now a horse trainer and a neuroscientist, which allows her to explore the minds of the animals to which she’s devoted her life. She even recently wrote a book all about their brains. She says there’s an enormous gap between the way humans have relied on horses for tens of thousands of years – and what we actually know about their brains. And they have lots to teach us humans. That’s why we’re diving into science today.
Interested in more science? Email us your question atshortwave@npr.org.
Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes, early access, archive access, curated playlists, sponsor-free listening. Learn more atplus.npr.org.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
Hotter Than a Hot Tub: The 45°C Breakthrough to Cool AI’s Biggest Machines
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Hot tubs sit at about 38 to 40 degrees Celsius, warm enough that most people can only soak for about 15 minutes. NVIDIA’s newest AI servers can run their cooling liquid even hotter — up to 45 degrees Celsius, or 113 degrees Fahrenheit. That higher temperature limit is precisely what makes them more energy efficient. […]
Signs of Thaw in the Bering Sea
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Drifting sea ice fragments near Alaska’s Saint Lawrence and Nunivak islands and colorful water around the Yukon Delta heralded the approach of the summer solstice.
A tale of two path separators
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In macOS, you can apparently create files and directories in the Finder with names that include slashes. If you then go into the terminal and take a look with ls, you’ll see that the slashes are actually colons. I don’t understand all the nuances, but I know this is a side-effect of the fact that macOS has not one but two path separators: the slash (/) and the colon (:). The two separators are used in different contexts, and the system will translate between them as needed. These two separators reflect the two parent systems of modern macOS: classic Mac OS and the Unix-like NeXTSTEP. When they were joined together, Apple’s engineers had to build a file system that was compatible with both the classic Mac’s file system (the Mac OS Extended File System, aka HFS+), and with NeXTSTEP’s file system (the Unix file system, aka UFS). Among other differences, these systems had different path separators: HFS+ used a colon, while UFS used a slash. ↫ Alex Chan (article from 2021) I had no idea macOS worked this way, but it makes sense considering the platform’s dual history. What’s interesting is that when Apple moved to APFS almost a decade ago, this duality in path separators remained, most likely for backwards compatibility reasons. In a sense, this is somewhat similar to Windows supporting both backward and forward slashes, with the former being a leftover from DOS, and the latter an addition (to Windows) from the UNIX world. None of that beats Windows when using the Japanese or Korean locale, though. Because Japanese and Korean Windows use different codepages than Windows in the Americas and Western Europe, these versions of Windows render the backslash as the yen sign (¥) and and won (₩) sign respectively. As such, something like the Program Files directory actually renders like C:¥Program Files¥ and C:₩Program Files₩. Similar issues occurred in other Windows locales as well, but the impact of this in Japan and South Korea were so widespread that people just expect it to be that way, even if it’s easily fixed today. I can’t find if Windows 11 still uses ¥/₩ in Japan/South Korea, since the last references of it I can quickly uncover all point to Windows 10.
Apple internals: Swift in the kernel
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Apple’s Swift has become the de-facto language for Apple’s own developers for a while now, and it seems that with the new operating system releases from the company unveiled during WWDC, Switch is now also being used in the kernel. Naturally I dropped what I was doing and went grepping through the iOS 27 kernelcache. Alas, nothing came of it. All is not lost though: I found the Embedded Swift runtime in macOS 27, sitting in com.apple.kec.pthread of all places. Then I went poking around the root filesystem and it turns out Apple gave the whole effort a name: KernelKit. Let’s dissect it. ↫ Josh Maine It’s still quite limited at this time, which makes sense – you don’t want to be too crazy with the core of the operating system that runs on god knows how many PCs, smartphones, and other devices. It’s also entirely contained within a few kexts as embedded runtimes, and the XNU kernel itself remains entirely C and C++.
“I stored a website in a favicon”
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Every website has a favicon. It’s that little icon in your browser tab. Usually you upload it once and then never think about it again. But. A favicon is just an image. An image is just pixels. And pixels are just bytes. So of course I wondered if I could store something inside one. ↫ Tim Wehrle I love it when people do something useless just for fun.
What was nice about the UI of Windows 2000
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I mean, this is preaching to the choir, but let’s go anyway. I liked the UIs of the entire era from 3.0 to 2000, really. I’m mostly using Windows 2000 as an example here because it runs so well in QEMU/KVM and that allows me to easily take screenshots. Some of the following will sound absolutely trivial, but I think it’s worth pointing out. ↫ movq.de blog Just a series of observations about how much better graphical user interfaces were back in the ’90s and early 2000s. We’ve lost so many affordances based on both common sense and scientific study, and what we ended up with is a confusing, inconsistent mess. It doesn’t really matter where you look – user interface design has deteriorated since the early 2000s, a decline that only accelerated thanks to the arrival of the iPhone, where consistency is a dirty word, and the web, where the advertising people took prominence over the design people. I just want my buttons to look like buttons man.
Archaeologists Discover Evidence That a Wooden Prototype for Stonehenge May Have Aligned With the Solstice 500 Years Before the Stone Circle
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The remains of a wooden monument in southern England, three miles away from Stonehenge, may demonstrate Neolithic people's interest in the heavens
To study how chips really work, MIT researchers built their own operating system
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A fascinating novel approach by researchers at MIT, called Fractal, to study in-depth how processors actually work. A team at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) decided to build something different. Fractal, an operating system kernel written from the ground up, treats the hardware itself as the object of study. Its first major use, a deep look at branch predictors — a CPU’s way of guessing what code to run next, before it knows for certain, so it doesn’t have to waste time waiting to find out — inside Apple’s M1 processor, has already turned up findings that prior work missed, including the first evidence that a class of speculative attack known as “Phantom” affects Apple Silicon. “We’re using hardware in ways it wasn’t designed for,” says Joseph Ravichandran, the MIT PhD student in electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) who led the project. “It’s not even obvious that this is a possible thing you could do with the hardware. But we found a way to pull all these different primitives off. It’s like a microscope. If you’ve got a hand magnifying glass, you can see a little bit. But if you had an electron microscope, now we’re really talking. That’s what Fractal is. The electron microscope of operating systems.” ↫ Rachel Gordon at MIT News While Fractal is small, its creators also added POSIX system calls, a C library, vim, GCC, a shell, and more. This way, it feels more familiar, and makes it easier for researchers to get started with the tool. Fractal is open source and hosted on GitHub, it has its own website, and there’s a detailed research paper with more in-depth information.
Why scientists launched two little robots to the moon
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Two tiny transforming robots landed on the moon! These baseball-sized bots accompanied Japan's first successful lunar lander. They rolled out of SLIM as balls and transformed into a rover. The bots cracked down the middle to reveal a little camera in the center. The halves then acted as spinning wheels that helped them waddle, bounce and roll over hard terrain as they explored. In this roundup of space news, we also get into the latest turn about how much the universe is expanding and the Earthly analogs NASA astronauts are using to prepare for the forthcoming Artemis mission.
Interested in more space science? Email us your question atshortwave@npr.org.
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The first named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season brought intense rainfall and the threat of flash flooding to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4920-4926: Surveying the Bands
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Written by William Farrand, Senior Research Scientist, Space Science Institute Earth planning date: Friday, June 12, 2026 Rather than going from stage to stage at a music festival to hear different bands playing different varieties of music, Curiosity has been ascending up Mount Sharp through physical bands of exposed rocks with textural and tonal differences. […]
AmigaOS 2: the greatest upgrade
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Five years after releasing the Amiga 1000, Commodore was about to launch the Amiga 3000, their first real high-end Amiga. With a 68030 processor, on-board SCSI and a slightly updated graphics chipset, all in a sleek desktop case, the Amiga was truly ready for the era of professional 32-bit computing. But Moore’s law wasn’t the only thing thad had been pressuring Commodore since the release of the Amiga 1000: The desktop metaphor had matured even further, and the competition had been hard at work. IBM had launched OS/2, Windows 3.0 had turned Microsoft’s offering from a proof of concept into something actually usable, and new players had entered the scene – among them NeXTStep, with its polished 3D look. It was time to bring AmigaOS, too, into the 1990s. ↫ Carl Svensson It’s interesting – there’s a lot of focus on the first version of the Amiga operating system and the third one, but you don’t hear a lot about AmigaOS 2.x. It turns out this is rather odd, because as Svensson details, this version came with an absolute ton of changes and improvements, from an entirely new widget toolkit to a brand new file system, and so much more. The new widget toolkit and accompanying style guide also ensured that the operating system looked, felt, and behaved consistently. Remember when we cared about that? There’s so much more cool features, though, like command history, line editing, universal clipboard support and more just for the CLI, as well as something called Commodities. These were tiny little programs managed from a central location, which didn’t even need a GUI to work. Commodities included by default were things like ClickToFront, a focus-follows-mouse option, and more. Oh and of course, BASIC was replaced by ARexx. The list just keeps going, and you should really read Svensson’s article.
NASA Mission to Study Space Weather Impacts of Earth’s Atmosphere
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NASA selected a mission concept to research how space weather and dynamics within Earth’s atmosphere influence the space environment and help improve prediction capabilities for impacts on crucial technology, such as GPS and low Earth orbit satellites, as well as astronauts in space. The DAPHNE (Dynamic Atmosphere-Ionosphere Explorer) mission will enter Phase B of development, […]
A 6-Year-Old Boy Spotted Something Sticking Out of the Ground in a Field. It Turned Out to Be a Viking Sword
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Henrik Refsnes Mørtvedt was on a school field trip when he found the roughly 1,200-year-old weapon. The single-edged blade will now be preserved at an Oslo museum
New Discovery That Hunter-Gatherer Children Died of Plague More Than Five Millennia Ago Sets Back the Date of the Earliest Outbreak
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The skeletons of nomadic families unearthed in Siberia harbor "Yersinia pestis" bacteria, which challenges theories about conditions needed for the disease to spread
Major Oak, the 1,200-Year-Old Tree with Ties to the Robin Hood Legend, Is Presumed Dead After Failing to Produce Leaves
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The legendary bandit who stole from the rich and gave to the poor is said to have used the massive tree as a hideout while running from the sheriff of Nottingham
NASA Awards Contract for Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition
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NASA has selected eight new companies and will acquire new data products from six existing Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition contract holders to expand the range of commercial satellite data available to researchers, civil agencies, and decision-makers. Such measurements supplement NASA’s Earth satellites by contributing high-resolution and frequent observations to enhance the agency’s set of data. […]
How FERC’s Large-Load Interconnection Actions Help Address Grid Stress, Improve Affordability
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In a consequential grid infrastructure decision, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today issued a major milestone on large-load interconnection impacting how those building AI factories, semiconductor fabrication support systems and advanced manufacturing facilities can connect to the grid. In the era of AI, which NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang has described as a […]
This Photography Studio Captured the Beauty of Black Life in the South. Soon Its Archive, Once Hidden Away, Will Have a New Museum Home
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The Hooks brothers documented life and joy in Memphis during the 20th century. Their images will be put on public view when the Memphis Art Museum opens
From Suriname to Space: Rohit Goeptar Shares His Journey to NASA
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Rohit Goeptar was born into a poor family in Suriname, South America, the kind where both parents work three jobs and they still can only provide food and shelter for their family. At around age six, his family moved to California to start a new life. Only two years later, he moved back to South America […]
Desert Field Test With NASA Advanced Rover Prototype
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Description A prototype four-wheel rover developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory with advanced mobility and robotic autonomy capabilities trundled across the Colorado Desert near Plaster City, California, during a field test in March 2026. Called ERNEST (Exploration Rover for Navigating Extreme Sloped Terrain), the rover served here as a testbed for autonomy software developed for […]
NASA Testing Advanced Capabilities for Moon, Mars Rovers
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On a bleak stretch of the Colorado Desert in Southern California, a compact four-wheeled rover recently trundled about 16 miles (26 kilometers) with minimal intervention from the team of engineers trailing it. Called ERNEST (Exploration Rover for Navigating Extreme Sloped Terrain), this prototype is being used by NASA to advance both robotic autonomy and the […]
NASA’s Lucy Reveals Wobbling, Peanut-Shaped Asteroid
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Even small asteroids lead complex lives. During its flyby of the asteroid Donaldjohanson last year, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft revealed the asteroid to be a wobbly, peanut-shaped body that has undergone a lot of activity in its relatively short history.
NASA’s Lucy Reveals Wobbling, Peanut-Shaped Asteroid
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Even small asteroids lead complex lives. During its flyby of the asteroid Donaldjohanson last year, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft revealed the asteroid to be a wobbly, peanut-shaped body that has undergone a lot of activity in its relatively short history. Formed as fragments coalesced after a violent collision 155 million years ago, the asteroid was transformed by the […]
Astronomers Discovered a 'Cosmic Fossil' in the Making—the Most Chemically Primitive Galaxy Seen Yet—by Peering Back to the Edge of Time
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The James Webb Space Telescope observed 13-billion-year-old light, using a closer galactic cluster like a magnifying glass. The work helps experts understand the universe’s earliest stars and mysterious ultra-faint dwarf galaxies
By Signing His Name to Massive Jars, This Enslaved Artist Defied Literacy Bans in the South. Now, His Masterpiece Is on View With a Famed Paul Revere Bowl
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Born into slavery around 1800, David Drake was a skilled ceramicist. His work will be on display at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston as the institution marks America's 250th birthday
Stages of Star Formation
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This image, captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and released on June 5, 2026, shows just a small portion of one of the Orion Molecular Clouds, a long and massive filament of cold gas and dust beyond the Orion Nebula. Every stage of star formation — from the youngest stellar embryos to protoplanetary discs […]
Researchers Find a Mathematical Pattern Used in City Planning Hidden in the Leaves of a Common Houseplant
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The major veins of Chinese money plant leaves form what's called a Voronoi diagram. It might be caused by a plant-growth hormone that emanates in waves from developing leaves' pores
Why the Human Genome’s Tangled Physicality May Confound AI
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Our genetic heritage is not a blueprint or an algorithm, as many biologists have imagined, but something else entirely.
Nearly All Plants Depend on Tiny Underground Fungi. The Microbes' Vast Global Networks Were Just Mapped for the First Time
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If lined up end to end, the thin, tubular threads that make up the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal networks in Earth’s topsoil could stretch between our planet and the sun almost one billion times
At Cannes Lions, NVIDIA Partners Reshape Advertising and Marketing With AI
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The digital era gave the advertising and marketing industry speed; the AI era is giving it autonomous operations. For companies building next-generation technologies for advertising and marketing, the question is no longer whether to adopt AI but whether their infrastructure can support it at the speed and scale the industry demands. At Cannes Lions, running […]
Sync and Stream: GeForce NOW Connects to Members’ Game Libraries Across Devices
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Play favorite titles from popular game libraries, keep progress synced and jump back into gaming sessions on virtually any device. That’s the power of GeForce NOW cloud gaming. From providing access to members’ favorite game libraries to offering some of the season’s best membership pricing, GeForce NOW is making it easier than ever to get […]
Hubble Glimpses Merging Galaxy Clusters
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This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features a galaxy cluster, called CL0016+1609 or MACS J0018.5+1626, that is very bright at X-ray wavelengths and is one of the most extensively studied clusters at X-ray and radio wavelengths. The X-ray observations of this cluster revealed that it is two clusters merging along our line of sight. Researchers […]
In June 1775, the American Patriots Faced Off With the British at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Archaeologists Are Uncovering Evidence of the Fighting 251 Years Later
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Researchers discovered gun parts, musket balls and other artifacts in Boston's Charlestown neighborhood
Oracle Solaris 11.4 SRU93 released
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Oracle is sticking to its promise of more regular Solaris updates with the release of Oracle Solaris 11.4 SRU93. This release, like other SRU releases, is for paying Solaris customers, as the CBE releases for enthusiasts are on a different cadence. With Solaris’ focus being on enterprise server environments, it should come as no surprise that most of the changes and improvements are focused on things like enterprise networking and security, such as changes to how policy settings for the Kernel Crypto Framework (KCF) are stored, moving from using RPC over sockets instead of STREAMS, and more. Of course, there’s also the long list of updated open source packages. SRU 93.221.2 updates a broad set of platform, runtime, developer, networking, desktop, and open source components. Notable updates include Apache Tomcat to 9.0.116, bash to 5.3 patch 9, BIND to 9.20.18 and 9.20.21, Django 4.2 to 4.2.30, Django 5.2 to 5.2.13, Firefox to 140.8.0esr, Golang to 1.25.8, Node.js 20 to 20.20.2, Node.js 22 to 22.22.2, Node.js 24 to 24.14.1, NSS to 3.119.1, Perl to 5.42, Python 3.11 to 3.11.15, Python 3.13 to 3.13.12, RabbitMQ to 4.2.4, Thunderbird to 140.8.0esr, vim to 9.2.0340, and zlib to 1.3.2. Additional updates include development tools, Python modules, X11 utilities, printing components, libraries, cryptographic packages, networking tools, and desktop-related packages. ↫ Colin Kavanagh at the Oracle Solaris Blog Existing Oracle Solaris customers can update to the new release through pkg update.
France Advances Europe’s AI Future With NVIDIA Technologies
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A year ago at NVIDIA GTC Paris at VivaTech, France laid out plans to advance local AI — from new AI factories and national compute capacity to open frontier models and industrial platforms. Now, that AI infrastructure is coming online. AI agents are running in production, startups are deploying applications and the French AI ecosystem […]
El Niño Is Underway
Satellite observations of sea surface height indicated that the 2026 event continued to strengthen in early June.
Android 17 released for Pixel devices with very few interesting improvements
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Yesterday, Google released Android 17 to Pixel devices, so late last night I updated my Pixel 10 Pro with the intent to write a news item about the release today. The reality is that that I totally forgot I even upgraded last night, because Android 17 is about the biggest nothingburger I’ve ever seen. Virtually all of the new features listed in the upgrade blurb on my phone were “AI” nonsense I don’t encounter, so over the course of the day, I didn’t really notice anything new about my phone’s operating system. The only interesting feature that I think will be particularly useful on tablets and perhaps foldable devices is something called “App Bubbles”. Basically, you can turn any application into an overlay that can be minimised into a bubble, which then lives anywhere on your screen. Tap it, and you can maximise the overlay again. This little multitasking bubble can contain multiple applications, effectively making it a dock or taskbar. Neat, but I didn’t see much use for it on my phone. The remainder of the new non-“AI” features are hard to spot, at best. I guess the ability to turn one half of a foldable display into a gamepad is neat if you can deal with gaming on glass buttons (I cannot), and the changes to location access (you can now grant it for just one time) and contacts access (it’s more fine-grained and temporary now instead of granting access to everything forever) are welcome, but that’s about it for user-facing features. Under the hood, the one thing that stands out is that Google is enforcing stricter memory limits for applications, based on how much RAM a device has. The idea is that this should prevent memory leaks from getting out of control and leading to crashes, which is nice, especially for devices with less RAM. Android 17 is available for Pixel devices now, and will probably find its way to non-Pixel devices over the coming months or years. With how little meat there is on Android 17’s bones, this might be the first release where Android’s update woes don’t really matter.
NASA Announces Public-Private Partnership to Advance Mars Science
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NASA Wednesday announced a new public‑private partnership to advance Mars science by combining the agency’s scientific leadership with commercial innovation. Under this model, NASA will provide the Aeolus atmospheric‑science instrument payload suite, while Relativity Space supplies the spacecraft, rocket, and cruise operations necessary to deliver the instruments to Mars. This partnership reflects NASA’s growing commitment […]
Hidden Tunnels Dating Back to Henry VIII's Reign Were Discovered at This English Boarding School, Where the King Once Lived
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Bones, bottles and pottery were found at the New Hall School, which was once Henry VIII's Palace of Beaulieu. Before that, Anne Boleyn's father owned the estate
Scientists Discover a New Species of 'Walking' Shark in Papua New Guinea. They Suspect It's at Risk of Going Extinct
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The creature belongs to a unique group of sharks whose members can use their strong pectoral fins like legs to get around
Search for Hidden Cosmic Companions in Sun’s Backyard
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Some stars have planets. Others are orbited by brown dwarfs, balls of gas too massive to be planets, but too low-mass to be stars. Astronomers love these brown dwarf-star pairs because being paired with a star helps reveal a brown dwarf’s age. Ages of astronomical objects are often hard to measure, but essential for understanding […]
Archaeologists Unearth Hundreds of Artifacts at Fort Ticonderoga, the Site of America's First Offensive Victory of the Revolutionary War
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The objects were discovered on Liberty Hill, the place where many Continental Army soldiers heard the text of the Declaration of Independence for the first time
For Its Birthday, the U.S. Will Give Americans of the Future a 900-Pound Time Capsule Filled With Art, Natural Treasures and a Clever Copy of the Declaration of Independence
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The capsule was created and filled at the direction of Congress, through the America250 commission. It will be interred beneath an original sculpture on July 4
NASA’s Fermi Mission Uncovers Possible Sibling Supernova Remnants
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A new study of two supernova remnants, the debris left behind after stars explode, suggests the explosions came from stellar siblings that once orbited each other. The first star’s detonation sent its binary companion hurtling through space, and then, after traveling for thousands of years, the surviving star blew up too.
Male Bowerbirds in Australian Cities Are Turning Human Trash Into Treasure to Impress Potential Mates
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Even rural birds prefer human-made objects, such as colored glass and wire, when given the choice between them and natural decorations, like leaves and shells, according to a new study
Hubble Sees Swarm of Galaxies
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Looking somewhat like a swarm of bees returning to their hive, this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image released on June 12, 2026, features the galaxy cluster MACS0329-0211. Galaxy clusters like MACS0329-0211 are important signposts in the story of how the structure of the universe evolved, and are the ultimate telescopic lenses, placing gravitationally lensed galaxies from the […]
Seven Perfect Shuffles Randomize a Deck of Cards. But How Many Sloppy Ones?
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A decades-old proof showed that seven shuffles are enough to mix up a deck of cards. But it requires you to cut the deck with the precision of a professional magician. A new proof gets around that obstacle.
This 'Practice-Changing' Gene Test Could Tell Doctors Which Patients With Breast Cancer Can Skip Chemo, Clinical Trial Suggests
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Chemotherapy comes with debilitating side effects, including brain fog, nausea and nerve damage. New research suggests that many people with a common type of breast cancer need just radiation and hormone therapy to prevent recurrence
Is sewage the future of green aviation?
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The war in Iran has disrupted the global fuel supply. That has sent airline prices soaring and cancelled scores of flights. This got Short Wave host Emily Kwong wondering: Could another fuel source help take us to the skies? Today on the show, we explore the chemistry and cost of sustainable aviation fuel. Along the way, we highlight two initiatives to create a regional SAF supply – one in Washington and one in Pennsylvania.
Interested in more stories about the future of flying? Email us your question atshortwave@npr.org.
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AI runs at the speed of light. More and more, that light is made in Texas. Coherent broke ground today on an expanded manufacturing building in Sherman, Texas. The company makes the lasers, optical components and compound semiconductors that wire AI systems together — and runs what it calls the world’s first 6-inch indium phosphide […]
Scientists Uncover New Clues About the Volcanic Origins of the Giant's Causeway, an Iconic Geologic Structure in Northern Ireland
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The UNESCO World Heritage Site, which features 40,000 near-perfect hexagonal columns, formed roughly 60 million years ago during a period of intense volcanic activity
NASA’s Webb Catches Exoplanet Getting Roasted
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That’s the latest from researchers analyzing NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s observations of HD 80606 b, an exoplanet four times the mass of Jupiter with an extremely elliptical orbit that sweeps close by its Sun-like star.
Astronaut Jessica Meir Assists With Hardware Updates for NASA’s Cold Atom Lab
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Description NASA astronaut Jessica Meir inspects optical fibers while installing hardware updates to the agency’s Cold Atom Lab, or CAL, aboard the International Space Station on May 8, 2026. About the size of a minifridge and operated from Earth, CAL chills atoms to temperatures below minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 273.15 degrees Celsius), so close […]
KDE Plasma 6.7 released
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The KDE team released KDE Plasma 6.7 today, and with it comes a long list of improvements, new features, bug fixes, new old themes, and so much more. A new feature that is sure to please those among us who use virtual desktops: you can now have different virtual desktop setups per display. It’s been a long-requested feature, so it’s great to see it makes its way to the KDE users. I despise virtual desktops, but I’m happy to see something that I assumed was already part of KDE to finally actually become available. Another major feature in KDE Plasma 6.7 is something we’ve already talked about: the return of the classic Oxygen and Air themes from the KDE 4.x days. These themes have seen extensive work over the past year or so to make them usable on the latest KDE release, which includes tons of bug fixes, visual nips and tucks, and countless additions to the collection of assets required to make a modern KDE theme look complete. This includes a ton of new icons in the old styles, light and dark modes, accent colour support, and much more. There’s still work left here, including adding support for QtQuick/Kirigami applications – which brings us to the next major new addition to KDE 6.7 This is also something we’ve already talked about: Union. I won’t repeat what I already explained last time Union came up, but suffice it to say that Union effectively unifies the various different ways KDE applications are themed, allowing theme designers to use relatively standard CSS to create themes that cover every aspect of the KDE user experience. Before Union, theme designers had to create individual, unique themes for a variety of parts of KDE – the Plasma desktop, QtWidgets using QStyle, QtQuick/Kirigami – which was a ton of work, and in the case of QtQuick/Kirigami, wasn’t really possible at all. As such, without Union, KDE’s theming is essentially broken, and Union fixes that. For now, Union is not enabled by default, and must be installed and enabled separately for testing. Of course, there’s a ton of other smaller new features, changes, and bug fixes as well. KDE Plasma 6.7 will find its way to your distribution soon enough.
Apple adds keylogger to iOS App Store for targeted advertising: tied to your account and unencrypted
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A week or so ago, Apple announced a bunch of features for the App Store on iOS, including personalised recommendations based on your activity and usage of iOS. It turns out this includes a keylogger (taplogger?) in the App Store, which records every single tap you make, every single letter you enter, and a lot of other information. All of this information is unencrypted and sent to Apple. Now Apple is putting the extensive identifiable analytics they collect in the App Store in action. They record every tap and there’s no way to turn it off. They can even calculate your typing speed. ↫ Michael Tsai, quoting Mysk The provided screenshots of the data collected are terrifying, especially because the data is unencrypted, sent to Apple, and fully tied to your user account. Apple clearly wants a slice of that big, juicy advertising pie, and they, too, are discovering that the easiest and best way to serve targeted ads is to collect as much data as they can about you. Of course, this is something the entire internet (but not OSNews!) and several megacorporations are built on by now, but Apple has been incredibly sanctimonious about how it supposedly actually cares about user privacy, making this keylogger yet another case of Apple’s hypocrisy on full display. Of course, if you care about privacy, you’re entirely free to download your iOS applications from somewhere other than the App Store and install them yours… Oh, wait.
NASA Webb, Hubble Reveal History of Relic of Milky Way’s Formation
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Researchers using two of humanity’s most powerful observatories — NASA’s James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes — have definitively shown that Terzan 5 is not a globular star cluster as it was once classified, offering new insight into how galaxies like our own form and evolve over time. A globular star cluster typically has only […]
NASA’s Quantum Lab Aboard Space Station Gets Chilly Upgrade
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Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have switched on NASA’s newly upgraded Cold Atom Lab, a one-of-a-kind facility designed to improve how scientists explore the fundamental workings of matter and develop new quantum technologies. By leveraging the unique environment of microgravity in space, the lab can accomplish cutting-edge science impossible to do anywhere else. Quantum […]
HPE AI Factory With NVIDIA Expands for the Era of Agents
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Enterprises are moving agentic AI from proof of concept to production — and the next generation of AI factories are built for the era of agents. At HPE Discover Las Vegas, running through Thursday, June 18, NVIDIA and HPE are expanding the HPE AI Factory with NVIDIA, including NVIDIA Vera CPU and NVIDIA Agent Toolkit […]
See a Stunning View of the Southern Lights Dancing Across the Earth Captured by a NASA Astronaut
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Jessica Meir, commander of NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 mission, shared photos and videos of a green aurora she shot while sheltering in a capsule outside the International Space Station
NASA Uses Machine Learning to Enhance Flash Flood Warnings
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The Transient Artifact and Continuous Learning System (TACLS) leverages data from continuously operating satellite networks coupled with machine learning models to help meteorologists at the National Weather Service forecast flash floods more efficiently.
Fastest, Largest, Strongest: NVIDIA Blackwell Sweeps MLPerf Training 6.0
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Every breakthrough AI model starts the same way: with a training run. The infrastructure running those training jobs shapes everything: how fast teams can iterate, what scale of model they can build and whether those jobs complete reliably. As models grow in size, complexity and intelligence, the demands on training infrastructure are also rising. In […]
Department of Health and Human Services Digital Stockpile & Manufacturing Response Network Challenge
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NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI) assists in the use of crowdsourcing across the federal government. CoECI’s NASA Tournament Lab offers the contract capability to run external crowdsourced challenges on behalf of NASA and other agencies. Sponsored by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), a division of the U.S. Department of […]
Metrics
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Services Catalog Click here to view the FY26 Services Catalog The catalogs provide service description, chargeback rate, unit of measure, and service level indicators for each NSSC service. Service Level Agreement (SLA) Click here to view the Service Level Agreement The SLA provides information about roles, responsibilities, rates, and service level indicators for all NASA […]
Aurora Australis
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The aurora australis arcs over Earth during an active solar event in this photograph taken on June 5, 2026, from the International Space Station as it orbited 271 miles above the Indian Ocean southwest of Perth, Australia. Auroras are colorful, dynamic, and often visually delicate displays of an intricate dance of particles and magnetism between […]
See the First-Ever Photographs of Cozumel’s Elusive Dwarf Fox, One of the Rarest Canids in the World
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No one had seen the creatures in more than two decades, leading scientists to wonder whether they'd gone extinct. That changed in September 2023
The time the Windows x86 emulator team found code so bad that they fixed it during emulation
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Another story from the good old days from Raymond Chen. During an exchange of war stories, a colleague of mine told one from back in the days when Windows included a processor emulator for x86-32 on systems that natively ran some other processor. (This has happened many times. And no, I don’t know which processor this particular story applied to.) ↫ Raymond Chen at The Old New Thing So the core of the story comes down to this: All in all, it took this program 256 kilobytes of code to initialize 64 kilobytes of data. ↫ Raymond Chen at The Old New Thing The people working on Windows were so offended by this, they added code to the processor emulator just to fix this program.
FreeBSD 15.1 released
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Speaking of FreeBSD, the project released version 15.1 of their operating system today. As it’s a point release, it’s not full of massive changes, but it still brings the LinuxKPI-based wireless drivers up to Linux 7.0, support for the C23 version of the C has progressed considerably, Unicode has bene updated to version 17.0.0 and CLDR 48, and more.
FreeBSD 15 with KDE and Wayland on a Laptop
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Expect to see more and more articles like this one, as more and more people discover that FreeBSD’s desktop/laptop support keeps improving rapidly. FreeBSD 15 really feels like a breakthrough release. It’s always been my favorite operating system for servers, but with the arrival of pkgbase, massive improvements to the LinuxKPI drivers, and the launch of the Laptop Support and Usability Project, it’s become my primary desktop, too. ↫ Cullum Smith Since Smith tried FreeBSD 14.0, there’s now KDE Plasma 6.x, you can leave legacy X11 behind and use Wayland on FreeBSD now, and support for Intel Wi-Fi chips has greatly expanded. Apparently, battery life has improved as well, which is one of the hardest problems to solve for an operating system, especially with the wide variety of hardware combinations in the x86 world. The rest of Smith’s article is a guide to setting up FreeBSD 15 with KDE and Wayland. It’s quite detailed with a ton of low-level tuning and fiddling, accompanied by clear and concise explanation of what the changes do, which I really like. Definitely a bookmark for anyone who wants to try out FreeBSD with KDE.
Mobile Progress Report: June 2026
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The past month was busy; the theme was evolution. We went into this quarter with our own ideas for what we wanted to accomplish. However, our users had better ideas. With the release of Thunderbird’s own mail service, Thundermail, the need for a better account settings import process across our services and apps became vital. […]
You Can Now See Betsy Ross’ Sewing Table in Philadelphia, Thanks to a Flag Day Donation From Her Great-Great-Great-Great Grandson
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The origins of the Stars and Stripes are murky, but generations of Americans have admired stories about Ross creating the first American flag
Could air pollution make your memory worse?
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Summer is here, your windows are open and the smell of…car exhaust and the latest wildfire are wafting in. This air pollution is harmful to almost every organ, including the brain. Today on Short Wave, we talk about one way air pollution may cloud your memory.
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The Nebraska Sandhills—the largest system of sand dunes in the Western Hemisphere—stretch across about one-quarter of the state.
Explore JPL to Take Place Oct. 10, 11
Celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory invites the public to its campus at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California for an open-house event, Explore JPL. On Oct. 10 and 11, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. PDT, visitors will get the chance to visit JPL’s most iconic facilities and explore four thematic areas: Missions That Changed the World, Moon to Mars, In […]
A Museum of American Music—Headlined by Bruce Springsteen—Opened in New Jersey With Instruments, Lyrics and Clothes From Rock Stars and Pop Legends
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The Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music at Monmouth University, which houses the archives of its namesake Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, welcomed its first visitors
Venus Flytraps Snap Their Traps Shut in Less Than a Second. Scientists Say They've Discovered How the Predatory Plants Are So Fast
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The walls of cells in the leaves' outer layer suddenly soften, allowing the structures to hinge into a closed position, according to a new study
With a Beam of Light, the New York City AIDS Memorial Honors the Nearly Forgotten Legacy of This Great American Sculptor
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A new sculpture draws on materials and ideas from Scott Burton's artwork, which offered comfort in urban spaces. His final public series was a set of benches and lights on piers in Brooklyn
Zinnia: a modular 64-bit UNIX-like kernel written in Rust
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It’s been a while since we’ve had a new operating system project written in Rust, so let’s look at Zinnia. The kernel is written in (almost) 100% Rust and attempts to avoid unsafe code where possible. It implements a big range of POSIX APIs in system calls, but also exposes common extensions found in Linux and BSDs, like epoll and timerfd. This allows it to run a somewhat modern desktop using Wayland and X11 sessions. Most drivers are implemented as modules. These are Rust ELF dylibs which get loaded and linked during boot from an initrd, similar to Linux systems. Zinnia can boot from any UEFI based system thanks to the Limine bootloader. ↫ Zinnia OS website At least Weston and Xfce can run on Zinnia, even on real hardware, which is quite an achievement. The project was started in 2024 as a learning endeavour, but quickly grew out of control, as these projects are wont to do. The code’s open source.
Haiku enables AVX512 support
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We’re a little deep into June already, but it’s only now that Haiku published its monthly progress report for May. There’s a bunch of fixes for drag-and-drop behaviour in Tracker, AVX512 support can now be enabled thanks to changes to the kernel’s FPU handling, some low-level changes were made for the Rust and Zig compilers, and further improvements were made to the boot process on the Raspberry Pi 5 (although a lot more work is needed on that front). There’s still no sixth beta since a few more blockers remain, but don’t let that stop you from installing Haiku – it’s stable enough as it is, sixth beta or no.
Tribblix Milestone 40 for x86 released
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Tribblix, the Illumos distribution focused on giving you a classic UNIX-style experience, has been updated with the release of Milestone 40. This version has some major component updates. Perl in now 5.42 instead of 5.34, and the default Python is now 3.13. The GCC suite is now version 14.2.0, go is version 1.26, Xfce has been updated to version 4.18, node is v22, with v24 added and v20 removed. ↫ Tribblix M40 release notes There’s a more detailed changelog, as well as the downloads page to get started. If you’re already running Tribblix, you can update in-place, of course.
NASA’s Chandra Finds Unexpected Fireworks in Aftermath of Stellar Explosions
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The aftermath of a supernova, a stellar explosion, is usually a slowly fading cloud of hot gas. So when astronomers pointed NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory at the nearby galaxy Messier 83 (M83), they did not expect to find a population of supernova remnants, or the debris from these explosions, showing dramatic changes in their brightness. […]
NASA Astronauts to Answer Questions from New Jersey Students
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Students in New Jersey will hear from NASA astronauts Chris Williams and Jessica Meir as they answer prerecorded STEM questions while aboard the International Space Station. The Earth-to-space call will begin at 12:05 p.m. EDT, Thursday, June 18, and will stream live on the agency’s Learn With NASA YouTube channel. This event is hosted by Newton Public Schools […]
The 'Super' El Niño Has Arrived. Here's How It Might Affect the World's Weather and Economy
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The naturally occurring climate pattern, characterized by warm surface water in the Pacific Ocean, that has just started could be one of the strongest ever recorded, according to experts
NASA’s SpaceX CRS-34 Dragon Returns Packed with Space Station Science
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Scientists await a big splash in the Pacific Ocean as one of the most research-packed Dragon spacecraft to date returns, completing the 34th SpaceX commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA. Biological and materials samples, along with tested hardware, are heading back to research teams on Earth for further analysis, advancing NASA’s […]
Frontiers Forum Speaker Series
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Voices Shaping the Future of Space Members of the public are invited to join some of NASA’s brightest minds as they discuss agency missions and current topics in aerospace technology, science, and innovation. Each event will feature NASA experts, and the series will cover a range of topics including our search for life within the […]
How Many Elementary Particles Are There, Really?
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Plausible answers range from 17 to — in all seriousness — 995.5.
NASA Astronaut Anil Menon Available for Prelaunch Virtual Interviews
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NASA astronaut Anil Menon will be available for limited media interviews beginning at 9 a.m. EDT Monday, June 22, to discuss his upcoming mission to the International Space Station as part of Expeditions 74/75. The virtual interviews will take place from the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, and will stream live on […]
San Francisco’s Patchwork Streets
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An astronaut aboard the International Space Station took this picture of downtown San Francisco and nearby communities on May 27, 2026. The image captures two of the region’s iconic bridges. The Golden Gate Bridge connects the northern San Francisco Peninsula with Marin County to the north, while the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge spans the bay toward […]
Experience the Launch of NASA’s Roman Space Telescope
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Are you ready for a new view of the universe? The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will reveal distant worlds, dark energy, and the structure of the cosmos, and we want you to be a part of it! Digital creators and social media users are invited to register to our NASA Social for the Nancy […]
“Your EPUB is fine. Kobo disagrees. Blame Adobe.”
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An infuriating story about something most of us don’t really stop to think about: e-books and the rendering engines companies and software use to display them. It’s the year 2026. Thanks to the horrendous RMSDK which Kobo decided to use as their backbone for all book rendering (probably for DRM reasons), a single line of perfectly valid CSS turns a perfectly valid EPUB file into a “corrupted file” on Kobo and just drops the whole book. No clear error message, no fallback. Just a massive fail. ↫ André Klein The level of obnoxiousness goes even deeper: Kobo devices ship with a better, actually maintained renderer for e-books as well, but in order to have a book use it, the book file in question needs to have a specific file extension. Remember that e-book files are just packaged websites; there’s no reason to do any of this nonsense with two rendering engines, one of which is shit and frozen in time. I have never had to do anything related to creating an e-book – I just put books on my own Kobo and read them – and even I am getting annoyed just reading this.
'Ugliest Shark on the Planet': See the Elusive Goblin Shark, Filmed for the First Time in Its Deep-Sea Habitat
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Scientists spotted the enigmatic creatures in 2019 and again in 2024, marking the first times they've been observed alive in the wild. The sightings drastically expand the animals' known geographic and depth range
Windows 1.0 and the WinAPI, 40 years later
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How far can you get, application development-wise, by using only the original APIs from Windows 1.0, and only whatever came included by default with Windows 1.0? I finally decided to write an application for the very first version of Windows and see how different the modern WinAPI really is from its earliest versions. Windows 1.0 came out back in the mid-1980s – the era of 16-bit processors, MS-DOS, and cooperative multitasking. At first glance, you might think it has almost nothing in common with modern Windows, but when you look specifically at the application API, that’s where things get interesting. I wanted to see how far it would be possible to go using only the capabilities of the first version of Windows. I didn’t want to just make a minimal example with a window and a menu, but a small, complete application with graphics, keyboard input, timers, and constant redrawing. For this experiment, I chose Xonix – a simple yet surprisingly addictive game. ↫ Stanislav Safronov It turns out that surprisingly, despite the 40 years and massive changes since Windows 1.0, there’s still a lot that feels recognisable. It’s also remarkable that the code Safronov ended up with ran on every version of Windows from 1.0 to 10, but sine it’s a 16 bit application it no longer works on Windows 11. It also had a hiccup on Windows 95, but he suspects that’s an issue in the 16 bit subsystem in Windows 95, and not in his code. The code’s available on GitHub.
Inside the lab taste-testing the world's chocolate
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Could standardizing chocolate help small-scale farmers? Chocolate scientist Julien Simonis thinks it could help persuade consumers to pay for higher quality chocolate, in turn helping out these growers. Every cacao bean is different, and for a long time, there wasn't a standard way of comparing the quality of chocolate. But in 2009, a sustainable agriculture nonprofit started a program called Cacao of Excellence. The goal was to develop a standard way of evaluating cacao just like those sommelier’s do with wine. So today, we’re going behind the scenes of a chocolate laboratory to see just how cacao is evaluated.
This story was originally reported for NPR by science correspondent Ari Daniel. Read thefull story here.
