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Astronomers using NOIRLab's Gemini North telescope have captured detailed new images of Pa 30, the debris field from a supernova recorded by Japanese, Chinese and Arab astronomers in 1181. The images, published in The Astrophysical Journal, resolve far more filaments of ionized sulfur and oxygen than previously seen, surrounding a surviving star at the remnant's center, located about 7,500 light-years from Earth.
A new benchmark called StarSkirmish Bench v0.2 tests flagship LLMs from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta by giving each one hour to write a Protoss bot in C++ for StarCraft: Brood War, then scoring win rates against human-written and demo bots. GPT-6 Astra topped the leaderboard, with GPT-6.1 Sol second, while Gemini 4 Argon, Claude Opus 5.5 and Claude Fable 5.1 scored closely behind between 37 and 39. Even the top model, GPT-6 Astra, won only 7% of games against the strongest human-written bots like Stardust, PurpleWave and BananaBrain.
On a new episode of The Vergecast, David Pierce and Nilay Patel discuss Apple's HomeView smart home hub, noting it has strong hardware and constant power but relies almost entirely on CarPlay rather than hosting a broader app ecosystem. The hosts also cover Google's newest Gemini model, the debate over whether model quality matters without strong products built on it, and renewed discussion about returning to X amid the failure of rival platforms.
OpenAI has updated its ChatGPT Chrome extension so the assistant can view a user's open tabs to give more personalized answers, such as comparing products across multiple pages. The extension's agentic mode, ChatGPT Work, can now fill forms, send messages, organize tabs and draft emails based on content from several tabs, and the sidebar can also access full browsing history for in-context tasks.
Google has launched Gmail Live, a conversational voice search feature for Gmail that lets AI plan subscribers ask natural-language questions to find information buried in emails, such as flight gate numbers or school updates. The company is also rolling out related tools, Docs Live and Keep Live, which use voice input to draft documents and organize notes respectively. All three features exit beta this week, having first been shown at Google I/O last month.
Google has begun rolling out its Universal Cart feature in the US, letting shoppers track products from multiple retailers in one saved cart within Search and the Gemini app. The tool monitors over 60 billion listings for price drops and stock alerts, suggests promotions and optimal credit cards via Google Wallet, and lets users check out through the Universal Commerce Protocol using Google Pay or complete purchases on the merchant's site. The feature, previewed at Google I/O in May, launches just before Black Friday.
Google is rolling out AI-based scam defenses on Android, including cloud-based Gemini analysis of suspicious conversations in Google Messages and on-device Gemini Nano checks on unfamiliar links. The company says its existing detection already flags over 5 million suspected scam calls and texts monthly, and the new cloud protections are opt-in, while on-device chat notification detection expands beyond Pixel to more Android partners later this year.
Google has launched Universal Cart, a feature first shown at Google I/O in May, for US users. It lets shoppers save products found through Search or the Gemini app into one cart across multiple retailers, with alerts for price drops and restocks, and payment suggestions based on card perks and promo codes. Checkout runs through Google's Universal Commerce Protocol, an open standard it introduced earlier this year for linking AI agents with retailers.
Google has rolled out new shopping tools, including Universal Cart, which lets users save products from multiple retailers in one place via AI Mode in Search or the Gemini app, and a When to Buy Guide that advises on discount timing. The cart draws on over 60 billion listings from Google's Shopping Graph to track price drops and restocks, and integrates with Google Wallet and Google Pay to surface card perks and promo codes.
Google is shutting down Heads Up, an Android safety tool that warned users about looking at their phones while walking, according to reporting on the move. Separately, Google is developing a Gemini-based chat feature intended to help users navigate Digital Wellbeing settings.
Ash Saulsbury, who previously worked on Meta's smart-glasses technology, is building Awear AI, a platform designed to let wearers carry their AI assistant's learned preferences and memories across different devices and brands. The effort targets a market where Meta and Google currently tie their AI assistants tightly to their own glasses hardware and services.
Google has launched Universal Cart, an AI-powered shopping feature first previewed at I/O in May, now live in the US within the Gemini app and Google Search. It lets users save products from multiple retailers into one shared cart, tracks price drops and restocks, surfaces promo codes, and lets shoppers pay via Google Wallet or move items to a retailer's own checkout. Integration with Gmail and YouTube is planned but has no announced timeline.