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Scientists Debate to Halt Type of Research That Could Destroy All Life on Earth Should Be Halted

Scientists have warned that research into "mirror life" organisms — hypothetical life forms made up of molecules that perfectly mirror those found in regular life — should be stopped. Theoretically, it's a cool idea. But some scientists are worried that these life forms, if they're ever realized, could turn into a major risk for the world around us by turning into an unstoppable force that spreads without limits, overrunning and choking out natural organisms in its path. As Nature reported las

Scammers Are Now Driving Around With Fake Cell Towers That Blast 100,000 Texts Per Hour

Leave it to phone scammers to innovate new ways to be as annoying — and scummy — as humanly possible. These cybercriminals are no longer content with just sending you the odd phishing text or two. As Wired reports, more and more of them are using so-called "SMS blasters" that basically act as a portable cell tower, tricking your phones into connecting with them as they cruise by. The scammers walk or drive around with the devices, firing out a ludicrous volume of SMS messages that contain dange

iPhone Air bend test affirms Apple’s claim of most durable iPhone ever, front glass scratch resistance also impresses

Ever since Apple unveiled the iPhone Air, calling it its most durable iPhone ever, it feels like all of the Apple YouTube community has been waiting to see the JerryRigEverything hands-on test. Sure, enough, he delivered. And the iPhone Air held up to Apple’s claims. Despite using all his force, the iPhone Air would not break from bending; the phone simply flexes under strain and returns to its normal flat shape. But it wasn’t just the bend resistance, the scratch resistance of the front screen

Finally, a $699 Windows laptop that I wouldn't mind putting my MacBook Air away for

Acer Aspire 16 AI ZDNET's key takeaways The Acer Aspire 16 AI is currently on sale for $699. It's a reliable, lightweight workhorse with a marathon battery that's ideal for long days. However, its hardware has performance limitations. View now at Acer View now at Amazon more buying choices Acer's new Aspire 16 AI is a humble laptop. It isn't flashy or over-the-top, it doesn't house high-end hardware or an OLED screen. Instead, it focuses on being a reliable work device with a midrange price t

Topics: 16 acer ai aspire laptop

iPhone Air is here, and I already can’t imagine going back

iPhone Air has arrived, and our full, in-depth review is here. But I’ve only had Apple’s ultra-thin model for half a day now, and my first impressions are clear: this feels like the new normal. iPhone Air first impressions: the new normal I picked up Apple’s new ultra-thin iPhone early this morning. After only half a day of use, I don’t know what the battery life will be like. And I haven’t yet felt the pain of missing the Telephoto and Ultra Wide cameras. Yet already, I can’t imagine going

Topics: air iphone like new pro

This ‘Grue Jay’ Hybrid Looks Cool as Hell—but It’s a Warning Sign

Meet the “grue jay,” a rare offspring of a blue jay and a green jay—two common species whose evolutionary separation took place 7 million years ago. The resulting bird’s feathers are a muted, fashionable blue. But the marvelous discovery belies the fact that its existence may be the product of climate change’s threat to bird life. In a recent Ecology and Evolution paper, biologists at the University of Texas at Austin describe the odd jay in more detail, explaining how the blue and green jays’

I replaced my iPhone 16 Pro Max with the iPhone Air - here's my buying advice now

Apple iPhone Air ZDNET's key takeaways The thinnest and lightest iPhone yet offers Pro performance at a competitive $999 price point. It's designed to feel burdenless, and that's the biggest reason to buy one over the iPhone 17 series. You'll just have to settle for only one camera, average battery life, and a single-firing speaker. View now at Apple View now at Best Buy View now at Verizon more buying choices Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. The iPhone "Pro" label has a

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Deals: Nomad iPhone 17 case discounts, M4 Pro Mac mini $200 off, Ocean Band, iPad Air, AirPods, more

iPhone 17 and iPhone Air launch day has arrived and we are starting today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break off with some case deals. We have a series of exclusive offers you can only get with our codes found below from brand’s like Nomad (this one is for today only), SANDMARC, Burton Goods, Matter, and more. On top of that, we also have M4 Pro Mac mini configs at $200 off, M4 Mac mini from $499, M3 iPad Air starting at $449, and a super rare deal on Apple’s official all-black Ocean Band. Those offers join

Topics: air apple m4 price pro

I tested the iPhone Air, and it reminded me of my old iPhone 6 Plus in the best way

Apple iPhone Air ZDNET's key takeaways The thinnest and lightest iPhone yet offers Pro performance at a competitive $999 price point. It's designed to feel burdenless, and that's the biggest reason to buy one over the iPhone 17 series. You'll just have to settle for only one camera, average battery life, and a single-firing speaker. View now at Apple View now at Best Buy View now at Verizon more buying choices Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. The iPhone "Pro" label has a

Topics: 17 air camera iphone pro

Engadget Podcast: iPhone Air and 17 reviews, Meta throws a screen on smart glasses

We're still in iPhone mode this week, as all of our reviews of Apple's new hardware are rolling out. In this episode, Senior Writer Sam Rutherford joins us to chat about his experience with the iPhone Air and our final thoughts on the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup. Also, we dive into all of the news from Meta Connect 2025, including the Ray-Ban Display smart glasses. Is Meta actually on to something with these smart glasses? Or is Zuck just desperate to get people away from phones? Topics iPhon

The best iPad deals available today include $150 off the iPad Air M3

It’s been a big week in Apple world: The new iPhone 17, iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pros went up for sale globally on Friday, while the latest major updates for iOS, macOS and Apple’s other operating systems were released to the public on Monday. If you’re looking to buy a new iPad, meanwhile, there isn’t much new on the hardware front — but there are a few good deals on the devices already on the market, including a $150 discount on the iPad Air. We’ve rounded up all of the best iPad deals we coul

Topics: air apple best ipad m4

How Apple used ANC to build its best AirPods features

Once upon a time, noise-canceling headphones primarily existed for one purpose: air travel. Bose and Sennheiser were among the first on the scene commercially, blocking unwanted sounds for pilots long before wireless headphones were even a thing. Today, active noise cancellation (ANC) is not just commonplace, it's practically expected for any consumer headphone. During the development of its four sets of AirPods with ANC, Apple has harnessed the power of its noise-blocking system to create a na

Finally, a $799 Windows laptop that I wouldn't mind putting my MacBook Air away for

Acer Aspire 16 AI ZDNET's key takeaways The Acer Aspire 16 AI is available on Amazon for $799. It's a reliable, lightweight workhorse with a marathon battery that's ideal for long days. However, its hardware has performance limitations. View now at Acer View now at Amazon more buying choices Acer's new Aspire 16 AI is a humble laptop. It isn't flashy or over-the-top, it doesn't house high-end hardware or an OLED screen. Instead, it focuses on being a reliable work device with a midrange price

Topics: 16 acer ai aspire laptop

Air Traffic Controllers Still Struggling to Communicate With Pilots: Report

Throughout much of this year, a slew of technical problems at Newark International Airport have spurred concerns about flier safety. On a frightening day in April, the airport lost communication with regional planes for about 90 seconds. Not long afterward, United Airlines announced it was cancelling dozens of flights out of the airport. That same month, the FAA committed to sending new equipment and resources to the site, but not long afterward, Trump’s transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, adm

Universal Hepatitis B Vaccination at Birth Is Safe, For Now

The vaccine advisory panel newly reconfigured by Robert F. Kennedy is delaying its decision on whether to continue recommending that children universally receive their first dose for hepatitis B vaccination at birth. In a surprise move Friday morning, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) tabled its scheduled vote over the merits of universal hepatitis B vaccination starting at birth—a policy first enshrined by the ACIP over 30 years ago. Experts at the Centers for Disease Con

I Tested AirPods Live Translation With My Family. Here's What I Learned

I couldn't ask for better timing. My Spanish-speaking mother-in-law was coming to visit the day Apple released live language translation features on AirPods. It works on the new AirPods Pro 3, which hits stores Friday, along with last year's AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 -- and the user also needs to have it paired to an iPhone running the latest iOS 26 software with Apple Intelligence. My mother-in-law is bilingual and speaks English perfectly, but Spanish is her preferred language. She'll ofte

Frying Eggs and Air Quality Tests

Disclaimer: this is not an endorsement of any product, just a record of my thinking. Also, none of this is medical advice. Also, be reasonable with what to expect from public spaces and your home behaviour. I want to start doing more physical experiments. And instrumentation is a big part of that. So I bought a Temtop m2000 air quality monitor that measures CO2 concentration, PM2.5 and PM10 particle concentration, temperature and humidity. I chose this one mainly because it also had data export

This $799 Acer laptop is ideal for students, but I'd just as soon take it to the office

Acer Aspire 16 AI ZDNET's key takeaways The Acer Aspire 16 AI is available on Amazon for $799. It's a reliable, lightweight workhorse with a marathon battery that's ideal for long days. However, its hardware has performance limitations. View now at Acer View now at Amazon more buying choices Acer's new Aspire 16 AI is a humble laptop. It isn't flashy or over-the-top, it doesn't house high-end hardware or an OLED screen. Instead, it focuses on being a reliable work device with a midrange price

Topics: 16 acer ai aspire laptop

I replaced my AirPods Max with the AirPods Pro 3, and didn't mind the $300 price gap

Apple AirPods Pro 3 ZDNET's key takeaways The AirPods Pro 3 bring several design updates and a bunch of new or upgraded capabilities to a product that was already among the best headphones. Apple kept the retail price at $249, and this product tends to get discounted during holiday sales. AirPods Pro 3's leading feature is active noise cancellation that now rivals over-the-ear headphones, which surprised me in real-world testing. $249 at Amazon $249 at B&H Photo-Video $249 at Crutchfield more

The internet is out to break the iPhone Air, but it seems indestructible

Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority TL;DR The iPhone Air is proving to be quite a solid phone. From controlled lab-style tests to over-the-top torture attempts, nothing has managed to snap the phone in half. Check out some of the most impressive iPhone Air bend test videos below. At just 5.7mm thin, the new iPhone Air is slimmer than even Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge. It’s so thin you’d think it would snap in half if you accidentally sat on it or your toddler decided to test their strength with

Your Pixel 10 Might Have Issues With Older Wireless Chargers

When Google introduced the Pixel 10 lineup in August, it became one of the first major Android phones to receive the Qi 2 wireless charging standard, which Google calls Pixelsnap. However, almost immediately after the Pixel 10's release, people noticed issues with its wireless charging. Some people are having trouble charging their phone with the new Pixelsnap charger, and others are having issues with older wireless chargers, including Google's own Pixel Stands. The bulk of the problems happen

iPhone Air MagSafe Battery teardown reveals a surprisingly familiar component inside

During the teardown of the iPhone Air MagSafe Battery, iFixIt observed that Apple might have resorted to a clever solution to streamline production. Here are the details. As is tradition, iFixit has kicked off its teardown season for the devices and accessories unveiled during Apple’s “Awe Dropping” event earlier this month. The first of the bunch was the iPhone Air MagSafe Battery, designed to provide up to 65% additional charge for heavy users who may find the iPhone Air’s battery insufficie

The 44 Best Movies on Hulu This Week (September 2025)

In 2017, Hulu made television history by becoming the first streaming network to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, thanks to the phenomenon that was The Handmaid’s Tale. While Netflix has largely cornered the streaming market on original movies—and even managed to persuade A-listers like Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón, and Martin Scorsese to come aboard—Hulu is starting to find its footing in features too, securing the exclusive rights to a large number of Oscar-nominated mov

“Get off the iPad!” warns air traffic control as Spirit flight nears Air Force One

As Air Force One journeyed from the US to the UK this week, it came within eight lateral miles of a Spirit Airlines flight heading up the East Coast from Fort Lauderdale to Boston. An alert air traffic controller in the New York control center reached out to the Spirit flight, telling it to execute an immediate right turn to avoid any possibility of colliding with Air Force One. But the Spirit pilots did not respond immediately, leading the testy air traffic controller to scold them repeatedly.

I Watched Every Jimmy Kimmel Monologue Since Charlie Kirk Was Killed and All I Got Was This Sinking Feeling

Jimmy Kimmel became the latest casualty in President Donald Trump’s war on the media on Wednesday when news broke that ABC would be putting the comedian’s late night show on hold indefinitely. And if you’re trying to figure out what Kimmel said that was so offensive, you’re not alone. I watched every monologue that Kimmel has delivered on his ABC show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, since Charlie Kirk was murdered in Utah on Sept. 10. I was expecting there to be something shocking that would at least warra

Kirby Air Riders feels more like F-Zero than Mario Kart

is an editor covering deals and gaming hardware that he thinks you’ll like. He joined in 2018, and after a stint at Polygon, he rejoined The Verge in May 2025. I got to try Kirby Air Riders this morning at a Nintendo holiday showcase, and I wasn’t prepared for how difficult it was — and how bad I am at it. The Switch 2-exclusive racer launches November 20th, and it’s full of modes, collectibles, and new characters to play as. To be clear, there’s absolutely nothing chill about Kirby Air Riders.

US government charges British teenager accused of at least 120 ‘Scattered Spider’ hacks

The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday unsealed federal charges against British teenager Thalha Jubair, who prosecutors accuse of being involved in at least 120 cyberattacks, including the U.S. Courts system, and the extortion of dozens of U.S. companies. Jubair, 19, was arrested on Tuesday at his home in East London, according to a statement by the National Crime Agency. He appeared in court on Thursday morning in London alongside another teenager, Owen Flowers, 18. Both are accused of inv

US House Oversight Committee summons CEOs of Discord, Twitch, Reddit to testify on online radicalization

The House Oversight Committee has requested that the CEOs of Discord, Twitch, Reddit, and gaming platform Steam testify on October 8 about their platforms’ alleged involvement in any online “radicalization” and the “incitement to commit politically motivated acts,” according to letters sent from the House committee to the four tech CEOs. In a statement, Rep. James Comer, chairman of the Oversight Committee, referenced the murder of Charlie Kirk and “other acts of politically motivated violence”

AYANEO’s most affordable Android handheld ever costs less than a Switch 2 game

AYANEO TL;DR AYANEO has revealed specs and pricing for its first budget handheld, the Pocket AIR Mini. With a modest MediaTek G90T SoC, the cheapest configuration starts at just $70. The specs are weak, but AYANEO promises full compatibility with PS1, N64, and Dreamcast, plus some GameCube and PS2. After weeks of teasers, AYANEO has finally given us a full look at its upcoming budget handheld, the Pocket AIR Mini. And unlike its previous “value” releases like the $239 KONKR Pocket FIT, this

American Prairie unlocks another 70k acres in Montana

Public lands and public access are now constantly under threat in the U.S., but there’s still good news to share. Ambitious conservation nonprofit American Prairie has secured its second-largest land purchase and leasing arrangement to date, buying up the 70,000-acre Anchor Ranch in Montana, which had been listed for sale for $35 million. The group bought the land from two billionaire Texas brothers who’d kept the public locked out of one of the only western access roads into adjacent public la