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More than 5,000 years ago, new fossil research suggests that burrowing bees made a home among piles of rodent bones buried in caves on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, which is part of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.The bees encountered the bones while digging in the soil to their desired depth. Researchers stopped to build their nests inside the cavities of their teeth and vertebrae, and found that the nests were the perfect size. Most of the bones the scientists recovered belonged to the hutia, a thick rodent that resembles a cross between a squirrel and a beaver, but a…
Elon Musk’s Company X has updated its terms of service to indicate it still claims the “Twitter” trademark. The move to add this detail to the company’s terms follows the announcement by a Virginia-based startup that recently filed to trademark the term “Twitter.” Startup Operation Bluebird claims that X has abandoned the Twitter brand by renaming its social networking service to X. In a petition filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Dec. 2, the company pointed to a July 23, 2023 post by X owner Musk declaring that the social network would soon be “saying goodbye to…
Cardiologists have observed for decades that heart attacks are more damaging when they occur during the day than at night, and understanding why that happens may be the key to treating the condition, a new study finds.There are many theories as to why daytime heart attacks are more harmful. Some suggest that stress hormones and daily fluctuations in blood pressure may be to blame. However, the role of the immune system is still unclear.Previous studies have shown that immune cells called neutrophils, which act as early responders to injury, cause more inflammation and collateral tissue damage at the injury site…
DoorDash is launching a new AI-powered social app designed to help users quickly find local restaurants. The app, called Zesty, was initially available in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York. With this app, DoorDash is moving beyond food delivery and into social and discovery. The idea behind this app is to eliminate the need to read different reviews, explore different menus, or browse TikTok when looking for a new restaurant. When users open the app and sign in with their DoorDash account, they can ask the AI chatbot for personalized recommendations based on what they’re looking for. In…
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) may have discovered the most distant supernova in the universe. This stellar explosion was caused by a very faint galaxy and occurred when the universe was only 730 million years old.In addition to potentially adding another record to JWST’s already impressive list, this detection provides insight into the origin of the ultra-bright gamma-ray burst observed in March. These sudden, brief bursts of gamma rays are among the most powerful explosions in the universe.The burst of energy, called GRB 250314A, was discovered by the Space Variable Objects Monitor, a small X-ray telescope developed…
Meta on Tuesday announced an update to its AI glasses that allow you to better hear people’s conversations when you’re in noisy environments. The company says the feature will first be available on Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses in the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, the glasses receive another update that allows you to use Spotify to play songs that match what’s in your current view. For example, if you’re looking at an album cover, the glasses can play a song by that artist. Or, if you’re looking at a Christmas tree piled high with presents, consider playing…
Scientists have identified a “dial” in the human brain that increases when exploring new areas. The discovery could help understand why getting lost is often an early symptom of dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease.Imagine you are walking home along a well-worn road and accidentally take the wrong turn. It doesn’t take long for your brain to sound the alarm that you’ve lost your way.The new study, published Dec. 4 in the journal Nature Communications, combines high-power brain imaging and virtual reality (VR) to reveal what happens in the brain when we explore both familiar and unfamiliar environments. you may like…
OpenAI is rolling out a new version of ChatGPT Images that promises better command following, more precise editing, and up to 4x faster image generation speeds. This new model, called GPT Image 1.5, will be available to all ChatGPT users via the API starting Tuesday. This is the latest escalation in Google’s competition with Gemini after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman declared a “code red” in a leaked internal memo last month. The memo details OpenAI’s plans to regain its position as an AI leader after Google began gaining market share following the release of its latest flagship model, Gemini 3,…
In early 2023, Luminar was on a roll. After going public during the pandemic and signing a key deal with Volvo, the company has added Mercedes-Benz and Polestar as customers for its “lifesaving” lidar sensors. Founder and CEO Austin Russell called it an “inflection point” as Luminar prepared to integrate these sensors into its first production vehicles. Volvo in particular was all about its technology. The Swedish automaker, which has spent decades building its brand around the idea of making the safest cars, was the first to jump into integrating laser-based sensors into its vehicles. Volvo initially used Luminar to…
After spending nearly a decade developing the on-demand service as Uber Eats’ first general manager for Latin America and later as COO of Rappi, Caroline Melin knew how far behind healthcare technology was. Patients expected doctors to be as responsive as delivery apps, but most medical professionals on the continent are forced to rely on WhatsApp for all patient communications. “As a patient, especially as an American, I thought it was incredible that I could text my doctor on WhatsApp and he would respond,” she told TechCrunch. But Merrin also realized how overwhelming this method of communication can be for…