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How to tell time on Mars

Popular Science

Physicists finally know how much faster time moves on the Red Planet. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Tracking the first astronauts' visit to Mars won't be as simple as watching a clock or marking days off of a calendar. Thanks to relativity, time actually moves faster on the Red Planet than it does here on Earth. For years, scientists have wondered about the exact temporal difference between planets, but physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) finally have an answer.


Your Data Might Determine How Much You Pay for Eggs

WIRED

A newly enacted New York law requires retailers to say whether your data influences the price of basic goods like a dozen eggs or toilet paper, but not how. If you're near Rochester, New York, the price for a carton of Target's Good & Gather eggs is listed as $1.99 on its website. It's unclear why the prices differ, but a new notice on Target's website offers a potential hint: "This price was set by an algorithm using your personal data." A recently enacted New York State law requires businesses that algorithmically set prices using customers' personal data to disclose that. According to the law, personal data includes any data that can be "linked or reasonably linked, directly or indirectly, with a specific consumer or device." The law doesn't require businesses to explicitly state what information about a person or device is being used or how each piece of information affects the final price a customer sees.


Norton's new Neo browser brings AI to the search bar, today

PCWorld

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Norton's new Neo browser brings AI to the search bar, today Norton Neo is free to test, but the browser may include paid features in the future. For years, the URL bar in your browser has done double duty: you can enter a web address, sure, but you can also use it to enter search requests. Now Norton has a new "free" browser, Neo, which adds a third function: AI prompting. Norton--most famous for its antimalware solutions like Norton 360 Deluxe --is entering the browser market with Norton Neo, an AI-first browser that you can sign up for and join the waitlist.



Quieter dental drills may be on the horizon

Popular Science

The high-pitched whine of dentistry tools creates a lot of anxiety, especially for kids. The fear of going to the dentist is called odontophobia. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. If the thought of going to the dentist makes your teeth chatter with fear, you're not alone. At least 15 to 20 percent of adults are believed to have odontophobia--aka dental anxiety--which prevents them from maintaining regular cleanings and dental check-ups .


Sam Altman issues 'code red' at OpenAI as ChatGPT contends with rivals

The Guardian

Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, sent an internal memo to staff saying Gemini 3 could create'temporary economic headwinds' for the company. Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, sent an internal memo to staff saying Gemini 3 could create'temporary economic headwinds' for the company. Sam Altman issues'code red' at OpenAI as ChatGPT contends with rivals Chief executive tells staff it is'critical time' for chatbot as it faces intense competition from Google's new Gemini 3 Sam Altman has declared a "code red" at OpenAI to improve ChatGPT as the chatbot faces intense competition from rivals. According to a report by tech news site the Information, the chief executive of the San Francisco-based startup told staff in an internal memo: "We are at a critical time for ChatGPT." OpenAI has been rattled by the success of Google's latest AI model, Gemini 3, and is devoting more internal resources to improving ChatGPT .


New email scam uses hidden characters to slip past filters

FOX News

New phishing technique embeds hidden Unicode characters between letters in email subjects, making malicious messages undetectable to keyword-based filters.


AWS CEO Matt Garman Wants to Reassert Amazon's Cloud Dominance in the AI Era

WIRED

As Google and Microsoft continue to surge, the AWS chief lays out his pitch: cheaper, reliable AI delivered at hyperscale. You might think Amazon's biggest swing in the AI race was its $8 billion investment in Anthropic. But AWS has also been building in-house foundation models, new chips, massive data centers, and agents meant to keep enterprise customers locked inside its ecosystem. The company believes these offerings will give it an edge as businesses of all shapes and sizes deploy AI in the real world. WIRED sat down with AWS CEO Matt Garman ahead of the company's annual re:Invent conference in Las Vegas to discuss his AI vision, and how he plans to extend Amazon's lead in the cloud market over its fast-rising competitors, Microsoft and Google.


Sick baby ants sacrifice themselves to save their colony

Popular Science

New research shows ill pupae emit a chemical signal before ever leaving their cocoons. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Ants are some of nature's most selfless animals. They practice social distancing when ill, consistently act for the good of the colony, and will die to protect their queen from outsiders. This evolutionary drive is so strong that at least one ant species will even willingly sacrifice before they leave their cocoons.


Amazon Has New Frontier AI Models--and a Way for Customers to Build Their Own

WIRED

Nova Forge lets Amazon's customers train frontier models for different tasks--a potential breakthrough in making AI actually useful for businesses. Amazon has announced a new family of frontier artificial intelligence models--and a new way for customers to build frontier models of their own. The ecommerce giant announced the second generation of its Nova AI models at re:Invent, a company conference held in Las Vegas. The models are nowhere near as popular as those offered by rivals like OpenAI and Google, but Amazon's plan to make them highly customizable could see them gain traction with its cloud users. Amazon detailed two improved large language models, Nova Lite and Nova Pro; a new realtime voice model called Nova Sonic; and a more experimental model called Nova Omni that performs a simulated kind of reasoning using images, audio, and video as well as text.