To fill a car with gas, you generally just need a credit card or cash. To charge an EV at a DC fast-charging station, you need any number of things to work—a credit card reader, an app for that charger’s network, a touchscreen that’s working—and they’re all a little different. That situation could change next…
Other Android upgrades include better-looking document scans in Google Drive thanks to improved contrast and white balance in the document processing steps, and easier sharing with Quick Share, which is the Google equivalent of Apple’s AirDrop. You can quickly share images and videos with a QR code rather than requiring the person to be a…
A bee pollinating a squash flower Roman Kýbus/Alamy Plants treated with diverse species of fungi that live on roots grew larger flowers, prompting bees to visit them more often and spend more time there. “[These fungi] might not only have benefits for the plant itself, or for the soil, but also for the pollinators,” says…
Tencent is one of China’s largest technology companies Cynthia Lee/Alamy Chinese tech giant Tencent doesn’t seem to be affected by US export bans of computer chips that are crucial to the development of artificial intelligence systems – but even if such bans were more stringent, they may not be able to slow the country’s AI…
Live rats played and tussled with the robot rodent Shutterstock / Bilanol A robotic rat on wheels has learned how to interact with real rats while mimicking the rodents’ play and fight behaviours. “[The] robotic rats have similar appearances and movements to animals, and even the same odour,” says Qing Shi at the Beijing Institute…
The rough green snake (Opheodrys aestivus) Bodleian Library Publishing, University of Oxford, 2024 These remarkable and intricate illustrations are the work of Mark Catesby, an English naturalist and artist who made numerous visits to North America in the early 18th century, recording the flora and fauna he saw on his travels. His work is collected…
Nadine Mills plays a nurse, Sabrina, in superhero series Supacell. Courtesy of Netflix Despite it feeling like there is more to watch on TV than ever before, it hasn’t been a banner year for sci-fi on the small screen. Too many shows have been simply OK, with their moments of flare outweighed by exposition dumps…
“The zip line played a pivotal role in democratising space” Victor Habbick Visions/Science Photo Library/Alamy Even as the price of space flight came down dramatically in the 2030s, the environmental and financial cost of using chemical rockets to escape Earth’s gravity held back human expansion to the moon and beyond. There was also widespread anger…
Josie Ford A biblical approach Praise be, there is a new book from psychologist-turned-YouTuber Jordan Peterson. We Who Wrestle With God is about how ancient myths and legends, while perhaps not literally true, contain valuable and even universal lessons about life and humanity. Feedback was nodding along to this. Anthropologists will tell you there’s a…
I was going to ask if anyone has found it yet. Does anyone know where it is? I haven’t shared the location online or even a picture of what the box looks like, just because I don’t want anyone to get too—for the city to have a very easy time finding it if they want…