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An anonymous reader quotes a report from NBC News: The Food and Drug Administration on Friday granted a quick review of three experimental psychedelic drugs meant to treat major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. It's the latest move by the Trump administration signaling a shift in policy toward treatments that also give users a high -- coming a day after the Justice Department said it would ease restrictions on state-licensed medical marijuana. UK-based biotech company Compass Pathways said Friday it has received an expedited review for its experimental form of synthetic psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. In a press release the company cited two large, phase 3 studies that had "generated positive data." Usona Institute, headquartered in Wisconsin, also said it's received a voucher for its work with psilocybin to treat major depressive disorder. In an email, a Usona spokesperson said the company expects the review process to last one to two months after it submits its application. "The voucher expedites the timeline only; it does not alter scientific or regulatory standards," the spokesperson wrote. New York-based Transcend Therapeutics has also been granted a priority review voucher for its experimental drug methylone for PTSD, Blake Mandell, the company's chief executive officer, said. "There's a battle still raging in their mind that we don't fully understand biochemically," FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said. "When you see something that looks promising for a community that is suffering with mental health illness, despair and suicidal ideation, you can't help but recognize that." Makary told NBC News that with the priority voucher program, the agency could potentially approve the first psychedelic drug by the end of summer.

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fjo3 shares a report from The Times: More than two-thirds of babies under two use screens, a report has found, and some are exposed for up to eight hours a day. Nearly a third of newborns were found to be watching screens for more than three hours a day, while almost 20 percent of infants of four to 11 months used screens for more than an hour a day. The report comes after the government issued guidance that children under two do not use screens at all, apart from communal activities such as video-calling relatives. In a review of the current research, researchers found evidence linking screen time to poorer outcomes for children, including an increased risk of obesity, short-sightedness, sleep and behavioural difficulties, and later challenges with friendships. [...] The research also revealed why children and parents use screens, with families reporting children doing so for educational purposes, entertainment, play and to communicate and bond with others. Parents, meanwhile, used screens to occupy or distract children, which helped caregivers to complete domestic duties, paid employment and other caring responsibilities. Nearly a quarter of parents -- 23.6 percent -- either had no childcare or were not aware of the government's early years offer.

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Elon Musk testified on day two of his trial against OpenAI, saying he helped create the company as a nonprofit counterweight to Google and would not have backed it if the goal had been private profit. CNBC reports: Musk on Tuesday was the first witness called to testify in the trial. He spoke about his upbringing, his many companies, his role in founding OpenAI and his understanding of its structure. Musk said in his testimony that he was not opposed to the creation of a small for-profit subsidiary, "as long as the tail didn't wag the dog." Musk said he was motivated to start OpenAI to serve as a counterweight to Google. He got the idea after an argument he had with Google co-founder Larry Page, who called Musk a "speciesist for being pro-human," he testified. "I could have started it as a for profit and I chose not to," Musk said on the stand. Earlier, attorneys for Musk and OpenAI presented their opening arguments to the jury. Musk's lead trial lawyer, Steven Molo, delivered the opening statement for the Tesla and SpaceX CEO. OpenAI lawyer William Savitt gave the opening statement for the AI company, Altman and Brockman. OpenAI has characterized Musk's lawsuit as a baseless "harassment campaign." The company said Monday in a post on X that it "can't wait to make our case in court where both the truth and the law are on our side." During his testimony on Tuesday, Musk repeatedly emphasized that he founded OpenAI to serve as a counterweight to Google. He said he got the idea after an argument about AI safety with Google co-founder Larry Page, who Musk said called him "a speciesist for being pro-human." Musk said he was concerned Page was not taking AI safety seriously, so he wanted there to be an nonprofit, open source alternative to Google. "I could have started it as a for profit and I chose not to," Musk said on the stand. Further reading: Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Head To Court

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: University of Oregon chemist Christopher Hendon loves his coffee -- so much so that studying all the factors that go into creating the perfect cuppa constitutes a significant area of research for him. His latest project: discovering a novel means of measuring the flavor profile of coffee simply by sending an electrical current through a sample beverage. The results appear in a new paper published in the journal Nature Communications. [...] The coffee industry typically uses a method for measuring the refractive index of coffee -- i.e., how light bends as it travels through the liquid -- to determine strength, but it doesn't capture the contribution of roast color to the overall flavor profile. So for this latest study, Hendon decided to focus on roast color and beverage strength, the two variables most likely to affect the sensory profile of the final cuppa. His solution turned out to be quite simple. Hendon repurposed an electrochemical tool called a potentiostat, typically used to test battery and fuel cell performance. Hendon used the tool to measure how electricity interacted with the liquid. He found that this provided a better measurement of the flavor profile. He even tested it on four different samples of coffee beans and successfully identified the distinctive signature of a batch that had failed the roaster's quality-control process. Granted, one's taste in coffee is fairly subjective, so Hendon's goal was not to achieve a "perfect" cup but to give baristas a simple tool to consistently reproduce flavor profiles more tailored to a given customer's taste. "It's an objective way to make a statement about what people like in a cup of coffee," said Hendon. "The reason you have an enjoyable cup of coffee is almost certainly that you have selected a coffee of a particular roast color and extracted it to a desired strength. Until now, we haven't been able to separate those variables. Now we can diagnose what gives rise to that delicious cup." Outside of his latest electrical-current experiment, Christopher Hendon's coffee research has shown that espresso can be made more consistently by modeling extraction yield -- how much coffee dissolves into the final drink -- and controlling water flow and pressure. He also found that static electricity from grinding causes fine coffee particles to clump, which disrupts brewing. The solution: adding a small squirt of water to beans before grinding (known as the Ross droplet technique) to reduce that static, cut clumping and waste, and lead to a stronger, more consistent espresso.

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Apple's Vision Pro has been used in what's described as the world's first cataract surgery performed with the headset. MacRumors reports: [New York opthalmologist] Dr. Eric Rosenberg of SightMD completed the initial procedure in October 2025 and has since performed hundreds of additional cases using ScopeXR, a surgical platform he co-developed for Apple's mixed reality device. ScopeXR streams live feeds from 3D digital surgical microscopes directly into the Vision Pro, which lets the surgeon view the operative field in stereoscopic 3D while overlaying preoperative diagnostic data. The platform also supports real-time remote collaboration, allowing surgeons to virtually join procedures and see exactly what the operating surgeon sees. "We are now able to bring the world's best surgeon into any operating room, at any hour, from anywhere on the planet," said Dr. Rosenberg in a company press release. "From residents performing their first cases to surgeons facing unexpected complications, this technology democratizes access to expertise and that will save vision."

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We visited Scout AI's training ground where it's working on AI agents that give individual soldiers control of fleets of autonomous vehicles.

Geopolitical turmoil has made venture investing challenging, leading Kompas VC to carve out a niche in startups focused on the physical world.

It's a story Musk has told before -- in interviews and to author Walter Isaacson for his bestselling biography of Musk -- but Tuesday was the first time he said it under oath.

A day after OpenAI got Microsoft to agree to end exclusive rights, AWS announced a slate of OpenAI model offerings, including a new agent service.

Amazon's new "Join the chat" feature lets you ask questions about products and receive AI-powered audio responses.

Texas Instruments graphing calculators have helped many a student with algebra, pre-calculus and upside-down anatomical slang. Now, the company is back with an upgrade for the modern world, the TI-84 Evo. The new device lets you get your math on with a faster processor, a new icon-based home screen and a redesigned keypad.

TI is marketing it as something akin to the Light Phone of calculators. Unlike calculator apps on phones or computers, the "distraction-free" TI-84 Evo is a single-purpose device "designed to do one thing exceptionally well — math." Without notifications, social media apps or even Wi-Fi, there's less to draw your focus away from the math problems at hand. (However, there will always be the sidesplittingly funny "58008" to relieve your boredom.)

Texas Instruments

The new model's processor is three times faster than its predecessor. It also adds 50 percent more graphing space, a simplified keypad and USB-C charging. There's also a new feature that lets you trace along a graph to find points of interest.

The TI-84 Evo is available now. Individual customers will pay $160. (School districts can contact the company for bulk pricing.) The calculator ships in a modern array of colors: white (the standard model), mint, pink, purple, teal, raspberry and silver.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/texas-instruments-made-a-new-flagship-graphing-calculator-the-ti-84-evo-201903438.html?src=rss

Apple reportedly plans to fix bugs and expand the capabilities of Apple Intelligence with the release of iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and macOS 27 year, and it seems like tweaks to the company's AI could go beyond a more functional version of its Siri assistant. Bloomberg reports that this year's software updates will also include new AI-powered photo editing tools that will let users change things like the background and framing of images, too.

You can currently use the Photos app across Apple's operating systems to adjust things like saturation and contrast, apply filters, crop photos or use AI to remove objects with the Clean Up tool. Clean Up will apparently be one of several "Apple Intelligence Tools" after these new updates roll out, Bloomberg writes. Along with Clean Up, users will be able to use "Extend" to expand the background of the photo with generative AI, "Enhance" to automatically improve things like lighting and image quality and "Reframe" to shift the perspective of a photo after it's taken, primarily for Apple's spatial photos.

The new features, if released, will bring Apple's photo-editing tools more in line with competitors like Google and Samsung, though both companies still lap Apple in their willingness to create entirely generated images. Google's Magic Editor feature, which debuted in 2023, still takes the cake in terms of giving users leeway to radically add to and change their photos.

Other than new photo tools, Apple is reportedly also debuting its new version of Siri powered by Google's Gemini models, a standalone Siri app and AI-powered search inside its apps. Apple will likely introduce many of these new features during its WWDC keynote on June 8.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/ios-27-will-reportedly-come-with-new-ai-powered-photo-editing-tools-194119562.html?src=rss

NVIDIA is releasing a new variant of its 5070 GPU for laptops. Nestled in a blog post about the latest version of its Game Ready Drivers, the company notes its partners will soon start selling 5070 laptops with 12GB of VRAM, alongside the 8GB model that NVIDIA has offered since the launch of the 50-series.

"Demand for GeForce RTX remains strong, and memory supply is contrastrained. In order to maximize memory availability, we are releasing the GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU 12GB configuration with 24Gb G7 memory. This gives our partners access to an additional pool of memory to complement the 16Gb G7 supply that currently ships with most GeForce GPUs," NVIDIA said.

The first 12GB 5070-equipped laptops are slated to start shipping sometime in June, with manufacturers like ASUS, Lenovo and MSI likely to offer the video card as an option in some of their models. NVIDIA has yet to confirm pricing, but outlets like NotebookCheck are reporting that 12GB 5070 laptops could cost as much as their 5070 Ti counterparts. Right now, a 5070 Ti-equipped PC like the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI can set you back as much $2,650, depending on the amount of RAM on offer. New 12GB 5070 laptops likely won't cost as much, given manufacturers will probably configure them with less RAM.

NVIDIA has yet to share the full spec list for the 12GB 5070, but as the company notes, it’s using 24Gb G7 memory, instead of 16GB G7 memory, for the new model. The two memory types are made using different manufacturing processes. The former uses 3GB memory modules, while the latter uses 2GB ones. Either way the company is tapping into a different supply of memory that, in recent months, Samsung and Micron have managed to produce more consistently at scale. That said, unless NVIDIA has redesigned the 5070 to equip it with a wider 192-bit bus interface, which seems unlikely in this case, the new model won't be able to access that additional memory as fast as the 5070 Ti and other models above it in NVIDIA's stack. For most games that shouldn't matter too much, but it does mean the new model isn't quite the upgrade it seems if you just look at the amount of raw VRAM.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/nvidia-starts-offering-a-12gb-version-of-the-5070-for-laptops-180057515.html?src=rss

Games Done Quick, the charity video game speedrunning series, is making its European debut in a live event at Germany’s Gamescom this summer.

GDQ’s marathon event will run for the duration of the three-day show in Cologne, starting August 28-30, and will feature popular runners and an on-site live audience. The event will be broadcast on Twitch and YouTube, with programming kicking off at 4am ET (one for all you early risers) daily and running until 2pm.

"We’re thrilled to expand Games Done Quick globally and to bring a live event to gamescom in Germany, an opportunity that’s incredibly meaningful to our team," said Ashley Farkas, Games Done Quick’s Owner and Business Director. "This partnership not only supports an amazing initiative, but also creates space for more runners to participate, especially those who haven’t previously had the opportunity to travel to the US."

Games Done Quick was established in 2010 and has since raised more than $60 million for charities worldwide. Its first event of this year took place back in January, and featured live speedruns of Super Mario Sunshine, Hades II and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, to name a few.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/games-done-quick-will-host-its-first-ever-event-in-europe-170637194.html?src=rss

It was only a matter of time before they found a way to use AI agents as corporate shills. On Tuesday, Snapchat rolled out AI Sponsored Snaps, a "new way for brands to show up in Chat through AI agents." Or, put another way, it's conversational advertising. (Yay?)

AI Sponsored Snaps will appear in the app's Chat tab (with a light gray "Ad" notation next to the brand name). After opening the chat, you can ask the agent questions about the brand it represents. Snap showed an example from its first partner for the initiative, Experian. The bot offers to answer your questions on saving money, improving your credit score and — there it is — exploring loans and credit cards.

Whether through credit card offers or other means, the AI agent will presumably try to guide you toward behavior that makes money for the sponsor. So, it isn't clear why this would be better for consumers than asking a general-purpose chatbot like Gemini or Claude the same questions. Maybe the answer is as simple as, "It isn't... but they know people will use it anyway."

Snap

"Conversation is becoming the most valuable real estate in advertising," Snap's Chief Business Officer, Ajit Mohan, wrote in a press release. "AI is accelerating that shift, turning chat into the place where people discover products, ask questions, and make decisions in real time. The real opportunity isn't just putting ads into those environments, it's designing formats that feel native to how people already talk."

Snap says more than half a billion people have messaged its My AI feature since it launched three years ago. That was despite a shaky start, where the bot told researchers and journalists posing as young teenagers how to mask the smell of alcohol or cannabis and set the mood for sex.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/snapchat-is-rolling-out-sponsored-ai-agents-162720124.html?src=rss

After Hashicorp co-founder blasts the source shack and numbers slide

Microsoft's code hosting shack Github has published a lengthy mea culpa about its availability and reliability woes - one that includes the words "we are sorry."...

32 phone calls, 17 email chains, a 5-day ordeal, and no help during the daddy of all stuffups, claim those affected

GoDaddy is currently investigating claims that it handed complete control of a valid 27-year-old domain to another customer, without requiring them to pass any authentication processes or upload any supporting documents....

Expert says it could push customers and partners to work with undocumented APIs

SAP is prohibiting the use of its APIs to integrate with AI systems outside its endorsed architectures, raising concerns that it is locking out third-party AI tools from customers' SAP data....

Linux vendor touts European independence while rate limits, Chromium popups, and cold sparks steal the show

BORK!BORK!BORK! The keynote gods are a fickle bunch, as SUSE discovered at its annual shindig in Prague. What should have been a slick edge demo instead served up error pages to unsuspecting attendees, while keynote presentations attracted some unwelcome visitors....

Yet another reason not to feast on OpenClaw

Thirty ClawHub skills published by a single author are silently co-opting AI agents and creating a mass cryptocurrency mining swarm – without any malware or user consent....

An eligible mobile or home internet subscription is the key to epic savings on the entertainment you love.

Returning comedies and several British dramas are hitting the streamer this month.

An increasing number of states are enacting legislation to counteract AI license plate readers, car trackers and police drone surveillance. Here's what you should know.

The family business is dead.

The brightness levels of TVs are now at scorching levels, and in this CNET Labs Exclusive, we ask, 'Is this the only thing that makes them good?'

The clown car is all gassed up.

When doctors saw him, his limbs were discolored and crackling.

Kimmel joke calling Melania an "expectant widow" followed quickly by FCC order.

Civil liberty concerns spur FAA to revise drone no-fly zones near ICE vehicles.

Humanoid robots could load cargo and clean aircraft cabins at Haneda Airport.

I pitted Tractive and Fi Mini smart cat collars against each other to crown the best for activity, sleep, and GPS tracking.

We tested coolers on camping trips, road trips, beach days, and at parties to bring you our favorite models for every situation. The Yeti Tundra Haul is our top pick.

I ran in Sabastian Sawe’s world-record-breaking running shoe. It’s fast, but only if you can maintain your locked-in form for 26 miles.

A recent case shows law enforcement can see incoming Signal messages by searching an iPhone, even after the Signal app has been deleted. Here’s what to know, and how to protect yourself.

Whisker’s Litter-Robot name has become synonymous with the automatic litter box. We’ve tested the entire lineup and can help you choose the best model for your household.

Your iPhone content and web activities say a lot about you. Use one of our top tried-and-tested VPNs to keep your information private and to boost your online security.

Amazon's summer Prime Day event is on its way, but it may not be in July. Here's what you need to know right now.

Setting up a VPN on your Apple TV can be a nuisance, but with one of our top Apple TV VPNs, setup and streaming will take mere moments.

A new survey finds most government leaders believe that by 2030, the public sector will consist of humans and AI agents working together.

Want a blast from the past? Microsoft just open-sourced its very first operating system, offering a rare insight into the PC's earliest days.

We tested 10 leading project management tools and found monday.com best overall for its multiple views and extensive customization. ClickUp shines for affordability, while Confluence excels in project documentation.

The post 9 Best Project Management Software in 2026 appeared first on TechRepublic.

A hardcoded ClickUp API key exposed hundreds of corporate and government emails for over a year, raising new SaaS security concerns.

The post ClickUp Data Leak Exposes Enterprise Emails for Over a Year appeared first on TechRepublic.

Xpeng’s flying car factory is moving from prototype to production, but certification gaps still separate delivery plans from public passenger service.

The post Xpeng Flying Car Deliveries Target 2027 as Certification Gaps Remain appeared first on TechRepublic.

ADT confirmed a data breach exposing customer names, addresses, phone numbers, and partial SSNs, with millions of records reportedly affected.

The post ADT Confirms Major Data Breach Exposing Millions of Names, Partial SSNs appeared first on TechRepublic.

Samsung’s rumored smart glasses may challenge Meta with AI features, display-free design, leaked pricing, and a possible 2027 AR roadmap.

The post Samsung Galaxy Glasses Leak: Pricing, Specs, and Launch Timeline Revealed appeared first on TechRepublic.

Apple plans radical iPhone redesign Apple’s 2027 iPhone may debut all-curved display.

YouTube gets smarter with AI YouTube tests ‘Ask YouTube’ AI conversational search feature.

Apple to step up AI photo tools? Apple iOS 27 may bring AI photo editing overhaul.

Google adds pronunciation help feature Google Translate turns 20, adds pronunciation practice tool.

Swift fights AI identity misuse Taylor Swift trademarks voice, image to fight AI deepfakes.

Developers working on Magic: The Gathering – Arena at Renton, Wash.-based Wizards of the Coast have formed a union with the Communications Workers of America, seeking protections on remote work, layoffs, AI use, and overtime. Read More

SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon moved quickly Tuesday to capitalize on OpenAI's new relationship status with Microsoft, launching a preview of OpenAI's models on its Bedrock platform less than 24 hours after the ChatGPT maker was freed from its previously exclusive cloud arrangement. Read More

AWS is expanding line of Amazon Connect business apps into a suite of agentic AI products, including new tools for supply chain planning and high-volume hiring built on Amazon's own operational experience and insights. Read More

Bellevue, Wash.-based health data company Truveta announced Truveta Intelligence, a new AI-powered tool that lets researchers ask natural language questions and get answers drawn from de-identified clinical records covering more than 130 million patients. Read More

Sniffies, a Seattle-based meetup platform for gay, bisexual and sexually curious men, has landed a $100 million investment from Match... Read More

With the right tech, even the smallest outdoor space can become a haven for wildlife, or the coolest spot for dining al fresco this summer.

New ransomware variant destroys everything bigger than 128kb, making retrieval without a backup impossible.

Android is about to become less open, and users aren't happy.

The gap between firms modernizing their back offices and those still running on fragmented systems and manual workflows.

Businesses pour money into AI, but broken systems prevent real results and ROI