Category: Tech

An eruption of measles is spreading quickly in Kansas, with cases doubling in a week and spreading to three new counties, some with vaccination coverage among kindergartners at pitiful levels as low as 41 percent. Coverage of 95 percent or greater is thought to protect communities from onward spread of the extremely contagious virus. In an update Wednesday, March 26, Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reported 23 measles cases across six counties—up from 10 cases across three counties on March 21. The 23 people ill with the dangerous virus are mostly children, including six who are 0 to 4 years old, nine who are 5 to 10, three who are 11 to 13, three who are 14 to 17, and two adults between the ages of 25 and 44. Fortunately, none of the cases have been hospitalized so far, and there have been no deaths. Twenty of the 23 cases were unvaccinated. One case was “not age appropriately vaccinated,” one was “age appropriately vaccinated,” and the remaining case’s vaccination status is pending. Read full article Comments

Three weeks ago, NASA revealed that a shipping container protecting a Cygnus spacecraft sustained “damage” while traveling to the launch site in Florida. Built by Northrop Grumman, Cygnus is one of two Western spacecraft currently capable of delivering food, water, experiments, and other supplies to the International Space Station. This particular Cygnus mission, NG-22, had been scheduled for June. As part of its statement in early March, the space agency said it was evaluating the NG-22 Cygnus cargo supply mission along with Northrop. On Wednesday, after a query from Ars Technica, the space agency acknowledged that the Cygnus spacecraft designated for NG-22 is too damaged to fly, at least in the near term. Read full article Comments

Amazon discontinued 2016’s Kindle Oasis in early 2024, and since then, the company hasn’t offered a new e-reader with physical page turn buttons or any other alternative to touchscreen input. There still isn’t a Kindle with buttons and the feature seems unlikely to return, but buyers of the latest Kindle Paperwhite or the Kindle Colorsoft are getting a possible consolation prize in the new 5.18.1 software update: a “double tap to page turn” feature that will turn the page or move to the next screen when you double-tap on the back or side of the device. The 5.18.1 software update is available on all Kindle readers going back to 2018’s “10th generation” models, but the double-tap feature only works on the newest 12th-generation Paperwhite and the Colorsoft, not on any older Kindles or either Kindle Scribe model. We verified this firsthand by installing 5.18.1 on a 10th-generation Paperwhite, but we also checked the release notes for each individual Kindle on Amazon’s software update page. All Kindles that get the 5.18.1 update also gain access to new book summaries for “thousands of bestselling English language Kindle books,” aiming to make it easier to pick up a new book in an ongoing series. Read full article Comments

Companies like OpenAI and China’s DeepSeek offer chatbots designed to take their time with an answer. Here’s how they work.

San Francisco-based 23andMe, which sells at-home DNA testing kits, has filed for bankruptcy in the US and is looking for a new buyer — heightening concerns about the personal data of millions of people.     23andMe experienced a major data breach in 2023, which exposed personal information like family trees, birth years, and geographic locations of approximately half of the company’s 15 million users.    Now, with the company sinking, 23andMe customers are considering deleting their accounts amid fears of another hack or changes to the company’s privacy controls under a new owner.  In the EU and the UK, 23andMe users are… This story continues at The Next Web

Tweety McTreason and administration officials claimed this week that no classified information about war plans was shared with a journalist, despite The Atlantic report that specific plans to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen were included in a Signal chat the reporter was inexplicably invited to. The Atlantic initially declined to publish the exact text of the most specific message sent in advance of the bombings but changed course after the Trump administration’s denials. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters that “nobody was texting war plans and that’s all I have to say about that.” At a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said that “there was no classified material that was shared in that Signal group.” CIA Director John Ratcliffe said at the same hearing that “my communications, to be clear, in the Signal message group were entirely permissible and lawful and did not include classified information.” Trump himself said the information shared was not classified. Read full article Comments

There’s a new “exciting, small EV” on the way, to be launched early next year by Also, a spinoff of the electric vehicle maker Rivian. Details are light on exactly what that product will be, but don’t go expecting a $20,000 electric hatchback or the like—think more like an e-bike. Also will be into micromobility, not competing with Mini or Smart. Also started out as an internal project to see if Rivian could use its knowledge of electric powertrains, vehicle electronics, and software to build other “small vehicle form factors.” In fact, in 2023, news broke of a Rivian e-bike in the works at Rivian, although it was unclear if it would be something with pedals or more like an electric motorcycle. Things are still rather vague. Also’s announcement says its “flagship product” will launch in early 2026 and that the company will focus on the US and Europe at first. It will build “an exciting range of electric vehicles that are efficient, sustainable, and delightful to use,” using in-house technology. Read full article Comments

A new algorithm has improved the ability of quantum computers to model new materials and chemicals by a factor of 10. That’s according to its developer, UK startup Phasecraft.  The Bristol- and London-based company describes the breakthrough as the largest single leap in quantum simulations to date — moving us a step closer to real-world quantum applications. Quantum computers improve on classical simulations by accurately modelling complex quantum behaviours — like the ever-changing interactions between molecules or the evolution of materials over time — that are too difficult for classical computers to simulate efficiently. This could lead to technological leaps… This story continues at The Next Web

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has launched its first Bitcoin product in Europe, a move that industry experts say will help legitimise cryptocurrencies in mainstream finance.  “This is a landmark development for crypto, displaying confidence in Bitcoin for mainstream investments,” Meryem Habibi, chief revenue officer at London-based crypto payment gateway Bitpace, told TNW.  “Through this first in Europe, BlackRock is not only legitimising the asset class but also paving the way for increased institutional and retail participation,” she said. BlackRock’s product is called an “iShares Bitcoin ETP” (exchange-traded products). ETPs let investors buy and sell Bitcoin without directly owning the cryptocurrency.… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Bitcoin

With a national ban increasingly unlikely, let’s reflect on how the app both sparks joy among users and raises mental health concerns.

Severance has just wrapped up its second season. I sat down with fellow Ars staffers Aaron Zimmerman and Lee Hutchinson to talk through what we had just seen, covering everything from those goats to the show’s pacing. Warning: Huge spoilers for seasons 1 and 2 follow! Nate: Severance season 1 was a smaller-scale, almost claustrophobic show about a crazy office, its “waffle parties,” and the personal life of Mark Scout, mourning his dead wife and “severing” his consciousness to avoid that pain. It followed a compact group of characters, centered around the four “refiners” who worked on Lumon’s severed floor. But season 2 blew up that cozy/creepy world and started following more characters—including far more “outies”—to far more places. Did the show manage to maintain its unique vibe while making significant changes to pacing, character count, and location? Lee: I think so, but as you say, things were different this time around. One element that I’m glad carried through was the show’s consistent use of a very specific visual language. (I am an absolute sucker for visual storytelling. My favorite Kubrick film is Barry Lyndon. I’ll forgive a lot of plot holes if they’re beautifully shot.) Season 2, especially in the back half, treats us to an absolute smorgasbord of incredible visuals—bifurcated shots symbolizing severance and duality, stark whites and long hallways, and my personal favorite: Chris Walken in a black turtleneck seated in front of a fireplace, like Satan holding court in Hell. The storytelling might be a bit less focused, but it looks great. Read full article Comments

More heavy blows are landing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to reports Tuesday that reveal a wave of high-level departures from the country’s beleaguered health agency. The agency is also losing $11.4 billion in funding for responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was largely doled out to chronically underfunded state health departments. This afternoon, the Associated Press reported that five high-level leaders are departing the agency, which was announced today during a senior staff meeting. The departures, which were described as retirements, follow three other high-level departures in recent weeks. Given that the CDC has two dozen centers and offices, the recent departures reflect a loss of about a third of the agency’s top management. The departures announced today include: Leslie Ann Dauphin, who oversees the Public Health Infrastructure Center, “which serves as the connection point between the agency and state, local, and territorial jurisdictions, tribes. and CDC’s public health partners,” according to the CDC. Karen Remley, who heads the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, is also departing, as is Sam Posner, who heads the Office of Science, which provides scientific expertise across the agency and publishes the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Debra Lubar, who is the CDC’s Chief Operating Officer and runs the Office of Policy, Performance and Evaluation, and Leandris Liburd, head of the Office of Health Equity, are also leaving. Read full article Comments

A journalist’s inclusion in a national security discussion served as a reminder that you might not know every number in the chat — and that could be a big problem.