Science & technology news — Global (English)

Microsoft’s new Surface Mouse has haptic feedback and a customizable action button

Microsoft is launching a second generation of its Surface Mouse next month that includes haptic feedback support. The Surface Mouse also has a customizable action button for the first time, which is primarily designed for quick access to Copilot (of course), but can be configured to work with other shortcuts from the Surface app. "Its […]

Microsoft refreshes its smaller Surface Pro and Laptop with Qualcomm’s X2 Plus

Microsoft is refreshing its Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch devices with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon X2 Plus chips. The smaller Surface devices retain the same design and hardware features from last year, with faster and more capable chips inside and higher price tags (thanks RAMageddon!). While the 12-inch Surface Pro started at $799.99 last […]

XPRIZE Wildfire winners spotted fires within 10 min—but couldn’t stop them

$11M competition showed wildfire detection is still easier than stopping fires.

Discord age verification rolls out today with changes spurred by user backlash

Discord will try to automatically estimate ages, require verification when it can't.

YouTube promises custom feeds and a lot more AI later this year

YouTube's next year could change the content you see with a big focus on AI and livestreams.

Enveda secures $311M to bring more nature-derived AI drugs into clinical trials

The round valued the AI biotech at $2 billion. It is currently testing drugs that treat skin conditions and preserve weight loss after stopping GLP-1s.

How we made claude.ai 3x faster in two weeks

Show HN: I built a post-mortem debugger for native Windows x64/x86 crashes

Modal Motors is trying to cut China out of electric motors entirely

The startup is working on small, light motors with no rare-earth magnets that are suited for drones, fans, and robots.

Meta’s AI agent is a cute little guy who’s great at spending my money

Modern life comes with an unending, auto-populating to-do list. It never ceases to amaze me how I can be doing nothing at all, minding my own business, and suddenly something needs to be taken care of. You're telling me a tree branch fell in the backyard and now I have to figure out what to […]

Contrary to some reports, you don't have two brains

A bad press release makes a good excuse to look at how developmental biology works.

Netflix releases trailer for Brad Bird's Ray Gunn

"It’s film noir and a hard-boiled detective story, but it’s got a lot more comedy and a lot more action."

Data centers are black boxes, but California wants to change that

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a slate of bills on Monday that could finally give communities better data - and more say - on how data centers impact their electricity bills and water supply. As data centers invade a growing number of communities across the US, they've triggered protests over how the infrastructure underpinning AI […]

Cloud Agents Are Inevitable AI Prisons

Anthropic’s biolab made a discovery it’s comparing to Crispr

Anthropic says its AI Claude has "autonomously discovered" a new enzyme system similar to machinery behind the powerful gene-editing tool Crispr. It's the first result from Anthropic's newly-launched wet lab and an early test of Claude's usefulness for science as the company prepares to go public. The company says Claude found the enzyme system after […]

Owners mourn spoiled food after firmware update bricks Samsung smart fridges

"So absurd and embarrassing ..."

Former NASA chief sounds alarm on China's lunar "exploration" plans

"Beijing's intended strategy is to dominate the high ground of the twenty-first century."

A congressional representative just proposed killing America’s border tower program

Delia Ramirez, a Democratic US representative from Illinois, has announced a plan to introduce new legislation to terminate the surveillance tower program along the US southern border. The announcement comes just days after publication of an MIT Technology Review investigation, “Dying on Camera,” in which we looked at deaths along the border that took place…

Bernie Sanders proposes banning ‘superintelligence’ and putting violators in prison

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) have introduced new legislation that would ban anyone from developing artificial superintelligence - a technology the bill describes as capable of the "destruction or disempowerment of humanity," including by overthrowing the government. Under the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, AI leaders would face up to 20 years […]

Logitech’s new Blue Yeti 2 mic adjusts itself to where you are

The original Blue Yeti has been one of the most recognizable go-to USB microphones for content creators since it launched in 2009, and now it finally has a successor. Launching today under Logitech G, the Blue Yeti 2 adds some modern upgrades, including an interactive LED display, AI de-noising, and a proximity based voice sensor […]

Logitech’s new haptics-based gaming mouse is a little better and $20 more

The G Pro Superstrike mouse is one of Logitech's most interesting products. Unlike other gaming mice, it has haptic actuators beneath its two main buttons instead of mechanical switches, which decreases latency and allows for a custom click feel (the click can be super subtle, more jolty, or turned off entirely). The tech debuted in […]

Xbox’s Mythic Achievements sound like PlayStation’s Platinum trophy

Xbox appears to be ready to launch its own version of PlayStation's platinum trophies. A new update to the Xbox PC app has revealed Mythic Achievements, which according to data in the app will appear once a player completes all the Achievements in a game. Mythic Achievements appear on screen with a unique unlock sound, […]

Radicle: Disclosure of Vulnerability in the Network Protocol

One of the best Metroid games for the Switch is 30 percent off

Nintendo’s “Customer Appreciation” sale continues through September 26th. It includes discounts on Switch games and accessories, and I thought I’d call out one of my favorite games that’s cheaper than ever. Metroid Prime Remastered is down to $27.99 in digital format for the Switch and Switch 2, and it’s among the best remasters I’ve played […]

This $199 GPS sports watch is repairable, modular, and open-source

The Una Watch costs less than most Garmin watches now that its price has been lowered from the Kickstarter offer of $350 to $199, but its modular, repairable design grabbed my attention first. It features a 1.2-inch MIP LCD display and up to 10 days of battery life, similar to the Garmin Forerunner 70 or […]

StrictlyVC at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: Inside the changing rules of venture capital

StrictlyVC joins TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 to discuss the changing VC landscape thanks to AI. Get your Investor Pass to join these exclusive sessions. Save $200 before September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

YouTube is building AI creator tools that do almost everything for them

Part of the job of a content creator is to figure out how to get their work in front of the most people. Cracking - or fighting - the algorithm has historically been a frustration for creators, but YouTube is increasingly simply telling creators what they should do. At the annual creator-focused Made on YouTube […]

Discord will now automatically estimate your age

Discord is rolling out a new global age assurance system, seven months after pausing its previous verification measures following backlash from users. Starting today in every country except Australia and the UK, Discord will automatically assign users to an estimated age group based on "multiple account signals," with account restrictions placed on users believed to […]

After multiple deaths and injuries, NHTSA is investigating comma.ai

Feds know of 5 crashes where cars using comma.ai devices hit slow or stopped vehicles.

Seattle City Council votes to ban surveillance pricing in sale of groceries

3 days left to save up to $200 and make impactful connections at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

3 days to save up to $200 on your TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 pass, plus 50% off a second. Make impactful connections with 10,000+ tech leaders. Last day to save is September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Register today.

McDonald’s is testing ads on its drive-thru menus

McDonald's is putting ads on its drive-thru menu as part of a "limited" pilot at company-owned restaurants, according to a report from Bloomberg. Drive-thru locations included in the test will show ads from other brands on digital menu boards after a customer places their order, which they'll see while they wait for their meal. In […]

Nobody does it like Remedy

Video games have given us plenty of ways to traverse huge open worlds, but none have felt quite as oddly exhilarating as manipulating gravity in Control Resonant's twisted version of New York City. It's a game that lets you flip, twist, and fly through the air, while exploring settings that look ripped out of Inception. […]

Stripe's Knowledge AI Platform

America gave up its rare earth edge. China took full advantage.

Decades of cheaper imports left US dependent on China for crucial rare earth processing.

PitPro’s first tire-changing robot goes live in Canada

The startup says its automated system can change four tires in under 15 minutes.

Samsung accidentally freezes its smart fridges with a software update

Show HN: Ive Sent It – online courier for files, with signed proof of delivery

Show HN: RxFilm Studio–Create and edit your product videos with AI agent

Show HN: Jevper – the Jev interface on top of any OpenAI-compatible model

The Download: India’s smart glasses menace and AI’s trillion-dollar gamble

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Smart glasses are already causing havoc in India When Shubnam saw an Instagram video of a Delhi protest they had attended, they realized a content creator wearing Meta smart glasses had…

Xiaomi’s new 18 Pro phones improve on Samsung’s privacy display

Xiaomi's new 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max launched in China today, and feature a more flexible take on the privacy display tech introduced this year on Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra. They combine it with returning rear screens, two 200-megapixel cameras, and both of Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chips. A global launch […]

Ema raises $77M as AI starts eating into enterprise software and services

Ema has raised $140 million to date and has more than 50 enterprise customers, including Google and Microsoft.

Small undersea volcanoes may unleash outsized tsunamis

Post-eruption imaging of the Hunga caldera gives new details of its collapse.

OpenAI nabs key Patreon execs ahead of upcoming announcement

OpenAI has hired three former Patreon execs to anchor its product strategy for creators. After starting the creator subscription platform 13 years ago, cofounder and technology chief Sam Yam announced on X that he's joining OpenAI to lead Creator Product. He's also bringing Patreon's former product head Drew Rowny and engineering head Shannon Ma with […]

A new report from Europe raises serious alarms about orbital collisions

"I think we are going to lose the ability to use certain orbits."

Eight Sleep’s new cooling hub is small enough to hide under your bed

Eight Sleep announced the next version of its "intelligent sleep system" designed to regulate the temperature of your bed in response to tracked health and sleep metrics like breathing and heart rate. The company calls its new Pod 6 system its "most significant hardware launch to date," and it's centered around a redesigned cooling hub […]

Dario Amodei wants to slow AI. China isn’t taking orders

Chinese officials and engineers see an attempt to preserve the U.S. lead; “Why do you always get to define the game — and change the rules?”

The AI Hype Index: AI loves cheating

Brace yourself: It turns out AI is being optimized for cheating. OpenAI’s agents hacked into Hugging Face to get the answers to a cybersecurity test. Next, they solved a prestigious math problem (or just stole from two top mathematicians’ answer sheets). Anthropic’s models have also hacked into other companies’ systems four times already. And that’s…

Smart glasses are already causing havoc in India

Shubnam was packing boxes for a move into a new home when their friend sent them an Instagram video. The footage had only been up for a few hours, but it was days old, recorded at a Delhi protest this spring against a bill that would have narrowed the legal recognition for transgender people in…

Abandoning Scientific Linux Was a Mistake

OpenAI wants to consult elite mathematicians about how to not fumble again

After turning a string of spectacular mathematical results into a reputational crisis, OpenAI is consulting human mathematicians to help it figure out a less disastrous path forward. On Monday, the company announced a new independent panel of mathematicians tasked with advising it and other AI companies on their interactions with mathematical research and the wider […]

TechCrunch Founder Summit’s agenda revealed: Unlock fundraising, hiring, and AI insights in Boston on November 4

Founders shouldn't have to learn the hardest lessons the hardest way. TechCrunch Founder Summit is designed to make the challenges of starting a company easier and the highs that much greater.

Paramount will need to release way more movies to make this merger work

Now that Paramount has reached a settlement with the 12 states that were suing to block its $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), the studio is even closer to becoming one of the world's biggest production houses. In addition to spending at least $300 million more on film and TV projects produced in […]

Snorkel AI triples valuation to $3.5B as demand for AI training data booms

The seven-year-old startup has raised a $350 million Series E to fuel its data-as-a-service approach.

Woman's brain worm infection confirmed after eggs grow tails in lab test

There is no single definitive test for these worms, but the tail is fairly convincing.

New Anthropic, OpenAI models make same promise: A little more for a lot less money

The frontier AI model race has entered its comparison shopping phase.

Rabbit’s new AI agent doesn’t need an R1 to run

Rabbit, the company behind the underwhelming R1 device, is rolling out a standalone AI agent that you don't need its hardware to use, as reported earlier by Wired. The startup says its new OS3 "agentic operating system" runs in the cloud but operates locally across Windows, Mac, and Linux devices. According to Rabbit, you can […]

Cities across US oppose Trump FCC plan to preempt local broadband rules

Cities defend permit requirements, say ISPs aren't building networks fast enough.

Saudi Arabia’s new Exobot EVs make the Cybertruck look normal

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is mostly known for its global dominance over petroleum production and oil reserves - not necessarily cars and auto manufacturing, and certainly not electric vehicle production. So it was a little surprising on Monday when a Saudi startup called Ceer unveiled a pair of hyper-angular, spaceship-like EVs, with plans to […]