This week, Apple released the first developer betas for iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, macOS 26.4, and its other operating systems. On Tuesday, it followed those up with public beta versions of the same updates.

Usually released around the midpoint between one major iOS release and the next, the *.4 updates to its operating system usually include a significant batch of new features and other refinements, and if the first beta is any indication, this year's releases uphold that tradition.

A new "Playlist Playground" feature will let Apple Music subscribers generate playlists with text prompts, and native support for video podcasts is coming to the Podcasts app. The Creator Studio version of the Freeform drawing and collaboration app is also available in the 26.4 updates, allowing subscribers to access stock images from Apple's Content Hub and to insert AI-generated images.

Read full article

Comments

Archival storage poses lots of challenges. We want media that is extremely dense and stable for centuries or more, and, ideally, doesn't consume any energy when not being accessed. Lots of ideas have floated around— even DNA has been considered —but one of the simplest is to etch data into glass. Many forms of glass are very physically and chemically stable, and it's relatively easy to etch things into it.

There's been a lot of preliminary work demonstrating different aspects of a glass-based storage system. But in Wednesday's issue of Nature, Microsoft Research announced Project Silica, a working demonstration of a system that can read and write data into small slabs of glass with a density of over a megabyte per cubic millimeter.

Writing on glass

We tend to think of glass as fragile, prone to shattering, and capable of flowing downward over centuries, although the last claim is a myth. Glass is a category of material, and a variety of chemicals can form glasses. With the right starting chemical, it's possible to make a glass that is, as the researchers put it, "thermally and chemically stable and is resistant to moisture ingress, temperature fluctuations and electromagnetic interference." While it would still need to be handled in a way to minimize damage, glass provides the sort of stability we'd want for long-term storage.

Read full article

Comments

The Food and Drug Administration has reversed its shocking refusal to consider Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine for approval.

The refusal was revealed last week in a sharply worded press release from Moderna. Subsequent reporting found that the decision was made by political appointee Vinay Prasad, the Trump administration's top vaccine regulator, who overruled a team of agency scientists and a top career official in rejecting Moderna's application.

In an announcement Wednesday morning , Moderna said the FDA has now agreed to review its vaccine after the company held a formal (Type A) meeting with the FDA and proposed a change to the regulatory pathways used in the application.

Read full article

Comments

The American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called music "the universal language of mankind." Is that still true when the so-called music is being generated by a probabilistic robot instead of a human? We're about to find out. Google has announced its latest Lyria 3 AI model is being deployed in the Gemini app, vastly expanding access to AI music generation.

Google DeepMind has been tinkering with Lyria for a while now, offering limited access in developer-oriented products like Vertex AI. Lyria 3 is more capable than previous versions, and it's also quicker to use. Just select the new "Create music" option in the Gemini app or web UI to get started. You can describe what you want and even upload an image to help the robot get the right vibe. And in a few seconds, you get music (or something like it).

In case there was any uncertainty about whether Lyria tracks still counted as a human artistic endeavor, worry not! Unlike past versions of the model, you don't even have to provide lyrics in your prompt. You can be vague with your request, and the model will create suitable lyrics for the 30-second song. Although with that limit, "jingle" might be more accurate.

Read full article

Comments

It's that time of year—a new budget Pixel phone is about to hit virtual shelves. The Pixel 10a will be available on March 5, and pre-orders go live today. The 9a will still be on sale for a while, but the 10a will be headlining Google's store. However, you might not notice unless you keep up with the Pixel numbering scheme. This year's A-series Pixel is virtually identical to last year's, both inside and out.

Last year's Pixel 9a was a notable departure from the older design language, but Google made few changes for 2026. We liked that the Pixel 9a emphasized battery capacity and moved to a flat camera bump, and this time, it's really flat. Google says the camera now sits totally flush with the back panel. This is probably the only change you'll be able to identify visually.

Google also says the new Pixel will have a slightly upgraded screen. The resolution, size, and refresh rate are unchanged, but peak brightness has been bumped from 2,700 nits to 3,000 nits (the same as the base model Pixel 10). Plus, the cover glass has finally moved beyond Gorilla Glass 3 to Gorilla Glass 7i, which supposedly has improved scratch and drop protection.

Read full article

Comments

In Qing dynasty China, artisans augmented decorative pieces by incorporating iridescent kingfisher feathers—a technique known as tian-tsui . Scientists at Northwestern University's Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts have used high-energy x-ray imaging to achieve unprecedented nanoscale resolution of the unique structure of those feathers, presenting their findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

As previously reported , nature is the ultimate nanofabricator. The bright iridescent colors in butterfly wings , soap bubbles , opals, or beetle shells don’t come from any pigment molecules but from how they are structured—naturally occurring photonic crystals . In nature, scales of chitin (a polysaccharide common to insects), for example, are arranged like roof tiles. Essentially, they form a diffraction grating , except photonic crystals only produce specific colors, or wavelengths, of light, while a diffraction grating will produce the entire spectrum, much like a prism. In the case of kingfisher feathers, the color is due to the microscopic ridges that cover the parallel rows of keratin strands that grow along the central shaft.

Also known as photonic band-gap materials, photonic crystals are “tunable,” which means they are precisely ordered to block certain wavelengths of light while letting others through. Alter the structure by changing the size of the tiles, and the crystals become sensitive to a different wavelength. They are used in optical communications as waveguides and switches, as well as in filters, lasers, mirrors, and various anti-reflection stealth devices.

Read full article

Comments

Every day, people log into an online forum for current and former Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officers to share their thoughts on the news of the day and complain about their colleagues in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“ERO is too busy dressing up as Black Ops Commandos with Tactical body armor, drop down thigh rigs, balaclavas, multiple M4 magazines, and Punisher patches, to do an Admin arrest of a non criminal, non-violent EWI that weighs 90 pounds and is 5 foot 2, inside a secure Federal building where everyone has been screened for weapons,” wrote one user in July 2025. (ERO stands for Enforcement and Removal Operations; along with HSI, it’s one of the two major divisions of ICE, and is responsible for detaining and deporting immigrants.)

The forum describes itself as a space for current and prospective HSI agents, “designed for the seasoned HSI Special Agent as well as applicants for entry level Special Agent positions.” HSI is the division within ICE whose agents are normally responsible for investigating crimes like drug smuggling, terrorism, and human trafficking.

Read full article

Comments

Over the last few years, evidence has piled up that psychedelic drugs can provide relatively rapid relief from the symptoms of clinical depression. The drugs seemingly work by boosting the brain's ability to remodel connections among neurons and incorporate new experiences. While we have a good picture of which proteins are responsible for the drug's hallucinogenic effects, we're still figuring out how those pathways plug into the brain's ability to change itself.

Those lingering uncertainties aren't standing in the way of people trying to develop potentially life-altering treatments. One of the big challenges is probably the hallucinations themselves, which can potentially incapacitate someone for hours after a treatment. But researchers have now described a study showing that the shortest-acting psychedelic, DMT, appears to be just as effective as the rest.

Fast-acting

DMT, or dimethyltryptamine, is probably best known as a key component of ayahuasca, a liquid made from a combination of two or more plants. The mixture is important because the body produces an enzyme that rapidly digests DMT, blocking its effects. The additional plants contain a chemical that inhibits this enzyme, providing a longer-lasting experience.

Read full article

Comments

For a while now, Mac owners have been able to use tools like CrossOver and Game Porting Toolkit to get many Windows games running on their operating system of choice. Now, GameSir plans to add its own potential solution to the mix, announcing that a version of its existing Windows emulation tool for Android will be coming to macOS.

Hong Kong-based GameSir has primarily made a name for itself as a manufacturer of gaming peripherals—the company's social media profile includes a self-description as "the Anti-Stick Drift Experts." Early last year, though, GameSir rolled out the Android GameHub app , which includes a GameFusion emulator that the company claims "provides complete support for Windows games to run on Android through high-precision compatibility design."

In practice, GameHub and GameFusion for Android haven't quite lived up to that promise. Testers on Reddit and sites like EmuReady report hit-or-miss compatibility for popular Steam titles on various Android-based handhelds. At least one Reddit user suggests that "any Unity, Godot, or Game Maker game tends to just work" through the app, while another reports "terrible compatibility" across a wide range of games.

Read full article

Comments