China extends its reach into the Solar System with launch of asteroid mission

For the first time, scientists have directly observed atmospheric sputtering on Mars, a process driven by solar wind ions that may significantly contribute to the planet's atmospheric and water loss. Utilizing data from NASA's MAVEN spacecraft, researchers found variations in argon densities at altitudes above 350 kilometers, correlating with the orientation of the solar wind electric field, indicating active sputtering. These findings, published in Science Advances, also suggest conditions on early Mars were influenced by...

SummaryMeta announced the disruption of three covert influence operations from Iran, China, and Romania during Q1 2025, as detailed in its quarterly Adversarial Threat Report. The company successfully detected and removed these campaigns before they could establish genuine audiences on its platforms, which included a network of 658 Facebook accounts and 14 Pages. This proactive measure highlights Meta's ongoing efforts to combat misinformation and maintain the integrity of its social media ecosystem. Full Article

An accused movie pirate, Steven Hale, who stole over 1,000 Blu-ray discs and DVDs while employed at a DVD manufacturing company, struck a plea deal this week to reduce his sentence after the FBI alleged his piracy cost studios millions. Arrested in March, Hale was accused of bypassing encryption to leak pre-release movies, including popular titles like Spider-Man: No Way Home, which reportedly led to tens of millions in losses for studios. His plea deal...

YouTube Shorts is currently beta testing the integration of Google Lens, allowing users to search for information about elements within short-form videos. Viewers can access this feature by pausing a video and selecting Lens from the menu, enabling them to tap or highlight parts of the clip for visual search results overlaying the content. During this test phase, advertisements won't appear in the search results, and the Lens functionality is not available for Shorts with...

Amazon has established a new ZeroOne team, led by Xbox cofounder J Allard, aimed at creating “breakthrough” devices, including a smart home product. Allard, who previously worked on the original Xbox and other Microsoft projects, joined Amazon to focus on innovative ideas in late 2024, with job listings indicating roles for applied science and product marketing related to this initiative. Although Amazon has a strong presence in smart home tech, the timeline for ZeroOne's product...

YouTube Integration of Google Lens YouTube announced on Thursday that it will integrate Google Lens into YouTube Shorts in the coming weeks. This feature will allow viewers to search for information about what they see while watching Shorts, enhancing their experience. For instance, if a viewer is interested in a location featured in a Short, they can easily use Google Lens to find more details about it. Full Article