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AO3 is finally out of beta after 17 years

Archive of Our Own (AO3) is officially exiting beta. The Organization for Transformative Works — the nonprofit behind the fanfiction site — announced the update on Thursday, which comes 17 years after AO3’s launch in 2009. “Since 2009, AO3 has…

Amazon hits sellers with ‘fuel surcharge’ as Iran war roils global energy markets

The war in Iran has hammered global oil markets, with gas prices in the U.S. spiking significantly. Amid the rise in transportation costs, Amazon has instituted a new 3.5% fuel surcharge for sellers that use its distribution network. The policy…

‘Uncanny Valley’: Iran’s Threats on US Tech, Trump’s Plans for Midterms, and Polymarket’s Pop-up Flop

Kate Knibbs: So, you went twice? Makena Kelly: Yes, Kate. I went twice. Kate Knibbs: I missed that. Zoë Schiffer: Wait, is the Pentagon Pizza thing a joke about the pizza predicting the war? Makena Kelly: Yeah. Zoë Schiffer: Oh,…

Surprise fossil discoveries push back the evolution of complex animals

Artist’s reconstruction of the ancient ocean ecosystem preserved in the Jiangchuan biota Xiaodong Wang A huge and beautifully preserved suite of fossils discovered in China has cast doubt on the idea that complex life flourished dramatically during a rapid burst…

A ‘forbidden planet’ the size of Jupiter has astronomers stumped

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. There’s a “forbidden” oddball planet about 282 light-years away from Earth. The Jupiter-esque planet known as TOI-5205 b is the first exoplanet of its…

Eating more meat may lower Alzheimer’s risk for some people

Older adults who carry genes linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease may not experience the expected increase in cognitive decline if they eat relatively large amounts of meat. That is the key finding from a new study by…

OpenAI brings ChatGPT’s Voice mode to CarPlay

In a surprise release, OpenAI has made ChatGPT’s Voice mode available through Apple CarPlay. If you’re running the latest version of both iOS and the ChatGPT app, and own a CarPlay-compatible vehicle, you can check out the experience. To get…

Five questions for the guys who made a compass that points to the Times Square Olive Garden

Here’s a question almost nobody is asking: how do you get to the Times Square Olive Garden? Well, these beautiful weirdos are answering it — the team that made the Times Square Olive Garden compass. If that’s not clear enough,…

Microsoft takes on AI rivals with three new foundational models

Microsoft AI, the tech giant’s research lab, announced the release of three foundational AI models on Thursday that can generate text, voice, and images. The release signals Microsoft’s continued push to build out its own stack of multimodal AI models…

Best Lego Gifts for Brick Builders (2026): Smart Bricks, Video Games, and More

To address the elephant in the room: Yes, Lego bricks are made of plastic. The company makes billions of tiny bricks that proliferate all over the world and all over your living room, and they will not biodegrade and cannot…