News

A Murder Trial Will Allow DNA Evidence From a Genealogy Site

Since the mid-1990s, DNA has been used to identify suspects in nearly 400,000 police investigations. Today, the national criminal database, called CODIS, contains the genetic profiles of more than 13 million people. But now, for the first time, a case is moving forward where DNA was used to single out a suspect not from a […]

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LGBTQ+ Youth Prefer to Seek Mental Health Help Digitally

The kids are not all right. Almost 40 percent of young people between the ages of 13 and 24 who identify as LGBTQ+ have seriously considered suicide in the last year. That number is even higher for transgender and gender-nonbinary youth, 54 percent of whom have seriously considered suicide in that same time frame, and […]

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Aurora's Latest Deal Will Be a Heavy-Duty Test With Chrysler

Aurora, the developer of self-driving technology run by a trio of industry veterans, has signed a partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, to figure out how to build its “Driver” into FCA’s commercial vehicles. By “Driver,” Aurora means its full self-driving system, all the hardware and software it uses to guide a vehicle through the world. […]

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The Heady, Thorny Journey to Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms

In an airy Denver café populated almost entirely by young people staring at laptops, Travis Tyler Fluck—dressed in an orange velour jacket, over which is draped a thin braided lock of hair—takes out his phone and pulls up Craigslist. A quick search lands him on a post advertising $10 magic mushrooms, with a poorly lit […]

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Post-Apocalyptic Survival Skills: How to Measure Acceleration

Imagine you want to study what happens when an object accelerates. Oh, this is way before any of that internet stuff—also, no computers or electronics. In fact, let's say it's the year 1780. What do you do? You could just take a mass and drop it. That would work. Since the gravitational force is constant, […]

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The Best E3 Game and Gear Sales for Consoles and PC

E3 has stirred from its ancient slumber and descended once again upon the Los Angeles Convention Center. Fear not, it bears glad tidings—and Keanu Reeves. We're seeing a deluge of major gaming news come from the conference, and major publishers are slashing prices on some of their latest games and hardware. More than a few […]

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Keanu’s E3 Surprise, a Government Photo Hack, and More News

Keanu Reeves left the internet breathless, hackers stole photos of travelers and license plates, and we have advice on how to ditch those annoying robocalls. Here's the news you need to know, in two minutes or less. Want to receive this two-minute round up as an email every week day? Sign up here! Today's Headlines […]

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Apple's 'Noise' App Is Designed to Save You From Yourself

If a tree falls in the forest, and the sound registers above 90 decibels, will your Apple Watch send you an alert? On Monday, Apple announced a slew of new features for the Apple Watch at its Worldwide Developer’s Conference in San Jose, California. Many of the updates focused on health, including Noise app, which […]

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I Think I Hated This Tech Conference on Psychedelics

I stood in a silent auditorium and stared obediently into the eyes of a stranger. His eyes were brown. His nametag said Mark. He had a soul patch so tiny I wondered if he had to tweeze it into shape. Around me, several hundred other people were similarly engrossed in this “experiment in connection.” I […]

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In Praise of Ultra-Short Videogames

These days, the game industry at large seems to be focused on games that can keep players playing, and paying, indefinitely. This overarching genre of “forever” games encompasses esports like Hearthstone and Overwatch, social hangouts like World of Warcraft and Fortnite, and endlessly repetitive grinds like Destiny 2 and even Candy Crush Saga. The idea […]

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