This week, Cherlynn and Sam are joined by noted foldables lover Michael Fisher (aka Mr Mobile) to talk all about their respective reviews of Samsung’s latest products. Why are our hosts more excited for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 than the Z Fold 5? Is Samsung coasting? Then, we discuss the latest happenings in X vs Threads, as well as a bunch of lighthearted news in tech this week.
Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!
An international team of scientists has developed a new technology that can help detect (or even treat) cancer in hard-to-reach places, such as the colon. The team has published a paper in Science for the technique dubbed CATCH, or cellular assay for targeted, CRISPR-discriminated horizontal gene transfer. For their lab experiments, the scientists used a species of bacterium called Acinetobacter baylyi. This bacterium has the ability to naturally take up free-floating DNA from its surroundings and then integrate it into its own genome, allowing it to produce new protein for growth.
What the scientists did was engineer A. baylyi bacteria so that they'd contain long sequences of DNA mirroring the DNA found in human cancer cells. These sequences serve as some sort of one-half of a zipper that locks on to captured cancer DNA. For their tests, the scientists focus on the mutated KRAS gene that's commonly found in colorectal tumors. If an A. baylyi bacterium finds a mutated DNA and integrates it into its genome, a linked antibiotic resistance gene also gets activated. That's what the team used to confirm the presence of cancer cells: After all, only bacteria with active antibiotic resistance could grow on culture plates filled with antibiotics.
While the scientists were successfully able to detect tumor DNA in mice injected with colorectal cancer cells in the lab, the technology is still not ready to be used for actual diagnosis. The team said it's still working on the next steps, including improving the technique's efficiency and evaluating how it performs compared to other diagnostic tests. "The most exciting aspect of cellular healthcare, however, is not in the mere detection of disease. A laboratory can do that," Dan Worthley, one of the study's authors, wrote in The Conversation. In the future, the technology could also be used for targeted biological therapy that can deploy treatment to specific parts of the body based on the presence of certain DNA sequences.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/scientists-genetically-engineer-bacteria-to-detect-cancer-cells-114511365.html?src=rss
We’ve all been in Samsung’s position, promising something before quickly realizing we couldn’t, or didn’t want to, actually follow through. But the Korean giant might get a record for the speed at which it walked back its initial pledge. It had intended to give Galaxy S23 owners the chance to beta test several One UI 6 features ahead of launch. Users in the US, Germany and South Korea would be able to see what tweaks the company had added to Android 14 and see what worked, and what didn’t.
Or that was the plan. Not long after the news dropped, Samsung began to walk back its promise. It told Engadget (and the rest of the media) it would delay the launch of the beta test until further notice, but with no justification. The initial announcement disappeared from Samsung’s press site, and everyone’s left mulling what could have been so problematic as to require this sort of scorched-earth approach.
—Dan Cooper
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Star Trek: Strange New Worldsconcluded its second season yesterday with a blockbuster finale. “Hegemony” pits the Enterprise crew against a formidable foe that requires every bit of their collective cunning for them to triumph. I jotted down nine thoughts both about this episode and also about the shape of the second season more generally. Which, it’s easy to say, has cemented itself as the best run of a live-action Trek in the streaming era.
A cynic might say this is to fend off antitrust action.
Amazon is closing the majority of its in-house clothing and furniture brands, including Lark & Lo, Goodthreads and Stone & Beam. Reports say it’s canning 27 out of 30 brands, with Amazon saying the marques haven’t resonated with consumers. A cynic might argue this is Amazon getting its house in order ahead of potential antitrust action by the FTC. The US has previously probed Amazon’s ability to spot popular products made by third party sellers on its platform and produce a homegrown, er, variation under one of its own brands.
Yesterday saw Virgin Galactic’s first private passenger flight successfully take three civilians to the edge of space and back. It included its first paying customer, former Olympian Jon Goodwin, who coughed up $250,000 for his ticket all the way back in 2014. He was joined by a mother and daughter team of Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers, who won their seats in a fundraising draw. The stream of the event is available and, I’ll be honest, it’s worth a watch just for the chest-tightening moment when the crew starts floating in zero gravity.
Xwitter CEO Linda Yaccrino has announced video chat is coming to the platform as part of its plan to become an “everything” app. The CEO said video calls would bolster work to turn X into a global town square, full of people exercising their right to free expression. Given the sort of free expression the company is currently endorsing, you might want to stick to your free video calling platform of choice — it’s not as if we’re hurting for those right now.
The long-awaited remaster of Quake II wasn’t just announced, it’s already available to play on most platforms. If you own the original on GOG or Steam, you’ll get a free bump to the new edition, with plenty of modern-day quality-of-life upgrades. The remastered edition also includes content cut from some versions and the original expansion packs, as well as a new expansion from MachineGames. Well, that’s your weekend sorted.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-samsung-flip-flops-on-a-one-ui-beta-test-111536441.html?src=rss
Unveiling the Truth: The Impact of Super-Fast Charging on Smartphone Battery Life using Arduino
In a recent video by Great scott that's been making waves in tech circles, the DIY enthusiast and electronics enthusiast took on the challenge of investigating the impact of super-fast charging on smartphone battery life. He spent three months designing and building a custom circuit to test the effects of both regular and super-fast charging cycles on lithium-ion batteries commonly used in smartphones.
Google has introduced a new tool for Slides that can help you make your presentations more interactive and keep your audience's attention. The new feature, a pen tool, lets you write on a slide in real time, so you can encircle key figures, draw arrows, underline important information and just generally scribble anything you want on the presentation while in the middle of a meeting or a report. While Slides has long had the ability to turn your mouse arrow into a laser pointer, you had to download a third-party tool to be able to actually write annotations in the middle of a presentation.
Slides' new pen tool is built into the program, and there's no need to download anything extra. To access it, you have to open your file in slideshow mode and then mouse over the bottom left side to see the three-dot menu. From that menu, you'll find an option that reads "Turn on the pen." You can choose the pen color you want to use — black, red, blue or green — from the panel that shows up, and you can also easily switch it off from the same location. If you want to erase what you've written, you just need to switch from the pen to the eraser tool in the bottom left corner.
Google says the feature will be available to all Workspace customers and users with a personal account, but it may take 15 days before it's done rolling out the pen tool to everyone.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-slides-new-tool-lets-you-annotate-your-presentations-095524960.html?src=rss
Amid Recessions and Supply Chain Disruptions, How Europe will Lead The Global EV Market
In the quarter one of 2023, sales of battery powered electric cars increased by 32 percent YoY, but there is a sales decline of plug-in hybrid EVs by 13 percent YoY
Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis, a mobile game that expands the FFVII story and universe, will be available on iOS and Android on September 7th. Square Enix first announced the mobile game along with the battle royale action title Final Fantasy VII The First Soldierback in 2021. It was supposed to come out in 2022, but delays pushed back its release, and the company didn't start closed beta testing for the game until July this year.
Ever Crisis was developed by Applibot, though Final Fantasy veterans Kazushige Nojima, Yoshinori Kitase and Tetsuya Nomura were involved as scenario writer, executive producer and creative director, respectively. It features an art style reminiscent of the the original FFVII's chibi characters, but with a twist — as The Verge notes, Cloud has actual hands in this version.
— FINAL FANTASY VII EVER CRISIS_EN｜FF7EC (@FFVII_EC_EN) August 7, 2023
The game retells the events from the original game, so players can relive some of its most iconic moments, though it also includes the The First Soldier's backstory and stories about the characters from when they were younger. As for its gameplay, it's based on the original's Active Time Battle system that's been optimized for mobile.
Ever Crisis will be free-to-play, but according to Android Police's review of the closed beta version, players will have to spend money playing "gacha" to get weapons and other items. Fans who want to play the game regardless and as soon as it becomes available can now pre-register for either or both mobile platforms.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/final-fantasy-vii-ever-crisis-comes-to-ios-and-android-on-september-7th-071525090.html?src=rss
Google's Waymo and GM's Cruise have secured approval from California's regulators to be able to charge fares for fully driverless rides any time of the day in San Francisco. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has voted 3 to 1 in favor of allowing the companies to expand their driverless services after evaluating whether they had met the licensing requirements and hearing public testimonies arguing for and against the expansion.
Waymo said it's going to "gradually welcom[e] more riders into the service" and "begin charging fares for rider-only trips in the city" in the coming weeks." Apparently, it already has 100,000 signups in its waitlist and expects demand to be "incredibly high," so it wants to take an unhurried approach "to ensure riders receive a reliable service." The company promises to make its fully autonomous trips "available to everyone over time." Meanwhile, Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt said his company will continue collaborating with regulators to achieve their shared commitment to deliver "safer, cleaner and more accessible transportation options."
Thrilled to announce that the California Public Utilities Commission just approved @Cruise for fared operation 24/7 across all of San Francisco!
It’s a huge milestone for the AV industry, but even more importantly a signal to the country that CA prioritizes progress over our…
At the moment, Waymo is operating 200 cars in San Francisco, while Cruise has 300 vehicles in its autonomous fleet. Before securing CPUC's approval, Cruise could only offer fared passenger rides in limited areas of San Francisco from 10 PM to 6AM without a safety driver onboard and paid rides any time with a safety driver. Waymo, on the the other hand, could only charge passengers any time of the day with a safety driver present.
According to The San Francisco Standard, commission President Alice Reynolds and commissioners Darcie Houck and John Reynolds voted in favor of the expansion. However, commissioner Genevieve Shiroma voted against it, arguing that the CPUC didn't have sufficient information needed to be able to accurately evaluate the impact of autonomous vehicles on first responders. Their decision was the final hurdle the companies had to face to offer 24/7 fared rides across the city. It came after listening to public concerns about the safety of autonomous vehicles and to testimonies about how the technology could help the elderly and people with disabilities be more independent.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/waymo-and-cruise-get-approval-to-offer-247-paid-robotaxi-rides-in-san-francisco-050152855.html?src=rss
Russia is heading back to the Moon as it tries to reassert itself as a significant world power in the wake of its war on Ukraine. A rocket carrying the Luna-25 craft will mark Russia’s first lunar mission since 1976. The expedition will attempt to land the exploration vehicle on the moon’s south pole, hoping to dig up water ice beneath the surface. You can tune in to watch the launch here.
The Soyuz 2.1v rocket carrying the lander is scheduled to lift off from the Vostochny spaceport in eastern Russia at 7:10 pm Eastern time. If successful, it would be the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon’s south pole. NASA confirmed in 2020 the discovery of water molecules in sunlit parts of the Moon’s surface. Salvageable water could mark a breakthrough for lunar exploration, providing future human lunar missions with life support, fuel (through extracted hydrogen) and even potential agriculture.
Russia’s space trip also serves as a salvo in its attempt to reestablish itself as a significant world power unmoved by the West’s sanctions over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The vessel’s name is even a callback to the Soviet Space Program: Its last mission was the Luna-24, which spent 13 days heading to the Moon and back to collect samples in 1976. Referencing an era when the Soviet Union was an undeniable world superpower fits with President Vladimir Putin’s goals to project an image of Russian preeminence.
Luna-25 is also in a race against India: the country’s Chandrayaan-3 mission launched on July 14th and entered the Moon’s orbit this week. India’s craft is scheduled to reach the Moon’s south pole on August 23rd. The Luna-25 will take five days to reach the Moon and is expected to spend five to seven days in orbit before touching down. That timeline has Russia’s lander potentially reaching the Moon around the same time as India’s, if not slightly ahead.
The craft is expected to conduct experiments — using its 68 lbs of research equipment — on the Moon for about a year. It includes a scoop that can capture samples up to a depth of 15 cm (six inches) in its hunt for frozen water.
You can watch the launch stream below starting at around 7:10 pm EDT.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/russia-heads-to-the-moon-for-the-first-time-in-47-years-203057705.html?src=rss
