While bats have been closely associated with vampires for centuries, there are actually only three species of bats that drink blood. Most of them eat fruits, insects, nectar and small animals, like frogs and fish, instead. Blood is low in calories, while being rich in iron, protein and little else, making it a terrible, terrible food source. Now, a team of scientists has figured out how and why those vampire bat species are the only mammals that can live solely on a diet of blood.

Upon comparing the genome of common vampire bats to 26 other species, the scientists found 13 genes in the blood-sucking mammals that either no longer work or are missing. Three of those losses had been reported in another study published in 2014, with all of them indicating a reduced sense of taste reception in vampire bats. The remaining 10 gene losses are new discoveries, according to the team.

The loss of a gene called REP15 indicates enhanced iron uptake in the animals' gastrointestinal cells, which they also shed and excrete quickly. This prevents iron overload that can have severe detrimental effects. The absence of two other genes allow glucose to remain longer in the bats' bodies and prevent hypoglycemia, since blood contains minimal carbohydrates. Another absent gene might also be the consequence of the "extensive morphological and physiological modifications" in the stomach of common vampire bats. Instead of being a muscular organ, their stomachs are expandable structures used to store large amounts of liquid and serve as a major site of fluid absorption. 

The loss of one gene even contributed "to the evolution of vampire bats’ exceptional social behaviors." Since they can't survive too long without feeding, seeing as blood is very low in calories, vampire bats can regurgitate their meals and share with others. They can also keep track of who shared with them in the past and will extend extend help to them in the future if needed. Hannah Kim Frank, a bat researcher at Tulane University, told AP: "It's totally bizarre and amazing that vampire bats can survive on blood — they are really weird, even among bats."

The study revealing the loss of genes that allow them to live off blood doesn't make vampire bats any less weird, or intriguing. You can read the whole study in the Science Advances journal.

SpaceX has to wait even longer to find out if it can launch Starship flights out of its Boca Chica facility in Texas. The US Federal Aviation Administration has delayed its decision on the environmental review of the launch site yet again, pushing back its target date of completion to April 29th. SpaceX must secure the FAA's approval, along with a vehicle operator license, to be able to launch Starship missions out of Boca Chica as planned. 

To be exact, the agency is looking into whether launching the massive reusable vehicle out of the facility will have a significant environmental impact on the area and will be a threat to the safety of the public. Its original target date for completion was December 21st, 2021, but it pushed the date back to February 28th, 2022 and then again to March 28th. On the official page for the environmental assessment, the FAA said it's updating its target date to April 29th "to account for further comment review and ongoing interagency consultations." The FAA received 19,000 comments for the draft version of the review published last year.

SpaceX chief Elon Musk recently revealed that the company is hoping to send Starship into orbit for the first time in May. If the FAA finishes its review on time, and with a favorable result for the company, then there's a chance the launch could happen in a couple of months. It's worth noting, though, that Musk's timelines could be a bit too optimistic.

In case the Boca Chica site fails the FAA's environmental review or if the agency issues an environmental impact statement (EIS) to dig deeper into the company's plans over the next few years, then SpaceX could shift to its backup plan. During a Starship presentation earlier this year, Musk said SpaceX already has approval to launch the Starship from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The move would delay the vehicle's first flight by six to eight months, since the company has to build a launch tower on the launch site, but at least the wait wouldn't last for years. 

In an essay published Friday on the whistleblower platform Lioness, former Microsoft manager Yasser Elabd alleged that Microsoft fired him after he alerted leadership to a workplace where employees, subcontractors and government operators regularly engaged in bribery. He further alleges that attempts to escalate his concerns resulted in retaliation within Microsoft by managers, and eventual termination from his role.

Elabd claims in his essay that he worked for Microsoft between 1998 and 2018, and had oversight into a "business investment fund " — essentially a slush fund to "cement longer-term deals" in the Mid-East and Africa. But he grew suspicious of unusual payments to seemingly unqualified partners. After examining several independent audits, he discovered what he believes is a common practice: After setting up a large sale to entities in the region, a "discount" would be baked in, only for the difference between the full-freight cost and discounted fee to be skimmed off and divided between the deal-makers.

“This decision maker on the customer side would send an email to Microsoft requesting a discount, which would be granted, but the end customer would pay the full fee anyway. The amount of the discount would then be distributed among the parties in cahoots: the Microsoft employee(s) involved in the scheme, the partner, and the decision maker at the purchasing entity—often a government official,” Elabd alleged.

The former Microsoft manager gave several examples of suspicious transactions and red flags he witnessed over his two decades working for the company abroad. In one audit, Microsoft gave the Saudi Ministry of the Interior a $13.6 million discount which never reached the agency’s doors. In 2015, a Nigerian official complained that the government paid $5.5 million for licenses "for hardware they did not possess."

In another example, Qatar’s Ministry of Education paid $9.5 million, over a period of seven years, for Microsoft Office and Windows licenses that went unused. Auditors later discovered that employees at that agency didn’t even have access to computers.

“We are committed to doing business in a responsible way and always encourage anyone to report anything they see that may violate the law, our policies, or our ethical standards,” Becky Lenaburg, a VP at Microsoft and deputy general counsel for compliance and ethics, wrote in a statement to The Verge. “We believe we’ve previously investigated these allegations, which are many years old, and addressed them. We cooperated with government agencies to resolve any concerns.”

Elabd claims his attempts to alert managers resulted in his being shouted at by one manager, iced out of certain deals and told by an executive that he had effectively set himself up to be let go after attempting to involve CEO Satya Nadella. After being terminated, Elabd wrote that he brought his documentation before the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice. He claims the DoJ refused to take up his case. According to Protocol, the SEC dropped the case earlier this month due to a lack of resources.

“As I alleged in my complaint to the SEC, Microsoft is violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and continues to do so brazenly. And why wouldn’t they?" wrote Elabd. "By declining to investigate these allegations and the evidence I’ve given them, the SEC and DOJ have given Microsoft the green light.”

Paramount+ is kicking off its Twitter watch parties with one of the service's more important shows. Twitter and Paramount+ are kicking off a series of watch parties for the Halo TV series that will give fans chances to discuss episodes in shared moments. The run begins today (March 25th) at 6PM Eastern with a 'pre-show' through the official account, with executive producer Kiki Wolfkill and stars Olive Gray and Kate Kennedy meeting online to discuss the series and offer a behind-the-scenes look.

From then on, you can expect nine regular "after-show" parties. The first takes place March 28th at 4PM Eastern, but you can expect a weekly cadence of parties starting April 1st at a similar time. The virtual festivities end on May 20th. The streams will include celebrity Halo enthusiasts, fan segments and other reasons to tune in.

Twitter and Paramount+ aren't shy about the rationale behind the get-togethers. They're hoping to recreate the "water cooler effect" of conventional TV, where you rush to share your opinions and speculation about an episode. This probably won't turn Halo into a Game of Thrones-style blockbuster that has everyone talking, but it might provide a sense of community that keeps you invested. If nothing else, it shows what you can expect from future parties.

Spotify is trying out a new “Car Mode” on a handful of users, the streaming service confirmed to TechCrunch. Last year the company retired its old Car View mode, explaining that it needed to pave the way for “new innovations”. The new in-car interface, called “Car Mode” appears to be more focused on voice controls than the older version. The jury is still out on whether hands-free voice recognition actually makes driving safer (some studies suggest drivers who use voice controls are more distracted). But the new revamp does offer less visual distractions and a cleaner interface.

According to screenshots of the Android version of Spotify Car Mode posted by 9to5Google, users can use voice controls to search for artists, browse albums, play or pause, fast forward and “like” a song. The new in-car mode appears to be far less busy than the older version, with simplified “Player View” and a “Library” tab that allows you to quickly access music or podcasts you’ve recently listened to.

Tech companies like Google and Amazon have pushed automakers to build more voice recognition features in future models of cars. As TechCrunchnotes, voice controls will also be an essential feature in autonomous vehicles. Spotify is no doubt trying to stay ahead of this trend. Last month, Spotify officially launched Car Thing, an in-car player with voice controls, after an extended test period (we reviewed it here). But for those who don’t want to pay extra for a hands-free in-car listening experience, Spotify’s new mode will be a welcome option.

Ukraine's Ministry for Digital Transformation has launched an NFT collection to help fund its military. The project was first announced in early March, but the NFT collection, called “ Meta History Museum of War,” is now live. The collection is meant to be an “NFT museum” documenting the history of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The collection is currently comprised of 54 NFTs documenting the events of the first three days of the war. The illustrations were done by Ukrainian and international artists, and each one references a tweet documenting some aspect of the invasion and the world’s response to it.

“The formula of each NFT is clear and simple: each token is a real news piece from an official source and an illustration from artists, both Ukrainian and international,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation writes on its Meta History Museum of War website. “The NFT’s will be created in chronological order, according to the events so the true history will be saved and cherished.”

The NFT Project is the latest way Ukraine has turned to digital assets to fund its defense. The country has collected more than $100 million in cryptocurrency donations since the start of the war, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently signed a bill officially legalizing the crypto industry.

In a tally with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) this afternoon, Google Fiber customer service workers — jointly employed by Google parent Alphabet and staffing agency BDS Connected Solutions — voted 9 to 1 to form a union. They'll be represented by the Alphabet Workers Union, an arm of the Communications Workers of America.

Workers at the store, which operates out of Kansas City, Missouri, told Engadget back in January that they were feeling left out of important workplace conversations, especially around safety and staffing. 

This story is developing...

Now that GTA Online is available on the latest consoles, Rockstar wants to spice up the service for its most dedicated players. The developer is launching a $6 per month GTA+ subscription that provides regular perks for GTAO players on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. You'll get $500,000 in virtual cash each month, unlocks for past game updates, vehicle upgrades and other bonuses. You can also buy improved Shark Cards with real money to get more bonus in-game cash. 

In the first month, you'll receive a supercar with an early-access upgrade, three wardrobe items, waived LS Car Meet Membership fees and multiplied bonuses for two race series, among other extras. You'll need to claim benefits before they expire.

Rockstar said events will carry on "as normal" for all players, so you won't find yourself locked out of key content if you'd rather play for free. Whether or not GTA+ is a good thing isn't clear, though. While it may represent a better value than spending real money every time you want a boost for in-game currency, it might also leave you at a disadvantage if you can't justify the monthly fee or a hardware upgrade.

Spotify is shuttering more of its Russian operations in response to that country's invasion of Ukraine. In a statement to Variety, the company said it would "fully suspend" service in Russia for an indefinite period. While the music streamer initially believed it was important to keep some service running to provide "trusted, independent" information, it was concerned that recent laws restricting free speech and accurate news reporting would put the safety of staff and listeners "at risk."

The company already halted access to its paid Premium service earlier in March, and removed content from state-backed Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik. This latest move will cut off free service.

The further withdrawal likely won't hurt Spotify's finances to a significant degree, but it might limit the company's influence in Russia. While the country only represents 1 percent of Spotify's total revenue, Deloitte estimated the service was the second-largest streaming music service with 36 percent share in 2021. That's no small feat when Spotify only reached Russia in July 2020, and Sensor Tower noted that there had already been nearly 15 million installs across Apple's App Store and Google Play.

Rivals have already taken action to varying degrees. Apple halted all product sales in Russia in early March, while Deezer stopped service around the same time. Spotify was an outlier in that regard, and was facing mounting pressure to cut off all access and show its support for Ukraine.

You might not have to wait much longer to see Sony's response to Microsoft's Game Pass. Bloombergsources claim Sony is introducing its rumored "Spartacus" service, which combines PlayStation Now game access and PlayStation Plus online features, as soon as next week. The service will launch with a "splashy" collection of recent hit games, the tipsters said, but you might not see blockbuster games arrive on the service the same day as they're available for purchase. Don't expect to play the upcoming God of War Ragnarok right away.

There were no new leaks for pricing. Bloomberg previously mentioned three tiers that would include a $10 per month Essential offering identical to PlayStation Plus, a $13 Extra level with access to a Game Pass-style catalog of "hundreds" of downloadable games and a $16 Premium Tier that adds PlayStation Now's game streaming and pre-release game trials.

Spartacus might not be vital to Sony's bottom line. PlayStation console sales still comfortably outperform the Xbox, with Ampere Analysis estimating that PS5 numbers were 1.6 times higher than for the Xbox Series X/S in 2021. However, Game Pass has quickly become a major selling point for the Xbox — a monthly fee provides access to a growing selection of games, including blockbusters like Halo Infinite. The PlayStation equivalent could make Game Pass seem less appealing and keep some players from switching platforms.