Data shows Waymo’s robotaxis are empty for almost half of the miles they drive. The age of robotaxis, long the preserve of science fiction, is now a reality, at least in a handful of American cities. It took just over a decade to get from the DARPA Grand Challenges…
When they’re being eaten, bean plants release chemicals that draw in parasitic wasps. For decades, scientists have understood that plants can release volatile organic compounds—essentially airborne chemical signals—to attract the natural enemies of the things that eat them, like caterpillars. What we didn’t know was exactly how a plant…
“It’s a reminder of how human activity is changing the natural world in unanticipated ways.” Male bowerbirds are notorious for their complex mating rituals. They build intricate tunnels out of twigs—the bowers from which they get their name—and then decorate them with random colorful items gleaned from the environment.…
One hardware announcement and several software highlights from Microsoft Build. Microsoft’s Build developer conference kicked off today, and as with almost everything the company has done in the last few years, Microsoft’s opening keynote focused overwhelmingly on AI and other closely related technologies. There’s Microsoft Scout, an OpenClaw-based “Autopilot”…
Microsoft missed the boat on apps, so get ready for agents. Microsoft has been deeply committed to the growth of generative AI technology in recent years through its now-fragmented partnership with OpenAI. At Build 2026, the company remains all-in on AI, and it’s looking toward the future with a…
Neanderthals had some wild stuff in their toolkits. One way archaeologists learn how ancient people, including Neanderthals, did things is to attempt to do those things themselves, a process called experimental archaeology. Normally, that involves making stone tools, butchering deer, or distilling birch tar. But in a new study,…
The National Center for Atmospheric Research won’t be losing its supercomputer. In December, the Trump administration abruptly announced it would shut down the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), a Boulder, Colorado-based facility that helps researchers perform studies of weather, climate, atmospheric chemistry, and more. The news came as…
Google’s June Android feature drop includes more scam detection, more AirDrop, and yes, more AI. We’re expecting Android 17 to begin rolling out later this month, but first, Google has a batch of updates for the wider Android device ecosystem. As usual, some of the new features are limited…
Sprite-based graphics architecture makes first-person 3D a challenge. Here at Ars, we’ve taken pleasure in reporting on versions of Doom that run on everything from wireless earbuds and printers to Windows’ notepad.exe and even inside Doom itself. So when we hear that a piece of game-playing hardware from the…
There are sound engineering reasons to use the same approach SpaceX uses with the Falcon 9. The race to field China’s first reusable launch vehicle is far less predictable than a similar competition that played out in the United States a decade ago. There was never any real question…
