One of the oldest maxims in hacking is that once an attacker has physical access to a device, it’s game over for its security. The basis is sound. It doesn’t matter how locked down a phone, computer, or other machine…

A new study published in Social Psychological & Personality Science reveals that highlighting shared values between U.S. Republicans and Democrats can reduce perceived polarization and foster hope. Political polarization in the United States is often seen as deep and intractable.…

A handful of dairy farms sprawl across the valley floor, ringed by the spikey, copper-colored San Jacinto mountains. This is the very edge of California’s dairy country—and so far, the cows here are safe. But everyone worries that the potentially…

Michelle Yeoh stars in Star Trek: Section 31. We’ve got a shiny new trailer for Star Trek: Section 31, the long-awaited spinoff film that brings back Michelle Yeoh’s magnificent Phillipa Georgiou from Star Trek: Discovery. The film will give us…

An analysis of data from the Health and Retirement Study focusing on Black participants found that older adults with higher participation in religious or spiritual activities were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias. Those who never attended…

After a troubling October lawsuit accused Character.AI (C.AI) of recklessly releasing dangerous chatbots that allegedly caused a 14-year-old boy’s suicide, more families have come forward to sue chatbot-maker Character Technologies and the startup’s major funder, Google. On Tuesday, another lawsuit…

The Lucid Air sedan’s base Pure trim can manage 420 miles (676 km) of EPA-estimated range from just an 84 kWh battery pack. At 5 miles/kWh (12.4 kWh/100 km), the Pure is the single most efficient EV in the world,…

Blue Origin said Tuesday that the test payload for the first launch of its new rocket, New Glenn, is ready for liftoff. The company published an image of the “Blue Ring” pathfinder nestled up against one half of the rocket’s…

A recent study published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics sheds light on the importance of consistent bedtime routines for children. The research reveals that six-year-olds who maintained regular sleep schedules demonstrated stronger emotional control and better behavior…

There’s something liberating about traveling without your computer. Your load is lighter, your battery needs fewer, and you don’t have to risk damaging or losing one of your most important and expensive devices. Besides, most of us are already carrying…

Exercise is often celebrated for its role in keeping children physically fit, but what if it could also boost brainpower? A recent meta-analysis published in Pediatrics has demonstrated that structured physical activity programs improve intelligence in young people. The study…

Although there’s been a whole lot of pessimism recently, electric vehicle sales continue to grow, even if it is less quickly than many hoped. That’s true in the commercial vehicle space as well—according to Cox Automotive, 87 percent of vehicle…

Cable broadband companies continue to insist that data caps are good for people with low incomes, pushing back against comments filed by consumer advocacy groups. NCTA—The Internet & Television Association urged the Federal Communications Commission to avoid regulating the monthly…

On Monday, Reddit announced it would test an AI-powered search feature called “Reddit Answers” that uses an AI model to create summaries from existing Reddit posts to respond to user questions, reports Reuters. The feature generates responses by searching through…

Archaeologists excavating a paleolithic cave site in Galilee, Israel, have found evidence that a deep-cave compound at the site may have been used for ritualistic gatherings, according to a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of…

Thousands of victims have sued Apple over its alleged failure to detect and report illegal child pornography, also known as child sex abuse materials (CSAM). The proposed class action comes after Apple scrapped a controversial CSAM-scanning tool last fall that…

On Monday, Nature released a paper from Google’s quantum computing team that provides a key demonstration of the potential of quantum error correction. Thanks to an improved processor, Google’s team found that increasing the number of hardware qubits dedicated to…

TikTok is doing everything it can to delay a potential ban starting the day before Donald Trump takes office in January. On Monday, TikTok filed an emergency motion requesting a temporary injunction on a US law that requires its owner,…

Like many sites, apps, and operating systems, Ars Technica has both “Light” and “Dark” visual styles. They look great! But even the “Light” mode has darker elements in it, and after our recent redesign, some Ars readers asked for an…

On Monday, OpenAI released Sora Turbo, a new version of its text-to-video generation model, making it available to ChatGPT Plus and Pro subscribers through a dedicated website. The model generates videos up to 20 seconds long at resolutions reaching 1080…

Popular indie game platform itch.io says its domain was briefly taken down for a few hours Monday morning thanks to an “AI-driven” phishing report spurred by the company behind Funko Pop figures. Itch.io management posted about the domain takedown on…

Periods of stress and mental fatigue are often when people feel least equipped to resist temptation. But why? A new study published in PNAS Nexus has discovered that after intense mental effort, not only is self-control depleted, but rewards also…

One of the selling points of the Raspberry Pi 5 (released in October 2023) is that it was fast enough and had enough memory to be a credible general-purpose desktop PC, if not an especially fast one. For Pi-as-desktop enthusiasts, the…

Earlier this fall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported data showing that adult obesity rates—long trending upwards—had fallen modestly over the past few years, from 41.9 to 40.3 percent. The decline sparked discussion on social media and in…

Loneliness and social isolation among Americans aged 50 to 80 have largely reverted to the levels observed before the pandemic, according to a recent study published in JAMA. However, over one-third of older adults still experience loneliness, and nearly as…

Physicists have been puzzling over conflicting observational results pertaining to the accelerating expansion rate of our Universe—a major discovery recognized by the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics. New observational data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has confirmed that…

A study on mice found that interventions increasing the creation of new neurons in the hippocampus (hippocampal neurogenesis) weaken memories of traumatic events and reduce PTSD symptoms. The research was published in Molecular Psychiatry. Early researchers of brain development believed…

It’s once again that special time of year when we give you a chance to do well by doing good. That’s right—it’s time for the 2024 edition of our annual Charity Drive! Every year since 2007, we’ve encouraged readers to…