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Breaking news and analysis from the world of technology
Scientists at the University of Leeds discovered that a molecule called L-BAIBA, released during exercise, helps muscles get stronger and work better. Their research with mice showed that L-BAIBA improves muscle size, function, and endurance, and may protect against muscle problems in conditions like diabetes.
Key Facts
L-BAIBA is a molecule released by muscles during exercise.
In mice, L-BAIBA increased muscle size, strength, and resistance to fatigue.
L-BAIBA helped protect muscles in mice with obesity and type 2 diabetes.
The study identified L-BAIBA, not D-BAIBA, as the important molecule for muscle benefits.
Human tests showed L-BAIBA levels go up with endurance exercise like running or cycling.
The research was published in the journal Nature Communications on August 18, 2026.
Scientists say L-BAIBA might one day help people who cannot exercise, but more research is needed.
For now, exercising regularly is the best way to increase L-BAIBA naturally.
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Chinese company Unitree introduced a new humanoid robot named "Superman." The robot can jump up to 2 meters high and run 100 meters faster than any human.
Key Facts
The robot is named "Superman."
It is made by the Chinese start-up called Unitree.
The robot can jump as high as 2 meters.
It can run 100 meters faster than any human can.
"Superman" is a humanoid robot, meaning it looks and moves like a human.
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In 2025, women made up just over a quarter of new hires in artificial intelligence (AI) jobs in the U.S., while men accounted for about three-quarters. These AI roles are some of the fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs, but women are less represented in the best-paying and most technical positions.
Key Facts
Women filled 26% of new AI job hires in the U.S. in 2025, while men filled 74%.
In non-AI jobs, women made up about half of new hires.
High-paying AI jobs, such as "member of technical staff," had 82% male new hires and median pay of $223,000.
Lower-paying roles like data annotator had nearly equal gender split and median pay of $51,000.
The AI sector is growing quickly but still represents a small part of the total job market.
Women have been historically underrepresented in tech, especially in leadership and technical roles.
Experts say women are included in the AI economy but not in roles tied to long-term career growth and leadership.
The study used LinkedIn data from user profiles and job listings to analyze hires and salaries.
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A federal trial has begun in California against Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram. Attorneys general from several states accuse Meta of harming children by creating addictive features and collecting personal data without consent. Meta denies these claims and says it works hard to protect teens on its platforms.
Key Facts
The trial started in Oakland, California, with opening arguments from state attorneys general.
California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey lead the lawsuit, with 29 states involved in total.
The states want Meta to pay damages and change how it runs Facebook and Instagram.
The lawsuit claims Meta deliberately designed features that addict children and breaks federal laws by collecting data from kids under 13 without parents’ permission.
Meta says it has worked for years to protect young users and is confident it will win the case.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is overseeing the trial, expected to last six to eight weeks.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other company leaders will testify during the trial.
Similar lawsuits are also happening against other social media companies like YouTube, TikTok, and Snap.
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The article explains how the digital age has transformed society, especially politics, through computers, data, and algorithms. It looks back at early warnings from experts who predicted that machines might take over democratic decision-making and warned of an "artificial state" replacing traditional government.
Key Facts
Between the 1950s and 1980s, computers became smaller, faster, and cheaper, leading to widespread use in business, medicine, and politics.
Early scientists and thinkers predicted two possible futures: a utopia of harmony or a dystopia dominated by automated government control.
In 1958, American researchers created a machine claimed to predict and influence voting behavior.
A key conference in London discussed the future role of computers in tasks like composing music, legal decisions, and running governments.
Edward L. Greenfield proposed making an “information bank” from voter data to sort people by opinions and influence elections.
These developments initiated the use of technology in political campaigning and policy-making in wealthy countries.
Many early warnings about the risks of machines replacing democratic processes were ignored.
The article suggests that the current digital moment did not happen by chance and that humans still have choices about the future.
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Meta, the company that owns Instagram and Facebook, is facing a major court trial starting in Oakland, California, over claims its platforms harm children's mental health by encouraging addictive use. Several U.S. states are suing Meta and other social media companies like TikTok and Snapchat, alleging their platforms negatively impact children, possibly leading to new rules on how these sites operate.
Key Facts
Meta is going to trial in California with four states (California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey) accusing it of harming kids through addictive features on Instagram and Facebook.
Over 25 other states have also filed lawsuits against Meta, with more trials expected.
Social media companies including TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube are also defending themselves against similar claims nationwide.
Meta previously lost two big cases this year related to harm to kids and teens, contributing to a rare profit drop, with $2.4 billion spent on legal costs.
New Mexico won a case against Meta resulting in a $375 million fine and an additional $567 million ordered later, along with safety rules like monthly time limits for users under 18.
Tennessee is also investigating Instagram for harming children’s mental health as part of a larger multistate effort.
Meta denies the allegations and says it works with parents, experts, and law enforcement to protect young users.
The outcomes of these lawsuits could lead to new laws or changes in how social media platforms are designed and run to protect children.
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A recent report by the New York Times shows that the emojis people use can reveal their age and background. The report was discussed by writer Eve Washington on a show called "The Takeout."
Key Facts
The New York Times studied how emoji choices link to a person’s age.
Different age groups tend to use different emojis more often.
Using certain emojis may give clues about a person’s demographic.
Eve Washington wrote the report and talked about it on "The Takeout."
The study was highlighted by CBS News.
The report helps understand communication trends in digital messages.
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Three former SpaceX engineers started a company called 1872 to build a robotic factory that uses AI software and robots to make steel parts. Their goal is to create a prototype factory by 2027 that can automate most steel fabrication, especially for infrastructure like AI data centers and nuclear reactors.
Key Facts
1872 launched on July 22 in Cincinnati, Ohio, focusing on automating steel skid production.
Steel skids are rectangular frames used as movable foundations for modular buildings.
The company aims for about 80% automation, balancing efficiency and practicality.
There is a shortage of skilled welders in the U.S., with an estimated need for 320,500 new welders by 2029.
Tightened immigration policies reduce the available skilled labor pool for welding industries.
The founders have experience from SpaceX, where they used smart software to build rocket engines faster.
They chose steel skids first because these parts require less precision than aerospace components.
Their approach starts with human workers before moving to full robotic welding.
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Alpha School is a private school that uses artificial intelligence (AI) apps to teach students subjects like math and reading. Mackenzie Price, one of the founders, explained how the school uses AI instead of traditional teachers to create personalized learning experiences for each student.
Key Facts
Alpha School is a private educational institution.
It uses AI apps to teach core subjects such as math and reading.
The school replaces traditional teachers with AI-based personalized learning tools.
AI helps customize lessons to fit each student's individual pace and needs.
Mackenzie Price is a co-founder of Alpha School and spoke about this approach on CBS News.
Personalized learning means the lessons adjust to how each student learns best.
This use of AI in schooling is a new approach to education.
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Australia is spending billions of dollars annually on artificial intelligence (AI) products, but most of the money goes to foreign companies. Labor minister Andrew Charlton says Australia should not only use AI more but also develop its own AI technology to keep more economic benefits within the country.
Key Facts
About 20% of Australians and one-third of businesses pay for AI subscriptions.
The current AI spending in Australia is estimated between $5-8 billion per year, growing by up to 40% each quarter.
Most of the money spent on AI products leaves Australia, creating a new import bill.
Charlton estimates this AI import bill could reach $20-40 billion a year within ten years.
Simply building data centers in Australia will not capture the full value of AI technology.
Australia needs to develop AI models and technology itself, not just host data centers and machines.
Charlton says adopting AI widely can boost productivity but only if Australia also builds its own AI industry.
The goal is to capture more of the economic value of AI through innovation and local companies.
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Petlibro experienced a cloud server outage that stopped users from controlling their smart pet feeders through the app, which caused frustration among pet owners. The company fixed the problem after several attempts and explained the technical issues caused the outage, while also addressing complaints about communication and device functionality during the outage.
Key Facts
Petlibro’s smart pet feeders lost connection to the app due to cloud server problems starting August 11.
The outage caused the system memory to overload from too many data requests, leading to repeated failures.
Petlibro’s team worked to identify and fix a cache issue, fully restoring service by late Wednesday night.
The app could not connect to devices during the outage, so functions like on-demand feeding, notifications, and video were unavailable.
Petlibro sent emails, social media posts, and created a status page to update users during the outage, but some users said they didn’t get these messages.
Some users reported their feeders did not perform scheduled feedings offline as claimed by Petlibro.
Petlibro’s CEO said the company is increasing system capacity and preparing audits to prevent similar problems.
The company acknowledged the frustration caused and apologized to users.
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Flock Safety operates a network of cameras across the U.S. that capture license plate and vehicle details. The website HaveIBeenFlocked.com allows people to check if their license plate has been searched by Flock's system, based on public audit records of searches made by customers like police and local agencies.
Key Facts
Flock Safety's cameras record license plates and vehicle information such as make and color.
HaveIBeenFlocked.com is an independent project that lets people see if their license plate has been searched in Flock’s system.
The website provides search data but does not show license plates captured by cameras, only plates manually searched by users.
The database covers over 4.6 million license plates and about 242 million recorded searches.
The site removes any plate numbers entered after a search and does not save this data.
There can be delays of months or years between when a search happens and when it appears on the website.
Flock has faced criticism after reports that some police officers misused the system to stalk people.
Flock’s CEO says the company does not track cellphones or use facial recognition and is making changes to prevent misuse.
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A hidden tracking device in a rare book revealed that Amazon is destroying rare books to scan their pages and use the text to train artificial intelligence (AI) models. This happens at an Amazon facility in Las Vegas, where workers remove pages from books for scanning, raising concerns about the damage to valuable books.
Key Facts
Amazon buys large numbers of rare books and destroys them after scanning pages for AI training.
A hidden Apple Airtag tracked a rare book from a bookseller to an Amazon AI training site in Las Vegas.
The Amazon facility focuses on removing book pages before scanning, which permanently damages the books.
Amazon says it buys books through regular channels to improve its products but does not mention AI training directly.
Amazon is working on advanced AI models that need lots of unique training text, including rare books.
Workers at the facility reported times when the supply of books ran out, threatening the operation.
The scanning process involves reading barcodes or ISBNs to catalog books systematically.
Booksellers worry this practice harms valuable collections and raises ethical questions about destroying rare books for data.
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Anthropic will add watermarks to text generated by its Claude AI to follow new EU rules starting in December. These watermarks change how the AI chooses words randomly but should be hard for regular readers to notice, while helping to identify AI-written content.
Key Facts
Anthropic updated its Claude AI to include watermarks in AI-generated text due to an EU regulation.
The watermark works by slightly altering the random word choices the AI makes when writing.
This watermark will not be obvious to most readers but can be detected by those with a special key.
Some experts say the watermark will not noticeably affect the text’s quality or accuracy.
Critics worry watermarking might limit the AI’s ability to pick the best words, lowering writing quality.
AI wording often relies on chance between similar options, so changes in randomness matter.
The EU regulation aims to make AI-generated content more identifiable to prevent misuse, such as cheating or misinformation.
Watermarking may also help prevent AI models from confusing information by learning too much from AI-written texts.
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The Gasolini AR1 is a hand-built, low-cost sports car made from motorcycle parts that weighs less than 1,000 pounds and has 47 horsepower. It is designed to be fun to drive at normal speeds, inexpensive to maintain, and fuel-efficient, with a planned electric version in development.
Key Facts
The Gasolini AR1 uses the engine, gearbox, wiring, and dashboard from a 2017 Honda CBR500 motorcycle.
It has a lightweight design, weighing under 1,000 pounds (454 kg).
The car produces 47 horsepower and 32 lb-ft of torque, focusing on enjoyment rather than speed.
Wheels and tires come from a Ford Ka, featuring a unique design inspired by 1990s sci-fi.
The car uses a tube chassis and aerodynamic parts to reduce drag.
It can achieve about 41 miles per gallon (5.7 liters per 100 km) fuel efficiency.
Robert Ely, the creator, is developing the AR2, an electric version with double the horsepower.
Plans and instructions to build the AR1 are available for less than $7,000, and Ely shares a build series on YouTube.
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The Sinking City 2 is a horror action video game developed by Ukrainian studio Frogwares during the ongoing war in Ukraine. The game mixes Lovecraft-style cosmic horror with puzzles, exploration, and combat, reflecting the difficult realities faced by its creators. Despite some gameplay and story issues, it shows the developer’s determination to keep creating amid conflict.
Key Facts
The Sinking City 2 is developed by Frogwares, a game studio based in Ukraine.
The game was made while Ukraine experienced many air raid sirens and ongoing war conditions.
It features a mix of horror, action, puzzles, and exploration set in a flooded city inspired by Lovecraft’s stories.
Players control detective Calvin Rafferty as he investigates strange events and fights supernatural creatures.
The game draws some design influence from the Resident Evil 2 remake.
Combat is often unavoidable and frequent, creating a tense gameplay experience.
The story includes themes of survival and staying in one’s home despite danger.
Frogwares aims to balance grim war realities with creative storytelling and dark humor.
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The "Flock Sock" is a 3D-printed cover designed to fit over automated license plate reader cameras made by the company Flock Safety. It blocks the camera’s view temporarily without causing damage, offering a non-destructive protest method against these surveillance devices used by law enforcement across the U.S.
Ithaca is a new role-playing video game from French developer Pixel Hunt that focuses on environmental and ethical issues related to the climate crisis. Players follow Penelope, an environmental lawyer, as she uncovers the plans of a radical climate group while traveling on a road trip with an oil company CEO captive in her car.
Key Facts
Ithaca is an eco-thriller role-playing game with a storyline about climate change and political violence.
The main character, Penelope, is an environmental lawyer involved with a radical climate group called the Earth Protection Association.
The game features a procedurally generated road and allows players to make decisions that affect the story’s outcome.
Pixel Hunt, the developer, specializes in games inspired by real-life social issues.
The game’s writer, Florent Maurin, was motivated by concerns about the climate crisis and political responses to violence.
The setting and themes reference the myth of Ithaca from Greek legend to explore ideas of home and humanity’s future.
The game reflects current global climate effects, such as droughts and environmental changes in Burgundy, France.
It raises ethical questions about justice and activism, inspired by recent controversial events involving political violence.
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New satellites called FireSat, launched by SpaceX, and ground cameras using artificial intelligence (AI) are helping detect wildfires much earlier than before. These tools scan for heat and smoke frequently, allowing firefighters to respond faster and potentially stop fires before they grow large.
Key Facts
Three FireSat satellites were launched in July as the first part of a planned 50-satellite network focused on spotting small wildfires.
FireSat satellites use infrared sensors and AI to detect heat and compare images to identify new fires while reducing false alarms.
Once complete, the satellite network will scan every point on Earth about every 20 minutes.
Ground cameras equipped with AI have been installed on towers and mountaintops in 17 states to search for smoke and heat.
The AI processes images continuously and alerts human analysts who verify potential fires before notifying fire agencies.
California uses over 1,200 such cameras through the Alert California system, managed by Cal Fire.
Faster detection is crucial as wildfires have become more common due to climate changes like higher temperatures and drought.
Fire officials say early alerts can improve their response and potentially reduce wildfire damage.
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New Mexico’s attorney general, Raúl Torrez, is working on new laws to improve online child safety after winning a court case that fined Meta nearly $1 billion for harming children on its social media platforms. The new laws aim to protect consumers and regulate emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and chatbots.
Key Facts
A jury found Meta guilty of misleading users and allowing harm, including child sexual exploitation, on Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram.
Meta was fined nearly $1 billion across two court cases in New Mexico.
The court ordered $567 million to fund youth mental health services and related programs.
New court rules include age verification, limits on notifications at night, and mandatory screen time limits for users under 18.
Raúl Torrez plans to introduce two new bills focusing on child safety and consumer protections for new technologies like AI.
Torrez is pursuing additional lawsuits against Meta and an AI company with chatbots that affect children emotionally.
Meta says it has invested billions in technology and features to prevent child exploitation and supports teen accounts.
Meta plans to appeal the ruling, disagreeing with the court decision.
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