The chatbot from China appears to perform a number of tasks as well as its American competitors do, but it censors topics such as Tiananmen Square.

MacworldEvery now and then, Apples wireless earbuds get a new firmware updatethats the software that controls all the hardware on the device. Sometimes this is just random bug fixes where Apple doesnt even tell you whats fixed. Other times, it enables new features when used in conjunction with Apples other products (iPhone, iPad, Macs, even Apple TV).Your AirPods should update their firmware automatically, without intervention, as long as theyre charging and within Bluetooth range of the iPhone, iPad, or Mac to which theyre connected.Theres no way to force an update the way you manually download iOS or Mac updates, but there are steps you can take to help trigger it.How to update AirPods on iPhone, iPad, or MacMake sure that your AirPods are in Bluetooth range of your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Make sure that device is connected to Wi-Fi.Put your AirPods in their charging case and close the lid.Plug in the charging case (plug the USB cable into a power adapter and the charging case).Keep the lid of the charging case closed. Wait at least 30 minutes.Open the lid of the charging case to reconnect your AirPods to your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.Check the firmware version again. How to check the firmware version of your AirPodsOn iPhone or iPad: With your AirPods nearby and the case open, open Settings on your iPhone or iPad. Youll see your AirPods listed at the top of Settings. Tap that, and scroll down to the bottom of your AirPods settings to see the Version.On Mac: Open System Settings. Select Bluetooth, then click the (i) next to your connected AirPods. The Version will be listed there, along with other information.Apple lists the latest firmware version for each model of AirPods on the AirPods Firmware support page.How to update AirPods on AndroidYou cant! AirPods firmware can only be updated with a connected Apple device.AirPods Pro 2 USB-CRead our reviewPrice When Reviewed:279Best Prices Today:0.01 at idealo | 247 at Computeruniverse | 259 at notebooksbilliger.de

Apple allows "Marvel Snap" to return to the App Store, presumably thanks to new publishing arrangements that gets the game away from the still-banned ByteDance.'Marvel Snap' is now once again on the App Store.Just days after was initially removed from the iOS App Store, Marvel Snap is now back for good. The studio behind the game has seemingly made alternate publishing arrangements to facilitate the return, distancing themselves from ByteDance in the process.Apple first removed the game from the App Store on January 19, as the iPhone maker was required to comply with legislation banning all ByteDance applications within the United States. Marvel Snap was among several ByteDance-distributed applications affected by a blanket ban, which also included TikTok, Lemon8, and CapCut. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Apple's latest run of operating system updates doesn't offer many user-facing changes, but iPadOS 18.3 joins the rest in enabling Apple Intelligence by default.iPadOS 18.3 has minor changes to Apple IntelligenceThe point three updates all exist to set up future products and the next phase of Apple Intelligence, but there are still a few changes worth discussing. The iPad specifically doesn't have much going on beyond updates that affect every platform.Subscribe to AppleInsider on YouTube Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

The fate of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Price Tower inBartlesville, Oklahoma has finally been decided with the recent sale of the property via a court order for $1.4 million. Artnet News has the localMcFarlin Building company listed as its new rightful owners, following an order from country JudgeRussell Vaclaw. This would appear to end a nearly six-month saga that included a local conservation group'sUCC claim filed after the supposedly illegal sale of some of the design's original furniture by its then-owner Cynthia Blanchard, who had purchased the debt-strapped tower for a mere $10 in March of 2023.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has just named five winners for the2024 Mass Timber Student Design Competition. Teams from four universities in the U.S. and Canada were chosen for their ability to reflect on the meaning of tall buildings in modern societies.Each winning design was considered also for its capable use of prefabricated components or volumetric modular approaches in such a way that highlighted the benefits of utilizing mass timber for rapid development. This year's competitionfocused mainly on the use of mass timber in multi-story buildings through the lens of affordable housing that emphasizes rapid development.In their competition brief, CTBUH noted: "Participants should engage with the exploration and resolution of the synergistic relationship between a tall building and its urban setting; how that tall building can be inspired by the cultural, physical, and environmental aspects of its site; how the program of the building is influenced by...

Ptychochromis insolitus, also known as the Mangarahara cichlid, is a species of cichlid, a fish in the family Cichlidae. Endemic to certain river systems in northern Madagascar, it can reach a length of 26 centimetres (10 inches) and features long tooth- or comb-like structures known as cteni on many of its scales. This unusual feature contributed to the decision to use the species name insolitus when the fish was first described as a new species in 2006. It is classified as a critically endangered animal, being threatened by habitat loss and competition from introduced species; after the last known female was killed during a breeding attempt, its conservation received significant international attention as London Zoo launched a media campaign to identify any remaining individuals. A remnant population was discovered in 2013, and breeding programs in Madagascar and at Toronto Zoo have resulted in thousands of successful hatchlings. This P.insolitus fish was photographed in Wilhelma, a botanical garden in Stuttgart, Germany.Photograph credit: H.ZellRecently featured: Paris Peace AccordsShinku LaThe Monarch of the GlenArchiveMore featured pictures

January 28: Chinese New Year's Eve (2025)CharlesVI after the Bal des Ardents1393 King CharlesVI of France (pictured) was nearly killed when several other dancers' costumes caught fire during a masquerade ball in Paris.1568 Delegates of the Three Nations of Transylvania adopted the Edict of Torda, allowing local communities to elect their preachers freely, in an unprecedented act of religious tolerance.1671 Anglo-Spanish War: In pursuit of retreating Spanish troops, English soldiers sacked the city of Panama.1916 The province of Manitoba passed a law that first granted some Canadian women the right to vote.1941 About three hours after Thai bombers raided Sisophon, a ceasefire paused hostilities in the Franco-Thai War.JoanII of Navarre (b.1312)Agnes Sampson (d.1591)Colette (b.1873)Cicely Tyson (d.2021)More anniversaries: January 27January 28January 29ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

World leaders gathered inOswiecim, Poland, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation ofAuschwitz. Bernd von Jutrczenka / picture alliance via Getty ImagesBetween 1940 and 1945, Nazi troops murdered an estimated1.1 million people at Auschwitz in southern Poland. The majority of the victims were Jews, though tens of thousands of Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war and victims of other nationalities also perished.The killing at Auschwitz stopped onJanuary 27, 1945, the day the Red Army liberated the concentration camp. When Soviet soldiers arrived, they found roughly 7,000 emaciated prisoners, piles of human corpses, gas chambers, crematories and other evidence of the horrors that had taken place there.Auschwitz, a complex of three main camps and more than 40 subcamps, was the site of the largest mass murder in human history. After the war, it became an enduring symbol of the Holocaust.On Monday, Auschwitz survivors and world leaders gathered to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the camps liberation. They met in the Polish town of Oswiecim at the site of the former death camp, which is now amuseum and memorial.Auschwitz survivors commemorate 80th anniversary of its liberation - watch liveWatch on Britains Charles III, Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Polands President Andrzej Duda and French President Emmanuel Macron attended the ceremony, as did Germanys President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The United States alsosent a delegation, per theNew York Times Andrew Higgins.Auschwitz survivors also participated in the commemoration. Many are now in their 90s, and experts expect this to be one of the last times they convene.In five years, there will be very few left, Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress and chairman of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Foundation, tells the Times. And those who are still alive wont have the energy to go.The number of survivors grows smaller each year. Some 200 attended the 75th anniversary of Auschwitzs liberation in 2020. This year, only 56 survivors made it, reports theAssociated Press Vanessa Gera. Auschwitz survivors placed candles in front of the camp's Wall of Death. Sean Gallup / Getty ImagesReturning to Auschwitz doesnt do any good for your heart, for your mind, for anything, said Jona Laks, 94, who was brought to the camp when she was about 12 years old, toCNNs Sophie Tanno and Lauren Kent.But its necessary, Laks added. Its necessary for the world to know.Attendees placed candles in front of the campsWall of Death before gathering under a large tent erected for the occasion. They sat facing an empty train car the Nazis had used to transport victims to Auschwitz.The ceremony included music byJames Simon, a German-Jewish composer who was murdered at the camp, as well asJzef Kropiski, a Polish musician who was sent to Auschwitz but ultimately survived. Many attendees wore blue and white scarves, a nod to the clothes worn by the prisoners in the camp, as BBC News Jamie Whitehead, Matt Spivey and Paul Kirby report. Most of the speakers were survivors.The world has become toxic, Tova Friedman, who was brought to Auschwitz when she was 5 years old, told the AP before the ceremony. I realize that were in a crisis again, that there is so much hatred around, so much distrust, that if we dont stop, it may get worse and worse. There may be another terrible destruction.Leon Weintraub, a 99-year-old Auschwitz survivor, also warned against the enemies of democracy. During the ceremony, he encouraged young people to be sensitive to all expressions of intolerance and resentment towards those who are different, as reported by the Guardians Jakub Krupa.Also on Monday, the former home of Auschwitzs Nazi leader,Rudolf Hss, opened to the public. The house, which was featured in the filmThe Zone of Interest, is adjacent to the former death camp. It was purchased by the Counter Extremism Project, an international organization that aims to fight extremism and antisemitism.This house has been closed off for 80 years to humanity, said Mark Wallace, the groups CEO and the former American ambassador to the United Nations, to the LondonTimes Magnus Linklater. Remember the poor souls who were marched to Gas Chamber No. 1 and Crematory No. 1, a football pitch away. They always saw this ordinary house, a paradise to its occupants, but always beyond their reach.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: genocide, Germany, Holocaust, Nazis, Poland, Religion, World War II

Researchers are investigating oyster "blood" as a potential new treatment for antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. Southern Cross UniversityThe world is facing a superbug crisis, with experts predicting that some 39 million people could die from antimicrobial-resistant infections between now and 2050. Some illness-causing bacteria, fungi and other pathogens are evolving to evade medications like antibiotics and antivirals, making them increasingly difficult for doctors to treat.Now, researchers have discovered a promising potential solution to this problem: oysters.In laboratory tests, an antimicrobial protein found in the Sydney rock oyster (Saccostrea glomerata) made antibiotics more effective and killed several types of illness-causing bacteria. Researchers reported these findings last week in the journal PLOS One.Scientists found the protein in the oysters hemolymph, a liquid found in invertebrates thats similar to blood. They extracted the protein, then ran a series of laboratory experiments to see how it matched up against bacteria that are not only responsible for many respiratory infections but are also becoming more resistant to treatment with conventional antibiotics. Scientists studied the Sydney rock oyster (Saccostrea glomerata), which is commercially available. Southern Cross UniversityOn its own, the protein killed Streptococcus pneumoniae (a bacterium responsible for pneumonia) and Streptococcus pyogenes (which causes strep throat and scarlet fever).And, when paired up with antibiotics, the protein also helped improve their effectiveness against other infection-causing bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus (which leads to staph infections)Pseudomonas aeruginosa (which is particularly problematic for people with compromised immune systems).It actually made the antibiotics work better, says study co-author Kirsten Benkendorff, a marine scientist at Southern Cross University, to the Australian Broadcasting Corporations Claire Simmonds. The oyster protein, used alongside antibiotics, made them 2 to 32 times more effective, per the paper.As pathogens become more resistant to existing antibiotics, researchers are hard at work trying to develop new ones. But, in the meantime, anything that can prolong the lifespan of a current antibiotic would be quite a sustainable solution to make what we have work for longer, says Sohinee Sarkar, an infectious disease researcher at Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Australia who was not involved with the work, to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.In addition, testing revealed that the protein was not toxic to human lung cells, which bolsters the idea that it could one day be a viable treatment option for respiratory infections.Scientists believe the protein works by disrupting the biofilms that bacteria often form within the body. Biofilms are groups of microorganisms that stick to one another and, often, to surfaces. These communities also typically encase themselves in a protective layer of secretions, which makes it more difficult for the bodys immune systemand antibioticsto fight back.The oyster-derived proteins seemed to prevent biofilms from forming in the first place, and they were also able to penetrate biofilms that had already formed.We often think about bacteria just floating around in the blood, Benkendorff tells the Guardians Donna Lu. But in reality, a lot of them actually adhere to surfaces. The advantage of having something that disrupts the biofilm is its stopping all of those bacteria from attaching to the surfaces. Its releasing them back out into the blood, where then they can be attacked by antibiotics. So far, the protein has only been tested in the laboratorynot in humans or animals. Kirsten BenkendorffIt makes sense that oysters would be good at battling bacteria. As filter feeders, they are constantly slurping up water, eating food particles and expelling any unwanted materials.Oysters are exposed to high concentrations of diverse microorganisms in their natural marine environment, write Benkendorff and co-author Kate Summer, also a researcher at Southern Cross University, for the Conversation. Because of this, they have evolved strong immune defenses. For example, they rely heavily on antimicrobial proteins and strings of molecules known as peptides in their hemolymph (blood) to protect them from infection.The bivalves have also long been used to help boost human health, including among the Indigenous people of Australia and in traditional Chinese medicine, the researchers point out.But that doesnt necessarily mean doctors should start prescribing a steady diet of oysters to their sick patients. So far, the protein has only been tested in a labnot in trials with humans or animals. In addition, scientists say they need to conduct more research to learn more about how the protein works and how best to turn it into medicine. Its also unclear whether the protein would be as effective if consumed.Still, slurping down a few oysters now and again doesnt hurtand this briny snack may even help your body naturally fend off invaders for other reasons, the researchers say.Oysters contain zinc, which boosts the immune system, and they have really good polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamins that also help modulate immunity, says Benkendorff in a statement.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Animals, Doctors, Food, Health, Innovations, Medicine, Microbes, Bacteria, Viruses, New Research, Oceans, Prescription Drugs, Viruses, Water