When the lease on my car expired in 2017, I made the bold decision to turn it in without getting a new one. I was living in Seattle at the time, which has reliable bus routes and is small enough that nearly all my car rides were 20 minutes or less. It felt like the perfect setting to try relying on a combination of public transit, Uber, and my bike.The math was compelling. I would save a ton of money! There would be no upfront cost to buy the car, or ongoing expenses for gas, insurance, parking, and maintenance. For longer trips into the mountains for a hike, I could carpool with friends. Even if I had to rent a car occasionally, it would still be cheaper than owning one. I lasted less than six months, but eight years later, it might be more feasible given Uber's latest feature rollouts. The company has been working on reducing personal car ownership, Wendy Lee, Uber’s director of autonomous mobility and delivery products, told me at its 2025 global product event today. Uber announced a suite of pretty compelling products, including cheaper rides for common routes and the country’s first shared, autonomous ride service.Wendy Lee, Uber’s director of autonomous mobility and delivery products (Credit: Emily Forlini/PCMag)“We believe there’s a future where we can make the roads safer, we can reduce traffic, we can reduce emissions, [and] it’s better for the environment,” Lee says. “I don’t think personal car ownership needs to be the way it’s been the past few decades. It can look different.” In 2026, passengers in Los Angeles will be the first to see a new option in the Uber app: A self-driving, Woodstock-style electric Volkswagen ID.Buzz. It will transport groups of passengers, presumably at a lower price per person. If the rider’s requested route requires a road that is ineligible for the self-driving Volkswagen, it will not surface as an option in the app. This is how it works today when a rider calls a self-driving Waymo vehicle through the Uber app, Lee says.Volkswagen ID.Buzz(Credit: Emily Forlini/PCMag)The shared autonomous ride tech could complement other route-focused features Uber debuted at today's event for traditional rides, such as the option for the rider to walk a short distance to a shared pickup point in exchange for savings. It experimented with shared rides in 2018 via Uber Express Pool, but the pandemic killed that idea for a few years. The new Route Share option is aimed more at commuters, with rides available in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, and Baltimore to start, with more cities to come. Uber says rides will be up to 50% cheaper than UberX.Why My Experiment FailedThese features might have made my experiment even more cost-effective and solved the biggest issue that ultimately prompted me to pull the plug: The constant small talk.Recommended by Our EditorsI thought I had no problem talking to strangers, but taking daily Uber rides exposed me to the same repetitive questions over and over again. "How’s your day? How long have you been working for Uber?" Quiet mode didn’t exist yet, so there was no escape.I had to mentally prepare myself for the chit chat that would start as soon as my butt hit the seat. It became a burden and outweighed the occasional worthwhile exchange. I also grew tired of waiting for my rides, walking around to find them, and the inevitable cancellations.Autonomous vehicles solve this issue by removing the driver. It's an introvert's dream, though there are drawbacks. Self-driving cars have frozen in areas with network overload, and don't move if someone stands in their way, turning passengers into sitting ducks. There are also occasional accidents, and confusing new norms, like what to do if the car breaks a law. But in a perfect world, autonomous rides would've solved my biggest barrier to long-term, daily Uber use.Waymo’s nationwide rollout is waking people up to the joys of quiet, driverless rides. My friends in California take them regularly and love the peaceful rides. I’m starting to think quiet rides might be appreciated by introverts and extroverts alike, especially those who take them regularly.A Precarious Public ExperimentUber display at GO-GET 2025(Credit: Emily Forlini/PCMag)I do worry that society, and the tech industry, is in a honeymoon phase with self-driving cars, unable to see the full implications. From automating jobs and unclear federal safety standards to potentially billions of wasted investment dollars, it's a precarious public experiment. Uber sends mixed messages about whether it’s "getting rid" of drivers. At this week’s event, a movie theater-sized screen proclaimed, "The future is autonomous," yet two spokespeople insisted to me that the idea is to increase the number of rides overall, for robots and humans alike. That's probably equal parts media training and reality, at least in the short term.“There are definitely things autonomous vehicles can’t do, like picking up at a private event or going long distances,” Lee says. “We’ll see what that looks like over time and how it develops.” On a sentimental note, the relationship between Uber riders and drivers has become a cultural institution that can provide some much-needed social interaction. One driver even wrote a book about the interesting stories riders told him over his nine years on the job, Block Club Chicago reports. Ending that tradition gives even this Scrooge-like passenger a bit of a heart pang.

Fine soil particles once encased in ice were discovered in a cave about 20,000 years after the frozen sheet melted. This sediment is significant both for what it tells us about the past and what it could forecast for the future, according to an article in the journal Nature Geoscience.The sediment found in an Alaskan cave was likely once part of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which melted at the end of the last Ice Age. Most of that ice — along with the sediment contained within it — ended up in the oceans. Finding traces of it on land is extremely rare.“This is the first evidence of land-based meltwater events from this ice-sheet,” Paul Wilcox, a geologist at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and an author of the paper, said in a press release. “In a way, the cave acted as a kind of time capsule that preserved the sediments for thousands of years.”Preserving Ice Age LifeTwo aspects of the sediment help tell the story of Ice Age life. First, scientists detected plant pollen within the particles. That provides indirect evidence of biological refuges — even during peak ice coverage “[…] in which plants could survive even under extreme climatic conditions,” Daniela Festi, a pollen researcher with GeoSphere Austria and an author of the paper, said in a press release.The sediment also contained quartz — convenient because the presence of that mineral makes determining the particles’ age possible using a method that can detect when it was last exposed to sunlight. But more importantly, it also shows that the sediment must have been transported quite a distance before being deposited, since the cave is in a limestone region, where quartz would generally be scarce or non-existent.Glacial Meltwater and Climate ChangesDating the sediment allows scientists to look to the past to forecast the future. Although the Cordilleran Ice Sheet almost certainly melted due to a change in the Earth’s position relative to the sun, that alone doesn’t account for the ice’s backward retreat from western North America. Other forces must have contributed.Data from the last Ice Age show signs that glacial meltwater repeatedly pulsed into the North Atlantic. That cycle likely further disrupted the region’s heat and contributed to further warming.“This supports the hypothesis that climate changes in the Northeast Pacific were a prerequisite for the shifts observed in the North Atlantic,” Wilcox said in the release.Understanding how these events happened over space and time could inform us about the future. Continued warming could lead to similar increased freshwater flowing into the oceans. That, in turn, could disrupt circulation systems that impact temperature.The researchers plan to investigate additional Alaskan caves and compare the sediment archives to each other. That could provide a more detailed picture of the past ice sheet’s melting dynamics — and perhaps provide a glimpse into how a similar event could affect climate in the future.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

UPDATE: In a statement, Valve says the leak involves "older text messages that had previously been sent to Steam customers" and is "NOT a breach of Steam systems.""We’re still digging into the source of the leak, which is compounded by the fact that any SMS messages are unencrypted in transit, and routed through multiple providers on the way to your phone," it says. However, the phone numbers that received the one-time codes are not associated with a Steam account, password information, payment information or other personal data.A password reset is not required, it adds, but this is "a good reminder to treat any account security messages that you have not explicitly requested as suspicious." Valve recommends regularly checking your Steam account security and setting up the Steam Mobile Authenticator.Original Story:Account details of 89 million Steam PC gamers are up for sale on the dark web. Spotted by Underdark.ai on LinkedIn and highlighted by XDA, the dataset is on sale on a well-known dark web forum for $5,000. A hacker who goes by Machine1337 provided details from the data to prove its authenticity. That has yet to be confirmed, but if you've ever used Steam, now is a good time to update your password.Recommended by Our EditorsIf you reuse your Steam password on other online accounts, meanwhile, you should also update those services. And keep an eye on your email for potential phishing attacks, especially around the topic of gaming.The source of the leak is unclear right now. Steam owner Valve shot down reports that it's linked to cloud software company Twilio.We asked Valve to confirm whether a breach had occurred and, if so, what next steps it recommends. We'll update this story when we hear back. Steam celebrated a major milestone earlier this year when it hit 40 million active users in March, suggesting the breach potentially includes data on inactive accounts or occasional Steam users.Steam also made headlines in March when a demo for a fake title called Sniper: Phantom's Resolution was found to be malware. Rather than hosting the malware directly on Steam, the listing linked to a different website to fool users into installing a computer virus.

Prostate cancer is one of the primary health scares for aging men, but thankfully, improved testing could soon be on the way. A simple spit test that can be taken at home is among the most promising methods for detecting prostate cancer, which an estimated 1 in 8 men are diagnosed with during their lifetime. In an April 2025 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers demonstrated the success of calculating prostate cancer risk from saliva. The study showed that a spit test can identify prostate cancer more accurately than prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests, which have come under scrutiny for their tendency to produce unreliable results. Success of the PRS Saliva TestThe study assessed 6,142 European men between the ages of 55 and 69, extracting germline DNA from their saliva. Using the saliva, researchers were able to find a polygenic risk score (PRS); this metric denotes someone’s risk of developing a disease — in this case, prostate cancer — based on the genetic variants they contain. Those with a PRS in the 90th percentile or higher were invited for further screening, since a higher score indicates the inheritance of many genetic variations that could raise the risk of developing prostate cancer. A total of 468 participants with exceptionally high PRS underwent MRI scans and prostate biopsies; 187 of these men (40 percent) were diagnosed with prostate cancer as a result. The Flaws of PSA Blood TestsUnlike the PRS test using saliva, PSA blood tests can fall short in several ways. These tests measure prostate-specific antigen, a protein produced by both normal and malignant cells from the prostate gland. An initial PSA test is often recommended to men around age 50 who have an average risk of developing prostate cancer, or men around age 40 who have a high risk due to family history. The American Cancer Society states that men with a PSA of less than 2.5 ng/mL may only need to be retested every two years, whereas testing should be done every year for those with a higher PSA (for reference, 4.0 ng/mL is considered abnormal for PSA levels).Although PSA tests are still commonplace in prostate cancer screenings, they don’t always produce the desired outcome for patients. According to a press statement on the new study, PSA tests falsely indicate “prostate cancer in men three out of four times.” False-positives derived from the tests could lead patients to seek unnecessary medical procedures. A separate 2022 study found that age, alcohol intake, and the presence of urinary tract infections were commonly associated with false positives in PSA tests. Another downfall of PSA tests is that they often detect other cancers that normally grow slowly and would never show symptoms of concern.The new study showed that PRS spit tests, on the other hand, are able to catch a higher proportion of aggressive cancers that are likely to spread. Expanding Knowledge on Prostate CancerResearchers are now working to develop a version of the test that can detect more prostate cancer risk variants in other populations, such as those with Asian and African ancestry. They will also continue with additional trials to compare the success rate of spit tests with MRI scans and PSA tests. "Early detection of cancers significantly increases the chance of a cure. With prostate cancer cases expected to double by 2040, it's crucial to establish a robust way of picking up clinically significant cases of prostate cancer at an earlier stage,” said Kristian Helin, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research in London. “The current PSA test often leads to unnecessary treatments and, more concerningly, fails to detect some cancers. There is an urgent need for a better screening test. This research represents a promising advancement towards that goal and underscores the life-saving potential of genetic testing."This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:American Cancer Society. American Cancer Society Recommendations for Prostate Cancer Early DetectionNational Cancer Institue. Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) TestNew England Journal of Medicine. Assessment of a Polygenic Risk Score in Screening for Prostate CancerJack Knudson is an assistant editor at Discover with a strong interest in environmental science and history. Before joining Discover in 2023, he studied journalism at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University and previously interned at Recycling Today magazine.

The last weekend in May is known for barbecues, beaches, and the best Amazon Memorial Day sales. Whether you’re lounging away or traveling over the holiday weekend, the best deals are a click away from arriving at your doorstep. AD editors searched Amazon for the best markdowns on vacuums (and other home appliances), furniture, mattresses, bedding, as well as patio furniture to usher in the summer. We found the best-selling home items already on sale that might even rival some Black Friday deals.Whether you’re looking for smart home gadgets or ways to update your bedroom, read on for Memorial Day deals that will fetch you the lowest price now, at least until Prime Day comes around.Our Top Picks for the Best Early Amazon Memorial Day Sales:Best Mattress Deal: Helix Midnight Luxe Mattress, $2,374 $1,780Hotel-Quality Bedding: Mellanni Hotel Luxury 1800 Sheet Set, $70 $37Best for Birders: Netvue by Birdfy Smart Bird Feeder with Camera, $360 $300An Outdoor Entertaining Essential: Everdure Cube Portable Charcoal Grill, $119 $109Best Vacuum Deal: Dyson V15s Detect Submarine​ Wet Dry Vacuum, $950 $798Browse by CategoryVacuumsPhoto: Terri WilliamsDyson V15s Detect Submarine​ Wet-Dry VacuumThis wet-dry vacuum from Dyson is one of the most versatile model's money can buy—it can be used on hardwoods and carpets with vacuum and mopping functionality. “The beauty of this design is that all of the water is contained in the separate wet roller head, so I can remove it, attach one of the other roller heads, and dry vacuum in other parts of my home,” says contributor Terri Williams, our resident cleaning device expert, in her review. It's a standout for tackling tough stains and picking up debris, and it's designed to cover 1,000 square feet with its 300 milliliter water tank.Levoit Cordless Vacuum CleanerThis Levoit model is “proof that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a good vacuum,” says Williams in her best of Levoit review. Similar to higher-end models, this home cleaning gadget runs for 50 minutes in eco mode and has a serious filtration system. Williams likes that it can go completely flat to clean tricky places such as under the couch. The three LED lights ensure you don’t miss dust as you go. With this low price and superb cleaning power, you can see why it is a favorite.Shark HV322 Rocket Corded VacuumYes, this Shark stick vacuum is corded, but with more than 18,000 five-star reviews, this top-rated machine needs to make its way into your home. Weighing just under nine pounds, it has an extra-large dust cup so you can pick up every last crumb and crumble. Convert it into a handheld vacuum to get into the tight spot between the stair step and the riser or between the couch cushions.Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam Deluxe Wet Dry VacWhen your floors need an extra oomph, the Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam Deluxe is your BFF. Its steam technology helps tackle stubborn messes on kitchen tile and beyond. Use it on a carpet or area rug to give it a light refresh. When it’s time to spruce up the vac itself, the washable filter is easy to maintain.FurnitureMellow Naturalista Classic Platform BedThe simple design of the midcentury modern Mellow platform bed frame makes it easy to assemble. It’s made of solid wood and comes in multiple hues, including pine, cherry, and black. With 8.5 inches between the floor and the frame, you have plenty of storage space too. Bonus: Amazon Prime members get a free two-day delivery.Serwall Foldable Adirondack ChairA Memorial Day sale for outdoor furniture is not something you want to miss. If you don’t have an Adirondack chair, now is the time to snag one. The composite material model by Serwall comes in 12 colorways, including teal, apple green, and sky blue. There is also a cup and mobile phone holder so all your comforts are right there with you. It also folds, allowing you to store these in a neat stack when the season’s over.Poly & Bark Pure-Aniline Italian Leather SofaThe best couches on Amazon are part of the early Memorial Day weekend sales. Poly & Bark is one of our top picks thanks to its sleek, modern corner-blocked frame (made of kiln-dried wood) with pure-aniline Italian leather upholstery. When it ships, all you have to do is attach the legs.Walker Edison Modern Curved Reeded TV StandWhen it comes to buying TV stands from Amazon, you’ve got options and great deals. To help you narrow it down, go for a contemporary design with curves and reeded detail. Choose from mocha or oak options to suit your living room color palette. This one has plenty of storage space and open shelving to display home decor.Bedding & MattressesCasper Sleep Original PillowThe Casper Sleep Original pillow was voted as the best cooling pillow tested by AD editors and contributors. It works for all types of sleepers—back, side, and stomach—and skews on the firmer side. “This is actually my boyfriend’s pillow,” says contributor Madeleine Luckel. “I usually like really soft pillows, while he likes firmer ones. However, I like this product so much that I try to steal it all the time.” One of the reasons she snags it is because it stays cool and “it really is at some indescribable sweet spot in terms of its firmness.” Since the fill is made of a polyester microfiber that’s covered in a cotton cover, it’s also machine-washable.Helix Midnight Luxe MattressSales events are sweeter when you can score 25% off a really, really good mattress, like the Helix Midnight Luxe. According to our best mattresses on Amazon reviews, this one earns the title of “best for back pain.” AD contributor Gaby Ulloa reports that she wakes up “feeling refreshed and well-rested each day” without any back pain whatsoever (something that happens when she sleeps on a new mattress). The hybrid model contains 1,000 individually wrapped coils with targeted pressure to relieve back pressure, help with spinal alignment, and prevent motion transfer. In terms of firmness, it’s about a six on a scale of one to 10.Lauren ArzbaecherLauren ArzbaecherMellanni Hotel Luxury 1800 Sheet SetThis might be the best buy for Amazon sheets. With more than 245,000 five-star reviews, it’s definitely at the top of our list for best Memorial Day sales. Not only are these “lightweight and airy,” sheets a steal, according to contributor Kristi Kellogg, “they've held their shape, color, and softness through dozens of washes.” With 45 colorways to choose from—pastels, florals, and stripes—you have plenty of options to stock up on these super soft and wrinkle-resistant bed sheets.Lane Linen 100% Organic Long-Staple Cotton SheetsLane Linen organic cotton is luxury at a fraction of the price. The breathable fabric is Oeko-Tex certified and feels crisp yet soft. At $40 for a four-piece set, it’s a rare find. We love the polka dot and speckled grey pattern, but you decide as there are 32 colors to choose from. In her review, Kellogg adds, “they haven’t faded or pilled,” even after several years of use.Home AppliancesDyson Purifier Hot+Cool Air Purifier, Heater, and FanAmazon is discounting the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cold by almost 30%, and you don’t want to snooze on this limited-time deal. “This air purifier is definitely a splurge,” says commerce editor and tester Audrey Lee. “Are there other air purifiers out there that work just as well at a lower price point? Probably—but I would say it’s the combination of a high-quality air purifier, fan, and heater that makes this one worth its price.” Lee used the remote control and the Wi-Fi-enabled Dyson Link app to set it up. “The purifier itself works like a dream, and I noticed within a week of use that I felt noticeably less congested,” she says in her air purifier review. “I appreciated that the Hot+Cold has an auto mode, which continuously monitors room temperature and indoor air quality, while also running the fan or heat to the degree of your choosing.” What’s more, it’s also an oscillating smart fan with adjustable airflow, so you can be ready for hot summer days.Netvue by Birdfy Smart Bird Feeder with CameraThe solar-powered bird feeder with a built-in AI gadget that can identify more than 6,000 bird species is an Amazon tech deal you don’t want to miss. It’s made with Forest Stewardship Council-certified bamboo, and the waterproof camera is encased in a carbonized shell so it won’t corrode. Thanks to the night vision feature, you can watch the birdies day and night.Nashia BakerCoway Airmega AP-1512HH(W) True HEPA PurifierAccording to Nashia Baker, senior commerce editor, the quality of Coway Airmega purifier is “second to none.” Baker is a big fan of the auto mode. “This is a favorite feature of mine, as it automatically detects the air quality through three LED light modes: blue (good), purple (moderate), and red (unhealthy),” she says in her review. “Whenever there’s a change in the air quality, like if I’m cooking, the LED light adjusts to either purple or red, and the air purifier picks up its speed to quickly regulate it. Usually in just a matter of minutes, the LED light changes back to blue and the air purifier goes back to a whisper-quiet sound.” If you happen to live in a place where pollen, allergens, and air pollution don’t seep through your doors and windows, the purifier will automatically default to auto mode.Everdure Cube Portable Charcoal GrillWe can’t not include a grill in an Amazon Memorial Day sale roundup. Grill designs come in plenty of options, and we love that this portable version by Everdure Cube is accessible to all (even if all you have is a tiny patio). Lightweight steel is what makes this barbecue grill a perfect pick for a day of grilling at a park or a beach. While it is small, you can still cook up to six small burgers or three small steaks. And cleaning is a breeze thanks to the removable grill rack.

As the Federal Communications Commission considers GPS alternatives, SpaceX says its Starlink satellites are already up for the task.The company made its pitch in a Wednesday letter to the FCC after the commission kicked off a public inquiry about developing alternatives to GPS, which has long been run through a single provider, the US Defense Department.  The FCC’s goal is to usher in Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) solutions to complement GPS. In response, SpaceX sent a five-page letter that noted: "One opportunity stands out as a particularly ripe, low-hanging fruit: facilitating the rapid deployment of next-generation low-Earth orbit ('LEO') satellite constellations that can deliver PNT as a service alongside high-speed, low-latency broadband and ubiquitous mobile connectivity.”The letter says SpaceX has already been working on a PNT system for its cellular Starlink service, which is in public beta and will launch through T-Mobile in July. “SpaceX has also been actively working to integrate PNT solutions into its direct-to-device commercial service offerings,” the company wrote. “In so doing, SpaceX can advance the Commission’s goal in this proceeding to maintain American leadership in next-generation PNT services both here at home and in over 130 countries it serves around the world.”SpaceX didn't say how it would offer the PNT system for public use, writing only that “SpaceX looks forward to playing an integral role in creating a more robust, resilient, and secure PNT ecosystem for Americans and people around the world.”Recommended by Our EditorsThe letter also notes that Starlink satellites can already operate independent of GPS. “This capability not only allows those systems to operate unhindered even if GPS is unavailable, it also sets the foundation for future solutions that can use any authorized frequency to deliver accurate, reliable, and resilient PNT to any end user device," it says.SpaceX previously told the FCC it's advocating for a “technology-neutral approach” with GPS alternatives. Wednesday’s letter reiterates the point, preaching for the development of a “diversified and robust” PNT ecosystem. That said, SpaceX took some shots at Hughesnet’s parent EchoStar, alleging the company’s control of the 2GHz radio spectrum for a mobile satellite service (MSS) remains unused. The FCC might agree. On Monday, the agency began soliciting public comment about whether EchoStar is utilizing the 2GHz band for MSS consistent with the terms of its authorizations and the Commission’s rules and policies governing the expectation of robust MSS.”In the meantime, SpaceX isn’t alone in trying to pitch its satellite services as a backup to GPS. Apple satellite provider Globalstar also sent a letter to the FCC about how its services “can function as either an alternative or a complement to GPS.”“Notably, Globalstar’s satellites transmit outside of the L-band, which provides PNT users with added immunity from GPS jamming and spoofing,” the company said. “In addition, Globalstar’s satellite transmissions at 2.4GHz are stronger than GPS signals, bolstering resilience, performance, and reliability.”

Australia and South America weren’t always so separate. At one time, many millions of years ago, these two continents were connected, along with others, in the southern supercontinent of Gondwana. Gondwana was a warm, forested place — a perfect home for tree frogs. In fact, the supercontinent fostered the common ancestor of the Australian pelodryadid frogs and the South American phyllomedusid frogs that are still seen, stuck to leaves and branches, today. But when did this common tree frog ancestor appear, and when did it diverge into these two separate frog families?A new study published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology provides some answers. Identifying a new species of Australian tree frog from the Early Eocene around 55 million years ago, the study suggests that the Australian and South American tree frog lineages split apart at around that time, too, or even earlier than that. All in all, the study rethinks the timeline of tree frog evolution and suggests that these lineages are a lot older than traditionally thought.The Australian-South American Frog SeparationTo be sure, the new study isn’t the first to investigate the divergence of the Australian and South American tree frogs. By following the genetic transformations of these two families over time, prior molecular studies have shown, for instance, that the pelodryadids and the phyllomedusids split apart approximately 33 million years ago.The fossil record has supported that timing in the past, with the earliest Australian tree frog fossils previously appearing in Australia after 33 million years ago, in the Late Oligocene and the Early Miocene epochs about 26 and 23 million years ago. But the new species undermines this timeline, suggesting that the separation of Australian and South American tree frogs actually occurred around 55 million years ago at a minimum, or at least around 22 million years earlier than previously thought. The new species, named Litoria tylerantiqua, is now the earliest identified species of Australian tree frog there is. Represented by fossilized pelvic bones from the Murgon fossil site in Queensland, Australia, the pelodryadid species is approximately 55 million years old, or about 30 million years older than any other Australian tree frog found in the fossil record. “While molecular studies are important for understanding the evolutionary relationships of different groups of animals, these studies should be calibrated using knowledge from the fossil record,” said Roy Farman, the lead study author and a lecturer at the University of New South Wales, according to a press release. “In this case, the fossil record provides a more accurate time for separation of the southern world’s tree frogs.”Tree Frogs, Fossilized and PickledThree fossilized ilia (pelvic bones) represent a new species of Australian tree frog, Litoria tylerantiqua. (Image Credit: UNSW Sydney/Roy Farman) To confirm the species’ identification as a pelodryadid, the study authors compared the pelvises of the new species with the pelvises of pickled frogs, including Australian and South American tree frogs, from museums in Australia. “We were able to determine from the shape of the fossil ilia — one of three bones that make up each side of the pelvis — that this new Murgon species of frog is more closely related to the Australian tree frogs (pelodryadids) than the South American tree frogs (phyllomedusids),” Farman said in the release. Though the structure of the pelvic bones from the new species was relatively simple to study, the structure of the bones from the pickled species was not. “We had a real problem at the start of this study,” Farman added in the release, because the bones of the pickled specimens were “invisible,” being obscured by the specimens’ soft tissues. “Museums understandably want to ensure these often unique or rare pickled specimens remain intact for molecular studies because DNA can be obtained from their soft tissues,” Farman said in the release. “This meant that instead of [skeletonizing] these specimens, we needed instead to make CT scans of them, enabling us to create 3D models of their otherwise invisible skeletons.”The new species is named after the Australian herpetologist Michael Tyler, who was famous for studying the fossil record of Australian frogs and toads. “It is only fitting to name Australia’s earliest tree frog in [honor] of a man who was a giant in Australian frog research,” Farman said in the release. Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Sam Walters is a journalist covering archaeology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution for Discover, along with an assortment of other topics. Before joining the Discover team as an assistant editor in 2022, Sam studied journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Key Takeaways A bill has been introduced that plans to verify the ownership and location of regulated processors and advanced AI tech. This would require companies like Nvidia, AMD, and Intel to embed location tracking functions into regulated products. This bold move appears highly questionable and could have long-term consequences on global trade. The US is planning to introduce legislation that would make it mandatory for manufacturers of high-performance AI processors to add geographical location tracking to their products. This is reportedly being done to stop advanced AI components from falling into the hands of China.  Remember, the US government has already placed several export restrictions on advanced AI chips, including Nvidia’s H100 and A100. However, this geographical tracking takes things a notch higher. As per reports, US officials are worried about increasing instances of AI tech smuggling, which means these chips ultimately end up in China in one way or another. The recently launched Hunyuan-Large AI model was also reportedly trained on Nvidia H20 GPUs, which are export-controlled. This reconfirms America’s fear of China using illegal channels to source these chips. This is why Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas has introduced a bill that would allow the Commerce Secretary to impose location controls on these companies. The bill covers high-performance AI processors, including the GeForce RTX 4090 and RTX 5090, as well as other AI chips. The companies will be required to embed tracking technology in all high-end processor modules, including products that have already been developed. Companies will have six months to comply with these requirements after the bill is enacted. The US also suspects that China might procure these restricted chips from other export-free countries on the US list. That is why the bill aims to meticulously verify the ownership and location of regulated processors. In a nutshell, the US government has banned the export of certain products to China, and the products that are allowed to be exported will now be embedded with live location tracking. Location Tracking Might Be a Bit of an Overkill If this bill comes into force, a one-year study will be conducted jointly by the Department of Commerce and the Department of Defense to explore additional protective measures. The departments will also conduct annual assessments for three years after the bill becomes law. If the additional measures are considered appropriate, the Department of Commerce will work on them to finalize rules within the next two years. This means location tracking isn’t really the final nail in the coffin. The US might be planning to launch more such control measures in the next few years. While one can understand the rationale behind tracking the location of each US-made chip, this seems to be a bit of overkill. After all, such a ‘dictatorship’ move can be detrimental to free trade in the technology space. Companies like Nvidia, AMD, and Intel will have to spend billions to incorporate this technology, and even after that, they will have little control over whom they can sell to. It’s as good as the government tightening its control on these companies, which are essentially becoming playthings for the US government in the overall global foreign trade policy. Today, the US has a problem with China, so it’s implementing such draconian measures. Tomorrow, if there is a conflict between the US and the UK or the US and the EU, who’s to say that the government will not use this law to twist arms? Nvidia is expected to be hit the hardest. 13% of Nvidia’s total sales come from China, which is around $17 billion as of January 2025. Plus, the tech giant is already sitting on orders worth $18B in the current year. Image Credit – Finchat_io on Threads Furthermore, the company is already planning to export a downgraded version of the H20 chip with lower computing power, which will fall outside the purview of the proposed export controls. However, the US might very well block this move or require location tracking on these chips as well. Another issue with the proposed bill is the time period of the tracking. When does it stop? Does it stop at all? This could result in massive privacy scares, as retail customers using these trackable, tech-embedded products would, at all times, have their location exposed to the US authorities.  US Export Regulations Are in a Mess The US export policy is currently as confusing as it has ever been. With arbitrary tariff rate increases, export bans, and now location tracking, the US is leaving no stone unturned to ensure artificial intelligence supremacy. However, this is based on the assumption that China is totally reliant on the US for AI development, which is far from the truth. For instance, Huawei’s 910C GPU offers the same level of performance as Nvidia’s H100, which was released in 2022. To put it simply, China seems to be just three years behind the US when it comes to AI technology. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has also said that China is very close to the US. Plus, now that China has finally started to produce US-comparable chips, it may start catering to the global chip market and export its homemade AI chips to other countries. In that case, these strict regulations may backfire on the US, and it may end up losing a sizable chunk of the global market to China. So, this begs the question of whether such an extensive and restrictive export policy is actually needed. We have already seen how DeepSeek was built for a fraction of the cost of other AI models. So, China may catch up with the US sooner than expected. For now, we’ll wait to see if and when this bill comes into force. The concerned companies may also put forward their reservations, and clauses may be worked out before being set into writing. Krishi is a seasoned tech journalist with over four years of experience writing about PC hardware, consumer technology, and artificial intelligence.  Clarity and accessibility are at the core of Krishi’s writing style. He believes technology writing should empower readers—not confuse them—and he’s committed to ensuring his content is always easy to understand without sacrificing accuracy or depth. Over the years, Krishi has contributed to some of the most reputable names in the industry, including Techopedia, TechRadar, and Tom’s Guide. A man of many talents, Krishi has also proven his mettle as a crypto writer, tackling complex topics with both ease and zeal. His work spans various formats—from in-depth explainers and news coverage to feature pieces and buying guides.  Behind the scenes, Krishi operates from a dual-monitor setup (including a 29-inch LG UltraWide) that’s always buzzing with news feeds, technical documentation, and research notes, as well as the occasional gaming sessions that keep him fresh.  Krishi thrives on staying current, always ready to dive into the latest announcements, industry shifts, and their far-reaching impacts.  When he's not deep into research on the latest PC hardware news, Krishi would love to chat with you about day trading and the financial markets—oh! And cricket, as well. View all articles by Krishi Chowdhary Our editorial process The Tech Report editorial policy is centered on providing helpful, accurate content that offers real value to our readers. We only work with experienced writers who have specific knowledge in the topics they cover, including latest developments in technology, online privacy, cryptocurrencies, software, and more. Our editorial policy ensures that each topic is researched and curated by our in-house editors. We maintain rigorous journalistic standards, and every article is 100% written by real authors.

There are many web hosts vying for your dollar, so it takes a special service to stand out from the crowded field and prove itself worthy of your investment. Hosting.com (formerly A2 Hosting) distinguishes itself in the competitive web hosting market with terrific customer service and several feature-rich hosting packages. Notably, Hosting's high-quality WordPress plans rival those from our Editors' Choice winner, Bluehost. However, its lack of cloud, dedicated, and Windows server plans prevents it from seizing the crown as one of our top picks overall.Shared Web HostingIf you want to launch a site without spending a lot of money, check out shared hosting. A shared package places your site on a server with many other sites, so you literally share resources and lower your overall hosting costs. It's practical and cheap, but it isn't particularly powerful. The main drawback is that the other sites sharing the server can slow your site's load speed with a crash or traffic spike.(Credit: Hosting.com/PCMag)Hosting.com offers four tiers of Linux-based shared web hosting: Startup, Plus, Pro, and Max. Starter (starting at $7.99 per month with an annual contract) has 15GB of storage, unlimited monthly data transfers, and five email addresses, but you're limited to a single domain. Plus (starting at $9.99 per month with an annual contract) builds on Startup with 30GB of storage,10 email accounts, and two websites. Pro (starting at $12.99 per month with an annual contract) ups the ante with its 50GB of storage, 20 email accounts, and 10 websites. Finally, there's Max (starting at $15.99 per month with an annual contract), which offers 100GB of storage, 40 email accounts, and 50 websites. Each plan includes free domain registration for the first year when committing to an annual contract. These are respectable shared plans, but they're a step behind HostGator. HostGator features free domain registration, unlimited monthly data transfers, and unlimited email addresses with each shared hosting plan. If you want to explore shared hosting, HostGator is the place to start.VPS Web HostingAs with its shared hosting plans, Hosting.com has multiple Linux-based virtual private server (VPS) packages. VPS hosting is like shared hosting in that multiple sites exist on the same server. The difference? VPS hosting offers more resources per site. There are far fewer sites on each server, and each is isolated from its server mates. Hosting.com offers managed and unmanaged VPS servers. With managed servers, Hosting.com takes care of all aspects of server management, including setup, configuration, security, backups, and maintenance. On the other hand, unmanaged servers require you to handle all these tasks yourself for a more hands-on experience.Unmanaged VPS XS (starting at $9.99 per month with an annual contract) starts with 4GB of virtual memory, 80GB of storage, and unlimited monthly data transfers. The next tier up, VPS S (starting at $15.99 per month with an annual contract), increases the virtual memory to 8GB and storage to 160GB. VPS M ($24.99 per month with an annual contract) lets you work with 16GB of virtual memory and 320GB of storage. Lastly, VPS L ($60.99 per month with an annual contract) is a plan with a hefty 32TB of virtual memory and 640GB of storage.Managed VPS plans use the same naming structure and offer the same configurations, but include managed server support. As expected, that white glove treatment comes at a much higher cost than unmanaged VPS. Managed VPS XS starts at $65.99 per month for a one-year commitment, while the highest tier, Managed VPS L, costs you $110.99 per month for the year. The upside is that Hosting.com’s team handles your site's backend, so you can focus on website content without stressing about site maintenance.All VPS plans come with a free SSL certificate and cPanel. It's worth noting that both managed and unmanaged VPS have root access options for complete website control; it's standard on unmanaged VPS plans, and an option for managed ones. (Credit: Hosting.com/PCMag)Hostwinds tops Hosting.com in VPS hosting. It has you covered with multiple tiers of managed or unmanaged VPS, plus Linux- or Windows-based hosting, something that Hosting's VPS services lack. Hostwinds even features Minecraft (yes, the video game) VPS server hosting. Like the standard VPS hosting, Minecraft VPS hosting has a slider that lets you quickly select a pre-configured server. The entry-level tier ($4.99 per month) is designed for 10 people; the high-end tier ($328.99 per month) can host 350 people.Dedicated Web HostingDedicated servers are the most powerful web hosting type, as your website shares zero resources with other sites. If you expect a large amount of website traffic, you should spring for dedicated hosting.However, Hosting.com lacks dedicated servers. The transition from A2 to Hosting.com has left some plans in limbo, with dedicated servers being the most glaring omission. That said, my conversation with a customer support representative confirmed that dedicated servers are coming in the future. If your operation requires dedicated servers, take a look at the feature-packed AccuWeb. AccuWeb offers customizable or prefab Linux—or Windows-based dedicated servers, starting at $123 per month for 8GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and 20TB of monthly data transfers. These servers also scale considerably if you need more power.Recommended by Our EditorsCloud Web HostingCloud hosting differs from traditional hosting in that it spreads resources across multiple servers, whereas traditional hosting pulls power from a single server. Unfortunately, Hosting.com doesn't currently offer cloud hosting. Instead, consider DreamHost. DreamHost's Linux-based packages start at $0.0075 per hour (for 512MB of RAM, 80GB of storage, and unlimited monthly data transfers) and top out at $0.0800 per hour (for 8GB of RAM, 80GB of storage, and unlimited monthly data transfers). Liquid Web is another notable host with cloud options, and it has an array of Windows servers, unlike Hosting.com.(Credit: Hosting.com/PCMag)WordPress Web HostingWordPress is synonymous with web hosting and a service that powers more than 40% of the web. It's easy to see why: WordPress is easy to use and has a rich theme and plug-in ecosystem that lets you tweak the content management system as you see fit.If you want to use WordPress, Hosting.com has many noteworthy packages. Its four shared WordPress hosting plans—Starter, Plus, Pro, and Max—are identical to the company's shared web hosting plans, though marginally more expensive. The low-end and high-end packages cost $8.99 per month and $17.99 per month, respectively, with an annual contract.If you require something a bit more hands-off, Hosting.com lets you sign up for managed WordPress servers. With a managed WordPress server, the company handles updates. If you're focused on one website, the Starter plan starts at $27.99 per month per year as a managed WordPress package. That scales up to the Max plan, which starts at $59.99 per month per year. These server plans otherwise have the same features as Hosting.com's shared and WordPress plans. Bluehost has Editors' Choice-worthy WordPress plans, starting at $15.99 per month for 10 websites, 10GB of storage, DDoS protection, malware scanning, and 40,000 monthly visitors. They max out with the $24.99-per-month eCommerce Essentials tier, which lets you build 100 sites, store 100GB of data in fast-speed NVMe storage, allow 400,000 visitors, and use AI creation tools. Alternately, Bluehost also has an excellent website builder that integrates WordPress functionality and offers tremendous flexibility. Bluehost's multiple WordPress options give you lots of flexibility for building websites.Reseller Web HostingIf you're looking to get into the web hosting business, but don't want to deal with infrastructure matters, check out Hosting.com's reseller hosting packages. The plans start at $49.99 per month for a one-year term and scale up to $115.99 per month annually. These plans offer unlimited email and up to 250GB of storage and 3500GB of monthly data transfers. In addition, Hosting.com lets you apply your own branding to the servers you rent, and it supplies 24/7 tech support. Hosting.com's reseller packages aren't quite as robust as Hostwinds, which has a variety of packages that are sure to please anyone thinking about getting into the reseller business.Commerce and SecurityIf you plan to sell products, check out Hosting.com's many e-commerce tools. You can use PrestaShop, OpenCart, WooCommerce, or another tool to construct an online store. All offer a one-click setup that lets you get started fairly easily. Magento, a common and popular e-commerce app, lets you easily drag and drop elements to create a store.Naturally, you'll need a Secure Socket Layer certificate to accompany that store. It encrypts the data between your shop and customers' browsers for safe online transactions. Hosting.com's SSLs start at $29.99 per year for a one-year certificate and 256-bit encryption and climb to the $449.99 Organization Validation Wildcard SSL.Customer Support, Uptime Promise, and RefundsWebsite uptime is a vital element of web hosting. If your site goes down, clients or customers will be unable to find you or access your products or services. It's in your best interest to find a reliable web host that can keep your site up and running. Otherwise, customers may go elsewhere, and they might never come back. Hosting.com promises 99.9% uptime. If you're ever in need of technical assistance, Hosting.com's aptly named Guru Crew is available to lend a helping hand. Available 24/7/365 via phone or live chat, the Guru Crew is one of the best customer support teams I've encountered in the web hosting space. I contacted the team on a weekday morning to learn which plans offer Windows-based hosting (none do!) and how to install WordPress. I waited just a few seconds before a Guru Crew member fielded my questions. Hosting.com's customer service squad ranks up there with GoDaddy as the best in the business.Hosting.com's money-back guarantee grants you a full refund if you cancel your account within a 30-day window. You can cancel services directly from your account page, so you don't need to submit a ticket, the case with many other web hosts.

Monitoring wastewater for traces of infectious diseases is giving this human byproduct a powerful new role in public health. Once used decades ago to detect poliovirus, wastewater-based epidemiology reemerged during COVID-19 and is now proving useful again in tracking measles outbreaks before cases are officially reported.A recent study led by researchers from Baylor College of Medicine, UTHealth Houston, the Houston Health Department, and Rice University showed that measles virus was detected in Houston’s wastewater days before any clinical cases were confirmed. Published in the American Journal of Public Health, the findings come as measles cases rise in Texas and across the U.S.This early detection strategy may offer a new line of defense: spotting outbreaks before they spread.The Measles ComebackMeasles is a highly contagious respiratory virus spread via droplets from coughing or sneezing. Symptoms, such as fever, runny nose, and rash, can resemble other illnesses but can be deadly for young children and immunocompromised individuals.Before the vaccine’s rollout in 1968, the U.S. saw more than 300 cases per 100,000 people annually. By 2000–2009, that number fell below 0.05 per 100,000. But when vaccination rates dip below 95 percent, fresh outbreaks can return, with devastating effects.With lower vaccine uptake and an aging population, experts say stronger surveillance is needed to track this fast-spreading virus.Read More: Scientists Scour Sewage for Coronavirus CluesAnalyzing the WastewaterUsing a sequencing-based approach (a highly sensitive method for detecting viral genetic material) the research team scanned wastewater samples for measles.“In 2023, we showed that systematically sequencing the genetic material in wastewater reveals dynamic changes in human viruses circulating in a community,” said study co-author and professor at Baylor Anthony Maresso in a news release. “Importantly, analyzing these viral changes in wastewater can improve our understanding of outbreaks and transmission and inform public health preparedness, just as one uses meteorological data to better understand and predict weather patterns to anticipate potentially dangerous conditions.”In the latest study, measles virus was found in samples from two Houston treatment facilities on January 7, ten days before two travelers in the same area tested positive.“In such cases our next step is always validating the signal with a second method,” said co-first author Sara Javornik Cregeen in the release. “[The Houston Health Department and Rice University] tested for the virus presence in samples from the same date and collection site and confirmed the signal using another technique.”She added, “As a reference, the 821 Houston wastewater samples we sequenced from the same area were negative for measles virus in the previous 31 months.”Maresso noted in the press release, “Because no other cases have been reported and the detections occurred in the same area where the travelers resided, it is reasonable to assume that the measles signal detected in wastewater is from the two infected cases, which underscores the high sensitivity of the method.”Measles Vaccination Still the Best ProtectionThese results suggest measles may be shed at higher rates than previously thought, or that the team’s agnostic hybrid-capture sequencing method is especially sensitive. Likely, it’s both.The researchers are now monitoring measles activity in other Texas cities, especially in West Texas where new cases are emerging. Their results feed into a public-facing, first-of-its-kind health dashboard: tephi.texas.gov/early-detection.“This work underscores the ability of sophisticated wastewater analyses to serve as an early detection system benefiting public health,” said Eric Boerwinkle, dean of UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in the statement. However, he added, “The best protection from contracting the measles virus is the MMR vaccine, which has been shown to be safe and effective.”Beyond measles, this approach can track everything from seasonal viruses like flu and COVID-19 to emerging threats like avian H5N1 influenza. Wastewater, it turns out, may be one of our best tools for staying a step ahead of the next outbreak.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:American Journal of Public Health: Sequencing-Based Detection of Measles in Wastewater: Texas, January 2025Nature Communications: Wastewater sequencing reveals community and variant dynamics of the collective human viromeHaving worked as a biomedical research assistant in labs across three countries, Jenny excels at translating complex scientific concepts – ranging from medical breakthroughs and pharmacological discoveries to the latest in nutrition – into engaging, accessible content. Her interests extend to topics such as human evolution, psychology, and quirky animal stories. When she’s not immersed in a popular science book, you’ll find her catching waves or cruising around Vancouver Island on her longboard.