People benefit from deep and meaningful conversations that help us forge connections with one another, but we often stick to small talk with strangers because we underestimate how much others are interested in our lives and wrongly believe that deeper …
Europe’s BepiColombo Spacecraft To Attempt Its First Swing Past Mercury Tonight
A spacecraft bound for the planet Mercury will take a first look at the target tonight, when it makes its first-ever flyby of the small rocky world during an incredibly close encounter tonight. Space.com reports: The mission, called BepiColombo, is a j…
Meet Molnupiravir, Merck’s Pill That Cuts COVID-19 Hospitalization and Death By About Half
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: An oral antiviral drug appears to cut the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19 by roughly 50 percent in people newly diagnosed with the infection and at risk for severe disease, pharmace…
Who Censored Marie Antoinette’s Letters? X-Rays Reveal a Surprise
sciencehabit shares a report from Science.org: In late 1791 and early 1792, on the eve of the French Revolutionary Wars, Queen Marie Antoinette engaged in a secret correspondence with her confidant and rumored lover, Swedish Count Axel von Fersen. Near…
California DMV Gives Cruise and Waymo OK To Charge For Rides
On Thursday, the California DMV issued autonomous deployment permits to Cruise and Waymo, “which is a necessary step if the robotaxis are to charge passengers for their rides,” reports The Verge. From the report: San Franciscans might have to be night …
Grocery Store Opens ‘Chat Registers’ For Lonely Customers
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: A Dutch supermarket chain says it will introduce 200 “chat registers” in its stores for customers who aren’t in a hurry and want to have a chat during checkout. The initiative, announced by the popu…
California Becomes First State To Require Covid-19 Vaccination For Students
skam240 writes: California has just become the first state to add Covid-19 vaccination to its list of required vaccines for in-school attendance. “The requirement will go into effect at the start of the term that follows the FDA’s full approval for tha…
Disney, Scarlett Johansson Resolve ‘Black Widow’ Lawsuit
In a statement released Thursday, Scarlett Johansson said she has resolved her legal dispute with Disney. “I am happy to have resolved our differences with Disney,” said Johansson. “I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve done together over the years an…
Samsung Removes Ads From Its One UI Android Apps
After years of Samsung filling up its stock apps with ads, the company is finally stopping that practice. As of today, Samsung Pay, Weather, and Health have officially stopped serving ads. 9to5Google reports: Users in the Samsung Community Forums found…
Hackers Bypass Coinbase 2FA To Steal Customer Funds
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Record: More than 6,000 Coinbase users had funds stolen from their accounts after hackers used a vulnerability in Coinbase’s SMS-based two-factor authentication system to breach accounts. The intrusions took…