If there’s extraterrestrial life anywhere in the galaxy, chances are, it could be on LHS 1140b.

Astronomers have found that the exoplanet 48 light years away is spewing helium into space, a strong sign that it harbors a robust atmosphere, they reported in a new study published in the journal Science.

And that’s not all: it’s also a rocky world like our own, and orbits within its star’s habitable zone, the region around a star where a planet can maintain liquid — and possibly life-harboring — water on its surface.

If their findings are borne out, then it’s the first ever Earth-like exoplanet we’ve seen with an atmosphere stable enough to support life — and could vindicate the belief that there’s a whole host of similar planets out there, rather than our own being a rare anomaly in the cosmos.

“When there’s one, there’s more in exoplanets,” Sara Seager, an astrophysicist at MIT who was not involved in the study, told the New York Times. “Hopefully this is the start of something new.”

“At this point, we have absolutely no evidence for life on the planet,” lead author Collin Cherubim, a planetary scientist at Harvard University, added to the newspaper. “But we think all of the really important, essential ingredients are there.”

Spotting exoplanets is rare. While we have catalogued millions of stars, we have only confirmed around 6,000 worlds outside our solar system. Finding ones with an atmosphere is even rarer, since their signals are faint compared to the light of the planet’s star. In many cases, the planets with atmospheres are gas giants, which are unlikely to support life.

A key detail is that LHS 1140b orbits a red dwarf. Planets around red dwarfs are easier to spot because the diminutive stars are fainter, meaning it’s more noticeable when a planet passes in front of them. But since they emit less heat, a potentially habitable planet needs to orbit much closer to to them than we do our Sun. That could be a problem because red dwarfs are believed to be highly volatile. A closely orbiting planet would be in danger of being battered by solar flares and other powerful outbursts, which could strip it of its atmosphere and sterilize developing lifeforms.

The astronomers, however, found that LHS 1140b has a helium-rich atmosphere despite being — or because it’s in — the star’s habitable zone, demonstrating that the volatility of red dwarfs may not be as much as a problem as once thought (though this one appears to be less active than its cousins). They used a theoretical computer model of exoplanet atmosphere evolution that tracked how lighter elements like hydrogen and helium would be ejected by the outbursts of its host star, Science explained. When they applied it to LHS 1140b, which was first discovered in 2017, it predicted that its upper atmosphere would be dominated by helium, a promising sign that it’s capable of supporting life.

“Twenty years ago we wondered whether other terrestrial-type planets even existed,” Robin Wordsworth, a professor of earth and planetary sciences at Harvard, said in a statement about the work. “Then we learned they’re common, and found some in the habitable zone.”

“The next question was whether any of them had managed to keep an atmosphere,” he added. “Now we know at least one has.”

More on space: Scientists Say They’ve Identified an Earth-Like Planet Right Next Door

The post Astronomers Thrilled After Discovering Best Spot Yet to Look for Alien Life appeared first on Futurism.

Since riding Donald Trump’s coattails to power, Robert F. Kennedy Jr has taken his haphazard anti-vaccine views and enshrined them as a core tenet of US health policy.

According to 16 current and former health officials who spoke to Reuters, RFK Jr has taken much more drastic measures to push his anti-vaccine agenda than was previously known.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, two officials told the news agency that RFK approached National Institute of Health director Jay Bhattacharya earlier this year with a proposal to spend up to $5 billion in tax dollars to establish links between vaccines and autism.

As Reuters notes, that kind of spending would encompass ten percent of the NIH’s annual budget, a massive waste that would fly in the face of decades of established science showing vaccines definitively don’t cause autism.

“He’s an anti-vaccine activist. That’s who he is. That’s who he’s been for 20 years,” Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia told Reuters. “To expect that as secretary of Health and Human Services he’d be anything other than that is wishful thinking.”

It certainly wouldn’t have been the first time RFK Jr attempted to twist the science to link vaccines with autism. Earlier this year, the US Department of Health and Human Services was caught spending $1.6 million funding a study on hepatitis B vaccines conducted by controversial Danish researchers Peter Aaby and Christine Stabell Benn.

Had the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention — the public health arm of the Africa Union — not stepped in to stop the RFK-backed study, researchers would have withheld inoculations from thousands of newborn infants in Guinea-Bissau.

The situation drew notable comparisons to the Tuskegee Experiment, a highly unethical medical experiment that used hundreds of Black men as guinea pigs to study the long-term effects of syphilis. Despite the fact that effective treatment was available, nearly 400 men spent decades without treatment, suffering life-long consequences at the hands of manipulative researchers.

Though the Tuskegee Experiment may not have produced any medical breakthroughs or scientific discoveries, its cruel legacy seemingly lives on as inspiration for RFK and his HHS cronies.

More on RFK Jr: CDC Report on Vaccines and Autism Caught Citing Hallucinated Study That Does Not Exist

The post RFK Jr Wants to Waste $5 Billion in the Worst Way Imaginable appeared first on Futurism.

“The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,” will de-age actors using AI, the actor and director Andy Serkis confirmed to Variety.

“There’s a little bit of de-aging for some of the characters and machine learning is part of the process,” Serkis, who is both directing the new film and reprising his famous role as Gollum, told Variety.

AI is an incredibly contentious topic in Hollywood. Some studios, like A24, have leaned into generative AI. Others in the industry, from actors to directors and writers, have lambasted the tech, with many fearing that AI will be used to replace industry jobs or simply result in lower-quality work. As the tension between the pro-AI and anti-AI — or perhaps AI-resigned — factions deepen, the industry and its leaders, Serkis included, are publicly grappling with the technology and what it means for a key creative industry.

In addition to Serkis, returning actors from past films include Elijah Wood as Frodo, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, and Lee Pace as Thranduil — all of whom are markedly older than when the original “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the prequel franchise “The Hobbit” were filmed. Beyond de-aging, though, Serkis said that “at present,” there are no other plans to use AI in the making of the new movie.

“We’re not creating AI shots in our movie, every shot is created in a traditional way,” said Serkis. “One of the things actually that I really wanted to do with this film was to bring back all of the great filmmaking skills, from miniatures to prosthetics and marry them up, because that’s my taste.”

Serkis didn’t nix the idea of using AI altogether. He noted that Peter Jackson, who famously directed the previous live-action movies in the celebrated franchise, worked with the software engineer Stephen Regelous to develop the AI-powered special effects software known as MASSIVE back in the early 2000s.

“When you think about it, in the original ‘Lord of the Rings’ films, Peter created MASSIVE, which was a program which allowed thousands of orcs to all have their own individual mindset,” said Serkis. “So that is a brilliant example of an incredible use of AI.”

He added that AI can be a “valuable” creative tool “as long as it’s not exploitative and as long as it’s not harming anybody or defaming anybody or telling mistruths.”

“When it becomes exploitative and people are not remunerated for the work that they’ve done, or it’s used in nefarious, or mean-spirited or pornographic ways, then of course, that’s terrible and we’ve only brought it upon ourselves,” he added. “I’ve said this before and I mean it — we are the parents of AI, and we have to be good parents and teach AI well. And if we teach AI well, then it can help us across many industries.”

As The Tab noted, many Lord of the Rings fans responded positively, drawing a line between machine learning-infused virtual effects software and generative AI tools that churn out text, audio, and imagery.

“AI is perfect for de-aging,” wrote one commenter. “It should get a complete and utter free pass for that. Having an artist sit and de-age someone must be a horrific chore. Let them work on something fun instead.”

“Every single VFX tool these days uses AI for some part of the processing,” added another. “This isn’t generative AI.”

Other famous filmmakers’ AI stances, meanwhile, haven’t received the same warm reception from fans.

More on AI and movies: Film Community Aghast as Martin Scorsese Extolls AI Startup, Says He Now Uses AI for Storyboards

The post “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum” Will Use AI to De-Age Actors appeared first on Futurism.

Publication date: Available online 17 July 2026

Source: Cell

Author(s): Zhou Zhou, Yang Cheng, Jaret Lieberth, Junke Zhang, Yiyang Jin, Albert Li, Haiyuan Yu, Abdullah Ozer, John T. Lis

Publication date: 3 September 2026

Source: Cell, Volume 189, Issue 18

Author(s): Zhikai Wang, Xinping Jin, Yue Wu, Wenxiang Ding, Fengjiao Zhang, Yang Sun, Fangzhou Lou, Jing Bai, Xiuli Yang, Hong Zhou, Jihuan Liang, Xiaojie Cai, Yan Li, Xichen Zheng, Jiajia Han, Fang Tong, Qing Yang, Zhixiao Fang, Liuqi Zhao, Qingqing Shen

Publication date: Available online 16 July 2026

Source: Cell

Author(s): Limor Cohen, Aaron R. Halpern, Timothy R. Blosser, Z. Phil Che, Xingjie Pan, Xiaowei Zhuang

Publication date: Available online 16 July 2026

Source: Cell

Author(s): Mingliang He, Cheng Zhang, Zihan Li, Chun Tang, Ying Wang, Yuling Jiao

Publication date: Available online 16 July 2026

Source: Cell

Author(s): Huili Wang, Junjie Xia, Peer Mohamed Suhail Mujibur Rahman, Bijentimala Keisham, Abinash Padhi, Yiyu Deng, Yan Li, Luke Vistain, Sarah Kim, Gabriel Mercado-Vásquez, Aly A. Khan, Marcus R. Clark, Savaş Tay

Publication date: 23 July 2026

Source: Cell, Volume 189, Issue 15

Author(s): Xin Man, Wen-Ting Zhang, Yu-Di Zhang, Qian-Xi Li, Pengfei Dai, Weimin Jiang, Jin-Qiu Zhou

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Saturday, July 18 (game #1636).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1637) — hint #1 — Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1637) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1637) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1637) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1637) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• S

• A

• T

• B

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1637) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1637, are…

• SPURT
• ACRID
• THRUM
• BLEEP

After crashing out yesterday, time to start rebuilding with my first win.

SPURT aside this was a fairly easy game, with a successful crop of letters from my three start words.

Trickier times lie ahead.

Daily Sequence today (game #1637) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1637, are…

• CLUED
• WRING
• BRACE
• TRAIT

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1636, Saturday, 18 July: KNAVE, TIGHT, BLEAT, CHAOS
• Quordle #1635, Friday, 17 July: CUMIN, PALER, GRASS, INBOX
• Quordle #1634, Thursday, 16 July: IGLOO, PLAIT, YEAST, AROMA
• Quordle #1633, Wednesday, 15 July: PROXY, BRICK, BROTH, SURGE
• Quordle #1632, Tuesday, 14 July: EBONY, AVOID, RODEO, CUTIE
• Quordle #1631, Monday, 13 July: VOICE, BISON, BURNT, BUILT
• Quordle #1630, Sunday, 12 July: STAIN, BINGO, LARVA, DICEY
• Quordle #1629, Saturday, 11 July: WORTH, PRONG, DINGO, DRUID
• Quordle #1628, Friday, 10 July: GREET, STEAK, DUSKY, HAUTE
• Quordle #1627, Thursday, 9 July: CRUMP, PHONE, SHINY, STONY
• Quordle #1626, Wednesday, 8 July: GHOST, TREND, EXALT, ALONG
• Quordle #1625, Tuesday, 7 July: ARRAY, SUITE, KIOSK, BOULE
• Quordle #1624, Monday, 6 July: TRAWL, SPICE, PIANO, SHARK
• Quordle #1623, Sunday, 5 July: PINEY, SWOON, TITLE, PINTO
• Quordle #1622, Saturday, 4 July: ARGUE, MOTEL, OPERA, TRUCE
• Quordle #1621, Friday, 3 July: AVERT, MOTOR, MANIC, WORDY
• Quordle #1620, Thursday, 2 July: BULKY, PARSE, BELOW, MOVIE
• Quordle #1619, Wednesday, 1 July: EASEL, OTTER, LYRIC, SHACK
• Quordle #1618, Tuesday, 30 June: HALVE, DRYER, THERE, MINTY
• Quordle #1617, Monday, 29 June: SLURP, CRACK, CRANK, PHONY

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, July 18 (game #1133).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1134) - today's words

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• SWITCH
• SWIRL
• LONG
• GAME
• POKER
• PAIR
• FLUSH
• STRAIGHT
• RELAY
• SYNC
• DRAIN
• FUSE
• CONNECT
• BREAKER
• REFILL
• JOIN

NYT Connections today (game #1134) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Elements of an electrical loop
• GREEN: Stick together, technically
• BLUE: What a loo does
• PURPLE: Add a word that rhymes with “race”

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1134) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: CIRCUIT COMPONENTS
• GREEN: DIGITAL COUPLING VERBS
• BLUE: THINGS TOILETS DO
• PURPLE: ____ FACE EXPRESSIONS

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1134) - the answers

The answers to today's Connections, game #1134, are…

• YELLOW: CIRCUIT COMPONENTS: BREAKER, FUSE, RELAY, SWITCH
• GREEN: DIGITAL COUPLING VERBS: CONNECT, JOIN, PAIR, SYNC
• BLUE: THINGS TOILETS DO: DRAIN, FLUSH, REFILL, SWIRL
• PURPLE: ____ FACE EXPRESSIONS: GAME, LONG, POKER, STRAIGHT

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 mistake

My mistake came by including FUSE instead of SYNC in the group that became DIGITAL COUPLING VERBS. Although I’d argue that FUSE could be classed as a coupling verb, I attempted this grouping before seeing the far more appropriate CIRCUIT COMPONENTS.

It didn't matter, though, because I managed to score a purple first — in large part this was due to seeing POKER and automatically singing Lady Gaga’s debut chart hit Pokerface.

From there, GAME and STRAIGHT automatically followed, as well as the punchline to the only joke I can ever remember: a depressed horse walks into a bar and the barman asks him “why the long face”?

Meanwhile, THINGS TOILETS DO eluded me.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Saturday, July 18, 2026, game #1133)

• YELLOW: COMMIT A BASKETBALL VIOLATION: CARRY, DOUBLE DRIBBLE, GOALTEND, TRAVEL
• GREEN: BELIEF: ATTITUDE, MIND, OPINION, VIEW
• BLUE: THINGS TRACKED IN VIDEO GAMES: HEALTH, LIVES, SCORE, TIME
• PURPLE: WORDS AFTER "POP": CULTURE, FLY, QUIZ, TART

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, July 18 (game #867).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #868) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Big talk

NYT Strands today (game #868) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• SAIL
• NAIL
• HAIL
• THEME
• MOVE
• COST

NYT Strands today (game #868) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 11 letters

NYT Strands today (game #868) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: left, 8th row

• Last side: right, 8th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #868) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #868, are…

• GIANT
• MAMMOTH
• COLOSSUS
• BEHEMOTH
• LEVIATHAN
• SPANGRAM: SUPERSIZEIT

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

The letter Z helped me get the spangram — eventually, as I got “size” first, then “supersize” before finally SUPERSIZEIT.

Even though I understood the theme immediately and had an idea of the words we were searching for, I really struggled to put them together .

Although rarely used, LEVIATHAN is an incredible word (it features in the Bible, describing a fire-breathing sea serpent).

I was thinking that it really should be the name of a horror or at least a wrestler when a Google search told me that both already exist; the 1989 horror flick made less cultural impact than Dave Batista, who used the nickname Leviathan before becoming The Animal. Every day’s a school day with Strands.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, July 18, game #867)

• SWEET
• OATY
• NUTTY
• CRUNCHY
• SALTY
• WHOLESOME
• SPANGRAM: BOWLOFGRANOLA

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

A Chicago-based company has been awarded an initial $23.67 million acquisition contract under the U.S. Department of War’s Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT).

With this Numat Technologies will accelerate the deployment of next-generation chemical and biological protection suits for U.S. Special Operations Forces.

The award is being executed in partnership with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and is intended to speed the transition of the company’s technology from development into operational use.

Numat will deliver field-ready protective suits at scale

The APFIT program was established to bridge the gap between promising defense technologies and field deployment by providing procurement funding for mature innovations that are ready for operational use. Since its launch, the program has supported the rapid acquisition of advanced capabilities for the U.S. military, with total awards now exceeding $2 billion, according to a press release.

“Over the past 10 years, Numat built the MOF industrial base for this moment, where we can activate an entire supply chain, from material design through high-volume system manufacturing, to protect the Warfighter,” said Ben Hernandez, CEO of Numat Technologies.

“This contract award reflects our long-term investment in American innovation. Numat will deliver finished, field-ready protective suits at scale, made completely in the United States.”

Numat’s protection suits incorporate metal-organic frameworks

Numat’s protection suits incorporate metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)—highly porous engineered materials designed to capture and neutralize hazardous chemical and biological agents. Unlike conventional protective garments that primarily act as barriers, the company’s MOF-enabled suits are engineered to self-detoxify by neutralizing harmful substances upon contact, while also improving breathability and wearer mobility.

Under the APFIT contract, Numat will supply the MOF-enabled chemical and biological (CB) suits directly to U.S. Special Operations Forces, whose personnel often operate in environments where exposure to chemical and biological threats is a significant concern. According to the company, the suits are designed to offer enhanced protection without compromising comfort or operational effectiveness.

The contract also represents a milestone for the domestic manufacturing of metal-organic frameworks, a technology that has gained increasing attention for applications ranging from defense and industrial filtration to energy storage and environmental protection. Numat said it has spent more than a decade building a U.S.-based supply chain capable of designing, producing and integrating MOFs into mission-critical systems.

Company Chief Executive Officer Ben Hernandez said the award reflects years of investment in establishing a domestic industrial base for MOF technology and positions the company to deliver field-ready protective equipment manufactured entirely in the United States.

The latest award builds on Numat’s long-standing collaboration with several U.S. defense organizations, including the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy, the Capability Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense, U.S. Special Operations Command, the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy. These partnerships have helped advance MOF technology from laboratory research to scalable manufacturing, according to the company.

Beyond military applications, Numat said its MOF platform has potential uses across industrial, semiconductor and energy sectors, where advanced materials are increasingly being deployed for gas storage, chemical separation and hazardous material filtration.

The APFIT award underscores the U.S. government’s broader efforts to accelerate the procurement of innovative defense technologies while strengthening the domestic industrial base and reducing the time required to transition emerging capabilities into operational service.

Reuters reports: Incoming British prime minister Andy Burnham will scrap the government's troubled plans for a digital ID scheme when he enters office on Monday, a spokesperson for the new Labour Party leader said. Resources devoted to the scheme, deemed a "fiasco" by a cross-party committee of lawmakers, will be redirected to Burnham's priorities, the spokesperson said... "All the time and resource that was going to be spent on a national ID scheme will go instead to where it's most needed, such as helping with the cost of living," Burnham's spokesperson said. In November, the Office for Budget Responsibility watchdog estimated the cost of the digital ID scheme at around £1.8 billion ($2.4 billion) between financial years 2026/27 and 2028/29.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A aplicação foi criada pela startup EdTech, criada por quatro alunos do Técnico e já reconhecida em vários prémios. Está disponível para experimentar gratuitamente.

The post Discovery usa Inteligência Artificial para combater a dislexia e cria um “karaoke” de leitura appeared first on Tek Notícias.

• Ukraine’s Stetman prepares a 360-satellite network with SpaceX launch support
• New leadership keeps Ukraine’s ambitious satellite project moving forward
• The billion-euro constellation aims to strengthen Ukraine’s communication independence

Ukrainian company Stetman is currently preparing to launch its own low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation, with service set to begin in 2027.

The company recently lost its founder, Dmytro Stetsenko, but the project is still on course after the appointment of a new CEO, Kateryna Diachenko.

According to the company, its planned constellation will orbit at an altitude of approximately 550 kilometers, with a test satellite currently scheduled for launch in October 2026 to validate the underlying technology together with SpaceX engineers.

Constellation with Danish and American partners

Full deployment of the constellation is expected to begin in 2027 and take three full years to complete entirely across the network.

The finished network will ultimately consist of 360 satellites manufactured by the Danish company GomSpace under an ongoing partnership.

Stetman has chosen SpaceX to handle the launches, citing the company's lower cost and stronger reliability compared with rivals.

"SpaceX is the best option, as they are the cheapest and the most reliable," Stetsenko had previously told reporters directly.

No formal agreement has yet been reached covering delivery of the remaining constellation satellites beyond that initial test satellite launch.

Ukraine itself would require roughly 150 satellites, according to Andrii Kolesnyk, a former adviser to the head of Ukraine's State Space Agency.

Diachenko has already met personally with GomSpace representatives to confirm continuity of their joint manufacturing plans going forward into the future.

A billion-Euro project

The total project cost reportedly exceeds one billion euros, though financing will proceed in several separate stages, a Stetman representative said.

That budget reportedly covers the satellite constellation itself, software development, launch services, broker fees, and staff salaries across the entire company workforce.

Manufacturing and launching a single satellite reportedly cost between $2 million and $3 million per unit.

A single SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket can carry several dozen satellites into orbit, and each launch typically costs between $60 million and $70 million depending on payload size.

With a target of 360 satellites, those per-unit costs alone would account for roughly $720 million to over $1 billion of the total budget

Stetman also plans a joint satellite manufacturing facility inside Ukraine alongside GomSpace, expected to fully open next year if funding arrives on schedule.

The factory could require several hundred million euros in investment, although details about funding sources remain undisclosed.

The company currently supplies communication equipment to Ukraine’s military, emergency services, police, medical personnel, and government institutions.

The company also produces modified communication terminals, including Starmod systems designed for military conditions and UASAT satellite terminals operating through existing satellite networks.

These products support Ukraine’s broader effort to strengthen communication independence during wartime.

Via The Defender

Apesar do adiamento de Batman: Parte 2, o diretor Matt Reeves decidiu presentear os fãs com uma prévia inédita do novo uniforme do homem-morcego.

O traje de Bruce Wayne, interpretado por Robert Pattinson, teve mudanças que podem ditar o tom da narrativa e mostrar o que ele passou entre a vitória sobre o Charada e o futuro arco.

Como isso ajudará o super-herói contra vilões como o Victor Zsasz, Hera Venenosa e até o Pinguim ainda continua como um mistério, mas é fato que adaptações foram realizadas.

Para fins comparativos, isso também foi visto em outras obras — como a trilogia de Christopher Nolan de “O Cavaleiro das Trevas” e até no DCEU, entre Batman vs. Superman: A Origem da Justiça (2016) e Liga da Justiça (2017).

Veja o teaser e as 5 mudanças feitas no Homem-Morcego em Batman: Parte 2:

5. Protetor de queixo

No novo filme, Bruce Wayne usará uma camada a mais de proteção em seu queixo. O item do seu uniforme parece vir direto da parte da roupa em que seu pescoço é protegido e fecha toda a parte do maxilar do super-herói.

Antes, o Batman não utilizava o item — porém, todo cuidado com ganchos dos bandidos é pouco, não é mesmo? Vale notar que o equipamento é inédito nos cinemas, já que nenhuma outra interpretação do personagem o utilizou além dos extensores do próprio uniforme.

4. Adaptação do clássico símbolo

Com o logo da produção, é possível ver como será o símbolo que o “Battinson” usará nos cinemas agora. Foram adicionadas orelhas no morcego, mas assim como a versão anterior, ele não tem uma “cabeça” posicionada como os tradicionais.

Além disso, é notável que as bordas são mais arredondadas, o que remove parte do visual visceral que o anterior carregava. Não é revelado o porquê da mudança, mas é possível até que vejamos a alternância durante Batman: Parte 2.

3. Colarinho mais largo

Seu colarinho também está mais extenso, com a cobertura de toda a sua nuca agora. Este pode ser um visual mais protetivo, no entanto se assemelha bastante ao estilo que vemos dos vampiros clássicos da literatura — não de Crepúsculo, por mais que haja envolvimento de Robert Pattinson.

Possivelmente sua capa também terá alterações, que podem trazer um estilo mais sombrio e até mesmo “mitológico” para o personagem da DC Comics. Com o fim da ameaça de Charada e a partida da Mulher-Gato, talvez ele tenha precisado recorrer a aspectos “edgy” para adicionar um drama (parei com os trocadilhos) maior.  

2. A “Batarmadura”

No longa-metragem de 2022, já vemos o protetor de Gotham com um traje tático. Contudo, a alteração no capacete e colarinho também indicam que ele está mais preocupado com os danos físicos que sofre — o que pode levá-lo a adotar uma verdadeira armadura para suas patrulhas.

Não que ele precise usar algo ao estilo medieval, mas os indicativos apontam que veremos ainda mais mudanças no peitoral, luvas e até em suas botas para aguentar os solavancos que a tenebrosa cidade apresenta. 

1. “Antenas” maiores

Por fim, mas não menos importante, Battinson agora usa antenas maiores em seu capacete. Não são tão grandes quanto as da armadura de Michael Keaton, mas com certeza diferentes dos vistos nas produções mais recentes do super-herói.

Elas podem esconder funções, como a versão de Christopher Nolan — quem sabe para esconder um transmissor para se comunicar com Alfred ou ouvir as chamadas policiais? Ou, talvez, sirva para o Batman ser mais reconhecível no momento em que estiver para enfrentar os criminosos. 

Mudanças expressivas no Batman

Com um teaser é possível reconhecer poucos elementos, mas novos trailers e imagens poderão esclarecer melhor como o uniforme de Bruce Wayne desempenhará um papel importante em Batman: Parte 2. 

Ademais, super-heróis sempre mudam de vestimenta e o homem-morcego não pode ser diferente. Não é à toa que o medo de muita gente era que Robert Pattinson fosse marcado ao longo dos anos pelos trajes mais esquisitos do Batman. Não foi o caso, mesmo com as 5 mudanças na armadura do Battinson:

1. “Antenas” maiores

2. A “Batarmadura”

3. Colarinho mais largo

4. Adaptação do clássico símbolo

5. Protetor de queixo

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The smartphone market is dominated by two main operating system players — with Apple's iOS leading the charge in the mid-2000s and Google's Android following suit, only maturing relatively recently. But Steve Jobs took the news of Android's launch personally, frustrated and betrayed at its development.

Eating machines

The Apple chief was speaking with Walter Isaacson, his biographer, when he shared his exact feelings about Google's development of Android.

Quote of the day

This article is part of TechRadar Pro's QOTD project to provide an insight into the minds of the brightest and most recognized figures in the technology industry today and in years gone by. Read the full series here.

Published very shortly after Jobs' death in October 2011, Steve Jobs was based on several exclusive interviews conducted over two years, alongside conversations with more than 100 people who knew the Apple co-founder.

One of the most spicy exchanges involved Jobs vowing to destroy Google for its work developing Android in secret, while Eric Schmidt was also serving on the Apple board. Schmidt offered to resolve the issues with a settlement, but Jobs took it more than personally.

Energy efficiency

Jobs was apparently angry after learning in January 2010 that HTC had introduced an Android smartphone with many of the same popular features in an iPhone.

Reports from the time the comments were made public suggest the episode reflected Jobs' own perspective on a particular breed of profit-driven executives who only cared about making money.

Although iOS enjoyed a reputation for many years during the 200s of being a better platform in most, if not all, quarters, including its overall design philosophy, Android-powered smartphones were significantly cheaper. In the modern era, the Android OS is incredibly intuitive, with different smartphone makers usually looking to Apple for inspiration in designing features for their own custom flavors.

During his tenure as CEO, Tim Cook also pivoted on this approach, softening Apple's stance and settling many of the ongoing legal disputes, including the long-running battle with Samsung.

Albany Engineered Composites and A&P Technology are combining advanced braiding and resin transfer molding technologies to accelerate the development of scalable composite solutions for future aerospace and defense applications.

Albany Engineered Composites (AEC), a segment of Albany International Corp., and A&P Technology, a global leader in precision braided composite reinforcement technologies, announced a strategic collaboration to explore and develop advanced braided composite manufacturing solutions for current and next-generation aerospace and defense applications.

The collaboration will capitalize on A&P Technology’s expertise in braided composite architectures and Albany Engineered Composites’ advanced Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) manufacturing capabilities. The companies said the partnership is focused on accelerating the industrialization of lightweight, highly integrated composite structures designed to support future commercial and defense aircraft production requirements.

“Future aerospace platforms demand manufacturing technologies capable of simultaneously improving performance, reducing recurring cost and scaling to production rates the industry has not previously achieved,” said Chris Stone, president of Albany Engineered Composites in a press release.

“By combining A&P Technology’s deep expertise in advanced braiding with Albany’s industry-leading RTM capabilities, we are creating a force multiplier for our customers, accelerating the transition from innovative textile architectures to repeatable, production-ready composite solutions.”

The companies will work together on research, technology development, manufacturing process maturation, and commercialization opportunities focused on purpose-designed braided composite structures. These efforts will target current and next-generation aeroengine platforms, commercial aircraft, Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) blades and structures, Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), and solid rocket motor nozzles.

Expanding advanced aerospace capabilities

Albany Engineered Composites is a rapidly growing division of Albany International Corp. that designs and manufactures advanced composite components for aerospace and defense industries. Headquartered alongside its parent company in Rochester, New Hampshire, AEC operates advanced research, development and manufacturing facilities across the globe, including major composite production sites in Salt Lake City, Utah; Boerne, Texas; and Commercy, France.

As aerospace manufacturers seek larger, more integrated composite structures, the companies said that combining braided composite preforms with automated RTM processing provides a pathway to scalable manufacturing by reducing assembly complexity and supporting higher production rates.

“It’s a privilege to collaborate with Albany given their broad and deep design and manufacturing skill and know-how built on decades of success making parts for the most demanding applications,” said Andy Head, president of A&P Technology.

“Together, we can offer composite solutions not only at an enabling rate but also with enabling cost and performance benefits. We look forward to meeting customer challenges together.”

Brent Stevenson, vice president of emerging markets and technology at Albany Engineered Composites, said that customers are seeking integrated solutions that combine multiple manufacturing processes.

“Our customers are looking beyond individual manufacturing processes; they’re looking for integrated solutions,” said Stevenson.

“Braiding and RTM are naturally complementary technologies. Together, they enable highly engineered composite architectures supporting complex geometries, efficient manufacturing and production scalability for both current and next-generation aerospace and defense platforms.”

Supporting future aerospace platforms

Through the collaboration, Albany Engineered Composites and A&P Technology aim to advance composite manufacturing solutions that combine precision braided reinforcement technologies with advanced RTM processing. The companies’ work will focus on production-ready composite structures for a range of aerospace and defense applications, including commercial aircraft, military platforms and emerging aviation technologies.

The partnership brings together two specialized manufacturing approaches as the companies pursue opportunities in research, development, process advancement and commercialization of advanced composite solutions, the press release concludes.

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Assinar um serviço em 2026 pesou no bolso do jogador. Os planos da PlayStation se apresentam de formas distintas, o que pode confundir muitos jogadores e gerar dúvidas sobre qual deles vale mais a pena.

A PS Plus aumentou de preço recentemente e gerou diversas questões para os jogadores, afinal de contas, qual categoria vai oferecer aquilo que você busca pelo valor mais acessível? A decisão se tornou complexa e cheia de nuances.

Contudo, é possível alinhar as ideias e entender qual plano da PS Plus faz mais sentido para você. Na prática, saberá com exatidão para onde correr e o que terá em retorno no seu PlayStation 5.

Veja o comparativo entre a PS Plus Extra e Deluxe para entender qual plano vale mais a pena assinar em 2026:

O peso da PS Plus no bolso

Antes de discutirmos recursos, entrega e mais detalhes, primeiro é preciso falar sobre os preços praticados na PlayStation Plus. Veja abaixo o comparativo completo do que é cobrado em cada categoria:

	PS Plus Extra	PS Plus Deluxe	Diferença de valor
1 mês	R$ 74,90	R$ 86,90	R$ 12
3 meses	R$ 209,90	R$ 249,90	R$ 40
1 ano	R$ 592,90	R$ 691,90	R$ 99

Como pode notar, a diferença financeira entre eles varia entre R$ 12 a R$ 99 — a depender de quanto tempo pretende se manter como assinante. Além disso, em ambos você tem os benefícios do Essential: o multiplayer online e a oferta de 3 games mensais.

O que a Sony oferece?

Para cada assinatura, o público contará com diferentes tipos de brindes para aprimorar a sua experiência. De forma óbvia, o mais caro vai acumular tudo que os demais oferecem com recursos adicionais, mas será que o custo-benefício é de se jogar fora?

A PS Plus Extra é uma categoria intermediária no PlayStation 5, que garante aos usuários acesso aos jogos mensais, modo multijogadores, coleção PlayStation Plus, Share Play e descontos exclusivos.

Porém, o verdadeiro diferencial é a presença do catálogo de títulos — que permite baixar no seu console e jogar, enquanto ele estiver disponível na plataforma, assim como o XBOX Game Pass. Quem assina o plano também pode usar o Ubisoft+ Classics, com um catálogo seleto da produtora.

Em outras palavras, quem assina a PS Plus Extra pode jogar sucessos como Final Fantasy XVI, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Cyberpunk 2077, God of War Ragnarök, Silent Hill 2 e até franquias como Assassin’s Creed e Far Cry. 

No entanto, é importante ter consciência de que, ao contrário do serviço da Microsoft, a Sony não oferece lançamentos “Day One”. Dito isso, não terá Saros, Ghost of Yötei, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced e outros games que chegaram em 2026.

No máximo, haverá experiências independentes ou de outras produtoras com essa proposta — como foi o caso de Blue Prince, Big Walk, Foamstars e até Runescape: Dragonwilds. Se estava de olho em Marvel’s Wolverine ou algo do tipo, é melhor não se empolgar tanto.

Por até R$ 99 de diferença, o que o PS Plus Deluxe traz a mais? Na verdade, além de tudo o que já foi descrito até aqui (que é acumulado), ele tem outras duas propostas aos jogadores: o catálogo de clássicos e a experimentação de jogos.

Assim como o Nintendo Switch Online na concorrência, esta categoria permite revisitar o passado do PlayStation com diversas aventuras de PS1 e PS2 disponíveis para você baixar e relembrar dos “bons e velhos tempos”.

Porém, saiba que não se pode mergulhar nesta ideia de cabeça: ainda que existam exclusivos, não verá todos os God of War, Devil May Cry e outras séries emblemáticas daquela época. É uma plataforma mais “tímida” neste sentido.

Há franquias como Armored Core, Resident Evil e Ape Escape, assim como jogos que vão de Beyond: Two Souls, Dino Crisis a até God of War III Remastered e Gravity Rush Remastered. Está muito longe de ser ruim, mas também não está próxima do ideal.

Enquanto isso, a “experimentação de jogos” é uma gourmetização das demos. Ao invés de disponibilizar demonstrações gratuitamente na loja digital, para todos, eles deixam o recurso restrito para o serviço com os seus principais games.

Lá você pode jogar algumas horas de grandes aventuras, como Saros, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Alan Wake II, Black Myth: Wukong, Stellar Blade e outros sucessos que chegaram ao PS5 nos últimos anos. Na maior parte deles, é possível transferir o progresso para a versão completa, caso decida comprá-la.

Ou seja, por quase R$ 100 adicionais, terá uma verdadeira biblioteca de títulos retrô e acesso a algumas demonstrações. Estas são as principais vantagens que a PS Plus Deluxe tem sobre o plano Extra no Brasil.

Qual plano da PS Plus vale mais a pena?

Em um juízo de valores, apenas o catálogo de clássicos já faz a versão mais cara compensar. Porém, apenas se o jogador for um fã de jogos antigos e queira revisitar as experiências marcantes que fizeram parte de sua própria história.

Se levar em conta que cada um deles custa entre R$ 30 e R$ 60, se você jogar dois ou três por ano, a diferença já “se pagou”. Ainda assim, é importante considerar que você ainda perde recursos oferecidos em outros países no plano Premium, como o streaming de games pela nuvem. 

No entanto, se não é o seu caso, a PS Plus Extra é o que mais vale a pena para investir em 2026. Não é um dos valores que mais se encaixam no bolso do público, mas oferece quase todas as opções sem ter de gastar um pouco mais por um ou outro game retrô.

Além disso, se os títulos de PS1 e PS2 fizerem tanta diferença assim, também é possível comprar portáteis que rodam emuladores — encontrados entre R$ 200 e R$ 500, eles permitem ter toda a experiência e de forma personalizada, já que ROM você baixa e instala o que desejar.

Na prática, com um desses você jogará o que quiser e onde preferir, sem estar preso à TV ou monitor. Melhor isso do que ter de checar a PS Plus Deluxe com frequência, pedir todo dia para a Sony ouvir suas preces e esperar a adição do seu jogo antigo favorito.

Financeiramente, sai uma brincadeira um pouco mais cara. Contudo, ao parcelar no cartão de crédito e com apoio de cupons e ações promocionais, isso pode não ser um problema tão sério ao bolso a longo prazo. 

Com essa visão em mente, a PS Plus Extra é a melhor oferta da Sony para os assinantes em 2026. A Deluxe até vale a pena por dar acesso oficial a algumas das experiências presas ao passado, mas ainda assim tem muito a evoluir e acrescentar antes de realmente representar uma proposta viável. 

Outra preocupação esteve na mente dos jogadores. Afinal de contas, com o fim da mídia física no PlayStation, o que muda para você?

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