Science

Science Follow Follow Featuring the latest in daily science news, Verge Science is all you need to keep track of what’s going on in health, the environment, and your whole world. Through our articles, we keep a close eye on the overlap between science and technology news — so you’re more informed. In one swoop, Trump kills US greenhouse gas regulations The Environmental Protection Agency repealed the key finding that underpins limits on planet-heating pollution from cars and power plants. Justine Calma Feb 12 ‘Wellness’ feels like it’s losing all meaning in health tech Oura is lobbying for relaxed wearables regulation. It has a point, but is regulation even the problem here? Victoria Song Feb 13 Latest In Science J External Link Jay Peters Feb 11 Link Southwest is getting Starlink. The first Southwest Airlines plane with Starlink will enter this service this summer, and Starlink is set to be available on “more than 300 aircraft” by the end of the year, Southwest says . Southwest joins airlines like United , WestJet , and British Airways in bringing SpaceX’s Starlink to customers. Southwest Airlines Brings Starlink Ultra-Fast WiFi Onboard [ Southwest Newsroom ] Anthropic says it’ll try to keep its data centers from raising electricity costs Justine Calma Feb 11 How an ‘icepocalypse’ raises more questions about Meta’s biggest data center project Justine Calma Feb 11 T External Link Thomas Ricker Feb 11 Link More Starlink competition. Amazon’s Leo now has FCC approval for about 7,700 low Earth orbit satellites. So far it’s only launched about 150, well short of its FCC requirement to deploy 1,600 by July 2026 (it’s seeking an extension). SpaceX has launched over 11,000 Starlink satellites into LEO with about 9,600 still active. Amazon gets FCC approval to launch 4,500 Leo internet satellites [ CNBC ] Microsoft wants to rewire data centers to save space Justine Calma Feb 10 Jeffrey Epstein’s digital cleanup crew According to recently released documents, the convicted sex offender had a vast network of people working to whitewash his digital presence. Mia Sato Feb 10 FCC accused of withholding DOGE information ‘in bad faith’ Lauren Feiner Feb 9 S External Link Stevie Bonifield Feb 9 Link Has Elon Musk changed his mind on Mars and the Moon? “SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon,” Musk said on Sunday, just a week after merging SpaceX and xAI . It’s a notable change in plans from a little over a year ago when Musk insisted that, “we’re going straight to Mars. The Moon is a distraction.” reuters.com [ SpaceX prioritizes lunar 'self-growing city' over Mars project, Musk says ] V External Link Victoria Song Feb 9 Link Oura goes to Washington. This Politico story is a fascinating deep dive into Oura cozying up to the government. What caught my eye is a tidbit that Oura is lobbying lawmakers for a “digital health screener” device classification process that would sidestep the more intensive FDA clearance process for medical devices. Why Washington’s all-in on smart rings [ Politico ] R Twitter Richard Lawler Feb 8 Link SpaceX brings Starlink to the Super Bowl broadcast. The first Super Bowl ad from SpaceX apparently didn’t have enough time left in production to mention its newly-joined X / xAI elements , but it is promoting the idea of global satellite internet. J External Link Justine Calma Feb 6 Link EVs have improved air quality. EV adoption was tied to a decrease in smog-forming nitrogen dioxide pollution in California, the biggest market for electric cars in the US, a recent study confirms. EVs are already making your air cleaner, research shows [ Fast Company ] V Victoria Song Feb 6 Link Not to say I told you so about AG1… But here’s Dave Wiskus, founder of the Nebula streaming service, on how AG1 did not pass muster as a sponsor. If you’re curious to learn more, may I point you to this week’s Optimizer ? AG1 is a lot less science-y than it sounds Athletic Greens is ‘clinically backed.’ What does that even mean? Victoria Song Feb 6 J External Link Jay Peters Feb 6 Link Apple has changed its AI health coach plans. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple is “scaling back” plans for the coach and will instead roll out some of what it had been working on into the Heath app over time. Maybe not the worst idea . Apple Is Scaling Back Plans for New AI-Based Health Coach Service [ Bloomberg ] R Richard Lawler Feb 5 Link Is the SpaceX / xAI / X public offering just going to be a bailout funded by index funds? Maybe combining Musk’s companies is really about space AI data centers . But reports from Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal indicate that SpaceX’s IPO pursuit includes a push to have major index providers find a way around the usual waiting periods before they’ll add newly listed companies. E External Link Emma Roth Feb 4 Link AT&T is working with Amazon’s Starlink competitor to expand its network. The partnership will allow AT&T to use Amazon Leo — the ecommerce giant’s low Earth orbit satellite network — to deliver fixed broadband services to businesses. Amazon launched its gigabit-speed Leo Ultra antenna last November, but it’s only available for commercial use for now. AT&T, AWS, and Amazon Leo Collaborate to Accelerate Modernization of Nation's Connectivity Infrastructure [ Business Wire ] Elon Musk is merging SpaceX and xAI to build data centers in space — or so he says SpaceX is profitable, while xAI is burning about $1 billion a month. Is this another case of Musk bailing out himself? Andrew J. Hawkins Feb 3 J External Link Justine Calma Feb 3 Link Trump plans to stockpile critical minerals. The President announced a new $12 billion public-private partnership called Project Vault, meant to establish a strategic reserve of critical minerals. It’s expected to safeguard stores of rare earths and other materials used in batteries, smart phones, cars, planes , and more. Trump Project Vault stockpile will include any minerals listed as ‘critical’ by Interior Department [ CNBC ] Fitbit’s founders launch a new platform for monitoring your entire family’s health Andrew Liszewski Feb 3 D Quote Dominic Preston Feb 3 Link That old trick. I used to compare Elon Musk to an old boss of mine who would spin up a company division every time he found a new hobby, but this might be just as apt: ElectricOrchestra613 : Elon Musk’s constant new ventures and subsequent mergers just feels like the corporate equivalent of creating a new email every time you want to sign up for a free trial. Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily . T External Link Thomas Ricker Feb 3 Link Artemis II delayed. NASA’s overnight wet dress rehearsal of the SLS rocket surfaced a liquid hydrogen leak. A second wet dress rehearsal is now needed, pushing the earliest possible launch of the crewed mission around the moon to March. NASA Conducts Artemis II Fuel Test, Eyes March for Launch Opportunity   - NASA [ NASA ] J External Link Justine Calma Feb 2 Link Offshore wind projects are back on again. The Trump administration ordered five major offshore wind projects to pause construction in December , suddenly citing national security risks even though developers had previously secured approvals to start building. After the companies filed suit , federal courts have now allowed all five projects to start construction again. US judge allows last of five offshore wind projects halted by Trump to proceed [ the Guardian ] Elon Musk merges SpaceX with xAI (and X) Jay Peters Feb 2 Will Elon Musk’s emails with Jeffrey Epstein derail his very important year? Andrew J. Hawkins Feb 2 SpaceX wants to put 1 million solar-powered data centers into orbit Terrence O'Brien Jan 31 J External Link Justine Calma Jan 30 Link So much for nuclear safety rules. The Trump administration is quietly weakening regulations meant to protect groundwater and limit radiation exposure to workers at new nuclear reactors, NPR reports . Trump has worked to speed up the deployment of new nuclear reactor designs to power AI data centers . The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules [ NPR ] Cold weather in Florida is pushing back the Artemis II launch Andrew Liszewski Jan 30 It’s a new heyday for gas thanks to data centers Justine Calma Jan 29 Elon Musk might merge SpaceX with Tesla or xAI Jay Peters Jan 29 Beyond Meat’s protein soda might be its last chance and best hope The ‘crisp and refreshing’ protein drink is a sign of a company running out of time to turn it around. Dominic Preston Jan 28 A Quote Andrew J. Hawkins Jan 28 Link Redwood Materials nabs $425 million for battery recycling and energy storage. The company, which was led by ex-Tesla CTO JB Straubel , says it just closed its series E funding, including participation from Google and other investors. The money will be put toward building out Redwood Materials’ energy storage platform as well as its EV battery recycling and critical minerals business. And in a blog post, the company gestures at the current debate over AI data centers and electricity demand, saying: As electricity demand surges—driven by AI, data centers, manufacturing and electrification—energy storage is no longer optional; it is essential infrastructure. Astronomers used AI to find 1,400 ‘anomalous objects’ from Hubble archives Robert Hart Jan 28 T External Link Thomas Ricker Jan 28 Link Will the stars align for a SpaceX IPO? Mr. 420 hopes to raise $50 billion by taking SpaceX public with the largest initial public offering in history. The target date is mid-June, near Elon Musk’s 55th birthday on June 28th, and June 8th and 9th “when Jupiter and Venus will appear very close together, known as a conjunction, for the first time in more than three years.” SpaceX wants the extra funds to help develop its beefier Starship rocket system, expand its Starlink constellation, and to put data centers into space . SpaceX weighs June IPO timed to planetary alignment and Elon Musk’s birthday [ Financial Times ] The winter storm tested power grids straining to accommodate AI data centers Justine Calma Jan 27 J External Link Justine Calma Jan 26 Link Nvidia debuted new AI weather models. Forecasters are increasingly turning to new AI tools, using them alongside conventional physics-based models to improve predictions. Nvidia and Google , for example, each claim that their AI weather models have outperformed traditional forecasting methods. Nvidia Launches AI Technologies to Aid Weather Forecasting [ Bloomberg ] A Quote Andrew J. Hawkins Jan 23 Link ‘Like judging a baseball season by a single inning.’ Every time it gets really cold, the climate change deniers come out of the woodwork with their best “I am very intelligent” grins to sputter some version of “whither global warming?” Fortunately, The Verge ’s senior science reporter Justine Calma knew to anticipate these inane inquiries in her story today about the approaching winter storm : “People say, ‘Oh, well, it’s really cold or we’re getting a lot of snow — how is the world warming?’ Climate change is an increase in the baseline temperatures, but it’s also an increase in extremes from both ways,” says Kaitlyn Trudeau, a senior research associate at the nonprofit Climate Central. “It can make more extreme cold outcomes; it can make more extreme warm outcomes … judging climate change by a cold storm is like judging a baseball season by a single inning.” J External Link Justine Calma Jan 23 Link Layoffs are on pause at FEMA as the US braces for a massive winter storm. President Trump has talked about dismantling FEMA as his administration slashes staff from federal agencies. But now, FEMA will “cease offboarding” workers, CNN reports . A major winter storm threatens to wreck power grids and make travel treacherous across much of the US over the weekend and into next week. FEMA halts terminations of disaster workers as agency prepares for massive winter storm | CNN Politics [ CNN ] Giving your healthcare info to a chatbot is, unsurprisingly, a terrible idea Robert Hart Jan 23 Why this winter storm will likely be a wild one Justine Calma Jan 23 Influencers are pushing suspicious peptides. How much are you willing to risk? The search for the contents of my mystery “GLP-3” vial leads further into the wellness wild west. Victoria Song Jan 23 Most Popular Most Popular Apple’s doing something on March 4th Why are Epstein’s emails full of equals signs? 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