Diligent sleuthing by astronomers uncovered a surprising chemical clue that indicates the white dwarf star HS 0209+0832 may host a second-generation planet. This artist’s concept released on Oct. 5, 2026, depicts that possible explanation. The white dwarf is the “dead” core of a star that burned through all of its nuclear fuel and lost its outer
President Donald Trump hosted many of the biggest names in artificial intelligence this week — in part to announce that the U.S. government isn’t calling it artificial intelligence anymore. Now it’s super intelligence. On the latest episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Sean O’Kane, and I discussed the motivation behind the meeting and what
Ever since the U.S.-Iran war choked the Strait of Hormuz, Asian importers have scrambled for new sources of oil and LNG to keep the lights on. Yet China’s energy companies are reckoning with an entirely different problem: They have too much power. “China’s grid is a very strong and stable one,” Youyuan Huang, executive vice
Overwatch kicked off its 10th anniversary in February by announcing that it was adding 10 new heroes to the hero shooter this year, more than triple the average additions in previous years. But the roster shake-ups aren’t over. Announced at BlizzCon 2026, the ninth of those 10 heroes joins the roster next month, alongside two
Operating at AI speed is not easy. At OpenAI, a special process—and a magic word—helps employees instantly cut through layers of bureaucracy and clear bottlenecks slowing things down. It’s called “friction.” And it has the power to supersede just about anything a team is doing, often carrying the force of CEO Sam Altman or President
Solar prominences protruding from the Sun’s corona during a total solar eclipse in Dallas in 2024.Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber When the Moon blocks the Sun over Greenland, Iceland and Spain on 12 August, researchers will get roughly two minutes to study the solar corona, the Sun’s outermost layer, which is only visible to the naked eye