All posts tagged: tech

‘Missed opportunity’ as government rejects call for mass prostate cancer screening | Science, Climate & Tech News

‘Missed opportunity’ as government rejects call for mass prostate cancer screening | Science, Climate & Tech News

Published by skeptic

The health secretary has decided only a few thousand men at high risk of getting prostate cancer will be offered targeted screening for the disease. James Murray said he was “following the science” after the UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) concluded that offering it to more people could do “more harm than good”. Men with the BRCA2 genetic mutation, which means they have a far higher risk of prostate cancer, will now get a test every two years between the ages of 45 and 61. To be eligible, they must also have a family history of prostate, breast, ovarian or pancreatic cancer. Campaigners – who had urged the government to reject the committee’s advice – called it a missed opportunity to save lives. Some wanted it offered to all men over 45, or to other groups with an increased risk, such as black men and those with a family history of the disease. They argued many men are dying unnecessarily because their disease is going undiagnosed until it’s too late. Under the new approach, it’s …

I found 15 Amazon deals on editor-approved tech already live for Prime Day

I found 15 Amazon deals on editor-approved tech already live for Prime Day

Published by skeptic

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Amazon confirmed this week that its flagship Prime Day sale is returning sooner rather than later, running Tuesday, June 23, to Friday, June 26, as opposed to in July as it has in the past. Also: Amazon Prime Day 2026 is in June: Everything to know about dates, deals, and what to expect We’re sure to see tons of discounts across home, outdoor, and more, including flagship tech categories like laptops, TVs, tablets, phones, smart home gadgets, appliances, and plenty of other sweet chances to save. The sale is still a few weeks away, though, so I’m combing through early discounts already live that you can scoop up right now.  Here are my favorite early Amazon deals live now, including some of ZDNET readers’ most-purchased products, our Editors’ Choice award-winning items, and gadgets that have earned our best-of distinction.  Best early Amazon Prime Day deals  Anker’s lipstick-sized charger is one of my favorites for tossing into a bag for power whenever you need it, and for under $25, you won’t …

Defense tech darling Mach Industries hits .8B valuation, a 4x jump in a year

Defense tech darling Mach Industries hits $1.8B valuation, a 4x jump in a year

Published by skeptic

Mach Industries, the three-year-old defense tech startup run by 22-year-old founder and CEO Ethan Thornton, has raised a $300 million Series C at a $1.8 billion valuation, the company announced on Monday. The raise nearly quadruples the valuation of the company in a year. In June 2025, Mach raised $100 million at a $470 million valuation. Other investors include Bedrock Capital, Sequoia Capital, and Khosla Ventures. The round was led by deep tech fund Infinite Capital and Ribbit Capital, known for fintech and lately in hot deals everywhere — from AI coding startups like Cognition to neoclouds like Crusoe. Since building autonomous weapons is a capital-intensive industry, Thornton began actively fundraising a couple of months ago, he told TechCrunch, and quickly discovered that the round would be popular with investors. “We went out to raise 200 [million dollars] and we were extremely oversubscribed at 200 and happy with the price, so we decided to push up to 300. We’re still oversubscribed at the 300 mark,” Thornton said of the fundraising efforts. Founded in 2023, Mach …

Pope Leo Is Challenging Much More Than Big Tech

Pope Leo Is Challenging Much More Than Big Tech

Published by Daniella Wilson

Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV’s new encyclical “on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence,” has received widespread praise. This isn’t surprising. A popular and learned world leader with a significant degree of moral authority is pointing out the dangers of a deeply unpopular technology created by deeply unpopular people. The laudatory coverage of the encyclical is justified, but it has obscured perhaps Leo’s most important insight. Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”) is not only—or even mostly—about AI itself. And the pope is challenging much more than Big Tech. To be sure, Leo devotes considerable space to addressing the technology and its purveyors. In one of the document’s most-quoted passages, he declares that AI “must be disarmed” and prevented “from dominating humanity.” Elsewhere, he argues for the need “to establish adequate regulatory tools capable of upholding justice and curbing the distorting effects of technological power” on human relationships, working conditions, public discourse, international affairs, and much else. Given AI’s “energy-intensive infrastructure,” the pope warns, “it is essential to develop more sustainable technological solutions …

Hegseth names investor who called Mamdani ‘Islamist’ to Pentagon tech board

Hegseth names investor who called Mamdani ‘Islamist’ to Pentagon tech board

Published by Sam Flores

The Defense Department has appointed 33 members to its recently established Science, Technology and Innovation Board (STIB) — one of whom is a Silicon Valley venture capitalist accused of making Islamophobic remarks targeting New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. On Wednesday, the Pentagon announced on social media that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth named Shaun Maguire,… Source link

US refuses to budge on environmental impact of tech, regulating Big Tech at G7 – POLITICO

US refuses to budge on environmental impact of tech, regulating Big Tech at G7 – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The environmental impact of AI specifically, as it consumes huge amounts of energy, has become a talking point in Europe, with the European Environment Agency warning earlier this month that the “the rapid expansion of AI presents a growing challenge to achieving climate neutrality.” But an emphasis on combating the environmental impact of tech is “a red line for the United States,” a digital ministry representative, granted anonymity due to French protocol, told reporters, adding that France respects its “partners’ red lines.”  Environmental issues have been “the most complicated” to get a consensus among the G7 countries, the same representative added, saying that the wording of that part of the declaration may only be endorsed by the “G7 presidency,” i.e. France.  “This is a step back from the initial ambitions,” the same representative admitted, adding that France “knew it would be complicated.”   More broadly, “discussing the regulation of industry players is something the United States is not ready to do,” the French digital ministry representative said, adding that “in Europe, we will conclude that regulation is necessary, and we will take the extra step that …

The Download: climate tech goes public and the AI Hype Index returns

The Download: climate tech goes public and the AI Hype Index returns

Published by skeptic

1 Illinois just passed what could become America’s strongest AI safety lawIt would require third-party safety audits. (Wired $)+ But it still needs the governor’s approval. (NBC News)+ The US is divided over AI regulation. (MIT Technology Review) 2 A Google engineer has been charged with insider tradingHe allegedly bet on who’d be the most-searched people of 2025 on Polymarket. (BBC)+ And used internal data to rack up more than $1.2 million in winnings. (Verge)+ He’s been charged with fraud and money laundering over the bets. (NPR) 3 ByteDance is developing custom CPUs amid a massive AI chip squeezeThe TikTok owner is struggling with severe supply shortages. (Reuters $)+ Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are also building custom CPUs. (CNBC)+ Taiwan’s “silicon shield” could be weakening. (MIT Technology Review) 4 Four tech giants have backed a clean energy push for AI data centersAmazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft have joined the initiative. (Quartz)+ Investor Elemental Impact will deploy up to $5 million per project. (Axios) 5 Nvidia’s CEO is joining the board of Beijing’s Tsinghua UniversityHis appointment …

CETCO highlights PFAS remediation tech at EPA roundtable

CETCO highlights PFAS remediation tech at EPA roundtable

Published by skeptic

Minerals Technologies Inc. announced that its environmental solutions business, CETCO, took part in a high-level United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) roundtable in Washington focused on PFAS remediation. The event brought together government officials and industry leaders to discuss technologies aimed at removing so-called “forever chemicals” from drinking water and contaminated sites. CETCO was represented by Barry Shadrix, Global Director of Water and Remediation, alongside EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, US Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and other specialists working in PFAS remediation. The discussion centred on practical solutions, innovation, and the cost of treating PFAS contamination across the United States. The meeting highlighted growing federal and commercial interest in scalable PFAS remediation technologies as regulators and utilities face increasing pressure to address contamination in water supplies and soil. CETCO used the event to showcase its FLUORO-SORB® adsorbent technology, which has already been deployed in full-scale remediation projects. Speaking on the EPA roundtable, Shadrix said: “It is an honour to be able to join the government and other industry leaders in this …

The Download: climate tech goes public and the AI Hype Index returns

Climate tech companies are going public. What’s next?

Published by skeptic

Those are all success stories in the IPO world. And it certainly doesn’t feel like a coincidence that all these companies are racing to provide electricity in an era of rising demand (partly due to data centers). Let’s take a look at how these firms are doing, what this moment says about the grid, and what’s coming next.  Let’s start with Fervo Energy, a company we’ve covered a lot over the years that’s working to develop enhanced geothermal energy. (We included it on our 2025 list of Climate Tech Companies to Watch.) While conventional geothermal requires finding specific spots with hot rock, water, and fractures to support a power plant, Fervo essentially uses fracking techniques to create the necessary conditions. The company was founded in 2017, and it raised about $1.5 billion from investors over the years before its IPO. Fervo’s first commercial project, Cape Station in Utah, is expected to have a capacity of about 500 megawatts. The first unit is set to start generating power for customers by October and the next two …