Sunday, February 15

Science

Apple releases iOS 26.3 with updates that mainly benefit non-Apple devices
Science

Apple releases iOS 26.3 with updates that mainly benefit non-Apple devices

Other additions, and other OSes Another iOS 26.3 update is also aimed at interoperability, though it may only apply to iPhones covered by European Union regulations. A feature called “notification forwarding” will send your iPhone’s notifications to third-party accessories, including Google’s Android-based Wear OS smartwatches. Once the setting is enabled, users will be able to decide which apps can forward notifications to the third-party device, similar to how Apple Watch notifications work. In current betas, Apple allows notifications to be forwarded to only one device at a time, and forwarding notifications to a third-party device means you can’t send them to an Apple Watch. Finally, both iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3 are introducing a feature for some newer devices with Apple’s in-house C1...
Good Taste: Summoning abundance at Lawrence Hall of Science’s new Ohlone eatery
Science

Good Taste: Summoning abundance at Lawrence Hall of Science’s new Ohlone eatery

Browse my archive of Good Taste columns and subscribe to our newsletters, including Good Taste, for more weekend-exclusive food & drink news delivered to your inbox.  Ohlone people are the real OGs of the Bay Area. They never left the turf, they have a bright future—and you can actually taste it now. Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino are personal culinary heroes whose work I’ve followed since they started their Cafe Ohlone pop-up in a now-defunct bookstore across the street from the UC Berkeley campus in 2018. They’ve since started an official relationship of repair with the university, set up a seasonal restaurant on campus, and on Friday will debut the permanent ‘ammatka cafe inside Lawrence Hall of Science. “We recognize that the East Bay Ohlone people are not people of the ...
Rules of mysterious ancient board game decoded by AI, scientists say
Science

Rules of mysterious ancient board game decoded by AI, scientists say

A smooth, white stone dating from the Roman era and unearthed in the Netherlands has long baffled researchers. Now, with the help of artificial intelligence, scientists believe they have cracked the mystery: the stone is an ancient board game and they have even guessed the rules.The circular piece of limestone has diagonal and straight lines cut into it.Using 3D imaging created by the restoration studio Restaura, scientists discovered some lines were deeper than others, suggesting pieces were moved along them, some more than others."We can see wear along the lines on the stone, exactly where you would slide a piece," said Walter Crist, an archaeologist at Leiden University in the Netherlands who specializes in ancient games, in a statement.  "The appearance of the stone combined with this ...
Astrobiologists search for alien life, and help life on Earth in the process | CU Boulder Today
Science

Astrobiologists search for alien life, and help life on Earth in the process | CU Boulder Today

Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. (Credit: CC photo via Wikimedia Commons; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mammoth_Hot_springs_04.jpg)On Earth, life thrives in some of the most seemingly inhospitable environments.Single-celled organisms like bacteria teem in the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park, where temperatures reach nearly 200 degrees Fahrenheit (93 degrees Celsius). Others dwell deep underground or several miles above Earth’s surface in the stratosphere.For years, scientists in a field called astrobiology have sought out these organisms. They want to know not just how life evolved on Earth, but how it might evolve on other worlds. They investigate moons in our solar system like Europa and Enceladus where vast and salty oceans lie beneath thick layers of...
Reign of Warlock Launches as First DLC in 25 Years
Science

Reign of Warlock Launches as First DLC in 25 Years

Big news for “Diablo II” fans: the Blizzard Entertainment game is getting its first major update in 25 years. Titled “Reign of the Warlock,” the DLC will feature actor Rahul Kohli (“The Haunting of Bly Manor,” “Midnight Mass,” “iZombie”) starring as the voice of the titular Warlock. Per Blizzard, “the Warlock is disciplined, ominous, and incredibly knowledgeable, lingering in the shadows for years and studying secrets mortals shouldn’t know.” In addition to debuting in the new update for “Diablo II: Resurrected” (which is the remastered version of the original “Diablo II”), the Warlock class will arrive in the upcoming “Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred” update in April and the mobile title “Diablo Immortal” this summer. These announcements were made by Blizzard Entertainm...
Here Is Why Sony Put Helldivers 2 on Xbox
Science

Here Is Why Sony Put Helldivers 2 on Xbox

At the end of the day, Sony is in the business of making money, and its efforts to get first-party titles on PC and this Helldivers 2 version for Xbox only strengthen its revenue streams. While hard numbers aren't attached, Helldivers 2 was one of the last year's best-selling Xbox games. The same is happening on PS5, with Forza Horizon 5 selling considerably well after it was ported to PlayStation. In Europe, it sold even better than Ghost of Yotei. It was even Sony's decision to put Helldivers 2 on Xbox, not Arrowhead's: "It was all PlayStation. Send them your thanks. We were all in support of course," said CEO Shams Jorjani. Are you happy to see Helldivers 2 find more success on Xbox? Let us know in the comments below. Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links...
Pacific Science Center sells real estate to help fund upgrades, new star attraction
Science

Pacific Science Center sells real estate to help fund upgrades, new star attraction

by Lisa Stiffler on Feb 12, 2026 at 7:22 amFebruary 12, 2026 at 7:22 am Pacific Science Center, or PacSci, is selling less than 25% of its campus to Space Needle LLC. (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler) Pacific Science Center, a educational nonprofit centered on innovation and discovery, confirmed it’s selling a wedge of its campus to help keep operations afloat and to start funding the development of a new star attraction. Almost a year ago, GeekWire first reported that the iconic institution faced an uncertain future and was considering a property sale. PacSci leaders said this week that Space Needle LLC will purchase the northeast corner of the site, which encompasses less than 25% of the facility and includes one...
Bud Cort, best known for role in 1971 film ‘Harold and Maude,’ dies at 77
Science

Bud Cort, best known for role in 1971 film ‘Harold and Maude,’ dies at 77

ByABC7.com staff Thursday, February 12, 2026 6:52AMActor Bud Cort, best known for his role in the 1971 film "Harold and Maude," has died. He was 77.Dorian Hannaway, television producer and friend to Cort, confirmed to KABC's George Pennacchio that he died Wednesday in Connecticut after a long illness. Additional details about that illness were not available.Actor Bud Cort at The Paley Center for Media on January 8, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California.Photo by David Livingston/Getty ImagesCort's career surged in 1970 with a small "M*A*S*H" and the title role in "Brewster McCloud" -- before he landed his role in "Harold and Maude" opposite Ruth Gordon. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his work in the film, which the American Film Institute named as one of the funniest films of all time...
NASA Flies Through a Volcanic Laboratory: Rincón de la Vieja 
Science

NASA Flies Through a Volcanic Laboratory: Rincón de la Vieja 

By Milan Loiacono  An ecologist, a volcanologist, and a chemist walk into a forest… It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but this very real collaboration between scientists from NASA and the Universidad de Costa Rica (University of Costa Rica) continues decades of cross-disciplinary work that is currently providing insight into the future of the planet.   In summer 2025, a NASA-led team of scientists and engineers gathered in Rincón de la Vieja National Park in Costa Rica. We had a twofold purpose: to test the feasibility of using an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) to gather data about volcanic emissions, and to use those data to better understand how rising levels of carbon dioxide will impact vegetation across the world.  This project is called the Costa Rica Airborne resea...