According to official statistics, approximately one-third of women in India face domestic violence. Incidents of abuse – including the murder of newlywed women due to dowry conflicts – regularly capture media attention. In the year 2023, over 6,150 women lost their lives in dowry-related incidents, with law enforcement documenting 133,676 instances of cruelty perpetrated by husbands or their relatives.
Hidden in the Angolan Highlands is a purportedly new kind of elephant. Conservationist and ornithologist Steve Boyes has spent years tracking this hard-to-find herd, and his expedition is the focus of Ghost Elephants, an eerie, evocative documentary directed by Werner Herzog. The film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival last summer and is now headed to National Geographic and Disney+.
An ornithologist searching for distant pachyderms might seem surprising, but for Boyes the link is natural. He grew up in South Africa and longed to be an explorer, inspired by the people he read about every month in National Geographic magazine. “I grew up waiting for the magazine to arrive; I wanted the maps,” Boyes told Ars. “Those would become my garden, or the field beyond, or the river—wild places imagined and real.”
Boyes’ parents often took him and his brother into wild places, including trips to Botswana and Tanzania. “We used to embed ourselves in baboon troops and walk with impalas,” said Boyes, and while his brother feared elephants, Boyes was comfortable around them from an early age. Ghost Elephants includes beautiful underwater sequences of elephant feet moving through water and of elephants swimming on their sides, scenes that reflect Boyes’ own encounters. Under the right conditions, if they don’t feel threatened, elephants “will come and swim around you and with you and interact with you,” he said. “So elephants have always fascinated me.”
As an adult, Boyes carried out his PhD work on the Meyer’s parrot in the Okavango Delta, which hosts the largest elephant population on Earth. The parrots and elephants had a kind of reciprocal relationship. “Every tree that the parrots were feeding on, the elephants were feeding on,” he said. “The elephants were creating the nest cavities for the parrots by disturbing the trees.”
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One feature set S. mirabilis apart from S. aegyptiacus. The name “mirabilis” is Latin for “astonishing.” What Sereno’s team found so astonishing was the large crest crowning the animal’s head, among the biggest ever found.
Rather than the knobby, fluted ridge of S. aegyptiacus, S. mirabilis carried a blade-like, scimitar-shaped bony crest that rose and swept back from the snout, peaking high above the eyes. This feature was made of solid bone, unlike the highly porous, pneumatic casques of some living birds. Still, the bone was marked by fine longitudinal striations and deep grooves, showing the bony core served mainly as a foundation.
In life, the crest of S. mirabilis would have been covered and greatly extended by a keratinous sheath, much like the colorful growth seen in modern helmeted guinea fowls. Scaled to a full adult, the bony core alone would have been roughly 40 centimeters long; with the keratinous covering it might easily have topped half a meter. For Sereno, the role of this “astonishing” scimitar crown was akin to the crests of cranes and herons. “It was asymmetrical. It varied between individuals. So, I think it was solely for display,” Sereno explains.
His team proposes that visual signaling was the main function of both the cranial crests and the huge trunk and tail sails that characterize spinosaurids. Along crowded shorelines and riverbanks, a tall, brightly colored crest or sail would be an effective way to advertise size, maturity and genetic quality to rivals and potential mates without resorting to costly fights.
Still, when it came down to it, S. mirabilis, tipping the scales at well over 7 tons, could certainly brawl. “The Spinosaurus was enormous. I think it could have eaten anything it wanted even though its mainstay was fish,” Sereno says.
Aside from the forehead ornament, S. mirabilis was a highly specialized predator. Its snout was low and with parallel upper and lower margins, ending in a mushroom-shaped expansion at the tip. The upper and lower teeth interlocked precisely—there was a distinct diastema, a gap in the upper tooth row, that accommodated the large lower teeth. The jaw anatomy resembles that of modern long-snouted crocodilians, suited to snatching aquatic prey with a swift, trap-like snap. Interestingly, S. mirabilis had wider spacing between teeth in the rear half of the snout than S. aegyptiacus, despite being otherwise very similar.
$30,000 for the individual who accessed DJI’s robotic network.
$30,000 for the individual who accessed DJI’s robotic network.
On Valentine’s Day, I presented you a narrative that has since captured global attention: How one individual, merely attempting to control his DJI robot vacuum with a PlayStation controller, stumbled upon a vast network of 7,000 remote-control DJI robots, allowing him to intrude upon others’ living spaces.
To clarify, DJI had initiated steps to fix some associated vulnerabilities prior to Sammy Azdoufal illustrating for The Verge just how extensive his access was. However, it remained uncertain whether DJI would compensate him for his findings, particularly following its treatment of security researcher Kevin Finisterre back in 2017 — or how quickly DJI would rectify the additional vulnerabilities identified by Azdoufal.
Today, we have gained some insights.
According to an email shared by Azdoufal with The Verge, DJI will compensate him $30,000 for a specific discovery, without disclosing the exact nature of this finding. While DJI is not naming Azdoufal, it confirms to The Verge that it has “rewarded” an unnamed security researcher for their endeavor.
DJI has opted not to reveal the discovery for which it is compensating him, but indicates that it has already resolved the additional vulnerability Azdoufal pointed out where an individual could view a DJI Romo video stream without needing a security PIN. “We can confirm that the PIN code security issue was addressed by late February,” stated a message from DJI representative Daisy Kong.
You might be curious: What about the vulnerability that appeared so serious we declined to explain it in our initial report? DJI informs me it is also tackling that matter: “We have initiated upgrades across the entire system. This encompasses a range of updates, which we expect to be fully deployed within a month.”
DJI has also released a public blog entry today discussing the enhancement of DJI Romo’s security, in which it continues to assert that it identified the original issue independently, while also crediting “two independent security researchers” for uncovering the same issue.
In that post, DJI implies that everything is already resolved with the Romo: “Updates have been implemented to completely rectify the issue.” Nevertheless, there were multiple vulnerabilities, and DJI informed The Verge that it may take up to another month for full resolution.
In the blog entry, DJI further notes that the Romo carries ETSI, EU, and UL certifications for security — raising doubts about the actual efficacy of these certifications if one individual using Claude Code managed to infiltrate an entire network filled with robotic vacuums! — and that it will stay committed to testing, correcting, and submitting the Romo and its application to independent third-party security evaluations.
DJI asserts that it is “dedicated to enhancing our collaboration with the security research community, and we will soon introduce new methods for researchers to work alongside us.”
“Following that, along with the choice of an EXCEPTIONAL & SUITABLE Leader(s), we, together with many of our remarkable and courageous allies and partners, will strive relentlessly to rescue Iran from impending ruin, transforming it into an economically larger, superior, and more resilient nation than ever before.
She will be accompanied by right-wing leaders from eight countries — Argentina, Paraguay, El Salvador, Chile, Panama, Honduras, Guyana, and Ecuador — who hold similar ideological positions to the Trump administration. Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil will not participate.
You might assume NASA would turn to commercial partners for a fix. United Launch Alliance was already working on a stronger upper stage for Vulcan, the Centaur V, which used the same propellant as the SLS core, and Blue Origin was developing a hydrogen‑fueled BE-3U upper‑stage engine. Those alternatives were less expensive, ready or close to ready, and yet … promptly dismissed.
Congress, eager to protect and create jobs, pushed NASA to build an all‑new upper stage. In 2016 lawmakers set aside $85 million for initial design work and have since obligated more than $3.5 billion.
To produce what is essentially a rocket’s second stage.
Using RL‑10 engines that have been flying in space for roughly sixty years.
And after ten years, the new upper stage is still several years away from a first flight.
In many respects the Exploration Upper Stage proved ideal for pork‑barrel spending. It directed contracts to Boeing and Aerojet Rocketdyne (for the engines) and required the construction of a huge new launch tower in Florida — a win for Kennedy Space Center’s Exploration Ground Systems program.
Those initial price tags are worth revisiting. Boeing’s original contract to build the Exploration Upper Stage began at $962 million, and NASA had hoped to fly the vehicle on SLS’s second launch in 2021. That timeline slipped. The launch tower was first estimated at $383 million but more recently was creeping past $2 billion. So we’re talking multiple billions of dollars for a comparatively simple upper stage that uses off‑the‑shelf engines and a very large launch tower.
Valve has modified a blog entry to announce that it will be delivering the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller in 2026.
Valve has modified a blog entry to announce that it will be delivering the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller in 2026.
A blog entry from Valve on Friday initially appeared to dampen expectations about the availability of the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller in 2026. However, Valve informed The Verge that this was not their intention — and confirmed that all three hardware items will indeed be shipped this year, despite facing issues from the persistent memory shortage.
Earlier today, Valve mentioned, “we hope to ship in 2026,” which seemed like a downgrade from their prior commitments. Just last month, the company clearly stated it had not altered its plans to deliver all three new hardware items “in the first half of the year,” even though that itself was a shift from its initial objective of “early 2026” or “Q1 2026.” Today, it appeared the company was subtly postponing the launch yet again, and Valve did not promptly reply to a request for commentary.
However, after we first released this article regarding Valve’s announcement, Valve PR spokesperson Kaci Aitchison Boyle informed The Verge that “nothing has actually changed on our end.” Valve has also revised the blog entry to clarify that “we will be shipping all three products this year.”
Around the time of its initial November revelation, it became evident that memory prices were beginning to skyrocket as AI companies started acquiring as many chips as possible. Hardware manufacturers of all sizes are grappling with the implications this has for their products, and many of the major hardware players are not exempt; even Apple is reportedly being compelled to pay higher costs for memory.
Last month, Valve mentioned that the RAM crisis would impact availability of the Steam Deck OLED, which has largely been out of stock since mid-February.
Correction, March 6th: Based on a blog entry from Valve, an earlier version of this article asserted that Valve’s upcoming hardware products may not launch this year. Valve has confirmed they will.
A prominent official from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration responsible for vaccines and biotechnology treatments will resign from the agency following numerous decisions that triggered apprehensions within the sector.
Vinay Prasad, head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, is set to depart the FDA at the end of April, as confirmed by an agency spokesperson on Friday. This marks his second exit from the role: He had briefly stepped down in July after facing backlash regarding his regulatory choices, only to return two weeks later in August.
In a message posted on X, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary stated that a successor will be appointed before Prasad resumes his position next month at the University of California San Francisco, where he taught prior to joining the FDA last year. Makary noted that Prasad “achieved a significant amount” during his time at the agency.
Prasad’s resignation follows escalating criticism of the FDA from the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors and former health officials. Over the past year, the agency has rejected or advised against the approval requests for at least eight drugs, according to RTW Investments, after disputing the data that the companies supplied to support their bids. The FDA also initially declined to examine Moderna’s flu vaccine before later changing its decision.
All these companies have accused the FDA of altering previously established guidance regarding the evidence they could use to support their applications, igniting concerns within the industry that an unpredictable regulatory environment could hinder the advancement of medications for challenging diseases.
A former FDA staff member who spoke with CNBC on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter candidly described the reversals as the most detrimental type of regulatory unpredictability, noting that companies report being informed one thing, only to encounter a different reality.
In a statement earlier Friday, an FDA spokesperson asserted that there was “no regulatory unpredictability,” emphasizing that the agency “makes decisions based on the evidence, but does not guarantee outcomes.” The spokesperson indicated that the FDA is “conducting thorough, independent assessments and is not merely rubber-stamping approvals.”
The latest controversy emerged after the FDA discouraged UniQure from seeking expedited approval for its experimental treatment for Huntington’s disease.
The agency, which has seen staff reductions and restructuring under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has encountered broader criticism regarding its drug and vaccine approval process. Observers are concerned that the agency may impede the development of new therapies and jeopardize patient safety.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported on Prasad’s imminent departure.
Planet Labs, a major commercial satellite-imaging firm, said Friday it is pausing the release of imagery for certain parts of the Middle East as the regional conflict moves into its second week.
The company, known as Planet, runs a constellation of several hundred Earth-observing satellites intended to capture views of every landmass on the planet at least once per day. Its clients include think tanks, NGOs, academic institutions, news organizations, and commercial users in agriculture, forestry, and energy, among others.
Planet also holds profitable contracts supplying overhead imagery to the US military and US government intelligence agencies.
“In reaction to the conflict in the Middle East, Planet is imposing temporary restrictions on data access within specific areas of the affected region,” Planet said in a statement emailed to Ars. “Effective immediately, all new imagery collected over the Gulf States, Iraq, Kuwait, and adjacent conflict zones will be subject to a mandatory 96-hour delay before it is made available in our archive.”
Imagery over Iran will continue to be available immediately after acquisition, the company said. “This change applies to all users except authorized government users who maintain immediate access for mission-critical operations.”
Credit:
Graphic by Nalini Lepetit-Chella and Sabrina Blanchard/AFP via Getty Images)/© 2026 Planet Labs/AFP
Infographic composed of satellite photos depicting damage at a selection of four US military sites, or locations hosting US personnel, in the Middle East following Iranian strikes since February 28, 2026, using imagery from Planet Labs.
Credit:
Graphic by Nalini Lepetit-Chella and Sabrina Blanchard/AFP via Getty Images)/© 2026 Planet Labs/AFP
In recent days, Planet’s satellite imagery has revealed the aftermath of Iranian missile and drone strikes on US and allied bases in the region, including damage to the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and to a $1 billion US-built early-warning radar in Qatar used to track incoming projectiles. Planet said it aims to prevent “adversarial actors” from using its data for “Battle Damage Assessment (BDA)” purposes. In short, the company does not want to assist Iran’s military in determining where it succeeded or where it failed.
