Here are today’s 13 verified tech & science stories, covering Tech & Apps, AI Tools and Science & Space.
Table of Contents
Every item below links to its original source.
The TLDR
- Tech & Apps: Bluesky now lets you hide reposts from one annoying account
- AI Tools: OpenAI launches a dedicated cybersecurity model as AI attacks rise
- Science & Space: Rocket Lab unveils a launch pad that fits in shipping containers
Tech & Apps
Bluesky now lets you hide reposts from one annoying account
Bluesky added a setting that hides reposts from a single person without unfollowing or muting them entirely. Open their profile, tap the three-dot menu, and choose “Hide reposts in feeds” to keep seeing their original posts while filtering out what they reshare. The Verge reports the option is rolling out as a beta feature.
Google’s Pixel 11 hardware event lands Wednesday
Google holds its annual Made by Google event on Wednesday, August 12, livestreamed from New York City. The company is expected to unveil the Pixel 11 phone lineup alongside a new Pixel Watch 5, building on phones it has already teased. The Verge notes further hardware announcements are possible but not yet confirmed.
Amazon is backing what could be America’s dirtiest power plant
Amazon is financially backing a new gas-fired power plant in Texas designed to run 35 turbines for a combined 7.65 gigawatts, permitted to emit roughly 33 million tons of CO2 a year. Ars Technica reports that would make it the single largest source of climate pollution among US power plants, built to run Amazon’s AI data centers off the public grid.
Valve expands SteamOS to more handheld gaming PCs
Valve’s newest SteamOS beta adds “initial gamepad support” for several non-Valve handhelds, including the Intel-based MSI Claw 8 EX AI+. Ars Technica reports the update also improves support for older MSI Claw units and OneXPlayer devices, part of Valve’s gradual push to bring SteamOS beyond its own hardware.
Meta’s slimmed-down Muse Glimmer AI model runs on one computer
Meta released Muse Glimmer, a scaled-down version of its larger Spark AI system built to run on a single computer instead of a data center. Engadget reports it can handle multi-step tasks and code writing, with Meta distributing the model’s weights freely for developers to run locally — joining other consumer-facing AI tools, like the ones we compare in Canva AI vs. Midjourney.
NYC Mayor Mamdani backs bill regulating Amazon deliveries
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced support for the Delivery Protection Act, a City Council bill that would require last-mile delivery companies to be licensed and to classify delivery workers as employees rather than contractors. “If Amazon is delivering your packages, they should follow the same rules of every other delivery company,” Mamdani said, per Engadget. Amazon opposes the bill over cost and speed concerns, while the Teamsters union supports it.
AI Tools
OpenAI launches a dedicated cybersecurity model as AI attacks rise
OpenAI launched GPT-5.6-Cyber, a model built specifically for defensive cybersecurity work, as part of an expansion of its Daybreak program. TechCrunch reports access is currently limited to partners like Accenture, IBM, CrowdStrike, and Cloudflare, as OpenAI warns that AI-driven cyberattacks are accelerating faster than many defenders can keep up with.
OpenAI reportedly completed a $7 billion employee stock sale
OpenAI has reportedly completed a $7 billion tender offer letting employees sell shares back to the company, according to a Bloomberg report cited by TechCrunch. The deal has not been officially confirmed by OpenAI, but if accurate would value the company at $852 billion, matching its most recent funding round.
Science & Space
Rocket Lab unveils a launch pad that fits in shipping containers
Rocket Lab unveiled GHOST, a launch system packed into standard shipping containers that can deploy rocket infrastructure to new locations. Space.com reports the system will support the company’s Electron and HASTE rockets, with its first deployment planned for a new site in Kodiak, Alaska, ahead of a debut launch in 2027.
How to watch Wednesday’s total solar eclipse online
A total solar eclipse crosses Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, and parts of Spain and Portugal on Wednesday, August 12. Space.com lists NASA’s free stream starting at 1:15 p.m. ET and the European Space Agency’s broadcast from Spain starting at 19:30 CEST for anyone outside the path of totality — and if you’d rather watch through your own gear, our smart telescope comparison can help you pick one.
Study links certain gut bacteria to psychopathic traits
A study of 200 healthy adults found that people who scored higher on measures of psychopathic traits had more of certain gut bacteria, including Allisonella and Prevotella. ScienceAlert reports the research, led by scientists at the University of Porto, has not yet been peer-reviewed and shows only a correlation, not a cause.
Ketamine reshapes the brain differently in male and female mice
Researchers found that ketamine anesthesia triggers brain remodeling in female mice but not male mice, through a hormone pathway that prompts immune cells to reshape neural connections during recovery. The study, published in Science Advances and covered by ScienceAlert, analyzed nearly 37,000 brain cells; the researchers say human studies are still needed to confirm the findings.
Study finds gaps in how charitable food aid reaches communities
A study from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Sheba Medical Center mapped Israel’s charitable food-aid network and found more than 2,200 active NGOs handling roughly $1.64 billion a year, with only 13% of that funding coming from government sources. Phys.org reports the researchers also found geographic coverage gaps and are calling for more standardized data and oversight as charitable food aid takes on a bigger policy role.
Explore more: smart telescope comparison, Canva AI vs. Midjourney.
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Photo: Maurizio Pesce from Milan, Italia / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.