Here are today’s 5 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: Grokipedia Rolls Out Redesign With New Logo
- AI Tools: DoorDash Launches a Text-to-Order AI Agent
- Science & Space: Swiss Glaciers Lost a Fifth of Their Mass in Five Years
Tech & Apps
Grokipedia Rolls Out Redesign With New Logo
SpaceXAI’s Wikipedia rival Grokipedia launched a v0.3 update on September 30 with a new logo and a redesigned homepage featuring lists of featured and most-read articles. The update follows Grokipedia resuming processing of user-submitted edits, and design lead Benji Taylor called it a “newly refreshed Grokipedia,” according to The Verge.
Amazon Unveils Thinner, Faster Fire TV Stick 4K
Amazon announced a redesigned Fire TV Stick 4K that’s thinner than the previous model, with apps launching over 35% faster and content starting nearly 20% quicker, the company says. The device runs Amazon’s Vega operating system with Alexa+ built in and ships with a new remote featuring a curved, weighted design, reports Engadget. It’s priced at $60, or $30 during Amazon’s upcoming Prime Day sale. If you’re already paying for multiple streaming apps, it’s worth checking our breakdown of how much you can save by canceling and resubscribing to streaming services.
AI Tools
DoorDash Launches a Text-to-Order AI Agent
DoorDash introduced an AI agent on September 30 that lets users order food by texting through Apple Messages, including requests like “order my usual” or asking for restaurant recommendations. The agent can also handle group orders with multiple dietary preferences in one exchange, and DoorDash opened a waitlist for U.S. users to try it, according to TechCrunch. The move is aimed at giving DoorDash an edge over Uber Eats and Grubhub. It’s the latest example of AI built for everyday tasks — see our roundup of best AI apps for gifting someone impossible to shop for for more practical picks.
Science & Space
Swiss Glaciers Lost a Fifth of Their Mass in Five Years
Switzerland’s glaciers lost nearly 20% of their total mass between 2022 and 2026, with 2026 marking the second-biggest melt on record at 5.5% of volume lost in a single year, according to a report from the Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS) network released October 1. GLAMOS said the five-year melt rate was more than twice as high as any previous five-year period it has measured, per Phys.org.
Dutch Farmers Test Rice as a Crop for Sinking Peatlands
A farmer in the Netherlands is piloting rice cultivation on wet peatland with researchers from Wageningen and Leiden universities, testing around 30 rice varieties from countries including Russia, China, and Japan to find ones suited to Dutch conditions. The goal is to keep peat soil wet — preventing the ground from sinking and releasing carbon — while still giving farmers a harvestable crop, reports Phys.org. The 0.6-hectare pilot aims to produce about three tonnes of rice.
Explore more: how much you can save by canceling and resubscribing to streaming services, best AI apps for gifting someone impossible to shop for.
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Photo: Imagen 2 via Gemini; prompted by Adi Robertson / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.