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Featuring the latest in daily science news, Verge Science is all you need to keep track of what’s going on in health, the environment, and your whole world. Through our articles, we keep a close eye on the overlap between science and technology news — so you’re more informed.

Latest In Science

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Owen Grove
A toothbrush with AI, a camera, and a subscription.

I tried out the Feno toothbrush: a full-mouth, U-shaped toothbrush. It brushes your entire mouth in 20 seconds as opposed to the typical 2-minute brush time recommended for standard toothbrushes. The Feno toothbrush seemingly did a pretty thorough job of brushing my teeth and was quick and comfortable.

However, I can’t get over its $299.00 price tag and Feno’s optional monthly subscription that grants access to features like AI that tracks your dental health or the ability to message oral health coaches about your brushing.

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Justine Calma
Federal employees who work to protect the environment are getting the ax.

That includes at least 168 employees at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who worked in its Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights. The Trump administration is following a play out of Project 2025, which calls for “eliminating” the office.

Across the federal government, Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are targeting programs and employees that have worked to make initiatives more inclusive of communities of color and other groups that face disproportionate health and environmental risks.

‘Scared and betrayed’ — workers are reeling from chaos at federal agencies

Federal employees face a flood of executive orders, termination notices, and a breakdown in communication.

Justine Calma, Mia Sato and 1 moreCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Can anyone stop President Musk?

A republic, if you can keep it.

Elizabeth LopattoCommentsComment Icon Bubble
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Victoria Song
These smart glasses just got FDA clearance as OTC hearing aids.

I got to try out EssilorLuxottica’s Nuance Audio glasses last month at CES 2025. They look like normal glasses, but can amplify the voice of whoever you’re speaking to while also dampening noisy environments. Plus, since it can handle prescription lenses, it’s sort of like killing two birds with one stone. Now that they’ve got FDA clearance, the glasses are set to launch in the US in Q1 this year and the first half of 2025 in Europe.

Common Side Effects’ creators see the US healthcare system as the show’s villain

Joe Bennett and Steve Hely know their new Adult Swim animated series has its finger on the pulse.

Charles Pulliam-MooreCommentsComment Icon Bubble
AI is ‘an energy hog,’ but DeepSeek could change that

DeepSeek claims to use far less energy than its competitors, but there are still big questions about what that means for the environment.

Justine CalmaCommentsComment Icon Bubble
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Dominic Preston
Pixel 9 gets a second satellite option.

According to Android Police, T-Mobile has added Google’s latest phones to its beta test of direct-to-cell satellite service powered by SpaceX’s Starlink. iPhones and a select few Samsung phones were already in the beta.

The Pixel 9 series also has Google’s own Satellite SOS, which is only designed for emergency messaging. T-Mobile’s beta adds full SMS support, with voice and data planned in the future — while Europe might get full satellite broadband this year.

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Victoria Song
Y’all really do get loud during the Super Bowl.

After studying Apple Watch noise data from the past four Super Bowl Sundays, we have quantifiable data showing that people get 1.5 to 3 decibels louder in the three hours before and after the game compared to the following Sunday. And yes, folks in game states are indeed louder than those in non-game states. Are we surprised at these findings? No, but it’s kind of fun to have data to point to.

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Emma Roth
OpenAI is putting its o1 models on Los Alamos Lab’s supercomputer.

After announcing a partnership with OpenAI last year, the US National Laboratory will now install the company’s latest reasoning models on its Nvidia-powered Venado supercomputer “to conduct national security research.”

OpenAI says it will also support the Lab’s nuclear security program, “focused on reducing the risk of nuclear war and securing nuclear materials and weapons worldwide:”

We anticipate that this engagement will lead to broader safety collaborations across a variety of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) risks... we look forward to developing future projects together to support the U.S. government and the mission of ensuring AGI benefits all of humanity.

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Thomas Ricker
Elon’s right about one thing.

Here’s the unelected government official speaking about his part-time hobby, Tesla:

“I recommend anyone who can afford it, get Tesla’s solar roof and Powerwall. Your family’s life might depend on it.”

Electrical grids are old, overtaxed, and increasingly unstable in the face of climate change. That’s why the energy independence business is booming inside Tesla (up a record 113 percent year-over-year) and from alternatives like Anker, Bluetti, EcoFlow, and Jackery which just announced its new solar roofs that mimic curved red clay tiles.

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Justine Calma
Lee Zeldin, who wants to “make America the AI capital of the world” will lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Senate confirmed his nomination today. Zeldin has been tasked by Donald Trump to “ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses.” That seems to include removing roadblocks to building energy-hungry AI data centers in the US.

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Adi Robertson
Elon Musk saying he’ll ‘bring home’ two astronauts for Trump is as dumb as it sounds.

Ars Technica explains why even as off-the-cuff maybe-trolling, Musk’s recent comments about the ISS crew put a strain on NASA. Here’s the crux:

The “stranded” astronauts on the space station probably could come home as early as next week. But if they were to do so, it would create a lot of headaches for NASA, its international partners, and probably even for Musk’s human spaceflight team at SpaceX.

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Richard Lawler
Bloomberg: iOS 18.3 added Starlink support on iPhones.

According to Bloomberg and user reports, T-Mobile’s list of eligible devices for beta testing Starlink direct-to-cell connections now includes iPhones. While only a few Samsung Galaxy devices were supported at first, now iPhone owners with the most recent update can reportedly connect, as well as some people with Android 15 devices.

That gives those owners an alternative to Apple’s Globalstar-connected service while off the grid that works without pointing their phone at the sky first.

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Justine Calma
The world is closer to “doom” than it’s ever been.

It’s 89 seconds to midnight on the Doomsday Clock. Rest assured, the clock merely “visualizes humanity’s metaphorical proximity to global catastrophe,” according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists that sets the time each year and updated it today.

They moved the clock forward this year, citing risks posed by nuclear weapons, climate change, “misuse of biological science,” and the potential use of artificial intelligence in warfare and to spread disinformation.

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Wes Davis
That’s no moon.

The Minor Planet Center (MPC), which tracks and reports minor planet discoveries, recently removed a new listing of a near-earth object after the amateur astronomer who found it realized it was just the Tesla Roadster that was stuck to a rocket that SpaceX launched in 2018, according to Astronomy Magazine.

Such misidentifications are common, the outlet writes, highlighting a growing issue of unregulated manmade stuff junking up space.

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The Verge
Victoria Song
Don’t make me tap the “noninvasive blood glucose monitoring isn’t coming for a while” sign.

Android Authority reports that Samsung may be the first to noninvasive blood glucose monitoring in the Galaxy Watch, citing comments from Samsung senior vice president Hon Park saying the tech will be a “game-changer.”

I hate to be a wet blanket but people have been working on this tech since 1975. Here’s a report I did on why this tech is taking so long and why it probably won’t look like what you expect if / when it does arrive.

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Dominic Preston
It’s hip to be square.

Doritos are changing shape for the first time. A limited number of square chips will be hidden in UK bags to promote the upcoming Minecraft movie, with a cash prize if you find one. New flavors named after the game’s Creeper and Ghast enemies are going on sale too. PepsiCo’s chief chip technician — a job title we should all aspire to — is clearly proud of his work.

A man in a factory holds a bag of square Doritos, inspecting one of the chips
Image: PepsiCo
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Justine Calma
‘Panic’ sets in for health researchers in the US.

National Institutes of Health is reportedly reeling from canceled meetings and a communications and hiring freeze under the new Trump administration.

“This kind of disruption could have long ripple effects,” Jane Liebschutz, an opioid addiction researcher at the University of Pittsburgh who posted on Bluesky about canceled study sections, tells ScienceInsider ... She and colleagues are feeling “a lot of uncertainty, fear, and panic,” Liebschutz says.

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Jess Weatherbed
Logitech globally expands its DIY repair program.

There are repair guides and replacement parts available for more than 20 Logitech devices, including keyboards, headsets, and MX / G series mice, on the iFixit-hosted Logitech Repair Hub — and now you can get them in 62 countries.

That includes the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, and across the EU, following Logitech’s iFixit partnership initially launching in the US. Repair guides are also available in multiple languages.

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Justine Calma
NASA’s climate website is ‘moving.’

It’s “going to look a little different” as it migrates to a more general science site, according to NASA. President Donald Trump has called climate change a “hoax,” and researchers have been archiving environmental data in case it starts to disappear from federal websites.

The Biden administration’s climate and economic justice screening tool, a federal website on reproductive rights, and NASA’s diversity and inclusion pages appear to be down.

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Andrew Liszewski
Swapping big camera lenses is easy when you’re not fighting gravity.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit, who has taken some of the best photos of the stars and Earth ever captured aboard the International Space Station, recently shared a video on X highlighting how easy it is to juggle and swap big camera lenses in zero gravity. Keeping dust out of lenses is still an issue, but accidentally dropping one is not.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit changes camera lenses in zero gravity aboard the International Space Station.
Juggling thousands of dollars worth of camera lenses seems a lot less stressful and complicated aboard the International Space Station, as NASA astronaut Don Pettit recently demonstrated.
GIF: Don Pettit / X