Technology

C’est l’histoire d’un garçon de 14 ans qui développe une éruption cutanée, des bouffées de chaleur et une gêne respiratoire deux heures après avoir mangé un steak de thon frais légèrement grillé, acheté dans un marché de poissons voisin. Il n’est ni intolérant ni allergique au poisson. Son père en a consommé aussi, mais en moindre quantité. Steak de Thon. PEXELS Le jeune patient est conduit aux urgences après l’échec d’un traitement par antihistaminiques oraux. Malgré la prise de corticoïdes, son état s’aggrave : perte de conscience, urticaire, respiration sifflante, chute de la tension. Une injection d’épinéphrine, une perfusion, un bronchodilatateur en nébulisation et un apport d’oxygène à haut débit sont administrés. ...

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on all things at the intersection of environment and technology, follow Justine Calma. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here.Some stories that I’ve worked on as an environmental journalist still haunt me. One of the first to get under my skin happened to be about forever chemicals.Since the 1940s, forever chemicals have been commonly used by manufacturers as a way to make things resistant to water, stains, and heat. Think food packaging, nonstick pans, water-repellant outdoor gear, and even period-proof underwear. They’re also used to make much of the tech that we’ve come to rely on; one subclass of the chemical is used in lithium-i...

It hasn’t been the greatest year for the Ford F-150 Lightning, with sales so far this year down nearly 10 percent as compared to last year. In the hopes of boosting interest in the battery-powered truck, Ford today announced a new appearance package called STX, which the company says is in direct response to customer feedback.The STX, which replaces the XLT in the Lightning lineup, comes equipped with dual motors and an extended range battery that targets an EPA-estimated 290 miles of range. It also will be no slouch on the straightaway, with 536 horsepower and 775 lb.-ft. of torque, as well as a standard rear e-locking differential.Ford also “raided the F-150 parts bin” to add a bunch of rugged features, including off-road running boards from the F-150 Tremor and new wheels and all-ter...

OpenAI is on a mission to show Hollywood that generative artificial intelligence can deliver results and is throwing its weight behind an animated feature film it hopes will stand toe-to-toe with much costlier productions, according to the Wall Street Journal.The film, called “Critterz,” is expected to hit theaters worldwide in 2026 after a planned debut at the Cannes Film Festival, the Journal reported. It will be made primarily with the company’s AI tools, including GPT-5, its flagship model that landed with a thud last month.“Critterz” is reportedly being made on a budget of less than $30 million in just nine months, fractions of what is normally required for animated features. OpenAI, alongside LA- and London-based partners Native Foreign and Vertigo Films, will be hoping the flick ...

I opened TikTok while visiting Germany last week and stumbled across a Vodafone ad being presented by a woman who probably doesn’t exist. The ad includes several “tells” that suggest the presenter was artificially created using generative AI — the unnatural style and movement of her hair, the way her moles disappear, and the uncanny valley vibe of her facial expressions — and Vodafone confirmed my suspicions in its video comments.In response to a commenter asking why Vodafone couldn’t put “a real person in front of the camera,” the company said it was “testing different styles of advertising — this time with AI,” according to machine translation of the German text. In another comment, Vodafone said that “AI is so much a part of everyday life these days that we also try it out in adverti...

Uber and one of its many robotaxi partners, Momenta, will test fully driverless cars in Germany next year. The news comes as Europe continues to lag behind the US and China in the number of commercially operational robotaxi services.The companies say they will test Level 4 autonomous vehicles in Munich starting in 2026. (Level 4 describes fully driverless vehicles, without safety drivers, that can operate anywhere within a defined geographic area.) If everything goes according to plan in Munich, Uber says that Momenta robotaxis could be coming to additional European cities in the years to come.Momenta is based in Shanghai, where it is currently operating its own robotaxi service. Earlier this year, Uber said it would allow the company to add its robotaxis to its ridehailing platform, th...

Une défense de mammouth laineux émergeant du pergélisol au centre de l’île Wrangel, située au nord-est de la Sibérie (Russie), le 17 février 2021 . LOVE DALÉN/AFP Les derniers mammouths se sont éteints il y a environ quatre mille ans, sur l’île Wrangel, à 140 kilomètres au nord des côtes extrême-orientales russes du district de Tchoukotka. Et, avec eux, un cortège de microbes dont on vient de retrouver une infime trace, une prouesse présentée le 2 septembre dans la revue Cell. Benjamin Guinet (Centre de paléogénomique et Muséum d’histoire naturelle de Stockholm) et ses collègues ont passé au tamis l’ADN prélevé sur 483 échantillons de mammouths, dont certains provenant d’un spécimen vieux de 1,1 million d’années. Ils ont pu...

Gone are the useless descriptors like “limited access” or vague statements like “we may at times have to cap the number of prompts and conversations you can have, or how much you can use some features, within a specific timeframe.” Instead it clearly states that you get up to five prompts a day with Gemini 2.5 Pro on a free account, 100 with an AI Pro plan, with AI Ultra.Free accounts are also limited to five Deep Research reports and 100 generated images a day. If you need to make more than 100 AI generated images in a day, A: For what? B: Upgrading to a Pro or Ultra account will get you 1,000 images. You can check out the full breakdown here.

General Motors is going to be scaling back production of the Cadillac Lyriq and Vistiq, as well as the Chevy Bolt EV as it expects sales of electric vehicles to slow dramatically. The $7,500 consumer tax credit for purchasing a new EV is set to expire at the end of the month. That credit has been crucial to driving demand for EVs, which are still more expensive than their gas-powered counterparts.The company is pausing production on the Lyriq and Vistiq at its Spring Hill, Tennessee plant in December. It’s also planning to halt manufacturing for a week in November and October, as well as slow production during the first five months of 2026 by temporarily laying off one of its shifts of workers. Similarly, it’s indefinitely delaying the start of a second shift at a plant near Kansas City...

The Toronto International Film Festival is almost like a preview of the movie slate for the next few months — and this year I’m watching as much as possible to give you all the scoop on what’s ahead. To do that, I’ll be writing a dispatch covering every movie I’ve seen that day, which will run daily throughout most of the festival. That includes bigger movies you probably already know about, like Netflix’s Wake Up Dead Man and Frankenstein, along with hopefully some great new films you maybe weren’t aware of, like the creepy adaptation of the horror game The Exit 8.I won’t be able to see everything, of course, but I’ll do my best to bring you the most interesting stuff — and you can keep up with everything right here.