Ars Technica

US senators from Oregon, California, Nevada, Minnesota, and New Hampshire wrote to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to inquire about actions against prediction markets allowing bets on wildfires. The letter criticizes platforms like Polymarket and an unnamed site offering simulated bets on California wildfires, arguing such markets prioritize profit over community suffering.

The Link satellite, designed to rescue NASA's Swift gamma-ray observatory, experienced a loss of control due to spinning on multiple axes and failed reaction wheels. Engineers are addressing issues with cold gas thrusters to stabilize the spacecraft, which was contracted by NASA to boost Swift's orbit.

Scientists have identified evidence of a third ancient lineage, referred to as a 'ghost lineage,' that interbred with modern humans in Africa before they migrated out of the continent. This lineage, distinct from Neanderthals and Denisovans, left traces in human DNA detected through advanced analytical techniques, though no physical remains of this group have been discovered yet.

Range Rover is introducing the Range Rover GT, a new model that is not an SUV, tested at Nürburgring and the Arctic Circle. The GT is not an all-electric replacement for the Range Rover Velar as previously speculated, and the company has not yet revealed an uncamouflaged version.

India's first privately-developed rocket, Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1, successfully reached orbit on its debut launch from Sriharikota Island. The 72-foot rocket placed payloads into a 280-mile-high orbit after resolving a last-minute technical delay, marking a 'grand success' for Indian space officials.

Mosquito ranges are expanding due to climate change, leading to new species like the Asian tiger mosquito in areas such as New England. These mosquitoes can transmit diseases like dengue and Zika, prompting monitoring programs in regions like Connecticut.

SpaceX is focusing on developing orbital data centers through a constellation of 1 million satellites to generate 120 GW, powering up to 100 million frontier-class GPUs. Elon Musk and Ian Dahl revealed details in June about the AI1 satellite, the first iteration of this project.

The article explores why Polynesians began settling distant islands across the Pacific after 1,700 years of stability, linking this to both the plot of the Moana movie and archaeological research. New climate evidence is suggested as a potential explanation for this sudden shift in maritime exploration.

WD 1856 b, a Jupiter-size planet, orbits a white dwarf—the remnant of a Sun-like star that has passed through a red-giant phase. Discovered accidentally by the TESS observatory in 2020, it is the only confirmed case of a planet surviving its star's death. The James Webb Space Telescope recently studied the system, revealing further mysteries about this unusual planetary system.

The federal government is revising public lands grazing regulations to increase livestock numbers on 155 million acres in the West, despite environmental concerns and criticism that the current system subsidizes wealthy ranchers. The Bureau of Land Management’s proposed changes, the first since 1995, would expand grazing despite expert warnings about overgrazing’s harmful effects on public lands.

Quantum error correction can dynamically recalibrate processors by using error correction data, addressing calibration challenges in superconducting qubit hardware. Google has developed this method to mitigate drift issues during complex quantum computations.

Increased drone surveillance during Fourth of July celebrations led to a $100,000 fine in Sacramento, California. The Sacramento Fire Department used drones to identify locations responsible for illegal fireworks, part of a national trend of using drone technology to deter such activities.

China recovered its first reusable orbital-class rocket booster in the South China Sea using a novel four-legged frame and grid-cable capture method. The Long March 10B rocket launched from Hainan Island, with the booster descending 10 minutes later while the upper stage deployed a payload named CX-26.

Hackers can exploit prompt injection vulnerabilities in 9 popular AI tools to create massive botnets. Large language models (LLMs) cannot distinguish between legitimate and malicious commands, allowing attackers to inject harmful instructions into emails or source code. Current 'push' attacks target individuals but are limited in scale due to the need to send injections directly to victims.

Michigan is experiencing a rapid outbreak of a diarrhea-causing intestinal parasite, with over 700 cases reported since June 22 and 36 hospitalizations as of July 6. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported a significant increase from 170 cases on June 30 to 572 by July 4.

Bentley is introducing its first electric vehicle, the Torcal, named after El Torcal de Antequera, a Spanish limestone rock formation. The name also references the Latin 'torquere,' hinting at the vehicle's electrified powertrain and torque capabilities. Previous speculation linked the name to Woolf Barnato, a pre-war Bentley racing success.

The Trump administration is proposing to weaken safety rules for industrial chemicals, coinciding with a rise in chemical accidents. Physicist Ronald Koopman's 1980s research on hydrofluoric acid highlighted risks that are now resurfacing as regulations face rollback.

Geologists debate how Earth's continents formed, with some arguing that an intense asteroid bombardment 4 billion years ago melted the early crust, enabling buoyant continental crust. The oldest continental rocks date to 4.03 billion years ago, but evidence from Earth's first 500 million years is scarce.

Chrissi Kelly lost her sense of smell 14 years ago after a virus, leading to a diagnosis of anosmia. Researchers estimate 22% of the population experiences smell impairments like hyposmia or anosmia, while conditions such as phantosmia and parosmia are poorly understood and underdiagnosed.

NASA’s Perseverance rover detected complex macromolecular carbon on the surface of a Martian rock in Jezero Crater’s Neretva Vallis. The discovery, made using the SHERLOC instrument, marks the shallowest detection of organic matter on Mars to date, though its origin remains unclear.