Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government proposed new rules for the nation’s transplant system Wednesday that aim to increase use of less-than-perfect organs and set additional safety standards for donor groups.The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said the proposal would strengthen its oversight of organ procurement organizations or OPOs, groups that retrieve organs from deceased donors.More than 100,000 people are on the U.S. transplant list, the vast majority seeking a kidney, and thousands will die waiting for a new organ. Wednesday’s move is part of an ongoing overhaul of the complex transplant system that began during the first Trump administration.But…
Last year, a swarm of AI browsers from companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, Opera, and The Browser Company launched with the aim to replace Chrome with features like sidebar assistants and automated tasks. Now Google is flexing its own AI muscle by adding similar features to Chrome, the world’s largest browser by market share. While Google had introduced Gemini to Chrome last September, the assistant lived in a floating window. With this update, the company will put its AI helper into a persistent sidebar, so you can ask questions about the current website or other open tabs. One interesting feature Google…
Many in the industry think the winners of the AI model market have already been decided: Big Tech will own it (Google, Meta, Microsoft, a bit of Amazon) along with their model makers of choice, largely OpenAI and Anthropic. But tiny 30-person startup Arcee AI disagrees. The company just released a truly and permanently open (Apache license) general-purpose, foundation model called Trinity, and Arcee claims that at 400B parameters, it is among the largest open source foundation models ever trained and released by a U.S. company. Arcee says Trinity compares to Meta’s Llama 4 Maverick 400B, and Z.ai’s GLM-4.5, a…
Jan 28 (Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released its plan to determine safe levels of fluoride in drinking water and is seeking public comment until February 27.The EPA could then use this information to revise the existing fluoride drinking water standard under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the agency said.The issue is a priority for fluoride critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who heads the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and has called fluoride “an industrial waste.”Fluoride strengthens tooth enamel and promotes dental health. Here is what you need to know about fluoridation of drinking water…
Generative AI apps that can create photos, videos, songs, and more are growing in popularity. But with the release of Apple’s new Creator Studio Pro suite, available to the public on Wednesday, the tech giant has approached the addition of AI as a tool that aids in the creator process but doesn’t attempt to replace it. Instead, Apple lays out a vision that suggests the productivity suite of the future is the one that focuses on the needs of creators — whether that’s filmmakers, musicians, artists, or anyone else enmeshed in a creative industry of some kind — and empowers…
As AI tools have democratized software engineering, a new generation of users have emerged, eager to build their own apps. But just as LLMs speed up the coding process, the old problems of hosting, security, and general DevOps problems have persisted. There’s an obvious business opportunity in solving that problem, but with the system changing so quickly, it’s hard to know how to grab hold of it. One of the more interesting answers comes from Modelence, a Y Combinator startup from this summer’s batch that announced on Wednesday it raised a $3 million seed round. Y Combinator led the round,…
Amazon started notifying impacted employees on Wednesday morning as part of its plan to cut 16,000 corporate jobs, according to messages from affected employees shared with Business Insider.Employees in the US, UK, and India received emails from Amazon HR chief Beth Galetti stating they will continue to receive full pay and benefits for 90 days.”I have some important, but difficult, news to share with you,” the email states. “After a thorough review of our organization, our priorities, and what we need to focus on going forward, we’ve made the hard business decision to eliminate some roles across Amazon. Unfortunately, your…
The plus-one passes at 50% off are almost sold out. Now the clock is really ticking. In just 3 days, the best deal at the lowest ticket prices for TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 disappear. With demand already surging and early inventory moving fast, this is the final window to lock in record-low pricing and secure a plus-one for half the price while limited passes remain. If Disrupt has been on your must-attend list, now is the time to save up to $680 on your pass and bring a plus-one at 50% off. This pricing ends January 30, 11:59 p.m. PT, or the moment the remaining plus-one passes sell out. No extensions. No exceptions. Register…
One way to track the speed of the AI boom is to follow the hardware supply chain. Nvidia is the classic example: As AI companies build out data centers, they’re buying up billions of dollars of GPUs each month, turning Nvidia into the most valuable company on earth. But Nvidia has suppliers too, and looking at them can give us an even longer-term view of the market. That’s why we care about ASML, a Dutch photolithography company that has become a key linchpin for the semiconductor industry. ASML is the sole supplier of the EUV equipment needed to make cutting-edge…
Founders don’t scale alone. They scale by learning from peers, building at the same pace, connecting with those who have already been there, and meeting investors aligned with what they’re building. On June 23 in Boston, TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 brings together 1,100 founders and investors for a day focused entirely on growth, execution, and real-world scaling. Tickets are now live at the lowest price of the year. This is TechCrunch’s flagship founder conference, built for founders first. The focus is on peer connection, honest conversations, and practical, expert-led insight, with opportunities to connect with investors aligned with founders’ innovation. Super Early Bird pricing is available now. Save up to…