Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

Serve Robotics is trying to get as many businesses as possible to use its cooler-shaped delivery robots — even if it means teaming up with an apparent rival.The autonomous delivery company’s latest partner is DoorDash, which is also developing its own delivery robots. On Thursday, the companies said Serve’s robots would start making deliveries for DoorDash in Los Angeles, a city where Serve already works with Uber Eats.Ultimately, the goal is to roll out the partnership across the US, the companies said.Serve, which was spun out of Uber-owned Postmates in 2021, operates delivery robots in five cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas,…

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — LeBron James will miss opening night of his record 23rd NBA season due to sciatica that will be re-evaluated in three to four weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers announced Thursday.The 40-year-old superstar will be sidelined at least until the end of October with sciatica — pain in the nerves running from the buttocks and down the back of the legs — on his right side.James has yet to participate in a full practice since the Lakers opened training camp last week, and coach JJ Redick said James was “on his own timeline” Thursday after practice.…

Design platform Figma is partnering with Google to add more AI features, the company announced on Thursday. While Figma had previously introduced AI app-building tools of its own, the new integration with Google will bring several Gemini models to the design software to address what Figma says are the “evolving needs” of product designers and their teams. With the partnership, Gemini 2.5 Flash, Gemini 2.0, and Imagen 4 will be added to Figma’s toolset, while the company maintains its relationship with Google Cloud. Gemini 2.5 Flash will be integrated into the process for editing images and Figma’s image generation capabilities,…

As AI companies mature, the fight for high-quality data has become one of the most competitive areas in the industry, launching companies like Mercor, Surge, and, most prominently, Alexandr Wang’s ScaleAI. But now that Wang has moved to run AI at Meta, many funders see an opening — and are willing to fund companies with compelling new strategies for collecting training data. The Y Combinator graduate Datacurve is one such company, focusing on high-quality data for software development. On Thursday, the company announced a $15 million Series A round, led by Mark Goldberg at Chemistry with participation from employees at…

Developing comprehensive screening for early-stage cancer is the key to saving the most lives. Although multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests are still being researched and lack FDA approval, several are commercially available for consumers who are willing to pay out of pocket. Individuals can ask their doctor to order the Galleri blood test from Grail, or they can opt for a whole-body MRI from companies like Prenuvo or Ezra, which often costs $2,000 or more. Soon, consumers will have another — and rather unique—way to screen for multiple types of cancer. SpotitEarly, a biotech company that’s part of Startup Battlefield…

Developing comprehensive screening for early-stage cancer is the key to saving the most lives. Although multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests are still being researched and lack FDA approval, several are commercially available for consumers who are willing to pay out of pocket. Individuals can ask their doctor to order the Galleri blood test from Grail, or they can opt for a whole-body MRI from companies like Prenuvo or Ezra, which often costs $2,000 or more. Soon, consumers will have another — and rather unique—way to screen for multiple types of cancer. SpotitEarly, a biotech company that’s part of Startup Battlefield…

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Reliever Tanner Scott has been removed from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ roster for the remainder of the NL Division Series after undergoing a surgical procedure.Scott was replaced by fellow left-handed reliever Justin Wrobleski, who went 5-5 with a 4.32 ERA in 22 regular-season relief appearances and two starts while holding lefties to a .194 average.Scott has not pitched in the playoffs and would be ineligible for the NL Championship Series if the Dodgers advance, but he could be restored for the World Series.The team said before Game 4 on Thursday that Scott underwent surgical removal of…

An upstart social media platform is coming for the Instagram “photo dump.”Locket first captured the attention of Gen Z users in 2022 as an alternative to platforms like Instagram and Snapchat. It pitches a more private experience with a widget that brings your closest friends’ photos directly to your smartphone.The social startup is launching a new feature called Rollcall, where users can upload a collection of photos from the week every Sunday. The photos are only viewable for seven days.”When you think about some of these bigger platforms … maybe you see a friend’s photo dump every once in a…

(Reuters) -Harvard University said on Wednesday that its graduate medical school has entered a licensing agreement with Microsoft, granting the tech company access to its consumer health content on specific diseases and wellness topics.Microsoft will pay Harvard a licensing fee, a university spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the agreement was made through Harvard Health Publishing, the consumer health division of Harvard Medical School.The agreement comes as part of the company’s broader strategy to reduce its dependence on ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news earlier in the day, said the partnership will help enhance Microsoft’s…

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota judge has upheld the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for children, in a blow to families who have had to travel out of state to obtain the medical treatments they said are crucial for their kids’ well-being.District Judge Jackson Lofgren said in his decision Wednesday that the law discriminates based on age and medical purpose, not sex, and that there’s little evidence the Legislature passed the law for “an invidious discriminatory purpose.” He also noted various concerns and ongoing debates over the medical treatments involved.“The evidence establishes there is an ongoing international debate…