TikTok is stepping up efforts to counter misinformation, incitement to violence and hate relating to the Israel-Hamas war on its online platform, it announced Sunday, days after the European Union (EU) warned social media companies they risked falling foul of the bloc's content moderation laws.

California’s insurance commissioner announced a new regulatory plan on Thursday that would allow insurers to factor future climate

Skincare brand Bioré and content creator Cecilee Max-Brown have come under fire after posting a branded TikTok that spoke about school shootings. Max-Brown posted a now deleted TikTok to her account last week in collaboration with Bioré for their pore strips. The TikTok was created for mental health awareness month, with Bioré asking creators and consumers to share what they are ‘stripping away’. In the TikTok, Max-Brown spoke about her experience of surviving a school shooting and told viewers that in collaboration with Bioré she was ‘stripping away’ anxiety. ‘We want you to get it all out,’ referring to Bioré’s mental health campaign, she adds: ‘not only what’s in your pores but most importantly what’s on your mind too.’ Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The content creator and model then went onto explain that she’s be struggling with her anxiety ‘after seeing the effects of gun violence first hand.’ At the end of the video she says: ‘Join me and Bioré skincare in speaking up about mental health.’ The TikTok was accompanied by various videos of Max-Brown applying skincare products, taking walks, and journaling and more. Viewers were shocked to see something so serious and sensitive as a school shooting spoken about in the context of a paid partnership video for skincare. Despite the original TikTok being taken down, users have re uploaded it, with people leaving comments such as ‘is this real?’ ‘This is disgusting!’ ‘WHAT?!’ ‘Capitalism wild…’ and more. Some also took to Twitter to express their disapproval of the advertisement choices made. In response to the backlash, both Bioré and Max-Brown have issued statements regarding the advert. Bioré said that they were ‘so sorry’ for the TikTok, in a statement posted to Instagram. They wrote ‘we did it the wrong way. We lacked sensitivity around an incredibly serious tragedy, and our tonality was completely inappropriate.’ They added: ‘We are committed to continuing our mental health mission, but we promise to do it in a better way.’ Max-Brown issued her own statement on TikTok, writing ‘I am so sorry about this partnership video. This was strictly meant to spread awareness about the struggles that I have had with anxiety since our school shooting.’ She added, ‘I did not mean to desensitise the traumatic event that took place.’ @cecileemax Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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Astronauts have never truly been alone. In 1988, on board the Russian space station Mir, the crew noticed something had blanketed one of their windows – from the outside. Whatever it was had even begun to infiltrate its way into the station, slowly destroying the window's titanium-quartz surface. The blanket was eventually revealed to be fungi that had managed to hitch a ride into space by clinging onto the astronauts themselves, Space.com reports. Amazingly, the fungi had managed to adapt to the space environment, surviving and thriving on windows, control panels, and air conditioners. The on board the space station even had their food and water contaminated. Although this was the first instance of a hijacker damaging the space station, it wasn't the last. Many space-borne fungi remain dormant during launch, until "activating" and reproducing to form thick, living mats on various regions in the space station. The fungi can threaten the health of those on board as well as damage electronics and plumbing. Since the 1988 incident, there have been numerous attempts to establish robust cleaning routines for scrubbing the fungi off walls and equipment, in an attempt to prevent the organisms from causing serious issues. Despite the concern surrounding the risks, scientists are trying to take advantage of the fungi's abilities. One team associated with the European Space Agency (ESA) recently conducted hypergravity experiments on fungi to better understand how these organisms survive effortlessly in the harsh environment of space. If these mechanisms are understood, fungi may be able to be used to build off-world settlements and be incorporated into off-world medications. In 2016, researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California launched fungi into space for the first time on board the International Space Station. The team studied how the ISS environment caused the species to create certain molecules it doesn't produce on Earth. "We are never going to be able to get rid of fungi entirely as we venture into space, so we need to understand them," André Antunes, a researcher who is part of the recent ESA study, said in a statement published on Monday. In addition, they offer positive opportunities as well as risks. Down on Earth fungi are employed to make food - such as yeast for fermentation - as well as medicines, chemical enzymes for industry as well as metal nanoparticles used in numerous fields. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2023--

Mark Zuckerberg has revealed the new Meta Quest 3, just days ahead of the widely-expected launch of Apple’s own virtual reality headset. The new version of the Quest has higher resolution graphics, better performance and a slimmer and more comfortable design, Meta claimed. The new version of the headset will release later this year, Meta said, and much was left unannounced about the new headset, including the full details of the chip that will power it. Mr Zuckerberg suggested that more details about the new headset would be revealed at Meta’s “Connect” conference, on 27 September. While Meta and Mr Zuckerberg did not address the widespread rumours that Apple would launch its own headset, the reveal looks to have been scheduled to attempt to beat the reveal of that product. Apple will hold its Worldwide Developers Conference event on Monday, during which it is expected to release its own headset to the world. Like the new Meta Quest 3, Apple’s headset is expected to focus on graphics and a comfortable design, aimed at uses in both gaming and social features. Meta has long been looking to position virtual and augmented reality as the future for years, even renaming the company from Facebook to Meta in an attempt to shift focus onto its work in what it calls the metaverse. But it said that the new headset was the first that could allow for both “cutting-edge VR and MR experiences in a single device”, meaning that users can both inhabit entirely virtual worlds as well as put virtual objects into the real world. ““Ultimately, our vision is to enable you to move through all realities in a way that’s intuitive and delightful, going beyond the rigid classifications of ‘virtual reality’ and ‘mixed reality’ to deliver truly next-gen experiences that let you effortlessly blend the physical and virtual worlds,” said Mark Rankin, Meta’s vice president of virtual reality. “Meta Reality gives you both the deep, immersive magic of VR and the freedom and delight of making your physical world more fun and useful with MR. We’re excited to see what developers and creators can build on the Quest Platform when the possibilities are limitless.” The Meta Quest 3 will cost $499.99 USD for the 128GB option, with the option to pay for more storage space. The Meta Quest 2 will also receive a reduction in price, and it and the Quest Pro will receive software updates that Meta said should improve the performance of that headset. The Quest 2 and Quest Pro will stay in Meta’s line up, and will continue to get software updates, Meta said. “While Quest 3 sets a new standard for mixed reality, immersive gaming, and what a mainstream VR headset can be, Quest 2 remains our most affordable entry point to VR and Pro is optimized for work use cases, with face and eye tracking for more authentic self-expression in meetings,” it wrote in its announcement. Read More Meta Ireland to cut about 490 jobs AI chatbot taken down after it gives ‘harmful advice’ on eating disorders Famous torrent site RARBG shuts down with final parting message

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A startup in China is set to begin production of ultra-efficient solar panels that are made from the so-called “miracle material” perovskite. The next-generation solar cells will be manufactured at half the cost of traditional silicon cells, with 50 per cent greater efficiency, according to researchers from Nanjing University who made the design breakthrough that made mass production possible. “The raw materials for making perovskite cells are cheap and abundant, making the production costs of these cells just one 20th of traditional solar cells,” Professor Tan Hairen from Nanjing University, told state media. “Moreover, they are easier to produce and can be made in a single factory. Even with other items added, the overall cost of production is only half of that of traditional silicon cells.” Professor Tan has created a startup called Renshine Solar to move forward with commercialisation of the technology, and has already signed a government deal to build a production line in Jiangsu province this summer. The factory is expected to achieve a capacity of 150 megawatts by September, according to the South China Morning Post, with the perovskite solar panels built for use on roofs, walls, or placed on electric cars to improve their range. The perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are capable of retaining over 90 per cent of their initial performance after 600 hours of continuous operation, the team noted, making them suitable for commercial use. The researchers said the next-generation solar cells could also be used in applications ranging from building-integrated panels to space-based electricity generation. “With their lower fabrication cost, low-temperature solution processability, roll-to-roll manufacturing, and wide-bandgap tunability, PSCs have the potential to become the candidate of choice for high-efficiency tandem solar cells,” they wrote in a study detailing the new design that will enter production. “Considering the rapid progress in photovoltaic performance, PSCs have been considered to be ideal candidates for integrating with other systems to realise new innovative technologies.” The study, titled ‘Next-generation applications for integrated perovskite solar cells’, was published in the scientific journal Nature. Its publication comes just one month after a South Korean firm announced that it was aiming to commercialise tandem perovskite solar cells following a $100 million investment to fund a pilot production line next year. Read More Scientists break world record for solar power window material Electric cars could save more than 100,000 lives, study claims Solar trees offer unique solution to charging electric cars College students who cut social media use have less anxiety