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Apple has announced “Tap to Pay on iPhone”, a new update that turns its device into a payment system. Until now, most small businesses have used separate devices such as those made by Zettle, which pair with a phone and allow them to take payments on cards or phones. Now the new feature does away with the need for such additional hardware, turning the iPhone into a card reader itself. The new update is focused on small and medium businesses, Apple said, though it will also be coming to the Apple Store soon. And while the update is for those businesses that take payments, it could mean that paying for things could look very different for customers, too. It means that shops need only install a compatible app – such as those made by Stripe and Zettle – alongside an updated iPhone. That iPhone will then turn into a card reader, being able to accept not just iPhones and Apple Watches with Apple Pay, but also other digital wallets and traditional plastic payment cards. All that is needed to use the new tool is an iPhone Xs or later, that is running the latest software update. The tool will not work on other Apple hardware, such as iPads. Apple has included a range of privacy and security features into the system. Transactions are encrypted and processed using the iPhone’s Secure Element, meaning that Apple is not able to track who has purchased something or what they have bought. The system also uses a standardised payment screen, which means that users will be able to check they are being charged the right fee and that it is a legitimate transaction. Apple first unveiled Tap to Pay on iPhone in the US, early last year. There, Apple Pay and other contactless systems have less widespread adoption, though the system worked in much the same way. “We’ve seen Tap to Pay on iPhone transform the checkout experience for so many different types of businesses, and we’re thrilled to now support merchants across the U.K. by offering an easy, secure, and private way to accept contactless payments using the power, security, and convenience of iPhone, with no additional hardware needed,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. “Small and medium-sized businesses have long played a vital role in the U.K. economy, and alongside payment platforms, app developers, and payment networks, we’re making it easier than ever for U.K. businesses to seamlessly accept contactless payments and continue to grow their business.” Read More You can now download the huge new iPhone update – if you dare iPhone users urged to check their photo library amid fears they could be deleted Twitter to stop TweetDeck access for unverified users

TOKYO & CHESTERBROOK, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2023--

If there’s one thing the Covid pandemic taught us, it’s that viruses shouldn’t be underestimated. People are, therefore, taking note after scientists discovered a whole new range of giant virus-like particles (VLP) that have taken on “previously unimaginable shapes and forms.” The microscopic agents, resembling everything from stars to monsters, were found in just a few handfuls of forest soil. The sample was collected from Harvard Forest, near Boston in the US back in 2019, and flown over to Germany’s Max Planck Institute. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter There, its contents were carefully examined and, at the end of last month, the findings were finally released. The team of researchers behind the investigation said that their discoveries “question our current understanding of the virosphere” and “imply that giant viruses employ a much wider array of [...] structures and mechanisms to interact with their host cells than is currently known.” In other words, the results prove how little we actually know about the universe of viruses that exist here on Earth. They also noted that the origins and functions of the different viral structures they found remain unknown – so there’s still plenty of mystery left to solve. The team at the Max Planck Institute, led by Dr Matthias Fischer, were amazed to find “an astounding diversity of virus-like particles (VLP)," in such a small sample. "Amazingly, we found that a few hundred grams of forest soil contained a greater diversity [of the structures] than that of all hitherto isolated giant viruses combined," they wrote. These included one type that resembled a supernova: Another that the teamed named the “haircut”: Another called the “turtle” morphotype: Another christened the “Christmas star”: And another called the “Gorgon” – named after the sisters with snakes for hair from Greek mythology: To clarify, VLP are molecules that closely resemble viruses, but they differ from them in one crucial way: they are non-infectious. This is because they contain no viral genetic material. Still, as virus-host systems, they are key to better understanding their potentially noxious counterparts. “[Our] findings imply that giant viruses employ a much wider array of [...] structures and mechanisms to interact with their host cells than is currently known,” the authors wrote. They ended their paper: “This fascinating window into the complex world of soil viruses leaves little doubt that the high genetic diversity of giant viruses is matched by diverse and previously unimaginable particle structures, whose origins and functions remain to be studied.” Clearly, there’s still plenty of work to be done. 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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