A new Sentinel Agent is coming to Valorant in 2023 with the power to stop you dead in your tracks and pull you closer.

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK Elon Musk is being accused of insider trading in a proposed class action

It’s been less than a week since Instagram launched Threads, its text-based alternative to Twitter, and the team at Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta are already looking to rollout new features to improve the app – one of which could be a “hilarious” jab at Twitter owner Elon Musk if it’s implemented the right way. Released just days after the bird app was marred by outages and temporary limits on the number of tweets users could view a day, Threads has already been criticised for its lack of a Following feed (it’s currently algorithmically generated) and the absence of an alt text feature for blind and visually impaired users – amongst other issues. Now, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri has confirmed his team are looking to introduce new – and much-requested – features to the app. In a post on Threads on Tuesday, he wrote: “With so many people joining [Threads] so fast these last six days (six days!) the team has been entirely focused on keeping the lights on and fixing bugs. “But we’re starting to [prioritise] the obvious missing features, like a following feed, the edit button, and post search. “We’re clearly way out over our skis on this, but the team is pumped to start shipping improvements this week.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter However, it’s one reply to Mosseri’s post which has got users all excited at the possibility for some delicious “schadenfreude”. Writer and photographer Craig Mod suggested: “It would be hilarious if the first thing you ship is a free edit button.” Hilarious because over on Twitter, the feature is paywalled behind a subscription to Twitter Blue – the same £11 a month offer which affords users the once-coveted blue checkmark, but also the ability to upload videos up to two hours’ long, and post tweets up to 25,000 characters in length. That’s five times the character limit on Threads, just to put that into perspective. And so, the idea of Instagram embarrassing Musk once more (in addition to the 100 million users the app boasts already in six days alone) with a free edit feature has amused many other individuals who flocked to Threads from Twitter. “This idea is giving me chaotic energy and I’m here for it,” commented one. Another claimed: “This would destroy bird app [sic].” “The one thing Twitter would NOT give us for free. Yep. That is where I would start.” Not just that, but Mosseri himself has liked Mod’s tweet. So now we wait… 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.

India has ambitious plans for semiconductor manufacturing, but there are challenges along the way.

LONDON & BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 16, 2023--

A scientist has broken the world record for living underwater after spending 74 days living in a habitat 30 feet (9 metres) below a Florida lagoon. Former naval officer Dr Joseph Dituri is the first person to live that long that far underwater without depressurisation, with plans to remain in Jules’ Undersea Lodge in Key Largo until 9 June as part of a 100 day mission dubbed Project Neptune 100. The mission combines educational outreach with medical and ocean research, with scientists keen to see what impact sustained exposure to such pressure will have on the human body. One hypothesis is that the increased pressure – roughly 1.6-times that of the surface pressure – will lead to improvements in health, while also potentially having an impact on key indicators related to disease and longevity. “We know for sure that when you’re exposed to about half the pressure that I am right now, you double the number of circulating stem cells,” Dr Dituri told The Independent via video chat in April. “I will have longer telomeres – potentially reversing ageing – and I will also gain bone density and muscle when I’m down here.” Scientists also estimate he may lose around an inch in height during the mission due to the pressure exerted on his body – in the same way that astronauts grow around 3 per cent taller after spending time in the weightlessness of space. Dr Dituri’s 74th day residing in the underwater lodge was similar to previous days spent there since he submerged on 1 March. The university professor, who also goes by the moniker “Dr. Deep Sea,” ate a protein-heavy meal of eggs and salmon prepared using a microwave, exercised with resistance bands, did his daily pushups and took an hour-long nap. Unlike a submarine, the lodge does not use technology to adjust for the increased underwater pressure. The previous record of 73 days, two hours and 34 minutes was set by two Tennessee professors – Bruce Cantrell and Jessica Fain – at the same location in 2014. “The record is a small bump and I really appreciate it. I’m honoured to have it, but we still have more science to do,” Dr Dituri said. “The idea here is to populate the world’s oceans, to take care of them by living in them and really treating them well.” While he says he loves living under the ocean, there is one thing he really misses. “The thing that I miss the most about being on the surface is literally the Sun,” he said. “The sun has been a major factor in my life – I usually go to the gym at five and then I come back out and watch the sunrise.” During his time underwater, Dr Dituri also claims to have discovered a brand new species. “We found a single-cell ciliate, a single-celled organism that we believe is a brand new species to science,” Dr Dituri said. “People have dived in this area thousands and thousands of times – it’s been here, we just didn’t look.” Additional reporting from agencies Read More Woman talks to past self in ‘trippy’ conversation after feeding childhood journals to AI Nearly half of all internet traffic is now bots, study reveals ChatGPT is finally connected to the web 75% of Irish data watchdog’s GDPR decisions since 2018 overruled – report

By Shristi Achar A and Noel Randewich U.S. stocks rallied on Monday, putting the S&P 500 within striking

The Twins’ relatable personalities and their ability to connect with their followers make them a force to be reckoned with in the social media world

The best back-to-school products can help make your return to the classroom a little easier come fall.

Scientists have seen one of the mysterious “dark spots” on Neptune from Earth for the first ever time. Researchers spotted the feature using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, or VLT. Using that telescope, astronomers were able to examine a large dark spot – which was joined by a smaller, bright spot, they said, of a kind that has never seen before. Scientists still do not know why those spots form on Neptune’s blue atmosphere. But they hope that the new observations could help answer questions about their origin. “Since the first discovery of a dark spot, I’ve always wondered what these short-lived and elusive dark features are,” said Patrick Irwin, professor at the University of Oxford and lead investigator of the study. It has already helped rule out one possibility: that the dark spots are caused when the clouds on the planet clear. The observations instead suggest that the spot is formed when air particles make a layer below the main one go darker, caused by ice and haze mixing in the atmosphere. Understanding the spots has been difficult because they leave the planet’s surface as mysteriously as they arise. They have also been difficult for researchers to actually examine, given the difficulty of spotting them through telescopes. Previously, scientists were forced to send spacecraft to see the spots, and the first was observed in 1989, when Nasa’s Voyager 2 flew past. It disappeared a few years later. In recent years, scientists have been able to examine them with the Hubble Space Telescope, which has seen more spots on the atmosphere. When it did so, astronomers were able to point ground-based telescopes towards them, allowing for more detailed research. “This is an astounding increase in humanity’s ability to observe the cosmos,” said Michael Wong, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley and a co-author on the paper. “At first, we could only detect these spots by sending a spacecraft there, like Voyager. “Then we gained the ability to make them out remotely with Hubble. Finally, technology has advanced to enable this from the ground.” The new observations allowed scientists to examine the spot using the VLT’s Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, which let them split the light from Neptune and the spot into its component colours. That in turn means that astronomers can understand the height at which the spot sits, and how the atmosphere is composed. As well as helping examine the dark spots, scientists also saw a surprise result: another, entirely new kind of bright spot. “In the process we discovered a rare deep bright cloud type that had never been identified before, even from space,” said Wong. The work is described in a new paper, ‘Cloud structure of dark spots and storms in Neptune’s atmosphere’, published in Nature Astronomy. Read More Mysterious dark spot on Neptune detected from Earth for the first time We just received the first ever pictures taken near the Moon’s uncharted south pole Chandrayaan-3 mission rover exits Moon lander to explore lunar south pole Mysterious dark spot on Neptune detected from Earth for the first time We just received the first ever pictures taken near the Moon’s uncharted south pole Chandrayaan-3 mission rover exits Moon lander to explore lunar south pole

Tinder has introduced a feature that allows friends and family to take full control of your dating life – well, kind of. Dating debriefs with friends are a given with 75 per cent of singles admitting to discussing their dating life several times a month. Now, with Tinder Matchmaker, the platform is giving your nearest and dearest a say in the matter by allowing them to take over your profile and check out hopeful potentials. It works by inviting others, regardless of whether they have a Tinder profile or not, to view and suggest dates. But ultimately, the main user has the final say. "For years, singles have asked their friends to help find their next match on Tinder, and now we're making that so easy with Tinder Matchmaker," Melissa Hobley, Chief Marketing Officer at Tinder said. She continued: "Tinder Matchmaker brings your circle of trust into your dating journey and helps you see the possibilities you might be overlooking from the perspective of those closest to you." The popular dating app has partnered with rapper Coi Leray to bring the feature to life. "Handing your phone over to the friend group was the original vibe check. Obviously you want your friends to like whoever you’re crushing on, and Tinder Matchmaker is a fun way to get the bestie seal of approval even before the match," the 'Players' rapper said. Intrigued? Here's how to try out Tinder Matchmaker for yourself: A Tinder Matchmaker session can be started directly from a profile card, or within app settings. Users can share their unique link with up to 15 friends in a 24 hour period. After following the link, the matchmaker can either log in to Tinder or continue as a guest (after completing an age verification prompt and agreeing to Tinder’s terms as outlined). Matchmakers have 24 hours to play cupid before the session expires, where they can recommend profiles for the Tinder user but won’t be able to chat or send messages on their behalf. Once the session expires, Tinder users will have the opportunity to review the profiles their matchmakers’ Like for them. Profiles that received a Like from a matchmaker will be marked as a “recommendation” (profiles sent a Nope won’t change). The Tinder user still makes the final call on who to Like - but now knows who their friends are rooting for. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up for 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.

Students at the Oregon State University were warned to “avoid all robots” following a bomb threat prank involving automated food delivery machines on campus. The threat was made by a student on Tuesday via social media, causing university staff to issue the urgent warning. “Bomb Threat in Starship food delivery robots. Do not open robots. Avoid all robots until further notice. Public Safety is responding,” the institute wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. The university later provided several updates on the unfolding situation, saying that the robots had been isolated in a “safe location” before being inspected by a technician. Students were advised to “remain vigilant for suspicious activity”. The emergency was declared over just before 2pm local time with “normal activities” resuming. “All robots have been inspected and cleared. They will be back in service by 4pm today,” the university later wrote online. Starship, the company that designs the robots, said that despite the student’s subsequent admission that the bomb threat had been “a joke”, it had suspended the service while investigations were ongoing. In its own statement, the company wrote: “A student at Oregon State University sent a bomb threat, via social media, that involved Starship’s robots on the campus. “While the student has subsequently stated this is a joke and a prank, Starship suspended the service. “Safety is of the utmost importance to Starship and we are cooperating with law enforcement and the university during this investigation.” Read More University of Michigan slithers toward history with massive acquisition of jarred snake specimens Trump boasts that he ‘killed’ Tom Emmer’s speaker bid ‘Bandaid on an open chest wound’: Democrats mock latest speaker chaos