(Reuters) -Shutterstock Inc said on Tuesday it would buy animated-images platform Giphy Inc from Meta Platforms Inc for $53 million

Google is trialling artificial intelligence (AI) in Manchester’s traffic light system to reduce stop-and-go emissions and improve the flow of vehicles. The technology giant announced the UK launch of its Project Green Light on Tuesday, working alongside Transport for Great Manchester (TfGM) to run the pilot. It coincides with Google hosting a major sustainability event in Brussels, where the firm will outline the innovations it has been working on across high-emission industries like transport and energy, including how it is using AI for climate solutions. The company said it found that half of emissions at traffic intersections come from vehicles stopping and starting. To help reduce these emissions, Google’s Green Light research initiative uses AI as well as driving trends from Google Maps to model traffic patterns and make recommendations for making the existing traffic light plans more efficient. Google said city engineers can implement these plans in as little as five minutes using existing infrastructure. The Green Light programme is live at 70 junctions across 12 cities, including Haifa in Israel, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Bangalore in India. Early data from those cities indicate a potential for up to 30% reduction in stops and up to 10% reduction in emissions at junctions, Google said. Manchester, the first UK city to host the pilot, has around 2,400 traffic signals and sees millions of journeys each week. Debbie Weinstein, Google UK managing director and vice president, said: “AI is the most profound technology that we’re working on today, with the potential to boost the UK’s productivity and support net zero ambitions. “That’s why we’re excited to be partnering with Transport for Greater Manchester to pilot Project Green Light here in the UK. Our aim is to make the network run as efficiently as possible and we look forward to seeing how we can use what we’ve learnt from this pilot to improve journey times for all road users David Atkin, Traffic for Greater Manchester “Already, this early stage AI-powered tool uses existing infrastructure to provide city planners with a cost-effective and efficient way to improve traffic flow, reduce stop-and-go traffic and cut emissions. “We look forward to partnering with more organisations across the country to help drive innovative solutions that unlock the benefits of AI.” David Atkin, TfGM’s analysis and reporting manager, said Greater Manchester’s road network is “complex”, adding that the needs of motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and public transport users need to be balanced. “With traffic levels now at or beyond pre-pandemic levels, we are working really hard to tackle congestion and are delighted to be amongst the first areas in the world – and the first in the UK – to work with Google on the innovative Green Light initiative,” he said. “The pilot provided valuable insights and teams from both Green Light and TfGM brought expertise and ideas to the table to improve journeys by up to 18% and reduce emissions. “Our aim is to make the network run as efficiently as possible and we look forward to seeing how we can use what we’ve learnt from this pilot to improve journey times for all road users.” Read More Broadband customers face £150 hikes because of ‘outrageous’ rises – Which? Rise of AI chatbots ‘worrying’ after man urged to kill Queen, psychologist warns William hails ‘amazing’ eco-friendly start-up businesses Royal website subject to ‘denial of service attack’, royal source says TikTok finds and shuts down secret operation to stir up conflict in Ireland Viral WhatsApp warning of cyberattack targeting Jewish people is fake

Apple plans to overhaul almost all of its AirPods next year, according to a major new report. The standard version of the AirPods earphones will be replaced with two new options, and the long-neglected AirPods Max headphones will finally get an update, according to a new report from Bloomberg. At the moment, Apple offers two versions of its basic AirPods, alongside the higher-end AirPods Pro and larger AirPods Max. The cheaper AirPods are known as the second generation and include most AirPods features, but the ones known as third-generation are more expensive and add water resistance, personalised spatial audio and other features. Those newer, third-generation AirPods are selling less well than Apple had expected, according to the new report. Apple believes that is because more customers are opting to buy the cheaper, older second-generation version, Bloomberg said. Instead of offering those various options, Apple will take all the existing AirPods off sale and replace them with two new AirPods that will go on sale at the same time, the report said. The higher-end option would get some AirPods Pro features such as noise cancellation and speakers inside the case to make it easier to find. The two new generations would also continue Apple’s move towards USB-C charging. Last month, Apple updated the AirPods to drop support for the Lightning cable and include the standard, which came alongside the same change in the iPhone line-up. Both of the new sets of AirPods are expected to be released next year. The last AirPods update came in October 2021, when the third-generation was released. Apple will also update the expensive, over-ear AirPods Max headphones next year, the report claimed. Those headphones have gone without any changes since they were first introduced in 2020, which means they do not have access to Apple’s newer wireless technologies and still use the old Lightning cable to charge. The AirPods Pro will get their own redesign in 2025, the report said. It gave no indication of what would change about the earphones, which were updated to get USB-C last month. Read More Apple TV+ and other subscriptions are about to get a lot more expensive The Apple Watch feature everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived What to expect Apple’s surprise, spooky upcoming launch

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If you found water that was more than two billion years old, would your first instinct be to drink it? One scientist did exactly that after finding the oldest water ever discovered on the planet. A team from the University of Toronto, led by Professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar, came across an incredible find while studying a Canadian mine in 2016. Tests showed that the water source they unearthed was between 1.5 billion and 2.64 billion years old. Given that it was completely isolated, it marked the oldest ever found on Earth. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Remarkably, the tests also uncovered that there was once life present in the water. Speaking to BBC News, professor Sherwood Lollar said: “When people think about this water they assume it must be some tiny amount of water trapped within the rock. “But in fact it’s very much bubbling right up out at you. These things are flowing at rates of litres per minute – the volume of the water is much larger than anyone anticipated.” Discussing the presence of life in the water, Sherwood Lollar added: “By looking at the sulphate in the water, we were able to see a fingerprint that’s indicative of the presence of life. And we were able to indicate that the signal we are seeing in the fluids has to have been produced by microbiology - and most importantly has to have been produced over a very long time scale. “The microbes that produced this signature couldn’t have done it overnight. This has to be an indication that organisms have been present in these fluids on a geological timescale.” The professor also revealed that she tried the water for herself – but how did it taste? “If you’re a geologist who works with rocks, you’ve probably licked a lot of rocks,” Sherwood Lollar told CNN. She revealed that the water was "very salty and bitter" and "much saltier than seawater." 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.