Science and Tech

The US government says it is considering whether to ask a judge to break up search engine giant Google, in a move that could reshape how technology giants do business. The Department of Justice (DoJ) says the measures may include “structural requirements” to prevent Google from maintaining its internet search “monopoly”. In response, Google warned that the proposed changes could …

Brazil’s Supreme Court has said it is lifting a ban on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. In his decision, Justice Alexandre de Moraes said that he authorised the “immediate return” of X’s activities in the country after it paid hefty fines and blocked accounts accused of spreading misinformation. According to a statement, the site has paid …

EBay will clamp down on the sale of e-bikes and e-bike batteries in the UK from 31 October, the BBC has learned. The firm says that only “eligible business sellers” will be allowed to list them after this date. It did not explain what the necessary criteria would be. E-bikes, which have electrically-assisted pedals and are battery-powered, have soared in …

Getty Images More than a dozen states in the US have sued TikTok, accusing the social media platform of helping to drive a mental health crisis among teenagers. A bipartisan group of 14 attorneys general from across the country allege that the company uses addictive features to hook children to the app and that it has intentionally misled the public …

A US teenager is the first known person to get classic video game Tetris to reset to level 0 after beating it. Michael Artiaga, 16, claimed the historic moment of so-called “rebirth” while livestreaming himself playing Nintendo’s version of the game on Twitch on Sunday. It took him 82 minutes to successfully clear level 255 on Tetris – the game’s …

Getty Images The announcement was made in Stockholm, Sweden The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to two scientists, Geoffrey Hinton and John Hopfield, for their work on machine learning. British-Canadian Professor Hinton is sometimes referred to as the “Godfather of AI” and said he was flabbergasted. He resigned from Google in 2023, and has warned about the dangers …

A US federal judge has ruled that Google must allow Android apps made by rival technology firms onto its Google Play app store for three years starting next month. The change was among several remedies ordered by Judge James Donato in a case brought against Google by Epic Games, the maker of the hit video game Fortnite. Google says it …

Panaseer Dr Leila Powell brought her scientific method from astrophysics to cyber-security How do galaxies form? What happens when they collide? These are the kinds of questions Dr Leila Powell grappled with in her previous life as an astrophysicist. But in 2015 she put those galactic-sized questions to one side and moved into cyber-security. “The pursuit of understanding the universe …

Getty Images People waiting for an Uber should be patient enough to wait a few minutes longer for an electric car, the boss of the ride-hailing firm has said. “A couple of minutes isn’t going to kill anyone,” Dara Khosrowshahi told the BBC in an interview. Uber is rolling out new options to encourage customers to choose electric rides, but …

Reuters Creditors of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX are poised to receive up to $16.5bn (£12.6bn) under a bankruptcy plan approved in the US on Monday. The agreement will put an end to a saga that started when the firm went bankrupt in November 2022, leaving millions of customers around the world without access to their accounts. Last year, former …