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NASA just announced that its Perseverance rover recently found some promising signs of ancient life on Mars. The rover obtained a sample of rock formed billions of years ago from sediment and there are biomarkers indicating the potential presence of microbes once upon a time.

Basically, the rocks contain minerals that typically form as a result of a chemical reaction between mud and organic matter. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Mars once had life, as the minerals can form due to nonbiological processors. However, it’s certainly one of the best pieces of evidence we have to point toward our neighbor planet once housing life of some kind.

“On Earth, reactions like these, which combine organic matter and chemical compounds in mud to form new minerals like vivianite and greigite, are often driven by the activity of microbes,” said Stony Brook University planetary scientist Joel Hurowitz, who led the study published in the journal Nature. “The microbes are consuming the organic matter in these settings and producing these new minerals as a byproduct of their metabolism.”

Hurowitz does caution that this is just a potential biosignature and not actual proof of ancient life. Many scientists believe, however, that Mars wasn’t always quite as inhospitable as it is today.

The planet likely held plenty of water in its distant past. Researchers suggest that the area in which Persevere found these samples was once a river valley that led to a lake, though this was more than 3.5 billion years ago.

The samples were collected last year, but researchers needed time for analysis. Perseverance has been roaming around the Martian surface since 2021. The six-wheeled rover has been collecting rock samples and regolith, using its onboard instruments for this analysis. This is also just the beginning of the research required here.

“Ultimately, follow-on research will provide us with a suite of testable hypotheses for how to determine whether biology is responsible for the generation of these features,” Hurowitz added.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasas-perseverance-rover-finds-potential-signs-of-ancient-life-on-mars-173457976.html?src=rss 

Amazon’s Zoox has announced that its robotaxi service is now available on and around the Las Vegas Strip after months of testing. The autonomous rides are free and can be booked through the Zoox app for iOS and Android devices. This is the company’s first official service launch after Amazon acquired the self-driving startup in 2020.

The Las Vegas service will operate at select pickup and drop-off locations along the Strip, and riders will enter and exit the vehicles at each destination’s ride-hail zone. Though the company didn’t provide an exhaustive list of locations, Resorts World Las Vegas and AREA15 are official partner destinations. They will both feature dedicated areas just for Zoox riders, with an on-site concierge service to walk riders through the app and answer questions.

The company’s autonomous vehicle is an odd duck, with two bench-like seats facing each other and no steering wheel. (Tesla is working on a similar “Cybercab” with no steering wheel or pedals, which is supposed to go into production before 2027.) Its self-driving tech bears more similarity to existing vehicles though, with cameras, lidar, radar and long-wave infrared sensors.

Competition in the robotaxi market has been heating up as existing players continue expanding into new markets and newer players join the space. Waymo now operates in five cities with a goal of 10 by the end of 2025.

The launch of self-driving taxis hasn’t been without incident though. Zoox issued a software recall in May after one of its vehicles collided with a passenger vehicle in Las Vegas. In another instance one of its taxis kept moving after a scooter-riding pedestrian ran into it. Waymo has issued a number of recalls, and was the subject of a NHTSA probe. Earlier this summer, a Tesla robotaxi made light contact with the tire of another parked vehicle before stopping. Most famously, one of Cruise’s robotaxis pinned a pedestrian under its wheels, eventually leading to the program being shuttered.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/amazons-zoox-launches-its-autonomous-robotaxi-service-153750246.html?src=rss 

Vimeo is set to get a new owner. Bending Spoons — the parent of Evernote, WeTransfer, Meetup and fellow video streaming platform Brightcove — plans to take the company into private ownership in an all-cash, $1.38 billion deal. Stockholders will receive $7.85 per share, quite a bit more than the $4.82 Vimeo closed at on Tuesday (the price jumped significantly after the announcement, of course). 

Vimeo’s directors unanimously approved the takeover. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the calendar year, pending shareholder approval, closing conditions and regulatory approval. 

Once seen as a competitor to YouTube, Vimeo has shifted focus over the two decades it’s been around. It used to be a go-to hosting option for filmmakers, but these days it’s more oriented toward business users. Vimeo does not permit content scraping or generative AI models to train on any video it hosts without the uploader’s permission, perhaps making it an enticing video-hosting service for enterprise users. More recently, Vimeo started bringing back its TV apps, two years after killing those off in an ill-advised move.

Bending Spoons, meanwhile, has a track record of gutting the companies it takes over. It bought Evernote in 2022 and laid off most of the note-taking service’s workers the following year. Bending Spoons bought WeTransfer last year and a few weeks later, it announced plans to fire three-quarters of the file-sharing platform’s staff.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/evernote-and-wetransfer-owner-bending-spoons-is-set-to-buy-vimeo-for-138-billion-155602681.html?src=rss 

The Rode Wireless Go III wireless microphone is down to $199 via Amazon. This is a record-low price and represents a discount of 30 percent, as it typically costs $285. The deal applies to all 13 colorways.

This one made our list of the best mobile microphones. It strikes a good balance between features and value, which is especially true right now. The mic offers great sound, onboard storage, 32-bit float and universal compatibility with iPhones, Android, cameras and PCs.

The various colorways are also nice, offering influencers and creators a way to match a channel’s theme or branding. It can store up to 40 hours of footage at one time and it connects wirelessly via 2.4 GHz. It also comes with accessories like a charging hub, various connection cables, a windshield and a carry pouch.

The microphone doesn’t connect via Bluetooth, which could be a dealbreaker for some. The affiliated Rode Central app occasionally runs into hiccups, but nothing that will ruin the overall functionality. This is a great mic at a great price.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/rodes-wireless-go-iii-wireless-microphone-is-cheaper-than-ever-162231812.html?src=rss 

Apple Music is running a promo in which new subscribers can get three free months of the Family Plan tier. That’s a savings of $51, which is nothing to sneeze at. After this lengthy free trial is up, it costs $17 per month.

The Family Plan allows six different users to access the platform. It offers cross-device support and each user is tied to an Apple ID, so their favorite music won’t mess with anyone else’s algorithm.

Apple Music actually topped our list of the best music streaming platforms, and for good reason. It sounds great and it’s easy to use. What else is there? All music is available in CD quality or higher and there are plenty of personalized playlists and the like. The platform also operates a number of live radio stations, which is fun.

The service is available for Android devices, but it really shines on Apple products. To that end, the web and Windows PC apps aren’t as polished as the iOS version. It doesn’t pay artists properly, but that’s true of every music streaming platform. Apple Music does pay out more than Spotify, but that’s an incredibly low bar.

Offer for new subscribers redeeming on eligible devices. Auto-renews at $16.99/mo until cancelled. Requires Family Sharing. Terms apply.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/new-subscribers-can-get-three-free-months-of-the-apple-music-family-plan-151240882.html?src=rss