Bus-sized cephalopods reminiscent of the legendary kraken may have sat at the top of the food chain, using their smarts to hunt down prey in the oceans of the Late Cretaceous.

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Category: Biology, Science

Tags: Octopus, Predator, Dinosaurs, Ocean, Ecology

GoPro is coming off of what may be one of its most exciting product announcements in years, but its most recent communication to investors and regulators could cast a shadow over the launch. In it, the company says that new market forces "raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern," citing "unprecedented increases and volatility in memory costs" that have seen price increases of up to 115%.

There's a fair amount of nuance and complexity to the situation, most of which is pretty deep in the financial weeds. The upshot is that the company's management is taking several steps to try and avoid defaulting on loans, including exploring a sale or merger, investigating "opportunities within the defense and aerospace sector," selling "certain non-critical assets" and negotiating with lenders. It also says that it's "reducing operating expenses through disciplined cost management," citing its recently announced layoff of 23% of its workforce.

Despite this, GoPro says that some of its plans "are dependent upon factors outside" its control, and that there are no assurances it'll be able to continue as a going concern. If it can't, the company says it "may be required to significantly reduce, restructure,
cease operations, or seek protection under the Federal bankruptcy laws," though it points out that it hasn't started on any specific bankruptcy plans.

In the document, GoPro says it "expects to continue to incur operating losses and negative operating cash flows" due to lower-than-expected sale throughout the first few months of 2026. Hopefully, the company can find a way to turn things around soon, though if memory pricing is a major factor, it may be a while before things really improve.

Researchers have developed a urine-based screening tool that may help identify individuals who are most likely to be diagnosed with autism later in life, opening the door to assessment and support networks.

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Category: ADHD & Autism, Brain Health, Body and Mind

Tags: Arizona State University, Diagnostic devices, Autism spectrum disorder, Developmental conditions, Brain, Neuroscience

Really Right Stuff (RRS), known for its premium camera support systems, has announced its most affordable carbon fiber tripod lineup yet. The Core Line includes two tripods to start, the Benchmark and the Benchmark Inverted, with RRS promising more in the future.

Both the Benchmark and Benchmark Inverted use the company's in-house carbon fiber technology. RRS says the entire carbon manufacturing process is now done in its facilities in Lehi, Utah, from raw fiber selection to finished tubes. It says that bringing production in-house allowed for significantly reduced costs while maintaining its high quality standards, resulting in what RRS says is a 32% lower price than the most comparable RRS substitutes.

The Benchmark Inverted is a three-section carbon fiber tripod with an inverted leg design, which allows users to extend or collapse the legs from the top without needing to reposition or bend down. It uses the company's twist lock system (Tacti-Stop), which provides tactile feedback when they are loosened enough, preventing users from twisting the locks too far. Those locks are also weather-sealed.

The inverted model offers four leg angle selections (24, 44, 64 and 84 degrees), which is up from three on previous models, making it easier to level the tripod on uneven terrain. It features magnetic pull tabs that are easy to adjust, even when wearing gloves.

The tripod weighs 1.6 kg (3.6 lbs) and has a working load capacity of 40 lb. It offers a minimum height of 11.8 cm (4.6") and a maximum height of 155.2 cm (61.1"), and measures 67.3 cm (26.5") when folded down. While it has a similar weight to some travel options, its folded size means you probably won't be able to fit it in a backpack, so you'll need to consider how to attach it to your bag.

The Benchmark is similar in most ways, though it features four-section legs instead of three, and doesn't have the inverted design. It features the same Tacti-Stop twist locks with weather sealing, four leg angles to choose from and magnetic pull tabs for easy leg angle adjustments.

Those with heavier rigs or who want a bit more reach will benefit from the non-inverted Benchmark. It offers a 34 kg (75 lb) maximum capacity, a minimum height of 10.7 cm (4.2") and tops out at 177 cm (69.7"). Of course, that comes with added bulk, too. It weighs 1.7 kg (3.8 lbs) and folds down to 60 cm (23.6"). Like the inverted model, the weight isn't out of the question for hiking and travel, but it isn't very compact when folded.

The Benchmark tripod starts at $945 without a head. It can also be bundled with RRS's Anvil-30 ARC ballhead for $1290, or with the BH-40-LR-II ballhead for $1360. The Benchmark Inverted starts at $795 for the tripod, or can be bundled with the same ballheads for $1150 and $1215, respectively.

Press release

Lehi, UT – May 12th, 2026 – Really Right Stuff, LLC (RRS) today announced the Core Line, an all-new series of carbon fiber tripods featuring the company’s latest in-house carbon fiber technology. Designed and manufactured entirely at RRS’s Lehi, Utah facility, the Core Line delivers true RRS performance at a more accessible price point.

Purpose

The Core Line was developed to bring premium Really Right Stuff support systems to a broader audience of photographers, videographers, and precision shooters. After years of research and development, RRS brought the entire carbon fiber manufacturing process in-house — from raw fiber selection to finished tubes.

This vertical integration has allowed RRS to significantly reduce costs while maintaining the uncompromising quality, stiffness, and durability that professionals expect from the RRS brand. Combined with a direct-to-consumer model, the Core Line offers exceptional value without sacrificing the stability and precision that define Really Right Stuff.

Target Market

The Core line is engineered for shooters and creators who demand rock-solid stability with price point in mind. Integrating the new Core line of carbon fiber within our tripods, we aim to serve the following customers:

• Competition and precision rifle shooters
• Hunters (including predator and big-game)
• Landscape and astrophotographers
• Multi-row panoramic photographers
• Telephoto wildlife photographers using heavy lenses

The Core Line seamlessly integrates with RRS’s existing ecosystem of ball heads, quick-release plates, and accessories, allowing users to build a complete, high-performance system.

About the Carbon Fiber

At the heart of the Core Line is RRS’s all-new proprietary carbon fiber, developed and produced entirely in-house. This advanced material achieves an optimal balance of lightweight design, exceptional stiffness, and vibration damping while delivering meaningful cost efficiency. Every tube is manufactured under strict quality control at the Lehi facility to ensure consistent performance and long-term durability.

Availability and Pricing

The Core Line will initially launch on two new tripod models, with additional
configurations planned for the future. All Core Line tripods will be available exclusively through the Really Right Stuff website and at RRS headquarters in Lehi, Utah. Introductory pricing for Core Line tripods will range from $795 to $950 USD.

As it is, a recumbent trike is something that may already get you noticed. Add tilting wheels, and it'll draw even more attention. But with its telescoping carbon-fiber-tube body, the Allroadracer TriX is sure to turn heads wherever it goes.

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Category: Bicycles, Transport

Tags: Trike, Tricycle, Recumbent, Carbon Fiber, ebikes, Tilting-Vehicle

Microsoft has made a few attempts to compete with the Apple Silicon-powered MacBook Pros that many photographers know and love, but its latest effort may be the most tempting option yet. It features a 15-inch mini-LED display that can achieve up to 2000 nits peak brightness in HDR mode, an SD card slot for offloading images from cameras, and a chip from a surprising partner: Nvidia.

It's called the Surface Laptop Ultra*, and, from the outside, it seems to continue a lot of Microsoft traditions. It has a hypermodern design with a rectangular metal build, a large trackpad and a 3:2 display that gives you plenty of vertical real estate. It also has a good selection of I/O, with several USB-C ports, a USB-A port for older devices, HDMI output, a headphone jack and an SD card slot, though there aren't currently any details on what speeds you can expect from any of them.

It's under the hood that things start to look a little different. Rather than using a processor from one of the usual suspects – AMD, Intel or even Snapdragon – Microsoft has partnered with Nvidia to use its new RTX Spark system on a chip. While the company is a big player in the graphics card industry and has dabbled in CPUs in the past, it's been a long time since we've seen it make something designed for a consumer PC.

According to Nvidia, the CPU portion of Spark was made in collaboration with MediaTek and features 20 cores, which use the same ARM base as Apple's custom silicon. The GPU is a more familiar affair, though both parts of the chip share a pool of memory – up to 128GB in the Surface Laptop Ultra – which can help if you're trying to render giant photo or video projects. (Of course, it's also useful for running local AI models, a use case Microsoft and Nvidia both give ample time to in their press releases.)

Adobe says it will "rearchitect" Photoshop and Premiere to deliver better performance on the chip, especially when doing tasks that can be accelerated by the graphics processor, like color correction, compositing, using "live filters," and working in HDR. That's not just relevant for people interested in the Surface Laptop Ultra, though, as Nvidia says other manufacturers like Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Acer and Gigabyte will be using the Spark chips in some of their laptops, too, when it launches in the fall.

There are only a few other details currently available about the Surface Laptop Ultra. Microsoft says it will weigh less than 2kg (4.5 lb), and features a new cooling system to help keep the Nvidia Spark running at peak performance. And, unlike Apple's laptops, it features a replaceable SSD. The company also promises "all-day" battery life.

The big question, of course, is price, especially in the age of ultra-expensive memory. It's also not clear what the base specs will be; sure, the Laptop Ultra can be optioned with 128GB of memory, but what will it start with?

It'll also be interesting to see how the RTX Spark's performance stacks up against the options from more traditional manufacturers. While it'll likely have a leg up when it comes to AI tasks, how will it perform in everyday computing, or while editing large batches of high-resolution photos or rendering a video? We've seen other ARM chips designed for Windows computers, like the Snapdragon X Elite, compete with Apple's base-level M chips, but so far, there hasn't been any real competition for its Pro or Max chips until you get to more traditional x86 designs from AMD and Intel.

We may have to wait a bit to find out. Microsoft says the Surface Laptop Ultra will be available "later this year," and Nvidia says the RTX Spark will start arriving in systems this fall.

* - No, it's not lost on us that Apple has famously helped pioneer the use of the word "Ultra" in its branding.

You know the story. Clouds of dust and gas collapse to form stars like our Sun, around which the swirling maelstrom of debris slowly coalesces into a system of planets.

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Category: Astronomy, Science

Tags: Supermassive black hole, Planet, Exoplanet, Stars

Landscape photography is a demanding medium, requiring cameras with high resolution and dynamic range. When considering what cameras should make it on this list, we look at factors like weather-sealing, battery life and operability on a tripod.

We've selected cameras that are most likely to deliver the best possible image quality if you're going to spend hours hiking to the perfect location and waiting for the perfect light. For some picks, we've also considered the best image quality you can get at a certain size and weight of camera body.

• Best camera for landscapes: Fujifilm GFX 100S II
• Best for landscapes and more: Sony a7R VI
• Best camera that's also good for landscapes: Canon EOS R5 II
• The bargain option: Nikon Z7 II
• Best compact option: Fujifilm X-T5

102MP BSI medium format sensor | In-body image stabilization | 5.76M dot viewfinder

Buy now:

• Excellent detail capture
• Very high tonal quality
• Ready-to-go JPEG or malleable Raws

• Autofocus not especially fast
• Video prone to rolling shutter

The GFX 100S II uses the same sensor as the GFX 100 II, but puts it in a body with fewer features – though you do still get essentials like a tilting screen and a stabilized sensor. The result is the only camera with anywhere near this resolution that fits within the price limit of our buying guides, though do keep in mind that you'll also have to budget for medium-format lenses too, which, while excellent, don't come cheap.

The GFX 100S II has improved autofocus and burst rates compared to its predecessor, but its main strength will be landscapes or studio work where it won't have to track dynamic subjects. That makes it slightly less versatile than most of its full-frame competitors, but if you're doing purely landscape photography its image quality will be unparalleled unless you're willing to spend many thousands of dollars more.

While the GFX100S II's image quality is unassailable, it's also relatively large, heavy and expensive. If you mostly shoot landscapes, but don't want quite as much bulk or cost, consider Sony's a7R V and a7CR. The cameras share a 61MP full-frame sensor, are much cheaper than the GFX, and use less expensive full-frame lenses. The a7CR is smaller than the a7R V, but uses a less flexible fully-articulating screen (versus the larger camera's tilting/fully-articulating), has a smaller, lower-res viewfinder, and doesn't have a mechanical front-curtain shutter.

66.8MP Stacked CMOS sensor | Up to 30fps shooting with e-shutter, 10fps mechanical | Up to 4K/120p video

Buy now:

The Sony a7R VI is a high-resolution full-frame camera with a stabilized 66.8MP stacked CMOS sensor.

Like previous a7Rs, it has strong landscape credentials as the highest resolution full-frame camera on the market, with the ability to read out both of its gain steps to let you exploit the deepest shadows. It's not just limited to static scenery, though; its sensor and autofocus are fast enough that it's capable of shooting faster-moving subjects and video, too.

The a7R VI captures tons of detail and dynamic range, especially when shooting with its mechanical shutter. Its autofocus is also some of the best out there, and is heavily customizable, with the ability to fine-tune the auto subject recognition modes and more. It also offers features like pre-capture and Speed Boost, which lets you temporarily increase or decrease your burst rate, to help make sure you get the shot without filling your memory cards too quickly.

Its electronic shutter modes don’t have the fastest rolling shutter speeds, but they’re controlled enough that you should be able to capture all but the fastest subjects without distortion. This is true in its video modes as well, even the 8K capture, which is oversampled from an 8.2K region.

While other cameras outperform the a7R VI in things like video or action shooting, it’s one of the most capable landscape cameras we’ve seen that can also stretch to those uses without too much effort.

Click here to read our initial review of the Sony a7R VI

Click here to see the Sony a7R VI studio scene

45MP Stacked CMOS sensor | Eye-controlled AF subject selection | Up to 30fps continuous shooting

Buy now:

• Excellent image quality
• Fast, dependable autofocus
• Good video support tools

• Slight reduction in dynamic range in extreme scenarios
• Temperamental eye control
• Temperature limits in heaviest video modes

If you need a camera that can handle whatever you throw at it, including the occasional landscape photo, the EOS R5 II is the one. Its sensor isn't the highest resolution, but it makes up for it with speed, letting you shoot up to 30fps. It also has the most capable autofocus system on this list, with its dedicated 'Action Priority' modes made specifically for shooting high-speed sports.

Click here to read our review of the Canon EOS R5 II

Click here to see the Canon EOS R5 II studio scene

The Nikon Z8 is similalry capable to the EOS R5 II, and its 45.7MP sensor is just as able to take beautiful landscapes, while still handling anything else you throw at it. The two cameras are so evenly matched that the best way to choose between them is by comparing which lenses are available for them, figuring out which system has the ones you want at a price you want to pay, then buying the body to match.

Buy now:

45.7MP full-frame sensor | In-body image stabilization | 4K/60p video

Buy now:

• Sensor offers some of the best image quality in its class
• Lovely ergonomics
• 4K/60p (with a minor crop)

• Autofocus interface a bit clunky
• EVF not as high-res as competitors
• Customization a bit limited

The Z7 II is decidedly last-generation at this point, a fact you'll feel most in its autofocus system. It can still produce crisp images, though, and its age is a benefit when it comes to its price: you can routinely find it for around $2,000, a price bracket that generally contains cameras with half the resolution.

\The Z7 II is a capable camera that can produce superb image quality. Its autofocus performance and interface aren't quite up there with modern mid-to-high-end cameras, but overall it's a good, capable camera. The improvements over the original version help expand the range of circumstances in which it performs well.

Click here to read our review of the Nikon Z7 II

Click here to see the Nikon Z7 II studio scene

Buy now:

• Dedicated dial interface shows your settings
• Detailed 40MP images
• Photo-centric design and feature set

• Autofocus prone to false-positives
• Significant rolling shutter in e-shutter mode
• Smaller buffer, lower-spec video than X-H2

If the landscapes you're hoping to capture are far off the beaten path, the X-T5 may be worth a look. While it's marginally smaller and lighter than its full-frame and medium-format counterparts, the real weight savings will come from the lenses you can equip it with. Fujifilm's lineup of APS-C lenses is unmatched and can make for a kit light enough that you won't have to reconsider hiking an extra mile or three to get the shot.

Click here to read our review of the Fujifilm X-T5

Click here to see the Fujifilm X-T5 studio scene

Canon's EOS R7 is a bit heavier than the X-T5, and its APS-C lens selection isn't nearly as robust, but its 32.5MP sensor will be more than capable of capturing detailed landscapes. Its faster burst rates and better autofocus tracking also give the edge over the X-T5 for when you're shooting in the city instead of the wild.

Buy now:

Our Buying Guides are based on extensive use and testing of the cameras included. We only recommend cameras once we know how they compare to their peers in a variety of shooting situations. All selections are made solely by our editorial and video teams and are the models we'd buy or recommend to friends and family. We gain no financial advantage from recommending one camera over another, either as individuals or as a business.

Imagine putting on a VR headset and suddenly finding yourself standing between rows of tomato plants. You can walk the aisles, crouch beside a struggling seedling, and check its soil moisture and temperature in real time. That’s the idea behind a system developed by engineers at Binghamton University, State University of New York: a digital twin, or live 3D replica synchronized with real-world sensors, that links your physical greenhouse to a virtual one you can access anywhere.

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Category: Virtual Reality, Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: VR, Agriculture, Binghamton University, Plants, Artificial Intelligence, Digital twin

Just over seven months from completing phase one of this mega-project, Chinese engineers have finished the build and switched on the world's first underwater data center (UDC) powered by offshore wind turbines. What's more, it doesn't need freshwater and cuts land use by more than 90% compared with above-ground centers.

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Category: Energy, Engineering

Tags: China, Artificial Intelligence, Data Center, Data Storage, Marine Innovations, Wind turbine, Wind-powered, Underwater, Green+Technology

Carrie McDonough, Carnegie Mellon University / The Conversation

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Category: Society & Community, Wellness and Healthy Living, Body and Mind

Tags: PFAS, Pollution, Health, Blood

With its length of just 8 m (26 ft), the Maple strikes a good balance between portability and comfort. The tiny house features a well-designed interior that would be a good fit as either a vacation home or a full-time residence.

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Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors

Tags: Building and Construction, Tiny Footprint, House, Micro-House, Home

Neanderthals used tar extracted from birch tree bark as a glue to haft their tools, according to previous research. It now appears this dark, sticky substance may have had multiple applications.

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Category: Archaeology, Science

Tags: Neanderthal, Traditional medicine, Materials

A compact elevated shelter by Baquio Arquitectura has been installed on the slopes above Mindo, in Ecuador’s Chocó cloud forest. Dubbed Casa 6-3, the project is a tiny timber retreat with a lightweight footprint, overlooking the surrounding mountains and rainforest.

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Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors

Tags: Cabins, Tiny Footprint, Building and Construction, Shelter, Home

The rules of biology have been torn up by a small fish in the Pacific that steals light-producing molecules from its food in the only known example of kleptoproteinism.

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Category: Biology, Science

Tags: Tohoku University, Fish, Ocean, Bioluminescence, Animal science, Marine Biology, Genome, DNA, Evolution

Finding the modern backpacking stove market unfit for its hard-charging, bushwhacking, peak-scrambling hunts, Colorado's Roughridge Stove Co. determined to make a tougher, more inextinguishable breed of all-in-one backcountry cook system. It reached for the lightest, toughest materials available and reconfigured a few critical specs to create a system that travels lightly, holds up to use after abuse, and works in all weather. It's the Highcountry stove, and it's built to work when and where you need it, every time.

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Category: Outdoor Cooking, Gear, Outdoors

Tags: Hunting, Camping, Backpacking, Stoves, Cooking, Outdoors and Camping, Lightweight

The latest compact smartphone camera from Thermal Master may look a fair bit like its earlier pocket-sized model we covered, but looks are deceiving – and the new P4 makes some pretty big advances that you'll see as soon as you plug it in.

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Category: Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Consumer Electronics, Thermal Imaging, Artificial Intelligence, Digital imaging, Photography, Portable Video, Portable, Reviews

When I first saw the Woojer vest about seven or eight years ago on Kickstarter, I remember thinking that it sounded fun, but maybe a little gimmicky. Either way, I wanted to try it. So when Woojer recently reached out and asked if I wanted to review it, I said, "Heck yeah, send it over!" Now that I have it and have spent many hours using it in various scenarios, I think I've concluded whether it's worth the ~US$350 price of admission for a vest fitted with bass-thumping transducers.

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Category: Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Haptic, wearable electronics, Games, VR, Reviews

The Tommy is a much more capable tiny house than its compact size implies. With a length of just 7.2 m (23.6 ft), it sleeps up to six people and also has some notable features, including a space-saving folding staircase and optional off-grid operation.

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Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors

Tags: Building and Construction, Tiny Footprint, Micro-House, House, Home

GoPro has released an epic 7 minute long video to mark the launch of its next-gen Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro action cameras, and to further tease the interchangeable lens model that's due out later this year. As you'd probably expect, it contains a lot of footage shot on the cameras, but it also has some behind the scenes shots that reveal exactly who its interchangeable lens camera is aimed at.

A quick refresher: the Mission 1 series cameras are built around a 50MP Type-1 (128mm²) sensor, and can shoot at 4K/120 open gate, and up to 960fps in FullHD. The Pro models can also shoot 8K open gate, while the standard Mission 1 is limited to 16:9 8K. While the Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro have the integrated wide-angle lens we'd expect from an action camera, the Mission 1 Pro ILS instead has a Micro Four Thirds mount.

Back to the video. A lot of it is what you'd expect from GoPro: lots of slow-motion, people doing things that most of us would break our necks attempting, etc. And while the standard action cams are shown being used in a variety of ways, most of the Mission 1 Pro ILS' screen time is in a rig. Someone's either using it with a top handle an external monitor, flying it on a crane or wire, or holding it with a follow-focus.

There are a few fleeting shots of people using it as just a handheld camera with no accessories, but the message is pretty clear: the ILS is a camera mainly for professionals, and is designed to work on productions with a crew. It's not an action or vlogging camera, it's an inexpensive cinema tool that you can put anywhere to get decent-looking slow-mo, without being tied to the typical ultra-wide look that's been a staple of the company's previous products.

Of course, it's not like companies never use pro-looking setups to market cameras to consumers. Apple famously shoots its events using iPhones (and thousands of dollars of accessories, grip and lighting equipment), and uses the fact that some directors shoot movies and TV with them in its marketing. But I don't think that's what's happening here, at least for the ILS.

For one, we've seen no indication that it'll include any sort of autofocus capability – the cameras in the video clearly don't have any pins for lens communication – which would exclude most of the audience looking to use it as a pocket cam. If that's the case, anyone seriously using it will also probably need to rig it out with at least an external monitor; try pulling focus using the built-in 2.59" display.

It was also launched at the NAB Show, an event put on by the National Association of Broadcasters that mainly focuses on pro video gear. GoPro's website also specifically calls out that the ILS is designed to provide "versatility for professionals."

As a photography enthusiast, it's a bit of a disappointing message to receive. My last bits of hope about this being a workable tiny ILC for photography are pretty much dashed, though I'm sure there will still be people who will try using it for that purpose.

But as something of a videographer myself, it's exciting to see GoPro taking the cinema market really seriously. Sure, shots from its action cams have shown up in lots of movies already, but it seems like the Mission 1 Pro ILS will be much more capable for a wider variety of shots, rather than being relegated to the crash cam that captures a crucial half second of footage before being written off on the insurance.

The Mission 1 Pro ILS is due out in Q3 this year, so there's still a while to wait and see whether GoPro's bid to court professional videographers will be successful. If it is, the company may have just found a way to stay competitive in a market with an increasing number of very good options.