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Science

Featuring the latest in daily science news, Verge Science is all you need to keep track of what’s going on in health, the environment, and your whole world. Through our articles, we keep a close eye on the overlap between science and technology news — so you’re more informed.

Elon Musk denies a report about SpaceX’s AI phone prototype

The Wall Street Journal reports that SpaceX showed investors a ‘handset-like prototype’ that was slimmer than an iPhone.

Emma Roth
What is a quantum computer good for? Absolutely nothing — yet

The Trump administration wants a useful quantum computer in two years. Microsoft wants one in three. Independent researchers cry hype.

Sophia Chen

Latest In Science

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
This week in the big AI data center buildout.

AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
The next bubble.

If you loved Microsoft sticking Copilot in everything, just wait until its marketing department gets ahold of “quantum.“

itsmrfungible666:

Get ready for Microsoft Windows 12 Elite with Copilot Quantum

Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Blue Origin is still investigating New Glenn’s fiery explosion.

In an update on Tuesday, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp says the company is working to “identify and correct” the issue that led its New Glenn rocket to explode on the launchpad last month. Limp adds that the company plans to return to flight by the end of this year with a new launch pad configuration.

Robert Hart
Robert Hart
Claude’s getting a lab coat.

Anthropic launched Claude Science in beta today, calling it an “AI workbench for scientists.” The tool pulls fragmented tools and datasets into one environment, and generates figures and visuals like 3D protein structures.

Anthropic stresses “Claude Science is not a new AI model” — a noteworthy caveat amid ongoing drama surrounding its last rollout.

Claude Science is starting with biology in beta, but Anthropic has plans to expand beyond that.
Claude Science is starting with biology in beta, but Anthropic has plans to expand beyond that.
Image: Anthropic
Elizabeth Lopatto
Elizabeth Lopatto
Should we bet on when we get the first Polymarket-related wildfire?

Forget for a moment that it’s morally disgusting to let people bet on wildfires; people have already spent $1.2 million doing it. The real question is when someone will commit financially-motivated arson in order to win their bet — because unlike other major environmental events, massive fires are easy to create.

The war against ‘woke’ could end US science as we know it

‘Everyone will be affected, not just scientists. Every community in the country.’

Bethany Brookshire
Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
This is the most detailed image of the Milky Way’s crowded heart yet.

The ESA’s Euclid telescope captured an enormous image containing some 60 million stars and nebulae. It took 26 hours to amass, starting March 23rd, 2025, and it’s undeniably stunning. You can download the full-res TIFF version, which weighs in at 697MB, or just watch the video below.

Elizabeth Lopatto
Elizabeth Lopatto
What’s going on with SpaceX bonds?

SpaceX bonds are creating losses for the fast-money types who piled in at the offering. “Bond types either aren’t sure that SpaceX will hang on to its investment-grade credit ratings, or will only get involved if they get paid a fat risk premium for doing so,” the Financial Times explains. SpaceX stock is, as of this writing, trading below its IPO price. Gee, if only someone had pointed out that this company is a stinker.

SpaceX hangover spreads

[Financial Times]

Sometimes, health tracking accuracy is overrated

I measured my body composition on five devices. I still don’t know what my exact body fat percentage is.

Victoria Song
Thomas Ricker
Thomas Ricker
SpaceX might compete directly with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

President and COO Gwynne Shotwell has apparently told investors that SpaceX plans to launch a new terrestrial Starlink service that would sell mobile contracts directly to individuals in the US — a threat that could extract better revenue-sharing deals from its current telecom partners. Analysts think a T-Mobile acquisition makes sense to accelerate the move and solve SpaceX’s spectrum deficit issue.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
This week in the big AI data center buildout.

AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Elon Musk is, for now, no longer a trillionaire.

Musk’s total net worth is now $957 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That figure is still $660 billion higher than Larry Page, the next person on the list, whose net worth is $297 billion.

The Fitbit Air takes a smarter approach to the AI health dumpster fire

8

Verge Score

Google Health remains a work in progress, but it could be so much worse.

Victoria Song
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
I can break down just fine on my own.

Sure, you could buy a smart scale for a body composition breakdown, but why bother?

Hoto:

I don’t need some fancy two-bit scale to give myself a breakdown about my body composition

Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily.

Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
SpaceX is leasing AI compute to Reflection, too.

The open-source AI startup has a deal through 2029, similar to Anthropic and Google, to rent compute capacity from SpaceX’s Colossus 2 data center for $150 million per month (up to $6.3 billion), reports the Wall Street Journal.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Get you a site that does both.

Where else can you find cutting edge gadget coverage and excellent sunscreen recommendations?

pretendworld:

seeing a photo of my sunscreen on the verge.. i really don’t need to visit any other site this place has it all

Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Google’s Nobel Prize-winning AI researcher is joining Anthropic.

John Jumper, who has worked as a researcher at Google DeepMind since 2017, announced his departure from the company on X. In 2024, Jumper and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing an open-source AI model that predicts protein structures.

Our long national sunscreen nightmare is almost over

Other countries have been doing it right for over 20 years. It’s about time we caught up.

Victoria Song
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
This week in the big AI data center buildout.

AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Samsung phones are getting a new feature for checking the health of your pets.

During the VivaTech 2026 conference in Paris, Samsung announced a new feature for its mobile devices created through a collaboration with the pet health management platform, Lifet. You’ll be able to snap a photo of your dog or cat which will be analyzed by AI to alert you to conditions like periodontal disease and obesity.

Two images showing a simulated smartphone app using the Lifet platform to assess a pet’s health.
Image: Lifet
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Grok is our first line of defense.

The Justice Department argues that xAI’s Mississippi data center should be allowed to pollute the air because it’s “critical” for military operations, which honestly explains a lot.

Nicholi:

How are we going to keep losing the war against Iran without Grok?

Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily.

Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
xAI’s gas-powered data center is necessary for national security, DOJ argues.

The Justice Department is trying to intervene and dismiss a case from the NAACP alleging xAI’s use of gas turbines in Mississippi are illegally polluting the air. Preventing xAI from using them would endanger national security, DOJ argues, because “Grok provides critical support for the Department of War’s military operations.”

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Natural Cycles now has sleep-tracking features.

The controversial birth control app is rolling out “Sleep Insights,” allowing users to view key metrics — including sleep duration, efficiency, and timing — alongside their daily fertility status. It requires either an Oura Ring or Natural Cycles Band wearable, and over time, can show how hormonal changes and menstrual phases can impact sleep patterns.

Examples of sleep data in the Natural Cycles app.
Users can log how they slept with a morning check-in, with Natural Cycles using that data to provide personalized sleep insights.
Image: Natural Cycles
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
SpaceX reportedly rented out Colossus 1 AI data center after it ran into latency issues.

While SpaceX plans satellite-based AI servers, Bloomberg reports it ran into trouble trying to develop and run Grok AI in Memphis, citing unnamed sources. They claim that deals renting capacity to Anthropic ($15 billion annually) and Google ($920 million per month) happened following hardware variation and lag issues:

Elon Musk’s company had planned to train its most cutting-edge AI models on a massive amount of computing power by using a cluster of three data center campuses. However, the firm encountered latency issues when connecting Colossus 1 with two other sites located more than 10 miles away, the people said, compounded by aging network infrastructure.

Victoria Song
Victoria Song
My mayor’s Muslim, my bagel’s Jewish, my heart rate’s fried, KNICKS IN FIVE!

Oura says New Yorkers’ hearts were palpitating on Wednesday night during Game 4. Turns out, baseline heart rates increased by 3.7 beats on average at the final buzzer. Heart rates were also elevated for the entirety of the game, and nobody seemed to get a peaceful night of sleep. Guessing we’re in for more of the same on Saturday.

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
SPCX opens at $150 per share.

As reported by CNBC, the New York Times, and others, trading commenced at a price 11 percent above the $135 IPO price, but lower than the $175 shown in some earlier indications. It’s already spiked as high as $167, before falling back to $155. As long as the share price remains above $138, that is enough to make Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire.

It also gives SpaceX a market cap of over $2 trillion, making it currently the 6th most valuable public company in the US.

SpaceX is now publicSpaceX is now public
Andrew J. Hawkins
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
The perfect gift for your partner.

A sun exposure-tracking pendant, in case they’re running low on tech-induced anxiety.

Digi Dave:

Hey babe, wake up, a new device that creates crippling anxiety about your health just dropped!

Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
SpaceX sets IPO price at $135 / share.

That price puts SpaceX at a market valuation of around $1.77 trillion ahead of its record-breaking stock market debut on Friday. CNBC reports that SpaceX may allocate 20 percent of shares to retail investors, down from the previous expectation of 30 percent.