Kesha spills Korean skin care technique for ‘gorgeous’ skin
Kesha admits she as turned to a Korean skin care technique for anti-ageing.
The singer, who appeared on Monica Lewinsky’s podcast, Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky this week, revealed that she has applied the salmon DNA on her skin.
“I haven’t done that yet,” Lewinsky said, before adding, “Like salmon DNA in your face. I haven’t done that.”
Kesha said, “I put the salmon DNA in my face.”
“Oh, you did?” Lewinsky replied. “Did you like it? Well, your skin is gorgeous.”
“Thank you. I can thank the salmon sperm,” Kesha said through a bout of laughter. “It’s like a Korean trick.”
This comes days after fellow singer, Miley Cyrus, admitted that she has done the same procedure. Speaking on Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle Hotel in New York City.
“I tried that salmon sperm,” she shared. “Have you heard about that? I tried it.”
“Tastes strange, but my skin looks good,” Cyrus added before clarifying, “I didn’t mean to drink it. It’s just like a whole mask.”
The Disney Channel alum then joked, “I never met the salmon. It came pre-packaged. I don’t even know if it is what it says it is. I don’t know, but I do feel like my skin’s looking good.”
Undefeated Italy are practically a safe bet for the Finals. On 8-0 and 22, the Olympic champions lead the standings and look certain to continue the defense of their VNL crown at the Finals. Turkiye seem well on their way to Lodz as well. The 2023 VNL winners stand fourth on 7-1 and 19. The big clash between the two in Apeldoorn is scheduled on Saturday, July 12, at 19:00 (17:00).
Belgium and hosts Netherlands are neighbors geographically, but also very close to one another in the current VNL standings. The Dutch team is in 12th place on 3-5 and 10, while Belgium are two spots below them on 3-5 and 8. Their encounter on Thursday at 20:30 (18:30) is bound to attract a lot of additional attention from the local fans.
The Apple Support app could soon gain an AI-powered assistant.
The Apple Support app could soon gain a ChatGPT-style AI assistant, which could be powered by Apple Intelligenceor third-party AI, as a new report claims there’s evidence of the feature in Apple code.
As its name implies, the Apple Support application is designed to assist customers. It displays the company’s official store hours, details regarding accessibility at the location, and the specialty services offered, among other things.
The official Support app from Apple has received multiple updates over the years, and it looks like it’s set to gain yet another feature. According to MacRumors, the iPhone maker has plans to debut a new “Support Assistant” powered by generative AI.
Code for this enhancement reportedly already exists, but the alleged AI assistant doesn’t appear to be accessible just yet. The Support Assistant will likely build upon the Support app’s chat feature that relies on Messages.
Currently, Apple users can get in touch with a customer service representative through the Apple Support app, which opens a new Business Chat in Messages. The supposed Support Assistant will likely offer AI-generated solutions to problems or answers to customer questions, before connecting users to a live agent.
Other companies, like eBay, have incorporated similar features into their respective apps and websites, but Apple’s implementation appears as though it could be more advanced. Code related to the feature reportedly says that the Support Assistant uses generative AI models and that it provides information on select Apple products and services, among other things.
Apple has reportedly also included a disclaimer, which cautions users about “incorrect, misleading, incomplete, offensive, or harmful outputs,” and explains that the AI-powered support assistant should not be regarded as a substitute for professional advice from a live customer service representative.
Possibly powered by third-party AI
As for what exactly powers the Support Assistant, the report says that it will be offered through cooperation with partner companies. This suggests Apple might work together with OpenAI to deliver the feature, or possibly with another company like Anthropic or Google. OpenAI seems like a particularly reasonable option, given that ChatGPT integration has been an iOS feature since iOS 18.2.
These latest claims of an alleged Support Assistant line up with an earlier rumor from February 2024, which claimed that Apple was internally testing a tool called “Ask.” While the Support Assistant is a consumer-oriented feature, Apple’s Ask tool is said to have relied on generative AI to respond to the questions of AppleCare employees, using answers from an internal database.
The development of an AI-based Support Assistant is a logical choice for Apple, though the timing is far from ideal. Certain Apple Intelligence features have faced significant delays and have yet to become available to end consumers, which reportedly led to embarrassment behind closed doors.
While Apple did introduce AI-related improvements with iOS 26, in the form of Apple Intelligence Shortcuts and a new Foundation Models framework, there weren’t nearly as many AI features announced at WWDC as there were in 2024. Recently, on June 7, the head of Apple’s foundation models team, Ruoming Pang, was poached by Meta with a significant pay package.
Given the lack of any recent AI development, it’s possible that Apple repurposed the technology behind its Ask tool, but it’s more likely that the company used the technology of a major AI firm like OpenAI or Anthropic. Time will tell if and when the supposed Support Assistant feature will see the light of day.
How can climate change influence volcanic activity? This is what a recent study presented at the Goldschmidt Conference in Prague hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated a link between thinning glacier ice and dormant subglacial volcanoes potentially becoming active. This study has the potential to help researchers climate scientists, legislators, and the public better understand the long-term implications of climate change and the steps that can be taken to mitigate them.
For the study, the researchers examined six volcanoes in southern Chile to ascertain how the thinning of the Patagonian Ice Sheet located in Chile and once covered the entire country influenced volcanic activity in the region. The researchers conducted this study by analyzing local crystallization and argon dating to ascertain exact dates of past volcanic activity.
Image of study author, Pablo Moreno-Yaeger, collecting samples in Chile. (Credit: Pablo Moreno-Yaeger / UW-Madison)
In the end, the researchers discovered that the Patagonian Ice Sheet between 26,000-18,000 years ago during the last ice age enabled the buildup of magma chambers located approximately 10-15 kilometers (6.2-9.32 miles) beneath the surface. Even more alarming, the researchers found once the Patagonian Ice Sheet started receding, this enabled the creation of volcanoes from the built-up magma chambers.
“Glaciers tend to suppress the volume of eruptions from the volcanoes beneath them,” said Pablo Moreno-Yaeger, who is a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and who presented the study at the conference. “But as glaciers retreat due to climate change, our findings suggest these volcanoes go on to erupt more frequently and more explosively. The key requirement for increased explosivity is initially having a very thick glacial coverage over a magma chamber, and the trigger point is when these glaciers start to retreat, releasing pressure – which is currently happening in places like Antarctica.”
This study comes as climate change continues to ravage the planet with more extreme weather events like increased summer temperatures, stronger and more frequent hurricanes, and flooding as recently seen in central Texas.
What new discoveries will researchers make between climate change and volcanic activity in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
A 2.35-billion-year-old meteorite with a unique chemical signature, found in Africa in 2023, plugs a major gap in our understanding of the Moon’s volcanic history.
Presented today [Wednesday 9 July] at the Goldschmidt Conference in Prague, findings from analyses of the Northwest Africa 16286 meteorite offer fresh insights into how the Moon’s interior evolved, highlighting the long-lived nature of its volcanic activity.
Analyses by researchers from the University of Manchester, UK, lend weight to a theory that the Moon retained internal heat-generating processes that powered lunar volcanic activity in several distinct phases.
Lead isotope analysis dates the rock’s formation to around 2.35 billion years ago, during a period from which few lunar samples exist, making it the youngest basaltic lunar meteorite discovered on Earth. Its rare geochemical profile sets it apart from those returned by previous Moon missions, with chemical evidence indicating it likely formed from a lava flow that solidified after emerging from deep within the Moon.
Dr Joshua Snape, a Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, UK, is presenting the research at the Goldschmidt Conference. He said: “Lunar rocks from sample return missions are fantastic in the insights they provide us, but they are limited to the immediate areas surrounding those mission landing sites. By contrast, lunar meteorites can potentially be ejected by impact cratering occurring anywhere on the Moon’s surface. As such, there’s some serendipity surrounding this sample; it just happened to fall to Earth and reveals secrets about lunar geology without the massive expense of a space mission.”
Containing relatively large crystals of mineral olivine, the rock is a type of lunar volcanic basalt called olivine-phyric basalt. It contains moderate levels of titanium, high levels of potassium. In addition to the unusual age of the sample, this study found that the Pb isotope composition of the rock – a geochemical fingerprint retained from when the rock formed – points to it originating from a source in the Moon’s interior with an unusually high uranium-to-lead ratio. These chemical clues may help identify the mechanisms that have enabled periods of ongoing internal heat generation on the Moon.
“The age of the sample is especially interesting because it fills an almost billion-year gap in lunar volcanic history,” said Dr Snape. “It’s younger than the basalts collected by the Apollo, Luna and Chang’e 6 missions, but older than the much younger rocks brought back by China’s Chang’e 5 mission. Its age and composition show that volcanic activity continued on the Moon throughout this timespan, and our analysis suggests an ongoing heat generation process within the Moon, potentially from radiogenic elements decaying and producing heat over a long period.
“Moon rocks are rare, so it’s always interesting when we get something that stands out and looks different to everything else. This particular rock provides new constraints about when and how volcanic activity occurred on the Moon. There is much more yet to learn about the Moon’s geological past, and with further analysis to pinpoint its origin on the surface, this rock will guide where to land future sample return missions.”
The 311-gram meteorite is only one of 31 lunar basalts officially identified on Earth. Its distinct composition, with melted glassy pockets and veins, suggests it was likely shocked by an asteroid or meteorite impact on the Moon’s surface before being ejected and eventually falling to Earth. This shock event makes it more challenging to interpret the date obtained for the rock, but the researchers estimate its age with a margin of plus or minus 80 million years.
The research was funded by the Royal Society, and the researchers plan to publish their findings in full in a peer-reviewed journal later this year.
The Goldschmidt Conference is the world’s foremost geochemistry conference. It is a joint congress of the European Association of Geochemistry and the Geochemical Society (US), and over 4000 delegates attend. It takes place in Prague, Czech Republic, from 6-11 July 2025.
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Over the last two weeks, I’ve sought to uncover why the Nintendo Switch 2 didn’t work with a host of USB-C accessories that worked perfectly fine with other devices, including third-party docks and some of the best-reviewed webcams. But today, I have first-hand confirmation that existing gadgets can work — as long as their manufacturers issue the right firmware updates, and as long as Nintendo doesn’t break compatibility from here on out.
You shouldn’t necessarily need to buy a brand-new gadget to plug a TV or video glasses into your Nintendo Switch 2. Three manufacturers have already proven that firmware updates are enough for now, and hopefully more will follow!
The existing gadgets I just successfully tested are: the AverMedia Elite Go GC313 Pro and AverMedia Core Go GC313 compact charger docks, the Elgato Facecam MK.2 webcam, and the Viture Pro Mobile Dock for the company’s AR glasses.
None of them worked with the Nintendo Switch 2 at launch, but each now has firmware updates available, and I was able to get them all working in my own home — and maybe, set a few more things straight about Switch 2 compatibility.
The gadget: Elgato Facecam MK2
The story: Elgato was one of the very first companies to promise it would update some non-working webcams to work with the Switch 2, and provided its own theories to The Verge on why they didn’t work on day one. The company won’t formally release its firmware updates for the Facecam MK2 and Facecam Neo till the end of July, but it sent us an early copy so I could show you video proof!
Here, follow along with me as I install and test it for the very first time:
(Sorry, I’m not allowed to share the early firmware update files.)
What we learned: Elgato originally claimed the primary reason its cameras didn’t work was that the Nintendo Switch 2 requires cameras to advertise a low-resolution 480p video mode, even if that’s not the mode the Switch 2 winds up using. Sure enough: the USBView tool shows me that the Facecam MK2 now makes 480p the default video streaming mode that a USB host device (like the Switch 2) will see before anything else.
Also: Remember when Ugreen told us that cameras wouldn’t work with Switch 2 if they used the HID (human interface device) protocol? Weirdly, it seems Elgato actually added some HID references in its latest firmware. Here’s the diff if you want to peek.
Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge
The gadgets: AverMedia Elite Go GC313 Pro and AverMedia Core Go GC313
The story: I’d never even heard of these 100W GaN compact charging docks, the $130 GC313 Pro and the $90 GC313 — but it now appears they’re the first and only portable docks for the Switch 2! (The Pro also doubles as a 1080p60 USB capture card, if you’re wondering about the price delta.) The company has a whole page dedicated to Switch 2 compatibility firmware updates, mostly for its video capture devices, but also these portable docks, as well as a more traditional standing dock if you don’t mind plugging your Switch in upside-down.
What we learned: The firmware update was quick to install and the HDMI connection totally works — probably because AverMedia’s dock is now using the exact same proprietary commands that we see Nintendo’s official dock using. (Once again, I pulled out a USB-C PD analyzer to check. Before the update, AverMedia’s dock didn’t speak Nintendo’s language and was quickly rejected; after the update, it did.)
AverMedia’s dock didn’t work quite as reliably as the official dock in my early tests. It doesn’t always connect the first time I plug it in, and there’s also a short delay. Also note: the GC313 only seems to support vanilla 4K60 output with no HDR or VRR.
As you’ll read below, video glasses maker Viture has a firmware update that makes its gadgets compatible with Switch 2 — but takes away compatibility with the original Nintendo Switch. But I tested the AverMedia dock working with both generations of Switch, and Viture says it’ll do the same in future.
Image: Viture
The gadget: Viture Pro Mobile Dock
The story: This $130 dock is a battery pack that can power your handheld or phone, while routing its video to Viture’s USB-C video glasses or a USB-C monitor. (The HDMI port is for input, not output to a TV.) With a firmware update, it gains support for Switch 2, but breaks support for the original Switch unless you downgrade afterwards. A future update will support both, though, Viture co-founder Emily Wang tells The Verge.
What we learned: Viture shipped me its dock pre-updated, so I didn’t test before-and-after. But with the update, it totally works — after a bit of a delay, which seems to stem from some miscommunication between Viture’s gadgets and the Switch 2, if I’m reading the USB-C PD traffic right. But after that miscommunication, I can see the Viture dock sends the exact same proprietary commands as Nintendo’s official dock.
One of the things we’d heard early on is that Switch 2 docking stations need to offer 20 volts of power for the Switch 2 to kick into TV mode — even though the handheld only actually uses 15 volts. But the Viture dock only advertises a maximum of 15 volts at 1.34 amps (20 watts in total), and yet Viture got video output working anyhow.
We know these third-party docks are working with the Switch 2 as of today, and we expect more are on the way.
(One I didn’t get to test is this Hagabis, which fits the entire HDMI adapter into a cable instead of a dock — beware that the firmware update only official works with the 8K version which is black, not white or red and blue and keeps going out of stock.)
But we don’t know if Nintendo will move to block these accessories with firmware updates of its own. Today, it appears that each of these docks can fool the Switch 2 into thinking they’re the official dock by emulating its commands, but several manufacturers admit that could lead to a game of cat-and-mouse where they have to issue new firmware updates to keep up with Nintendo.
“Similar to what Antank shared with you, it’s true that we may need to provide firmware updates if Nintendo changes its protocol specifications,” Viture tells The Verge.
1 Available to order from late 2025, subject to global availability
2 Front Body‑and‑Soul‑Seats are offered as standard on Range Rover SV. Rear Body‑And‑Soul‑Seats are offered as standard on all SV Serenity, SV Intrepid LWB Models, standard on SV Black, but is an optional feature on SWB models. Sensory floor front and rear is offered as standard on all LWB Range Rover SV models and Range Rover SV Black ‑ this feature is not available on SWB models. Options may vary.
3 Front seat features three transducers. Rear seat features four transducers.
About Range Rover Every Range Rover is curated to elevate our clients’ lives with modernist design, connected, refined interiors and electrified performance driving unrivalled luxury. Inspired by exemplary design since 1970.
The brand encompasses Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar and Range Rover Evoque and is underpinned by Land Rover – a mark of trust built on 75 years of expertise in technology, vehicle architecture and world‑leading off‑road capability.
As part of our vision of modern luxury by design, every Range Rover is available as an electric hybrid.
Range Rover is one of the world’s leading British luxury brands, sold in 121 countries. It belongs to the JLR house of brands together with Defender, Discovery and Jaguar.
Important notice Jaguar Land Rover is constantly seeking ways to improve the specification, design and production of its vehicles, parts and accessories and alterations take place continually. Whilst every effort is made to produce up‑to‑date literature, this document should not be regarded as an infallible guide to current specifications or availability, nor does it constitute an offer for the sale of any particular vehicle, part or accessory. All figures are manufacturer’s estimates
All bikes Honda just got more expensive with prices remained at all time high, as Atlas Honda once again revised the prices of its entire motorcycle lineup in Pakistan, after new taxes in Budget 2025-26.Famous model Honda CG 125, now carries price tag of Rs. 238,900, making it increasingly difficult for many to afford a new bike outright.
With inflation and economic pressures tightening budgets, the surge in prices has made it hard for salaried people to purchase new two-wheelers, a primary mode of transport for millions in Pakistan.
To ease the burden, Faysal Bank is now offering zero markup installment plans for Honda bikes. These installment options start as low as Rs. 9,739 per month, providing a more accessible path for ownership without the need for a lump sum payment.
Honda CG 125 monthly installment
Tenure
Monthly Installment
3 Months at 0%
79,500
6 Months at 0%
39,750
12 Months
24,645
24 Months
14,708
36 Months
11,395
48 Months
9,739
These plans are being viewed as a welcome relief for those struggling with rising transportation costs, especially students, delivery riders, and working-class citizens who rely on motorcycles for daily mobility.
While the price hikes are likely to remain in effect amid ongoing currency and supply challenges, installment plans with zero markup on shorter tenures could help soften the impact. Consumers are urged to compare plans and verify terms with authorized dealers or partner banks.
A total solar eclipse is seen on Monday, August 21, 2017 above Madras, Oregon. A total solar eclipse … More swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
EXC:
Artificial solar eclipses in space could help scientists study the sun’s corona, improving space weather predictions with the UK-led MESOM mission.
KEYS:
MESOM, corona, space weather, solar storm, Mullard Space Lab, Surrey Space Centre, solar flares, coronal mass ejection
COPY:
A U.K.-led space mission will try to experience around 80 total solar eclipses in space, potentially offering scientists an unprecedented glimpse into the sun’s mysterious outer atmosphere.
The Moon-Enabled Sun Occultation Mission (MESOM), unveiled today at the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting 2025 in Durham, will synchronize its orbit to coincide with solar eclipses in space. If approved by ESA, MESOM would cost no more than $240 million and could be in orbit by 2026-28.
MESOM comes in the wake of the first images from Proba-3, a European Space Agency mission to do something very similar — though that will only last for two years.
Clearer, longer views of the sun’s elusive inner corona — the source of powerful solar flares and storms — are essential if solar physicists are to better understand space weather. Only during a total solar eclipse can the corona be glimpsed from Earth’s surface, and even then, only for a few minutes from any one location.
Unlike Earth-based total solar eclipses, MESOM aims to align a mini-satellite with the moon’s central umbral shadow once every lunar month — 29.6 days. MESOM’s unique orbit will repeatedly pass through the apex of the moon’s umbral cone, the darkest portion of its shadow, generating near-monthly eclipses.
48-Minute totality
These in-space eclipses could last up to 48 minutes, far longer than anything experienced from the ground on Earth. “MESOM capitalizes on the chaotic dynamics of the Sun-Earth-Moon system to reproduce total solar eclipse conditions in space while using the moon as a natural occulter,” said co-investigator Dr Nicola Baresi, from the Surrey Space Centre. An occulter is something that blocks light from a celestial object. MESOM will have the following instruments on board:
Telescope (US Naval Research Lab): imaging the corona.
Spectropolarimeter (Spain): analyzing magnetic fields, sunspots and solar and flares.
Getting Closer To The Corona
MESOM is a slight upgrade on ESA’s current Proba-3 mission. That mission sees two spacecraft align so one can occult the sun and project a shadow onto the other — no moon required. As well as moving into the always-there shadow of the moon, MESOM aims to peer in from just 1.02 solar radii — 35,000 miles (56,000 kilometers) closer than Proba-3.
The Proba-3 satellites follow a highly elliptical 19.6-hour orbit ranging from 373 miles (600 km) at perigee to 37,000 miles (60,000 km) at apogee, flying in precision formation only near apogee. At apogee, they’re as far away from Earth’s gravitational force and atmospheric drag, enabling them to fly in formation autonomously, achieving eclipse-like conditions for six hours.
The ‘Concorde Eclipse’
Although MESOM’s 48-minute totality would be impressive, it’s less than experienced by Concorde on June 30, 1973, when an experimental Concorde aircraft extended totality from 7 minutes and 4 seconds on the ground to 74 minutes in the air, by flying almost as fast as the moon’s shadow. It took off from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, in the Spanish Canary Islands, and flew at 1,350 mph (2,200 km/h) as the moon’s shadow raced across it at 1,500 mph (2,400 km/h). Concorde was able to extend totality from 7 minutes to 4 seconds on the ground.
Mathematically, the longest total solar eclipse could last 7 minutes 31 seconds, according to Jean Meeus. The longest total solar eclipse known to have occurred was 7 minutes, 28 seconds on June 15, 743 BC, in the Indian Ocean. However, it’s been calculated that the longest so far — 7 minutes, 29 seconds — will occur in the Atlantic Ocean on July 16, 2186.
The longest total solar eclipse left this century, with a totality duration of 6 minutes and 23 seconds, will occur on Aug. 2, 2027, close to Luxor, Egypt. Ancient Egypt’s capital of Thebes, Luxor, is home to the Valley of the Kings and Queens, Karnak, and several other temples.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
The same total solar eclipse with the fields of view of the MESOM instruments superimposed on top of … More it (i.e. HiBri,LoBri, CHILS and Mag-CHILS).
Miloslav Druckmuller, Shadia Habbal, Pavel Starha. Attribution (CC BY 4.0)
