Category: 4. Technology

Newswise — In a new study published in Nature, researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center explore a surprising phenomenon in which high doses of radiation cause growth in existing metastatic tumors that weren’t directly treated with radiation.

Scientists previously observed that radiation can cause distant tumors to shrink after radiation, known as the “abscopal effect.” The UChicago researchers therefore dubbed the new, opposite response the “badscopal effect,” as a play on words for when unrelated metastatic tumors grow after radiation. They believe this unexpected response happens because high dose radiation increases the production of a protein called amphiregulin by tumor cells that are directly treated with radiation. High amounts of amphiregulin weaken the immune system’s ability to fight cancer and make cancer cells better at protecting themselves. The findings point to promising new therapeutic strategies that could lead to more effective treatments for metastatic cancer.

Radiotherapy: a double-edged sword?

Radiotherapy is often used alone or in combination with surgery and chemotherapy to control localized tumors. More recently, radiotherapy has been used to treat cancers that have limited spread, termed “oligometastasis.” Scientists believe that radiotherapy activates the immune system, producing regression in tumors at distant sites that are not directly treated with radiation (i.e. the abscopal effect). However, many patients who receive radiation for oligometastasis or as part of an immunotherapy regimen fail to respond to treatment because of the progression of distant metastasis.

“Our lab postulated that high doses of radiation might actually promote tumor growth at unirradiated sites under certain conditions, potentially accounting for some of these failures,” said senior author Ralph Weichselbaum, MD, Chair and Daniel K. Ludwig Distinguished Service Professor of Radiation and Cellular Oncology at UChicago Medicine.

Uncovering the ‘badscopal’ effect

“Studies from the 1940s suggested radiation might cause tumor spread, but that never made sense to me because radiation is a highly effective anti-cancer agent within the tumor bed,” Weichselbaum said. “However, the communication between the irradiated site and distant metastatic sites is fascinating.”

To investigate this tumor-to-tumor interaction, the research team analyzed biopsy samples from a clinical trial in which patients with diverse histological types that were treated with high dose focused radiotherapy known as Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) and checkpoint blockade (Pembrolizumab). That clinical trial team, led by Steven Chmura, MD, PhD, Professor of Radiation and Cellular Oncology and Director of Clinical and Translational Research for Radiation Oncology at UChicago, found that tumors at preexisting metastatic sites increased in size following SBRT, suggesting radiation might promote tumor growth.

To understand how radiation at the primary site affects distant tumors, researchers led by András Piffkó, MD, a post-doctoral fellow in the Weichselbaum lab, conducted gene expression profiling of patient tumors before and after radiation treatment. They discovered that in tumors that had been treated with radiation, the gene encoding for a protein called amphiregulin was significantly increased.

Amphiregulin binds to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a widely expressed transmembrane tyrosine kinase, and activates major intracellular signaling pathways governing cell survival, proliferation, migration and cell death.

The researchers then studied this effect using animal models of lung and breast cancer. They found that while radiation reduced the number of new metastatic sites, it increased the growth of existing metastases. Radiotherapy significantly upregulated amphiregulin in tumor cells and blood. Blocking amphiregulin with antibodies or eliminating its gene in the tumor cells using the gene editing technology CRISPR reduced the size of tumors outside of the radiation field.

“Interestingly, the combination of radiation and amphiregulin blockade decreased both tumor size and the number of metastatic sites,” Weichselbaum said.

The role of immune suppression

To explore the mechanism further, the researchers analyzed blood samples from a second clinical trial conducted by Chmura, in which lung cancer patients received SBRT either following or at the same time as immunotherapy. They found that failure to decrease amphiregulin following SBRT in the serum of patients was associated with an adverse outcome. Additionally, they found an increase in myeloid cells with immunosuppressive characteristics was associated with metastasis progression and death.

In a previous study published in Cancer Cell, Weichselbaum and team demonstrated that ablating immunosuppressive myeloid cells reduces both the size and frequency of metastasis in animal models. By contrast, in the current study, they saw an increase in immunosuppressive myeloid cells in animals where amphiregulin was highly expressed in tumors and blood following radiation but not in tumors that did not express amphiregulin. Amphiregulin appeared to block the differentiation of myeloid cells, leading to an immunosuppressive phenotype.

In collaboration with Ronald Rock, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at UChicago, the team discovered that amphiregulin and radiation upregulated CD47, a so-called “don’t eat me” signal on tumor cells that blocks the ability of macrophages and myeloid cells to engulf tumor cells.

Blocking amphiregulin and CD47 in combination with radiotherapy resulted in highly effective metastatic control in animal models. The study results indicate a paradigm shift for the use of radiation therapy in patients with locally advanced and metastatic tumors, in which molecules upregulated by radiotherapy could be detected and neutralized. This in turn could lead to a new type of personalized radiotherapy, especially in patients with metastatic disease.

“These results open a whole new way of thinking about the systemic effects of radiotherapy,” Weichselbaum said. “Based on these findings, we are planning to conduct a clinical trial to further explore and validate the results.”

The study, “Radiation-induced amphiregulin drives tumor metastasis,” was supported by the National Cancer Institute, Ludwig Foundation, the Chicago Tumor Institute, generous gifts from Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Foglia and the Foglia Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. David Kozin and Mr. and Mrs. James Weichselbaum.

Additional authors include András Piffkó from the University of Chicago, USA, and the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany; Kaiting Yang from the University of Chicago, the Ludwig Center for Metastasis Research, and South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, P.R. China; Arpit Panda, Janna Heide, Katarzyna Zawieracz, Leonhard Donle, Ernst Lengyel, Ronald Rock, and Everett E. Vokes from the University of Chicago; Krystyna Tesak, Jason Bugno, Chuangyu Wen, Emile Naccasha, Dapeng Chen, Steven Chmura, Sean Pitroda, and Hua Laura Liang from the University of Chicago, and the Ludwig Center for Metastasis Research, Chicago; Chuan He from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago; Liangliang Wang from the University of Chicago, the Ludwig Center for Metastasis Research, Chicago, and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China; Yanbin Fu from the University of Chicago and Weill Cornell Medicine, New York; Douglas Tilley from Temple University, Philadelphia; and Matthias Mack from the University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.

Apple is also reportedly planning a “Vision Air” product, with production expected to start in Q3 2027. Kuo says it will be more than 40 percent lighter than the first-generation Vision Pro, and that it will include Apple’s flagship iPhone processor instead the more robust Mac processor found in the Vision Pro—all at a “significantly lower price than Vision Pro.” The big weight reduction is “achieved through glass-to-plastic replacement, extensive magnesium alloy use (titanium alloy deemed too expensive), and reduced sensor count.”

True smart glasses in 2027

The Vision Pro (along with the planned Vision Air) is a fully immersive VR headset that supports augmented reality by displaying the wearer’s surroundings on the internal screens based on what’s captured by 3D cameras on the outside of the device. That allows for some neat applications, but it also means the device is bulky and impractical to wear in public.

The real dream for many is smart glasses that are almost indistinguishable from normal glasses, but which display some of the same AR content as the Vision Pro on transparent lenses instead of via a camera-to-screen pipeline.

Apple is also planning to roll that out, Kuo says. But first, mass production of display-free “Ray-Ban-like” glasses is scheduled for Q2 2027, and Kuo claims Apple plans to ship between 3 million and 5 million units through 2027, suggesting the company expects this form factor to make a much bigger impact than the Vision Pro’s VR-like HMD approach.

The glasses would have a “voice control and gesture recognition user interface” but no display functionality at all. Instead, “core features include: audio playback, camera, video recording, and AI environmental sensing.”

The actual AR glasses would come later, in 2028.

The Nintendo Switch 2 has been available in the US for more than three weeks — and we finally saw a second wave of availability at retail as June was coming to an end. While it’s too early to declare the Switch 2 to be easy to obtain, the fact that Best Buy and Walmart had units to sell online on June 23 and June 25, respectively, is a good sign that attentive shoppers may be able to take advantage of a Switch 2 restock this summer without paying a ridiculous markup.

That said, if you’re looking to join one of the millions of people who have already snagged the $450 console since it officially went up for sale on June 5, you may need to include in-store pickup or joining a rewards program as an option. The former (with online reservations) seems to be the methodology that Best Buy and Target currently prefer, while Walmart’s latest Switch 2 drop offered early access to those with Walmart+ (its membership program).

In the meantime, one place not worth checking for the Switch 2 is Amazon. A report today confirmed that its absence from Amazon’s online store was the result of an ongoing dispute between the retailer and Nintendo — though there have been signs of a thaw on games and accessories. All that said, if you’re still on the hunt, we’ve rounded up all of the latest information we could find on how to buy the Nintendo Switch 2 and where you can pick one up.

Where to buy the Nintendo Switch 2

Walmart most recently offered the Switch 2 online on June 25, with Walmart+ members getting an hour’s head start. Currently, both the Mario Kart World bundle and the standalone console are “available” via third-party retailers, but listed for much higher than their standard $500 and $450 price tags — with limited quantities available. We wouldn’t recommend buying these; instead, wait for the console to be listed at its regular MSRP. Naturally, the world’s largest retailer is also selling the console at its brick-and-mortar locations, though the company has noted that quantities are limited and inventory will vary by location.

Best Buy made additional consoles available on June 11 around 12PM ET, and again on June 23 after selling out quickly on launch day (June 5). Those restocks lasted for the better part of an hour and required in-store pickup, but the device is now sold out again.

Target had the Switch 2 in stores on June 5 and restocked its online inventory for at least a couple of hours starting around 3:30AM ET on June 6. It then had another restock on June 12 around 2:30PM ET, but that appears to have died out in less than an hour. We also noted it showing up in stock in at least one Philadelphia location on June 24.

GameStop has advertised in-store availability, though exactly how much stock your local store may have will vary by location. Online, the device has been unavailable for the past week, with the listings for the base console and Mario Kart bundle now pointing to a “Find a Store” page. We saw a $625 bundle that includes Mario Kart World, a microSD Express card and a few other accessories pop up a bit more frequently than the standard SKUs, but it’s no longer listed (and it was kind of a raw deal anyway).

You may still have some luck at certain membership-based retailers. A Mario Kart World bundle at Costco that includes a 12-month Switch Online subscription has gone in and out of stock since launch day. Sam’s Club has had a bundle without the Switch Online sub as well, though it’s out of stock now. We also saw the console at BJ’s early on June 5, but it’s no longer live there.

Verizon briefly had the Switch 2 available on launch day, but that’s dried up. Only those with Verizon service were able to order, and the process was apparently somewhat rocky.

Amazon hasn’t had any form of Switch 2 listing on its website, nor has it listed Mario Kart World. A June 30 Bloomberg report confirmed what had been widely rumored for weeks: Nintendo was apparently punishing Amazon for continuing to surface third-party retailers selling trans-shipped games. However, some Switch 2 games have started popping up, so it’s possible the console may appear at some point, too.

Newegg has listed the Switch 2 on its site for several weeks, but it’s given no indication as to when it’ll begin sales. While some listings are available via a third-party seller, they’re at massively inflated prices.

With all of these stores, we’ve seen the Mario Kart World bundle available in greater quantities online than the base console, which costs $50 less. But given that Mario Kart is the Switch 2’s biggest launch game and retails for $80 on its own, that may not be the worst thing.

Nintendo, meanwhile, is only offering the Switch 2 via an invite system. This requires you to have been a Switch Online member for at least 12 months and logged at least 50 hours of Switch 1 playtime as of April 2. It can’t hurt to sign up if you meet the criteria, but don’t expect it to bear fruit immediately — it’s taken weeks for many people who registered in April to receive their invite.

You can find a list of every Switch 2 retail listing we could find below. Just be aware that this is meant to be a reference, not a rundown of everywhere the device is available right this second.

Where to buy Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle:

Where to buy Switch 2:

Where to buy Nintendo Switch 2 games and accessories

Nintendo is selling a number of Switch 2 accessories alongside the console, from its (pricey) Pro Controller to cases to cameras for the new GameChat feature. Most of these became available on June 5. The same goes for games like Mario Kart World and the Switch 2 version of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Another big Switch 2 release, Donkey Kong Bananza, won’t be available until mid-July but is still up for pre-order now.

As of this publication, just about all Switch 2 games are broadly available. Stock for the accessories remains a little spottier, but most devices are still available at multiple retailers. Nintendo’s official Switch 2 carrying cases have been the main exceptions, so you may need to look to third-party alternatives if you want some protection for your console right away.

Mario Kart World ($80)

Donkey Kong Bananza ($70)

Additional Switch 2 games

Samsung microSD Express Card (256GB) for Nintendo Switch 2 ($60)

Joy-Con 2 bundle ($95)

Switch 2 Pro Controller ($85)

Switch 2 Camera ($55)

Hori Nintendo Switch 2 Piranha Plant Camera ($60)

Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip ($40)

Joy-Con 2 Wheels (set of 2) ($25)

Switch 2 All-in-One Carrying Case ($85)

Switch 2 Carrying Case and Screen Protector ($40)

Nintendo Switch 2 Dock Set ($120)

Nintendo GameCube Controller for Switch 2 ($65)

Apple is considering enlisting the help of OpenAI or Anthropic to power its AI-upgraded Siri, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. As Apple continues to struggle with the development of an upgraded “LLM Siri,” it reportedly asked OpenAI and Anthropic to create versions of their large-language models to test on the company’s private cloud infrastructure.

As reported by Bloomberg, Rockwell asked his team to test whether Anthropic’s Claude, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, or Google’s Gemini performs better at handling basic requests compared to its own models, with Anthropic’s apparently seen as the most promising. While Google has Gemini AI features for Android and its Pixel lineup, Samsung licenses Google’s AI model for its phones. It is also reportedly close to cutting a deal with Perplexity, which already has a tie-up with Motorola. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported Apple executives had considered acquiring Perplexity to help boost its AI ambitions.

LLM Siri was largely absent from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month, where SVP of worldwide marketing Greg Joswiak admitted that the technology “didn’t hit our quality standard.” Bloomberg notes that Apple’s plans to incorporate a third-party AI model into Siri are still at an “early stage” and that it’s still considering using in-house models.

Apple will release a cheaper MacBook Air laptop powered by an iPhone processor, according to a Monday post on X by respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities.

https://t.co/3WFsSlGgT5

— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) June 30, 2025

According to the report, the 13-inch thin-and-light laptop will enter production in late 2025 or early 2026 and will be powered by the A18 Pro processor, the same chip powering the iPhone 16 Pro. This laptop might also give you more color options, including pink and yellow, along with the standard silver. 

Apple is targeting a 5-7 million unit production run for 2026. While the A18 Pro chip would be a significant downgrade from the M-series chip, it’s about on par with 2020’s M1 chip, making it more than powerful enough for everyday tasks. 

A representative for Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Of Apple’s 2024 Mac shipments, the MacBook Air accounted for 33% of sales, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Despite the popularity of the MacBook line, Apple only has 9.2% of global computer market share, according to Statista. Currently, Dell, HP and Lenovo all command greater share of the market than Apple, likely thanks to wider product portfolios and enterprise sales. 

Considering the MacBook Air starts at $999, a cheaper A18 Pro-powered MacBook Air could eat away at lower-end computer sales and bring MacOS to more price-conscious consumers. And, given that the A18 Pro supports Apple Intelligence, the company’s vision of AI-enabled computing, it could introduce AI to more laptop buyers.

Any Halo fans hoping to hear something about what’s next for the long-running Xbox franchise should tune into Halo World Championship 2025. That’s according to the Halo Studios team, which shared an update via Halo Waypoint on Monday.

“We don’t usually comment on such matters, but this time we want to enter the chat and share a little more perspective for Halo fans who might be on the fence about whether to attend this year’s event,” the team says, addressing recent speculation surrounding when exactly something will be seen.

At last year’s championship, Halo Studios shared that it was rebranding away from its prior name, 343 Industries, while also unveiling an Unreal Engine 5 teaser called Project Foundry that served as an exploration of the Halo universe using the new technology.

The studio confirmed that it was switching to Unreal Engine 5 for future projects, abandoning the Slipspace engine that was used to build Halo Infinite and had served as a successor to the Blam! engine of the original Halo games.

“Speculation is always fun, but if you want the official scoop on what Halo Studios has been working on, you won’t want to miss this year’s Halo World Championship. We really hope you’ll join us in Seattle this October!”

What projects is Halo Studios working on?

It’s interesting to me that Halo Studios continues to emphasize “multiple projects” as opposed to just saying the team’s next game. There are a couple of different possibilities worth mentioning.

Rumors abound that Halo: Combat Evolved is getting a remaster or remake of some kind, which would line up with the assets seen in the Project Foundry teaser, as well as comments from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer.

During the Xbox Games Showcase 2025, Spencer noted that 2026 would see a “new Fable, the next Forza, Gears of War E-Day, and the return of a classic that’s been with us since the beginning.”

While Halo wasn’t mentioned by name, it’s hard to imagine exactly what other classic Spencer would be referencing.

If this does pan out, then I sincerely hope it leans more toward a remake rather than a remaster. Halo: Combat Evolved was already remastered and can be played on Xbox and PC as part of the Master Chief Collection.

Finding a Nintendo Switch 2 hasn’t been easy since its launch on June 5th, with sporadic availability over the past few weeks at various retailers. Luckily, if you’ve missed chances to pick one up, Best Buy will have more stock at its retail stores across the US starting tomorrow, July 1st. The Verge has reached out to Best Buy as to whether locations will primarily stock the standalone system ($449.99), the console bundle $499.99) that comes with Mario Kart World, or both. We’ll update this post if we hear back. To see a list of participating locations, head on over to Best Buy’s Switch 2 landing page.

While you’ll have to physically go to a Best Buy for a Switch 2, the good news is you won’t have to deal with an online queue or a potentially finicky checkout process. Despite stock being hard to come by in its first month of availability, the Switch 2 has already become the fastest-selling console of all time, surpassing 3.5 million units sold in its first four days. The handheld’s 7.9-inch 1080p LCD display (up from the Switch’s 6.2-inch 720p screen), magnetic Joy-Con controllers, and improved performance make it a solid upgrade over its predecessor. Or, as The Verge’s Andrew Webster referred to it in his Switch 2 review, “exactly good enough.”

Your Google Calendar is moving to your Apple Watch, thanks to a new update spotted by 9to5Google on Monday. 

The Apple Watch has few Google applications, but a new Google Calendar update, version 25.24.1, is bringing another one to Apple’s smartwatch. 

Also: Your Apple Watch is getting a major upgrade. The best features coming to WatchOS 26

Google Calendar is one of four Google-owned apps available through Apple Watch, along with Google Keep, Google Maps, and YouTube Music. 

The application displays a week’s worth of events and Google Tasks in a list view, with each event or task getting a color-coded card. Users can see the date, time, and event through this view, and not much else. This is in contrast to Apple’s native calendar app, which provides views of both week and month events. 

However, according to 9to5Google, users won’t be able to create new events or set reminders from the Apple Watch app. 

New complications — that is, the app information displayed on the Apple Watch’s face — include “What’s next” and “Today’s date,” easily available to view. The former displays as a circle or rectangle and includes the next event on the calendar. It’s also available as a Smart Stack widget. The latter displays the day and date. 

Also: One of the best smartwatches I’ve tested is not made by Samsung or Google 

The functionalities available with Google Calendar’s emergence on the Apple Watch are fairly simple. When a user taps into an event, Google Calendar prompts them to view more on their phone. I see this as a helpful Smart Stack widget addition for people who want to view their daily or weekly calendars quickly. 

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Whether you’re a content creator needing a dedicated drive for raw and rendered video files, a PC gamer with an extensive library of digital titles, or just want plenty of space for backing up your personal computer, it’s hard to go wrong with a portable SSD. And right now at Amazon, you can snag the 8TB Crucial X10 portable SSD for 48% off, bringing the price to just $290 and making it a more affordable, high-capacity option.

Also: The best early Amazon Prime Day 2025 laptop deals live now

Along with high-capacity storage, you’ll get fast read and write speeds: up to 2100 MB/s, which makes the Crucial X10 perfect for transferring large files like digital games, raw and rendered video, and work projects. It also features plug-and-play compatibility with Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and even game consoles like the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5. 

Read the review: Finally, a portable SSD that’s durable enough to travel outdoors with me

The SSD is also protected by a rugged, water and dust-resistant case to help prevent damage and data loss or corruption. With the rugged case, the Crucial X10 can withstand drops from almost 10 feet high and the occasional coffee or water spill on your desk. And with support for both Thunderbolt 4 and USB 3.2, you’ll have flexible connectivity options for integrating the 6TB Crucial X10 portable SSD into your workstation or PC gaming setup. 

ZDNET’s resident rugged tech and gadget expert, Adrian Kinglsey-Hughes, got to test out the Crucial X10 for himself and was impressed with just how durable this portable SSD is. As an avid outdoor photographer, Adrian needed a portable SSD that could handle everything from dust and grit to rain and shocks or drops, and he found just what he needed with the Crucial X10’s ruggedized case, integrated lanyard loop, and multiple storage sizes.

Looking for the next best product? Get expert reviews and editor favorites with ZDNET Recommends.

How I rated this deal 

While not the steepest deal I’ve ever seen on a high-capacity portable SSD (the Samsung Evo T5 was almost 50% off around Christmas 2024), it’s still an incredible deal on a quality storage solution for gaming, content creation, and complex office projects. With read and write speeds up to 2100 MB/s, you can quickly transfer and back up large files. That’s why I gave it a 4/5 Editor’s deal rating.