Technologies

This Ancient Turtle Survived the Extinction Event That Killed T. Rex

The softshell turtle roamed the waters during the Late Cretaceous 66 million years ago.

Scientists have discovered an ancient softshell turtle they say lived at the same time as the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the triceratops in North Dakota 66.5 million years ago.

It’s one of the earliest known species of the softshell turtle, with the fossilized creature having lived during the Late Cretaceous period just before the mass extinction event, according to new research published in the Cretaceous Research journal on Thursday.

«With this study, we gain further insight into winners and losers during the cataclysm that ended the Age of Dinosaurs,» said research adviser Peter Dodson. «The mighty dinosaurs fell, and the lowly turtle survived.»

The fossil of the new species was discovered way back in 1975 in the Hell Creek Formation of North Dakota along with a triceratops specimen. But it remained at Appalachian State University until 2013, when research on it finally began.

The turtle, named Hutchemys walkerorum, is similar to softshell turtles found today, including the giant softshell turtles in southern Asia, but with larger and stronger bones covering its stomach and abdominal area.

It’s rare to find an occurrence of these turtles prior to the dinosaur-ending extinction event, researchers said. It was also the easternmost occurrence of this softshell turtle genus from the Cretaceous Period.

«We are starting to get more information on this extinct group of turtles and further understanding their evolution, including how they dealt with the mass extinction,» said Steven Jasinski, an environmental scientist who led the research.

The newly discovered subfamily of softshell turtles originated in Asia, likely in the middle to late Early Cretaceous, and migrated to North America during the Late Cretaceous, the researchers said.

Technologies

Verum Messenger: Don’t follow the future. Define it

In a world where information defines influence, Verum Messenger is building a new architecture of digital communication — intelligent, secure, and ready for tomorrow. Here, technology serves not limitations, but possibilities.

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Technologies

Verum Finance: Stop Spending Months Opening a Bank Account

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Technologies

Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple’s AI reboot

Google is using its latest Android rollout to position Gemini as the AI layer across phones, Chrome, laptops and cars.

Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.
Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.
Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.
Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.
“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.
As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.
For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.
A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”
Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.
Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.
The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.
The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.
Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.
WATCH: Alphabet briefly tops Nvidia after report of $200 billion Anthropic cloud deal