Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough, though I thought the green category was a fun one. If you need help sorting the words into groups, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: What to wear.

Green group hint: Coffee drinks often are topped with this.

Blue group hint: Clothes dryers use these.

Purple group hint: Where you might work.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Attire.

Green group: Foamy things.

Blue group: Things that use filters.

Purple group: ____ office.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is attire. The four answers are duds, fit, getup and threads.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is foamy things. The four answers are beer, fire extinguisher, sea and shaving cream.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is things that use filters. The four answers are air purifier, cigarette, coffee maker and Instagram.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ office. The four answers are box, Microsoft, Oval and post.

ARC Raiders is a hit for developer Embark Studio. The extraction shooter has had more than 700,000 players since its launch last week, according to an Instagram post from the developer on Monday, and there’s a new update out with a feature fans have been clamoring for. 

Duo matchmaking has just become much more viable in ARC Raiders, as confirmed in an update note on the developer’s site on Wednesday. Previously, two-player teams would find themselves matched in lobbies dominated by three-player squads. In a tactical third-person shooter, being at a manpower disadvantage is a big deal, and it’s even worse when loot is on the line. But earlier this week, Embark Studios pushed a silent update that prioritizes matching duos and trios in their own separate matches.

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ARC Raiders has players take the role of raiders in a post-apocalyptic Earth where robots called ARC machines have forced humans to take shelter in underground settlements. Raiders go solo or in groups to head topside to find any valuable loot and complete quests. While outside, players have to contend with the various ARC machines roaming the land as well as humans who can take a raider out and steal that loot. 

The excitement of the game stems from the extraction mechanic. To get their loot back to the settlement, players need to find extraction points such as an elevator or train. Once the extraction process starts, an alarm goes off, alerting the machines and other raiders to what’s happening, requiring players to try and survive any attacks in order to get their loot safely back to the base. 

Embark Studios says the update will prioritize matching up players in their respective queue — solos with solos, duos with duos and trios with trios. In certain regions and during off-peak matchmaking times, however, duos may still be placed into matches against squads of three people.

What else is new in the latest ARC Raiders update?

Embark Studios also said it reviewed the prices of cosmetic purchases in-game and plans to lower them. The developer says the lower prices will be live starting Thursday. Those players who purchased the higher-priced cosmetics will be compensated for the difference in the coming week. 

When is the next big ARC Raiders update? 

Also happening on Thursday is the North Line update. This patch will feature a Community Unlock Event where players can contribute resources for a tunnel project, which will unlock the fifth map, Stella Montis. Along with the event to unlock the new area, the update will have new ARC enemies, a legendary weapon and more quests. The game’s following update is scheduled for December.

ARC Raiders is out now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and S consoles, and costs $40. 

Dental fillings aren’t a pleasant way to fix cavities but they’re necessary to fill holes and prevent further damage. But now a research team at the University of Nottingham in the UK is working on a gel that could help prevent tooth decay and regenerate damaged tooth enamel.

According to research published in the journal Nature Communications this month, the gel works by containing a modified version of amelogenin, a protein that helps guide the growth of enamel in infants. The gel fills holes and cracks in the teeth when applied.

«The gel was able to grow crystals epitaxially, which means it’s in the same crystallographic orientation as existing enamel,» Alvaro Mata, a professor in Biomedical Engineering and Biomaterials at the University of Nottingham, told New Scientist.

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Enamel is the hard layer of the tooth that shields the softer inner layers from damage caused by general wear and tear, acid and bacteria. Tooth decay happens when the enamel layer breaks down. Enamel doesn’t regenerate naturally, and while fluoride treatment and remineralization toothpaste that uses nano-hydroxyapatite can offer a temporary fix, they aren’t a permanent solution, unlike getting a dental filling.

The new gel creates a thin yet durable layer that adheres to the teeth for several weeks, using calcium and phosphate to stimulate the growth of new crystals in the enamel. In a separate email interview with CNET Mata explained how long he expects the gel to last. «The gel is biodegradable and the process to remineralize takes approximately two weeks.It is applied once, and it will endure as native enamel would, depending on people’s health habits.» 

Research shows it works on heavily damaged enamel 

«Dental enamel has a unique structure, which gives enamel its remarkable properties that protect our teeth throughout life against physical, chemical and thermal insults,» said Dr. Abshar Hasan, a postdoctoral fellow and leading author of the study. «When our material is applied to demineralized or eroded enamel, or exposed dentine, the material promotes the growth of crystals in an integrated and organized manner, recovering the architecture of our natural, healthy enamel.»

This process was effective even when the enamel was severely worn and the dentine below was exposed, according to the research. 

«If used as a preventive solution, it can avoid getting to the dental filling stage,» said Mata. «In a way, it needs to be managed as a chronic disease where patients need to start at home with more education and care. Having said this, we have been working on this for 16 years, which has allowed us to develop quite a bit of know-how to understand, control and shape the technology. Because of this, we now have a versatile technology that will derive into multiple types of products. I believe that in the future, dental fillings will be a possibility.» 

Mata says he’s «very excited because the technology has been designed with the clinician and patient in mind. It is safe, can be easily and rapidly applied, and it is scalable.» He’s started a startup called Mintech-Bio and hopes to have the first product out next year, according to New Scientist, following the clinical trial. 

Dentists are cautiously optimistic

CNET reached out to several dentists to get their perspective on the gel.   

Bianca Velayo, general dentist in Henderson, Nevada, and multi-practice owner at PDS Health, was cautious about the timeline. 

«Dental materials like this rarely hit the market overnight, even with exciting results,» she says. «After early lab success, the real test is how it performs in the human mouth under real-world conditions: heat, saliva, bacteria, diet and daily habits. Between lab research, multiple trial phases and regulatory approval, it usually takes 5 to 10 years before we’d see a material like this in everyday dental use.»

However, Velayo also says she’s excited about the prospect of these replacing traditional dental fillings in the future. 

«This gel hints at the future of dentistry, where we could actually regrow what’s been lost. It’s the difference between repairing and truly healing the tooth,» she says.

Another dentist and multi-practice owner at PDS Health, Ahmad Mokbil, said that the treatment has potential but he doesn’t believe it’ll be possible anytime soon, as it requires a shift in educating patients, dentists, dental coverage and treatment protocols. However, he pointed to existing technology that’s in use. 

«We use an FDA-approved treatment called Curodont, which has similar characteristics and is effective for treating early tooth decay,» Mokbil says. «The number of applications required can vary depending on how the tooth responds, the size of the cavity and how early the intervention takes place.»