Map of the sky in gamma raysImage: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration Your smartphone has a particle detector on it, and scientists want you to help them uncover how the universe really works and maybe even discover the true nature of dark matter. There are just a few bugs to work out. High-energy particles from space, called…

Lovers of quality audio content you’re probably not paying for, rejoice. Google has finally released its own Google Podcasts app, providing users a dedicated place to enjoy their shows, find personalized recommendations, and soon take advantage of upcoming accessibility features. It’s also one of the few Android-only apps made by the company, which traditionally releases cross-platform…

The star being eaten by the black hole is in pink.Image: X-ray: NASA/CXC/UNH/D.Lin et al, Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI We’ve seen supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies tearing stars to shreds. We’ve detected the energy wave from relatively tiny black holes slamming together to create a wobble in space-time a billion light-years away. But what…

Photo: AP AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon say they won’t provide their customers’ location data to third-party data brokers, AP reported on Tuesday. A New York Times report in May touched off a major scandal by describing the ways location data, which all four major carriers in the U.S. share with data brokers like LocationSmart,…

Look but definitely don’t touch.Photo: Natubico (Wikimedia Commons) A towering invasive plant capable of scarring anyone unlucky enough to touch its toxic sap is cropping back up in the U.S. And for the first time ever, it’s been spotted in the state of Virginia. The toxic plant, aptly known as the giant hogweed, was first…

Image: Facebook Remember HQ Trivia—that live game show you totally would have won that one time if you hadn’t gotten the easy question wrong? The app, and its “quiz daddy” host Scott Rogowsky, seem to have inspired Facebook to try its hand at captivating viewers with live-streamed multiple choice questions, among other gimmicks. Facebook announced…

Illustration: Bryan Menegus (Gizmodo) Microsoft employees are putting pressure on their management to cancel a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of a backlash against the agency’s policy of separating children from their families at the U.S. border. In an open letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sent today, employees demanded that the…