All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
Get WIRED's daily briefing in your inbox. Sign up here
Transgenic mosquitoes are breeding in Brazil
Genetically modified mosquitoes released in Brazil in a trial by UK biotech firm Oxitec have interbred with the natural mosquito population, research by Yale University scientists has found (Gizmodo). The proprietary, lab-created OX513A mosquitoes were expected to reduce numbers of local mosquitoes – and thus incidences of mosquito-borne diseases such as Zika – by interbreeding with them and passing on genes that prevent their offspring from growing into adulthood.
Google Pixel 4 launches in October
Google will reveal its new Pixel 4 smartphone on October 15, and there's already a livestream address to bookmark (Ars Technica). As usual, there've been plenty of leaks and official announcements, from feature lists to video footage, so we're expecting both 5.7in and 6.3in models with OLED displays, Snapdragon 855 processors and 6GB RAM.
Free trial cancellation service launches in UK
The Do Not Pay app for iOS has launched its new Free Trial Surfing feature in the UK, a virtual credit card that'll automatically cancel any trial subscription you sign up to before it bills you (BBC New). First launched in the US in July, the service is currently free and the virtual credit card numbers – associated with a major bank – can't be used to pay for anything other than free trials.
Endurance training changes the shape of your heart
New research has found that evolution has gifted humanity with a heart that readily adapts to the pressures of endurance activities (Science). Ultrasound imaging revealed that long-distance runners and indigenous Tarahumara people from Mexico, famed for the distances they run, developed large, elongated heart ventricles to make it easier to pump large volumes of blood for extended periods, while athletes whose training focussed on high-intensity bursts, like both sedentary humans and chimpanzees, had smaller chambers and thicker walls to ensure that blood can be effectively delivered to brain during sudden activity.
Apple Arcade launch games revealed
The list of games that'll be available to Apple Arcade subscribers when the £4.99-a-month subscription service launches on September 19 has been revealed, and it's remarkably good (EuroGamer). Just over 50 titles will be in the initial library with over 100 more to be added over the course of this autumn.
Launch titles include a range of eagerly-awaited indie games such as Cat Quest II, Exit the Gungeon and Overland, as well as major studio titles such as Ubisoft's Rayman Mini and Square Enix's Various Daylife. They run on and share your progress across all Apple devices, with six user slots for your family and a free one-month trial.
Should your pets be vegan?
Listen now, subscribe via RSS or add to iTunes.
Updated 18.09.2019, 16:30 BST: The article has been updated to remove incorrect statement asserting that Oxitec claimed that genetic material from its mosquito strain would never make it fertile members of the unaltered mosquito population.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
