Science & Technology — July 7, 2026

Microsoft cuts nearly 5,000 jobs. The company eliminated about 4,800 roles, 2.1% of its global workforce, with cuts hitting Xbox gaming studios and commercial sales divisions as part of an AI-driven restructuring.

The cuts, reported by TechCrunch, follow Microsoft's earlier rounds of layoffs and come as the company shifts investment toward artificial intelligence infrastructure. Xbox gaming studios were among the hardest-hit units, raising questions about the company's long-term gaming strategy. Microsoft has not publicly detailed which specific studio projects or sales teams were affected.

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Chinese AI models gain ground with U.S. companies. New releases from DeepSeek and Z.ai rival leading U.S. frontier systems, as surging costs from OpenAI and Anthropic push American firms to explore alternatives.

According to CNBC, cost pressures from leading U.S. providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic are accelerating the shift, with some American firms treating Chinese models as viable substitutes for certain workloads. DeepSeek drew significant attention earlier this year for its competitive performance, and Z.ai has since emerged as another contender. The trend raises questions about U.S. export controls and data-security considerations for enterprise adopters.

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Human lifespan may cap at 125 years. A new analysis in Nature argues all available evidence points to a hard biological ceiling of roughly 125 years, challenging claims of radical life extension.

The Nature analysis challenges longevity researchers and companies that have argued biotechnology could push human lifespans well beyond current records. The study does not identify a single biological mechanism responsible for the ceiling but draws on existing demographic and biological data. The finding is likely to renew debate within the scientific community over whether the proposed limit is a fixed constraint or a threshold that future medicine could eventually shift.

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Google backs nuclear fusion startup. Fusion startup Proxima raised $468 million with Google's backing to build Europe's first commercial fusion power plant, a step toward commercializing the energy technology.

Proxima Fusion's $468 million raise, backed in part by Google, positions the startup to pursue what would be Europe's first commercial fusion power plant. Nuclear fusion has long been considered a potentially transformative but technically elusive energy source. The funding round signals growing private-sector confidence that commercial fusion timelines are becoming more realistic, though no operational date for the plant has been publicly announced.

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