Apple’s New iOS 13, a Mars Survival Course, and More News

Apple’s iOS 13 is ready for public testing; a space camp is teaching students how to survive on Mars; and we’ve got some bike helmet suggestions for summer. Here’s the news you need to know, in two minutes or less.

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Today’s Headlines

iOS 13 public beta is here

Good news: You can now download a test version of the new iPhone operating system that is scheduled for a fall release. iOS 13 should make your phone a little faster and more secure, but more than that, it will optimize your photos app, let you use Apple Sign On for more privacy on the web, and introduce a completely different look: dark mode.

A new kind of space camp teaches the art of martian medicine

Don’t assume the “medical” in the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus means just earthly medicine: now it has a course preparing students for whatever medical maladies would strike humans on Mars. The course is driven by Mars-applicable lectures about topics like radiation and the psychological difficulties of isolation and confinement. It also has spacesuit-clad simulations of what a real-life gone-wrong scenario would look like.

Cocktail Conversation

Learning you’ve nabbed the title role in a major superhero franchise is probably the best news an actor can get. But Tom Holland, star of the upcoming Spiderman: Far From Home, found out in a strange way: with everyone else, on Instagram. He didn’t believe the Sony Pictures post at first, because the company had recently been hacked (this was back in 2015). But when Marvel Studio’s head Kevin Feige called to tell him the news, he simply replied, “I have to be honest, Kevin. I already know. You put it on Instagram.”

WIRED Recommends: Bike Helmets

If your mother is anything like mine, she constantly told you your head is “like an egg.” That is, fragile with valuable stuff inside. Let your legs fly on the bike of your choice while you protect your noggin with one of these 3 helmets rated by WIRED’s experts.

More News You Can Use

Schools and companies are facing off over the wireless spectrum.

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