In a once-in-a-billion-year happening two lifeforms have merged into one organism, says Steve Caplin. Post Office staff are using Google to tell if stamps are counterfeit. Whatsapp is being switched off in China and TikTok in the US. There's a flamethrower dog, an omnidirectional bike, a cat self-groomer and a way of putting your ex's love letters behind you. We also learn why NASA can't find out if there's life on Mars and hear why Microsoft won't release its way of producing realistic talking AI videos from a single photo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices