Read the latest articles from Futurism (Page 720)

Instead of sitting on Santa's lap this year, families can chat online with an AI Santa or stand behind a giant plexiglass barrier.
Viruses

Mall Santas have never been quite as dystopian as they are in the age of COVID.

Italian police officers covered 300 miles in just two hours while driving a Lamborghini Huracan to deliver  a donor kidney.
Developments

"To save a life you don't need superpowers."

It turns out that leftover milk could be a crucial ingredient for the sort of carbon capture tech we may need to stop climate change.
Climate Change

It's a smelly new way to fight climate change.

Malls are giving their Santa villages digital upgrades in the hopes of luring parents — and their money — away from online shopping.
Future Society

They're hoping parents won't be able to resist the A+ photo ops.

The same team that announced the detection of phosphine gas, a biomarker, in Venus's atmosphere, just found a processing error in its data.
Science & Energy

Levels of phosphine, a potential sign of life, turned out to be way lower than we thought.

The National Science Foundation has announced that the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico is officially being decommissioned and demolished.
Science & Energy

BREAKING: The Arecibo SETI observatory will be demolished, in a sad day for the hunt for extraterrestrial life.

Filter out every star, galaxy, and other source of brightness we know about, and half of the light in the universe will still remain.
Physics

Well, this is strange.

An international team of researchers have created diamonds at room temperature in mere minutes using extremely high levels of pressure.
Science & Energy

This'd make a heck of an engagement ring.

Investors and automotive companies themselves are currently investing heavily in electic vehicles, all while the industry launches a new lobby group.
Electric Vehicles

Everyone wants in on the future of electric transportation.

Last week, in what seems to be an unauthorized stunt or part of a music video, a man jumped onto an occupied NYC bus and fired a flamethrower into the air.
Science & Energy

"We don't even need to say how absurd, dangerous and just plain stupid this was."

According to a memo, progressive groups are planning to pressure president-elect Joe Biden's transition team into eliminating the Space Force.
Future Society

A memo called the service an "unnecessary bureaucracy that costs $16 billion in 2021."

Bioethicist Nancy Jecker argues that sex robots catered to their specific needs could provide much-needed companionship to lonely senior citizens.
Robotics

"Designing and marketing sex robots for older, disabled people would represent a sea change from current practice."

The FBI is commissioning a fleet of 140 robots to help manage a warehouse where it keeps billions of sensitive paper files.
Robotics

A fleet of robots will manage billions of sensitive files.

The Federal Aviation Administration just cleared the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to fly after the plane was involved in two crashes resulting in 346 deaths.
Advanced Transport

Talk about bad timing.

Bennu, the asteroid on which NASA landed a spacecraft to gather samples, seems to be hollow and gradually crumbling apart.
Science & Energy

"It's as if there is a void at its center, within which you could fit a couple of football fields."

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told reporters that he expects SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to "quarantine and self-isolate" after testing for the coronavirus.
NASA

Musk tested both positive and negative twice late on Thursday.

According to new research, the entire solar system took a mere 200,000 years to form — considerably less time than how long humanity has been around.
Solar Power

In cosmic terms, 200,000 years is a blip.

Metalysis, a UK-based engineering firm, has signed a contract with the European Space Agency to investigate ways to extract breathable air from Moon dust.
Moon

"If you want to go further out into space, it’s a gas station on the Moon essentially, to get into deeper space."

Microsoft had to warn users not to blow vape smoke into their brand new next-generation Xbox Series X consoles.
Future Society

"We can't believe we have to say this, but please do not blow vape smoke into your Xbox Series X."

Pfizer just announced its coronavirus vaccine is 95 percent effective with no serious side effects — even more effective than previously thought.
Viruses

Fifty million doses could be ready before the end of the year.