Read the latest articles from Futurism (Page 891)

The launch pad for a Japanese rocket inexplicably caught fire, forcing the nation to abort an International Space Station supply mission.
Off-World

Japanese Rocket’s Launch Pad Inexplicably Bursts Into Flames

"Now we are trying to extinguish a fire."

A new bill, just passed by California's state senate, makes Uber and Lyft contractors actual employees and eligible for benefits.
Future Society

New California Law Makes Uber and Lyft Drivers Employees

The bill makes drivers eligible for minimum wage, sick leave, and other benefits.

An Indian doctor used a remotely controlled robot to perform heart surgery on five patients while he was 20 miles away from the operating table.
Health & Medicine

Doctor Uses Robot to Perform First Long-Distance Heart Surgery

When the patient was on the operating table, the doctor was 20 miles away.

Right now, the U.S. government is ill-equipped to defend against and counter high-tech means of warfare like cyberattacks or hypersonic missiles.
Future Society

NSA: The US Is Vulnerable to Cyberattacks, Hypersonic Missiles

High-tech weapons may be evolving too rapidly to adapt to them.

Apple just unveiled the iPhone 11 Pro, but based on the public's response, it didn't run the design past anyone with trypophobia.
Robots and Machines

The New iPhone Design Is Horrifying People With an Obscure Phobia

The iPhone 11's weird triple-camera design is leaving people disgusted.

SpaceX filed paperwork with the FCC yesterday, requesting permission to communicate with its first generation Starship up to an altitude of 22.5 km.
Starship

SpaceX Files Paperwork for Starship Maiden Voyage

Will Starship Mk1 be ready for its launch debut in October?

A Swedish scientist has suggested humans might need to turn to cannibalism to survive food shortages brought about by climate change.
Climate Change

Scientist Suggests New Response to Climate Change: Cannibalism

He says he'd be open to tasting it. Would you?

A new AI tool that can turns selfies into fully-rendered characters in the video game "Justice Online." Apparently it's been used 1 million times.
Artificial Intelligence

Amazing AI Turns Your Selfie Into a 3D Video Game Character

Researchers solved the pressing crisis of character customization taking too long.

Alienstock, a free music festival that spun off the popular "Storm Area 51" Facebook event, has been canceled, founder Matty Roberts announced.
Future Society

Amid Drama, “Storm Area 51” Founder Cancels Tie-In Music Festival

"We are not interested in... a FYREFEST 2.0."

Microsoft President Brad Smith revealed in his new book that Taylor Swift threatened to sue the company over "Tay" the Twitter chatbot-turned-Nazi.
Artificial Intelligence

Taylor Swift Reportedly Threatened Microsoft Over Racist Chatbot

Apparently "Tay" was too close to Swift's name for comfort.

Facebook has announced a trio of new initiatives designed to prevent suicide and self-harm amongst the platform's many users.
Future Society

Facebook Announces New Efforts to Prevent Suicide and Self-Harm

The social network has a trio of new initiatives in the works.

As brain-computer interface and neural implant technology improves, the Royal Society argues we may soon be able to communicate telepathically.
Brain Implants

Scientists: Brain Implants Could Essentially Make Us Telepathic

"Not only thoughts, but sensory experiences, could be communicated from brain to brain."

A new video shows a Tesla driver asleep at the wheel while his car, presumably with Autopilot mode enabled, cruises down the Massachusetts Turnpike.
Sleep

Watch a Tesla Driver Cruise Down the Highway Completely Asleep

"Wow, I was just driving next to somebody who was completely asleep on the Mass Pike."

That Chardonnay in your glass comes from wine grapes which carry a fascinating genetic quirk. Researchers at the University of California...
Science & Energy

Scientists Sequence Genomes of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon

The data cache could explain varieties in everything from wines to types of heirloom tomatoes.

Researchers at MIT invented a chameleon-like "reprogrammable ink" that allows you to "paint" colors onto a surface using a projector and UV light.
Future Society

New Tech Can Switch Your Car’s Paint Job “Like a Chameleon”

This special spray could allow you to change the color of your shoes every morning.

Virgin Galactic plans to start selling tickets to space next year. By 2023, it will launch a shuttlefull of passengers every 32 hours.
Off-World

Virgin Galactic’s Plan: Send Tourists to Space Every 32 Hours

If every flight is fully booked, more than 3,000 people would launch into space in the next few years.

In 2011, Elon Musk and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein both attended an exclusive "Billionaires' Dinner" in Long Beach, Calif.
Elon Musk

Elon Musk Got a Posh “Billionaires’ Dinner” With Jeffrey Epstein

Tesla declined to answer questions about Musk rubbing shoulders with the convicted sex offender.

A team of scientists on board the International Space Station have successfully mixed cement in the microgravity of space.
Off-World

For the First Time Ever, Astronauts Mix Cement in Space

Concrete could open a lot of doors for constructing habitats in space.

General John Raymnd, head of the newly-formed U.S. Space Command, clarified that he'll seek to first deter space combat but would still be ready to fight.
Space

Head of US Space Command: Space Is “Clearly a Warfighting Domain”

What could possibly go wrong?

Google has banned ads hawking unproven or experimental medical treatments and therapies, including many stem cell and gene therapies.
Future Society

Google Finally Bans Dangerous Miracle Cure Ads

It's taking a stand against sellers of bogus health treatments.