the digest (Page 131)

Latest in the digest

In a bizarre encounter, a commercial airline pilot spotted a "long cylindrical object that almost looked like a cruise missile" flying overhead.

Robots and Machines

Airline Pilot Reports Contact With “Fast Moving, Cylindrical” Object

By Victor Tangermann

New research suggests that black holes made of dark matter might be lurking inside neutron stars and eating them from the inside.

Science & Energy

Black Holes May Devour Stars From the Inside, Like Cancer

By Dan Robitzski

Whistleblowers at the Arizona Department of Corrections say hundreds of inmates are being held past their release date due to buggy management software.

Science & Energy

Whistleblowers: Flawed Software Held Hundreds of Prisoners Past Release Dates

By Dan Robitzski

On two separate occasions last year, two Air Force F-16 fighter jet pilots were saved by a sophisticated Ground Collision Avoidance System.

Artificial Intelligence

Fighter Pilots Blacked Out From Gs, Got Saved by AI Co-Pilot

By Victor Tangermann

The United States Army is building a machine gun-like laser weapon 1 million times more powerful than anything else in its arsenal.

Robots and Machines

US Army Testing Machine Gun-Style Laser Weapon That Vaporizes Targets

By Dan Robitzski

A team of engineers built an artificial muscle material that gets stronger as it works, potentially leading to soft robots that adapt to their jobs.

Robots and Machines

Scientists Invent Artificial Muscle That Gets Stronger With Exercise

By Dan Robitzski

NASA engineers managed to hide a clever message in the red and white colors of its Perseverance rover's parachute that it used to successfully land on Mars.

NASA Hid a Clever Secret Message in Its Mars Rover’s Parachute

By Victor Tangermann

Prominent physicist Sabine Hossenfelder argues that simulation theory more closely resembles religious belief than a serious scientific hypothesis.

Physicist Trashes Simulation Theory, Says It’s Basically a Religion

By Dan Robitzski

NASA engineers have stitched together a highly detailed 360-degree panorama of Perseverance's landing site in the Jezero Crater.

NASA Releases Incredible Panorama of Mars Rover’s Landing Site

By Victor Tangermann

NASA released the first ever microphone recordings taken on the surface of Mars, as picked up by one of the Perseverance Mars rover's two microphones.

NASA Releases First-Ever Recording of Sound on Mars

By Victor Tangermann

NASA just released footage of its Perseverance Mars rover touching down on the Red Planet. The incredible video is a nail biter.

NASA Releases Video of Perseverance Touching Down on Mars

By Jon Christian

As of today, you can access dozens of RAW images from NASA's Perseverance Mars lander, with many more hopefully on the way.

In Reversal, NASA Is Now Releasing RAW Images From Perseverance

By Jon Christian

Bone cancer survivor Haley Arceneaux will be experiencing the trip of a lifetime on board SpaceX's first private flight some time this year.

Bone Cancer Survivor Will Get Free Trip to Space This Year

By Victor Tangermann

SpaceX's Starship prototype called SN1o has a "good chance of flying this week" at the company's Texas facilities, according to Elon Musk.

Elon Musk: “Good Chance” SpaceX Starship Will Fly This Week

By Victor Tangermann

An airplane was forced to land in Denver when its right engine exploded and caught fire. Passengers were able to capture a dramatic video of the incident.

Advanced Transport

Jet Engine Catches Fire, Drops Airplane Parts Onto Houses

By Tony Ho Tran

One of the latest photos released by NASA is a spectacular shot of the Perseverance rover as it descends on parachute through the Martian atmosphere.

NASA Releases Amazing Photo of Rover Parachuting to Mars Surface

By Tony Ho Tran

New models suggest that Earth's magnetic field, already overdue for a total reversal, could shift faster than we thought.

Neanderthals May Have Been Killed Off By Magnetic Pole Flip

By Tony Ho Tran

Researchers find clear evidence of a link between the radio waves emitted by certain cell phones and cancer in male rats.

NASA’s New Mars Rover Is Less Powerful Than Many Smartphones

By Tony Ho Tran

Scientists just released a map that shows over 25,000 different supermassive black holes in a tiny portion of the night sky.

Science & Energy

Behold This Sky Map of 25,000 Supermassive Black Holes

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists cloned an endangered species for the first time with the successful birth of Elizabeth Ann, a black-footed ferret.

Science & Energy

For the First Time, Scientists Clone Endangered Species

By Dan Robitzski

Anthony Levandowski decided to shut down the artificial intelligence-focused church he started and donated its funds to the NAACP.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence-Worshipping Church Officially Shuts Down

By Dan Robitzski

Another earthquake hit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Saturday, further complicating the effort to manage and decommission it.

Another Earthquake Nails the Crumbling Fukushima Power Plant

By Dan Robitzski

NASA has released the next photo sent to us all the way from Mars courtesy of its Perseverance mission, which successfully landed on Thursday.

Incredible Photo Shows NASA Mars Rover Hanging Below “Sky Crane”

By Victor Tangermann

Amid rolling blackouts, Texans are having to get creative to stay warm. Some are sleeping in their Tesla vehicles overnight.

Texans Are Sleeping In Their Teslas to Survive Freezing Cold

By Victor Tangermann

Scienists managed to open a two-way line of real-time communication with people who were having lucid dreams, some of whom were able to solve math problems.

Science & Energy

Scientists Communicate With Lucid Dreamers During Sleep

By Dan Robitzski

The US Department of Justice indicted three state-backed North Korean hackers for stealing a massive pile of cryptocurrency.

WANTED: Three North Korean Hackers For Trying to Steal $1.3B In Crypto

By Dan Robitzski

Just minutes after touchdown was confirmed, NASA's Perseverance rover sent back two low-resolution images of the surface of Mars.

NASA Rover Releases First Photos From the Surface of Mars

By Victor Tangermann

The US Department of Defense is working to develop a full, portable 3D printing lab that can fit inside a shipping container.

The US Military Is Getting 3D Printing “Factories” Inside Shipping Containers

By Dan Robitzski

When Perseverance lands, NASA engineers will need to start living and working on Mars time to make the most of the mission's beginning.

NASA Scientists Need to Live and Work on “Mars Time”

By Dan Robitzski

Russian physicist Egor Loktionov is suggesting to use space-based lasers to melt non-operational satellites into plasma as a way to clean up Earth's orbit.

Russian Scientist Proposes Using Lasers to Melt Space Junk

By Victor Tangermann

New NASA research suggests that Mars' dust storms make the planet give off gravitational waves that push its already-scarce atmosphere out into space.

Mars Is Radiating Gravity Waves, Which Is Bad News For Human Settlers

By Dan Robitzski

Here's how to follow NASA's daring Perseverance Mars rover landing this afternoon. It's the most difficult landing on the Red Planet ever attempted.

How to Watch NASA’s Perseverance Rover Land on Mars

By Victor Tangermann

Russia has tentatively agreed to collaborate on an upcoming lunar base with China, threatening NASA's position as the world's top space agency.

China and Russia Agree to Collaborate on Lunar Base

By Dan Robitzski

A new satirical video ad created by Greta Thunberg's Fridays for Future campaign pokes fun at the idea of having the "one percent" escape to Mars.

Greta Thunberg Slams Mars Exploration, Says Earth Needs Help Instead

By Victor Tangermann

A group that dispenses instructions on how to 3D print functional guns at home is about to release an upgraded assault rifle.

You Can Now 3D Print an Entire Semi-Automatic Rifle at Home

By Dan Robitzski

Plunging temperatures are wreaking absolute havoc with the country's second largest state's electrical grid, sending prices soaring.

Science & Energy

Texas Snap Freeze Causes Electricity Prices to Soar 10,000 Percent

By Victor Tangermann

Cities are literally starting to sink under their own weight — all the while, climate change is causing sea levels to rise.

Cities Are So Heavy That They’re Sinking Into the Earth

By Victor Tangermann

Stray dogs with strangely bright blue fur have been spotted roaming the streets near an abandoned chemical plant in the Russian city of Dzerzhinsk.

Science & Energy

Blue Dogs Discovered Near Abandoned Chemical Plant

By Victor Tangermann

As if launching a 165-foot rocket wasn't complicated enough, SpaceX now has to contend itself with extreme winter weather hitting its Texas facilities.

SpaceX Starship Testing Shut Down by Huge Snowstorm

By Victor Tangermann

Bill Gates says that he doesn't really see the appeal of investing in rockets to Mars, saying money would be better spent on climate change and medicine.

Bill Gates Says That Going to Mars Is Silly

By Dan Robitzski

The European Space Agency wants astronauts to better represent humanity, so its recruiting more women and people with physical disabilities.

Europe Invites People With Disabilities to Become Astronauts

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists found that future Martian explorers should be able to grow their own oxygen-producing bacteria without relying on air shipments from Earth.

Scientists Show That Algae Could Grow Using Only Mars Resources

By Dan Robitzski

During its latest Starlink satellite launch, SpaceX suffered a rare mishap: one of the boosters didn't stick its landing on the company's drone ship.

SpaceX Rocket Crashes Into Ocean When Landing Fails

By Victor Tangermann

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says there's a 60 percent chance Starship will land successfully this time — leaving a 40 percent chance of failure.

Elon Musk: Next Starship Test Has 60% Chance of Not Exploding

By Jon Christian

Bill Gates is coming down hard in favor of fake meats — and even recommending that every single "rich country" move away from real beef as soon as possible.

Bill Gates Says All Wealthy Nations Should Switch to Synthetic Beef

By Jon Christian

In four years, Jaguar will start to exclusively sell electric-powered cars as part of a company-wide shift away from gas-burning vehicles.

Advanced Transport

Jaguar Says All Its Cars Will Be Electric in Just Four Years

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists accidentally discovered a bizarre ecosystem of creatures on the seafloor under Antarctica, hundreds of miles from any apparent source of food.

Scientists Surprised by “Strange Creatures” Under a Mile of Antarctic Ice

By Dan Robitzski

Researchers were able to cause two plastic trays to hover using only light — opening the doors to research unexplored parts of the sky.

Science & Energy

Scientists Make “Magic Carpet” Hover Using Only Light

By Tony Ho Tran

The United Arab Emirates became the first Arab nation to orbit the Red Planet — and they celebrated by taking a stunning photo of the Martian surface.

First Arab Nation to Orbit Mars Snaps Instagram-Worthy Planet Pic

By Tony Ho Tran

China’s Yutu 2 Rover discovered an unusual elongated rock on the surface of the moon — and they suspect it might be a shard from a meteor impact.

China Discovers “Unusual” Shard on Far Side Of The Moon

By Tony Ho Tran

Astronomers have discovered a planetary fragment orbiting a white dwarf, and it could yield new insights into the future of our own solar system.

Science & Energy

Astronomers Discover Hannibal Lecter Stars That Wear Planet Corpses

By Tony Ho Tran

A NASA-sponsored report finds that the agency has fallen behind on its push to develop nuclear propulsion for spacecraft, threatening a 2039 Mars mission.

NASA Report Recommends “Aggressive” Funding for Nuclear-Powered Mars Mission

By Dan Robitzski

A new neural net algorithm can listen to people's heartbeats with radio waves and guess how they're feeling 71 percent of the time.

Artificial Intelligence

New AI Detects Your Emotions by Scanning You With Radio Signals

By Dan Robitzski

The space company and NASA contractor Nanoracks wants to build greenhouses in space to bolster food security in the face of climate change.

NASA Contractor Signs Deal to Build Greenhouses in Earth’s Orbit

By Dan Robitzski

Flat-earthers still somehow exist in 2021, so one guy wants to send one such conspiracy theorist to space to prove them wrong.

There’s a Crowdfunding Campaign to Send a Flat-Earther to Space

By Dan Robitzski

China's space agency has released amazing footage of its Tianwen-1 probe orbiting Mars. It shows an incredible amount of detail.

China Releases Breathtaking Video From Spacecraft Orbiting Mars

By Victor Tangermann

In an interview with Joe Rogan, Tesla CEO Elon Musk renewed his promises that the upcoming Roadster could maybe hover "like a meter off the ground."

Elon Musk Says He Wants Future Tesla Roadster to Hover

By Victor Tangermann

NASA scientists say they can hunt for alien civilizations by looking for industrial pollutants like nitrogen dioxide in exoplanets' atmospheres.

NASA Is Hunting Alien Civilizations by Looking for Their Pollution

By Dan Robitzski

After a seven months of travel, NASA's Perseverance rover is set to land on Mars next week. The agency's InSight lander will be listening.

When NASA’s New Rover Lands, Its Other Lander Will Listen for the Impact

By Victor Tangermann

Shell just announced that it plans to decrease oil production by a small amount every year for the rest of its existence.

Shell Says Oil Production Will Fall Every Year, Forever

By Dan Robitzski

After spending seven months attached to the ISS, Russian cargo spacecraft Progress 76P MS-15 dropped back down to Earth to burn up in the atmosphere.

See a Russian Cargo Spaceship Disintegrating During Reentry

By Victor Tangermann

Bill Nye released an open letter addressed to president Joe Biden in which he recommended the White House to deepen their commitments to NASA.

Bill Nye Implores Biden to Protect Earth From Dangerous Asteroids

By Victor Tangermann

The number of babies born in China dropped by nearly 15 percent in 2020, potentially heralding problems as the country's population skews older.

The Birth Rate in China Dropped Substantially This Year

By Dan Robitzski

Epic Games plans to release a browser tool that will quickly create almost-photorealistic CGI characters with the Unreal Engine.

Science & Energy

New Browser App Lets You Create Photorealistic Fake People

By Dan Robitzski