the digest (Page 139)

Latest in the digest

New analysis of ancient Martian meteorites adds 400 million years to our historical knowledge of water on the surface of Mars.

Science & Energy

Martian Meteorites Show Red Planet Had Water Billions of Years Ago

By Dan Robitzski

The Starlink "Better Than Nothing Beta" is giving some rural participants better internet connectivity than the vast majority of the U.S.

Starlink Beta Has Outperformed Most Internet in the US

By Dan Robitzski

The hologram strat up PORTL Hologram made a doorway-sized device that can transmit holograms as new, immersive form of video calls.

Virtual Reality

This “Portal” Lets You Beam a Hologram of Yourself Into Video Calls

By Dan Robitzski

Upon digging through Starlink's terms of service, eagle-eyed beta testers discovered they were signing up for a lot more than they might have thought.

Starlink Terms of Service Demands That Users “Recognize Mars as a Free Planet”

By Victor Tangermann

A british company is manufacturing diamonds out of atmospheric CO2 and rainwater in an attempt to reverse environmental damage.

Science & Energy

This Guy Is Creating Actual Diamonds From Reclaimed CO2

By Dan Robitzski

Astronomers can't definitively rule out the chance that the "God of Chaos" asteroid Apophis crashes into Earth when it returns in 2068.

Science & Energy

There’s a Chance This Giant Asteroid Will Smash Earth in 2068

By Dan Robitzski

A team of Disney researchers have built a terrifying animatronic robot bust to literally replicate the "gaze" of a human in order to appear more lifelike.

Disney Builds Horrifying Skinless Robot With Terrifyingly Human Eyes

By Victor Tangermann

A self-driving race car had a terrible start during the first-ever live broadcast of Roborace, an autonomous race car competition.

Self-Driving Vehicles

Self-Driving Racecar Hits Accelerator, Immediately Crashes Into Wall

By Victor Tangermann

According to researchers from the University of Queensland, Australia, our planet will be hit with more prolonged "mega-droughts" thanks to cliamte change.

Scientists: Earth Should Brace Itself For Multi-Decade “Mega-Droughts”

By Victor Tangermann

For her birthday, Kanye West bought Kim Kardashian a hologram of her dead dad that says he's proud of her and calls Kanye a genius.

Virtual Reality

Kanye Bought Kim Kardashian a Hologram of her Dead Dad That Says He’s Proud of Her

By Dan Robitzski

The European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter just spotted something unusual on the surface of the Red Planet: a "triplet" crater.

On Mars, a Crater on Top of a Crater on Top of a Crater

By Victor Tangermann

SpaceX had to delay the upcoming Crew Dragon astronaut launch because of a tiny lacquer issue with two of the Falcon 9 rocket engines.

Historic SpaceX Astronaut Launch Delayed Due to “Nail Polish” Hiccup

By Victor Tangermann

Virgin Hyperloop has made the reasonable decision to learn what 600 MPH travel does to the brain before transporting passengers at 600 MPH.

Virgin Hyperloop Wonders: What Does 600 MPH Travel Do to the Brain?

By Dan Robitzski

Hackers pilfered $2.3 million from Trumps re-election campaign by sending it fake invoices supposedly from vendors the Wisconsin GOP worked with.

Science & Energy

Hackers Siphoned $2.3 Million From Trump’s Campaign

By Dan Robitzski

A man from China called Liu Dongsheng has built a working jetpack suit over two years, for just over $100,000 total, according to state news.

Hey Elon Musk, Hire This Guy in China Who Built His Own Amazing Jetpack Suit

By Victor Tangermann

Images taken from satellites reveal that a massive amount of electricity is being wasted just to illuminate cities overnight.

City Uses Satellite to Measure Wasted Energy

By Dan Robitzski

Research suggests that the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy is spinning extremely slowly compared to others.

Our Galaxy’s Central Black Hole Seems to Be Chilling Out for Some Reason

By Dan Robitzski

This Nonprofit Is Making Sunglasses Out of Recovered Ocean Waste

Science & Energy

This Nonprofit Is Making Sunglasses Out of Recovered Ocean Waste

By Victor Tangermann

Dutch flying car company PAL-V has announced today that its Liberty flying car has passed its road admissions test in Europe, allowing it to drive anywhere.

Advanced Transport

This Flying Car Is Now Allowed to Drive on Highways

By Victor Tangermann

During a press conference, cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin told reporters that the leak on board the space station was a "scratch" about two to three cm long.

Space Station Leak Looks Like a “Scratch,” Cosmonaut Says

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists found some unusual activity coming from a Centaur, or a comet-liked planetary object that orbits deep in our solar system.

Science & Energy

Astronomers Found Unusual Activity on a “Centaur” Planetary Object

By Dan Robitzski

K-pop girl band aespa has announced it's adding a new and completely virtual member to its ranks called "ae-KARINA."

New K-Pop Band Will Include an Entirely CGI Singer

By Victor Tangermann

NASA just dropped its hottest mixtape on Soundcloud — and it's super creepy sounds from space just in time for Halloween.

Science & Energy

NASA Releases Playlist of Spooky Space Sounds

By Victor Tangermann

President Trump's re-election campaign website was temporarily defaced by hackers accusing him of spreading fake news and interfering in the 2020 election.

Science & Energy

Trump’s Campaign Site Got Hacked for Spreading “Fake News”

By Dan Robitzski

A new website uses a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) to turn a picture of anyone's face into a zombie, just in time for Halloween.

Artificial Intelligence

This Neural Network Turns You Into a Zombie

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists discovered a massive new coral reef lurking near Australia's Great Barrier Reef for the first time in over 120 years.

Scientists Discover Huge, Unknown Coral Reef

By Dan Robitzski

Researchers from the University of Leeds and Edinburgh in the UK have 3D printed the "first ever biomimetic tongue surface."

Scientists 3D Print “Biomimetic” Copy of Human Tongue

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists found that the Arctic is already releasing mass amounts of methane into the air and water, potentially signalling serious climate impacts.

Ah Crap: The Arctic Is Releasing a Ton of New Greenhouse Gas

By Dan Robitzski

The United States Space Force plans to swear NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins into its ranks during a ceremony aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Astronaut to Be Sworn Into Space Force in Ceremony Aboard Space Station

By Jon Christian

Astronomers found an unusual, ancient supermassive black hole that threatens our understanding of the history of the universe.

Scientists Found an Ultra-Rare Black Hole From Almost 12 Billion Years Ago

By Dan Robitzski

GPT-3, an artificial intelligence algorithm, is capable of writing shockingly-coherent text. But that mean it's useful, argues Facebook AI head Yann LeCun.

Artificial Intelligence

The “Godfather of AI” Just Trashed GPT-3

By Dan Robitzski

A "pristine" meteorite that landed in 2018 and was studied before it could be contaminated was chock-full of extraterrestrial organic compounds.

Science & Energy

Scientists: 2018 Michigan Meteorite Was Filled With Organic Compounds

By Dan Robitzski

NASA and the ESA have formally partnered up to develop the Gateway space station that will orbit the Moon as part of the Artemis program.

NASA and Europe Officially Sign Deal to Build Orbital Moon Base

By Dan Robitzski

Trump's Department of Energy has been blocking research on the benefits of renewable energy sources from seeing the light of day.

The White House Got Caught Burying Studies About Renewable Energy

By Dan Robitzski

According to screenshots of emails sent to CNBC, SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service will cost $99 per month.

SpaceX Starlink Satellite Internet Will Reportedly Cost $99 Per Month

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists took the closest look yet at Psyche, a massive asteroid orbiting our Sun that's thought to be a planetary core that got destroyed.

New Images Show Leftover Planetary Core Floating Between Mars and Jupiter

By Dan Robitzski

NASA has officially set the date for SpaceX's long awaited Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station for 2:40 am Eastern time on October 31.

NASA and SpaceX Finally Choose Date for Historic Astronaut Launch

By Victor Tangermann

NASA Shutting Spacecraft Door Early to Keep Asteroid Chunks From Falling Out

NASA Shutting Spacecraft Door Early to Keep Asteroid Chunks From Falling Out

By Victor Tangermann

Johns Hopkins University political scientist Daniel Deudney warns that space exploration could give rise to a totalitarian empire — and human extinction.

Johns Hopkins Professor Warns of Totalitarian Military Space Empire

By Dan Robitzski

Israeli startup Aleph Farms just launched a space program, which focuses on producing meat anywhere — even in the most hostile environments such as Mars.

Startup Exploring Lab-Grown Meat on Off-Planet Settlements

By Victor Tangermann

Senior employees at the security camera company Verkada used the company's own facial recognition to sexually harass their coworkers.

Men at Facial Recognition Startup Used Its Own Tech to Sexually Harass Coworkers

By Dan Robitzski

A team of engineers from the University of Bristol visited the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant last week to test out Spot, a four-legged robodog.

Boston Dynamics

Scientists Send Boston Dynamics Robodog Into Chernobyl

By Victor Tangermann

A team of scientists discovered what may be the most Earth-like exoplanet yet, though it's too far away to find out for sure.

Science & Energy

Finally, Scientists Find an Earth-Sized Exoplanet in Its Star’s Habitable Zone

By Dan Robitzski

Oreo launched a bizarre stunt where it built a doomsday vault to protect its cookies from an asteroid that doesn't pose a threat to Earth at all.

Oreo Built a Doomsday Vault to Protect Its Cookies From a Harmless Asteroid

By Dan Robitzski

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins just submitted her vote for the 2020 presidential elections — from the International Space Station's "voting booth."

A NASA Astronaut Just Voted From Space

By Victor Tangermann

After Tesla began rolling out an assistive driving system it calls "Full Self-Driving," federal regulators have started to keep close watch.

Self-Driving Vehicles

Federal Regulators Are Keeping a Close Watch on Tesla’s “Self-Driving” Beta Test

By Dan Robitzski

Tesla just recalled nearly every Model S and X in China because of up to two defects with the vehicles' suspension, Bloomberg reports.

Tesla Is Recalling 30,000 Cars Because of Manufacturing Problems

By Victor Tangermann

So far, the hunt for extraterrestrial life hasn't succeeded. But thankfully, there are loads of star systems with a clear view of us instead.

Aliens in These Star Systems Could See Life on Earth, Scientists Say

By Dan Robitzski

A team of scientists uncovered how our brains process 3D images — then discovered that neural networks happen to do it the same way.

Artificial Intelligence

Scientists Discover Surprising Similarity Between Neural Networks and Human Brain

By Dan Robitzski

The Los Angeles fire department rolled out the first firefighting robot in the US, allowing teams to put out a fire in the city "from inside."

This Firefighting Robot Looks Absolutely Awesome

By Victor Tangermann

A team of scientists have created a white paint that's so white, it reflects 95.5 percent of sunlight that reaches its surface.

Science & Energy

This Whiter-Than-White Paint Is Like the Opposite of Vantablack

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists are preparing to use an ultra-precise atomic clock to hunt oscillations of dark matter several orders of magnitude smaller than ever before.

Ultra-Precise Atomic Clocks May Be Able to Detect Oscillations of Dark Matter

By Dan Robitzski

SpaceX's SN8 Starship prototype is being fitted with two aerodynamic flaps and a nosecone. In a matter of weeks, it will attempt to fly to 12 miles.

SpaceX Installing Nosecone on Starship That’ll Fly Miles High

By Victor Tangermann

In a recent interview, SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell laid out the company's plans to bring its Starlink broadband satellite technology to Mars.

SpaceX Will Build Starlink-Like Constellation Around Mars, Its President Says

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists discovered an ancient, long-gone tectonic plate that they say explains the volcanoes around the northern Pacific.

Science & Energy

Scientists Discover “Lost” Tectonic Plate With Ominous Name

By Dan Robitzski

A search for potential extraterrestrial life on Venus came back with nothing, suggesting variability on the planet or that the first disovery was an error.

Science & Energy

Researchers: Claim of Life Molecules on Venus May Have Been an Error

By Dan Robitzski

Hacker Says He Got Into Trump’s Twitter Account

Hacker Says He Got Into Trump’s Twitter Account

By Victor Tangermann

Engineer Alexandre Milovanoff argues that electric cars won't stop climate change becuase private cars are inherently a problem.

Researcher: Electric Cars Aren’t the Answer to Climate Change

By Dan Robitzski

Boston Dynamics will sell accessories for its robodog Spot, including charging bricks, camera kits — and even a prehensile arm.

Boston Dynamics

Oh No: Boston Dynamics Will Start Selling Arms For Its Robodogs

By Victor Tangermann

NASA has finally released footage from when its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft touched down on asteroid Bennu's surface to collect a bunch of space rocks.

Science & Energy

Watch NASA’s Spacecraft Touch Down on a Tiny Asteroid

By Victor Tangermann

Video footage of GM's driverless cars shows some troubling behavior as well as multiple near-accidents on public streets.

Advanced Transport

Videos of GM’s Driverless Cars Show Several Near-Crashes

By Dan Robitzski

A team of researchers at MIT have created an AI that is capable of automatically deciphering long lost languages.

Artificial Intelligence

MIT Invents AI to Decipher Ancient Languages

By Victor Tangermann

A growing number of activists are training new facial recognition algorithms to ID cops who hide their names while cracking down on protests.

Facial recognition

Activists Build Facial Recognition to ID Cops Who Hide Their Badges

By Dan Robitzski

A scientist who won an Ig Nobel for his work on vibrating earthworms with a speaker say their research may be the key to brain-computer interface.

Science & Energy

Scientist: Please Stop Laughing at My Research About Placing Earthworms on Loudspeakers

By Dan Robitzski