the digest (Page 142)

Latest in the digest

Cornell scientists developed a robot so tiny that it's invisible to the human eye — and they say it could someday hunt for cancer inside your body.

This Robot Is So Tiny You Could Fit Ten of Them on a Single Period

By Dan Robitzski

A UK helicopter emergency services charity is in talks with Gravity Industries to allow paramedics to jetpack up a mountain to provide first aid.

Robots and Machines

Paramedics Test Jetpack For Daring Mountain Rescues

By Victor Tangermann

Japan Outlines Plan to Power Spacecraft With Moon Ice

Japan Outlines Plan to Power Spacecraft With Moon Ice

By Victor Tangermann

A photo of the assembly line at Tesla's Fremont factory shows what appears to be another, freshly-assembled Cybertruck prototype.

Photo Shows Cybertruck on Tesla Assembly Line

By Dan Robitzski

A team of scientists measured the mass of 1,800 galaxy clusters to get the most precise number for how much matter is in the universe yet.

Scientists Calculated How Much Matter Is in the Whole Universe

By Dan Robitzski

The Italian scientists who found an undergound lake beneath the south pole of Mars revisited their data — and uncovered three more.

Science & Energy

Scientists Just Found Three More Reservoirs of Liquid Water on Mars

By Dan Robitzski

A hacker forced a smart coffeemaker to turn on its heating element and spit steaming water onto it while showing a ransomware message.

Robots and Machines

Watch a Hacked “Smart Coffeemaker” Spew Steaming Water

By Jon Christian

A new brain-computer interface system can generate an image of a face based just on someone's neural activity as they picture certain characteristics.

Neuroscience and Brain

New System Reads Your Brain Waves, Draws a Picture of What You’re Thinking About

By Dan Robitzski

Army officials want to upgrade SpaceX's Starlink satellites to serve as a navigational network more precise and secure than GPS.

The US Military Wants Access to SpaceX’s Satellite Constellation

By Dan Robitzski

In a recent interview, Elon Musk suggested that oil tycoons might not have known how much they were damaging the planet when they got into the business.

Elon Musk: “I Feel a Bit Bad About Hating on the Oil and Gas Industry”

By Dan Robitzski

For the first time, scientists say they've ascertained how radioactive the Moon is — a finding that could have implications for the future of space travel.

Bad News: The Moon Is Surprisingly Radioactive

By Jon Christian

The Air Force just awarded a contract to develop lasers that can detonate landmines and other hazards from a safe distance.

The Air Force Is Getting a Laser That Detonates Landmines From Afar

By Dan Robitzski

New research shows that personally experiencing wildfires makes people more likely to support anti-climate change policy, regardless of political leanings.

Scientists: When People Experience Climate Change Firsthand, They Get Serious About It

By Dan Robitzski

Neuroscientists found that crows have conscious and subjective experiences, challenging assumptions about animal intelligence and human superiority.ogical constraints

Science & Energy

Scientists Claim to Have Proved That Crows Have Conscious Experiences

By Dan Robitzski

Cosmonaut Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, who's heading to the International Space Station next month on a Soyuz rocket, says he would be nice to any aliens he met.

Space-Bound Cosmonaut: If I Meet Aliens, I Will Be Nice to Them

By Jon Christian

After about a year, NASA and Roscosmos have just about narrowed down the source of the ongoing air leak on the International Space Station.

Science & Energy

NASA Says It’s Almost Found the Leak on the International Space Station

By Dan Robitzski

Facebook's former head of monetization says that his former employer, like big tobacco companies, worked to make its product as addictive as possible.

Former Employee: We Made Facebook as Addictive as Cigarettes on Purpose

By Jon Christian

The Arctic Ice Project wants to protect and rebuild crucial ice formations by covering the Arctic in reflective glass beads.

The Plan to Sprinkle Reflective Glass Over the Arctic

By Dan Robitzski

When the world around them quieted down, white-crowned sparrows living near San Francisco learned a new, more intricate song.

Birds Learned a New Song During the Pandemic

By Dan Robitzski

The smart doorbell company Ring just announced a drone that flies around and records video inside your home. It sounds like a privacy nightmare.

Amazon Announces Security Drone That Flies Around Your Home

By Dan Robitzski

To fight climate change, experts suggest gene-hacking plants and animals to cut emissions and better sequester carbon from the atmosphere.

Report: Gene-Hacking Plants and Animals Could Fight Climate Change

By Dan Robitzski

A number of airports in Europe are working to bring 30 minute COVID-19 tests to airports, in the hopes of breathing new life into the industry.

Advanced Transport

Airports Are Rolling Out 30 Minute COVID Tests

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists developed a gene-hacked version of the fall armyworm, a notorious pest, that lays eggs that die off before hatching.

Scientists Gene-Hacked a Pest Caterpillar’s Eggs to Self-Destruct

By Dan Robitzski

In a recently uploaded preprint, researchers argue that the discovery of phosphine on Venus could be chalked up to asteroids grazing Earth's atmosphere.

Science & Energy

Life May Have Hopped From Earth to Venus on Asteroid, Scientists Say

By Victor Tangermann

Space debris could pose an even bigger threat than we thought, thanks to new research that found smaller pieces of junk that were never cataloged.

Science & Energy

Research: Most Geosynchronous Space Junk Has Never Been Catalogued

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists think they may have discovered an exoplanet that resembles Saturn in another galaxy, but it could be decades before they know for sure.

Science & Energy

Scientists Claim to Find First-Ever Planet in Another Galaxy

By Dan Robitzski

NASA engineers working on the Orion capsule meant to carry astronauts to the Moon have a smelly problem: how to design a space toilet that doesn't smell.

The Space Station Toilet Apparently Smells Horrible

By Victor Tangermann

Police reportedly trained a dog to sniff out electronic storage devices, which cops claim helps them find hidden digital evidence.

Science & Energy

Police Trained a Dog to Sniff Out Electronic Evidence

By Dan Robitzski

California governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order today that calls for a complete ban of the sale of any new gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

California Is Banning All Sales of New Gas-Powered Cars in Just 15 Years

By Victor Tangermann

Wikipedia is gettings its first major redesign in a decade, with changes scheduled to slowly trickle out over the coming years.

Science & Energy

Please No: They’re Redesigning Wikipedia

By Dan Robitzski

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced Tuesday that China would attempt to go completely carbon neutral by the year 2060.

China Suddenly Pledges to Become Completely Carbon Neutral

By Dan Robitzski

Watch Japan’s 60 Foot Gundam Robot Take a Gigantic Knee

Watch Japan’s 60 Foot Gundam Robot Take a Gigantic Knee

By Victor Tangermann

The idea of deep space explorers growing their own food just became more feasible with the discovery that worms can still hunt pests in microgravity.

Scientists: Worms Could Kill Pests on Space Vegetables

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.

Science & Energy

The International Space Station Had to Dodge a Piece of Space Junk Last Night

By Dan Robitzski

During Tesla's Battery Day event Tuesday evening, CEO Elon Musk showed off a video of its upcoming "Plaid" version of its Model S sedan.

Tesla’s “Plaid” Model S is Real and It’s Fast as Hell

By Victor Tangermann

SpaceX just deliberately blew up its latest Starship prototype test tank during a pressure test Tuesday night at the company's test site in Texas.

Watch a SpaceX Starship Test Tank Explode Spectacularly

By Victor Tangermann

During Tesla's Battery Day event on Tuesday, CEO Elon Musk revealed how batteries could be integrated into the structural elements of the car.

Elon Musk: In Future Teslas, “Structural Battery” Will Be Part of the Car’s Frame

By Victor Tangermann

During an event, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed that his company is planning to get a $25,000 electric car into production within the next three years.

Elon Musk Promises $25,000 Tesla by 2023

By Victor Tangermann

NASA and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory are launching a spacecraft to the far side of the Moon so it can listen to extremely faint radio signals.

NASA Is Heading to the Far Side of the Moon to Study the Ancient Universe

By Dan Robitzski

NASA and the U.S. Space Force just signed a formal agreement to collaborate on objectives ranging from space travel to planetary defense.

NASA and the US Space Force Are Officially Teaming Up

By Dan Robitzski

During its latest drone delivery trial, retail giant Walmart started delivering at-home COVID-19 tests in North Las Vegas.

Walmart Is Delivering COVID Tests Via Drone

By Victor Tangermann

Following a landmark European court ruling, Facebook is warning that it may pull out of Europe entirely, as The Guardian reports.

Facebook Threatens to Pull Out of Europe Entirely

By Victor Tangermann

Earth will likely capture a new minimoon in its orbit later this year. But signs suggest that it's actually a hunk of space garbage.

Science & Energy

Earth Appears to Be Capturing a Tiny New Moon

By Dan Robitzski

A former YouTube content moderator just sued over psychological trauma induced by being overworked and undersupported while flagging graphic videos.

YouTube Content Moderator Sues Over Psychological Trauma

By Dan Robitzski

NASA is yet on another budget crunch in its efforts to realize the Trump administration's ambitious plans to return astronauts to the Moon by 2024.

NASA Unveils Flabbergasting Budget For Moon Missions

By Victor Tangermann

When Congress allocated $1 billion to the Pentagon to shore up medical supplies, it instead funneled the money to military contractors.

The US Military Used Emergency Coronavirus Money to Buy Weapons

By Dan Robitzski

To anticipate the massive amounts of hype surrounding Tesla's Battery Day, Elon Musk clarified something "important:" the tech is still two years away.

Elon Musk: Tesla’s Next Gen Battery Tech Still Two Years Away

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists discovered that rats let out a high-pitch squeak when they're happy, giving a rare, measurable window into animal well-being.

Science & Energy

Finally: Scientists Discover Which Rats Like to Be Tickled

By Dan Robitzski

Research reveals that the west coast of India and Pakistan — where both countries operate nuclear power plants — are particularly vulnerable to tsunamis.

Scientists Warn That Indian, Pakistani Nuclear Plants Could Get Wrecked by Tsunamis

By Dan Robitzski

The wealthiest one percent in the world emits twice the carbon as does the poorer half of the Earth's population, revealing stark global inequalities.

The Richest One Percent Emits Twice as Much Carbon as Half the World

By Dan Robitzski

Climate change is interfering with sensitive observatories and telescopes, making it harder for astronomers to study the cosmos.

Astronomers Complain That Climate Change Is Making Telescopes Worse

By Dan Robitzski

A team of scientists at MIT have discovered a "pi Earth," an Earth-sized planet that orbits its star every 3.14 Earth days.

Science & Energy

Astronomers Discover “Pi Earth” Planet That Orbits Every 3.14 Days

By Victor Tangermann

Engineers designed a new orbital space habitat that tries to accomodate everyday people rather than just specially-trained astronauts.

A New Space Habitat Design Simulates Gravity by Spinning

By Dan Robitzski

European aerospace corporation Airbus has come up with three "ZEROe" airplane designs that rely on hydrogen power — not polluting aviation-grade kerosene.

Airbus Unveils Three Designs for Hydrogen-Powered Planes

By Victor Tangermann

A pair of scientists has some guesses for how any theoretical life hiding away under the acid clouds of Venus might have originated.

Science & Energy

Scientists Speculate About How Life on Venus Could Have Begun

By Dan Robitzski

Nikola founder and executive chairman Trevor Milton is officially stepping down from the company's board of directors following fraud allegations.

Founder of Tesla Competitor Nikola Steps Down Amid Fraud Scandal

By Victor Tangermann

According to raw video footage uploaded to YouTube on Thursday, Lucid completed a lap of Laguna Seca in a blistering 1:33 using a tri-motor Air prototype.

Tesla Competitor Lucid Beats Model S Prototype Record on Racetrack

By Victor Tangermann

According to satellite imagery and ship tracking data, China is preparing to launch its Chang'e-5 sample return mission to the Moon.

China Planning to Launch Lunar Sample Return Mission in November

By Victor Tangermann

The Trump Administration is taking the unprecedented step of barring Chinese-owned mobile apps WeChat and TikTok from US app stores starting Sunday.

Trump Admin to Shut Down TikTok App Downloads on Sunday

By Victor Tangermann

Last month, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope took a gorgeous new close-up image of Jupiter some 406 million miles from Earth, with Europa off to the left.

Science & Energy

Hubble Catches Massive New Storm Brewing on Jupiter

By Victor Tangermann

Canadian cops say they pulled over a Tesla that was traveling at 93 miles per hour — while the driver was completely asleep.

Tesla Driver Pulled Over Going 93 MPH While Completely Asleep

By Jon Christian

Space Hero, a US-based production company, has figured out a way to secure a spot on a 2023 mission to the International Space Station

International Space Station

Reality TV Show Says It Will Send Contestant to International Space Station

By Victor Tangermann

A team of researchers are suggesting we could use one of the most common organic polymers on Earth to construct shelters on Mars.

Scientists: We Could Build Mars Shelters Out of Insect Polymers and Martian Soil

By Victor Tangermann

The consulting CTO of Oculus says he's "kind of embarrassed" at Facebook's feeble attempts to leverage VR during the pandemic lockdown.

Virtual Reality

Oculus CTO Says He’s “Embarrassed” by Facebook’s Handling of VR

By Jon Christian