the digest(Page 147)

Latest in the digest

Security researchers discovered that Golden Tax Invoicing, which is required for doing business in China, contains spyware that grants backdoor access.

Science & Energy

Experts Say China Hid Spyware in Mandatory Tax Software

By Dan Robitzski

A team of scientists encoded the entire "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" into a double strand of DNA to demo a vastly improved storage technology.

Scientists Stored “The Wizard of Oz” on a Strand of DNA

By Dan Robitzski

A new AI system named SPOCK (yes, we know) can predict the orbit of distant exoplanets to figure out if they're going to collide.

Artificial Intelligence

New AI Predicts Which Planets Are Going to Smash Into Each Other

By Dan Robitzski

New models suggest that the Moon could be 85 million years younger than scientists thought, a development that would clarify some of its mysterious past.

Science & Energy

Scientists Say the Moon Is Way Younger than We Thought

By Dan Robitzski

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

Science & Energy

Scientists: Earth’s Magnetic Field Could Shift 100x Faster Than Observed

By Dan Robitzski

The UAE's upcoming weather satellite launch could help explain what's going on with Mars' bizarre, planet-consuming dust storms.

Tomorrow’s Mars Mission Could Explain the Red Planet’s Ferocious Dust Storms

By Dan Robitzski

A team of researchers have developed a special wall-mounted, noise-cancelling technology that can keep out the noise — even when windows are open.

Noise Cancelling Window Gadget Can “Mute” Street Sounds

By Victor Tangermann

If there's a fundamental unit of time at the tiniest scales of the universe, it's too small to measure. But scientists found what its upper limit must be.

Physicists Say This Is the Smallest Unit of Time That Could Exist

By Dan Robitzski

Elon Musk has announced that the mysterious computer-brain interface startup Neuralink he co-founded is about to update us on its progress on August 28.

Elon Musk Teases Major Neuralink Reveal

By Victor Tangermann

Science & Energy

Astronomers Baffled by Mysterious Ring-Shaped Objects in Deep Space

By Dan Robitzski

SpaceX is planning the first test flight of its Starship prototype as soon as next week if a Raptor rocket engine test goes according to plan.

SpaceX Is Planning Starship’s First Test Flight for Next Week

By Victor Tangermann

According to a new study by an international team of researchers, the Earth's entire atmosphere vibrates much as the same way a ringing bell does.

Science & Energy

Scientists Detect “Ringing” in the Earth’s Atmosphere

By Victor Tangermann

If a spacecraft ferried passengers to new star systems, their language would evolve to the point of making communicating with Earth extremely difficult.

On an Interstellar Flight, Language Itself Would Evolve

By Dan Robitzski

A company called Pioneer Astronautics just got millions in funding from NASA to develop a way to extract oxygen from beneath the lunar surface.

Science & Energy

NASA Pumps Funding Into Startup That Says It Can Harvest Oxygen From Lunar Regolith

By Dan Robitzski

Elon Musk's The Boring Company has decided to put on a fun competition, challenging the general public to dig a tunnel faster than a snail.

Elon Musk’s Boring Company Announces Tunnel-Digging Contest

By Victor Tangermann

Sony has developed a wearable personal air conditioner that you can stick inside a specially-designed pocket sewn into an accompanying shirt.

Robots and Machines

Wearable Air Conditioner Could Stave Off Your Death In This Heat Wave

By Victor Tangermann

After someone tried to burn down the mayor's house in Sandefjord, Norway, police hope a nearby Tesla on Sentry Mode caught the perp on video.

Police Are Seeking Tesla Owners to Solve an Attempted Murder

By Dan Robitzski

Japanese theme parks are no longer allowing parkgoers to scream and howl as they're riding roller coasters due to the risks of spreading the coronavirus.

To Fight COVID, Japanese Theme Parks Forbid Screaming on Roller Coasters

By Victor Tangermann

Michael Lofthouse, a San Francisco tech CEO, launched a racist tirade against a nearby family celebrating a birthday at a restaurant.

Watch a Tech CEO Melt Down in a Racist Tirade

By Dan Robitzski

NASA's Curiosity rover is about to embark on an epic new adventure at Mount Sharp, a gigantic mountain on Mars, to look for signs of ancient life.

Science & Energy

NASA Rover Starts New “Road Trip” Across Martian Wasteland

By Victor Tangermann

A nuclear spill happened at the Los Alamos National Laboratory last month, and 15 workers could have been exposed to dangerous levels of radiation.

Science & Energy

US Investigating “Breach” at Nuclear Weapons Facility

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists found a stream of 200 stars hurtling toward the center of the Milky Way, and they suspect they came from another galaxy.

Science & Energy

Astronomers Surprised to Find Stars Streaming Into the Center of Our Galaxy

By Dan Robitzski

A new investigation of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft found that both its hardware and software are riddled with problems.

Official Report: Boeing’s Spaceship Still Really, Really Sucks

By Victor Tangermann

Right now, the snow at the top of the Italian Alps is bright pink, thanks to an algae bloom that threatens to accelerate snowmelt.

There’s Pink Snow in Europe. That Could Be Bad, Scientists Say

By Dan Robitzski

After China enacting broad new controls over Hong Kong, the region's internet has already effectively been silenced and censored.

Hong Kong Is Already Being Censored by China’s “Great Firewall”

By Dan Robitzski

The Survival Condo is a converted luxury condominium complex comprised of 15 floors, reaching 200 feet below the surface.

This Luxury Nuclear Apocalypse Bunker Has a Swimming Pool, Movie Theater and Sauna

By Victor Tangermann

Ad studios are relying on deepfake tech rather than live actors for corporate videos due to coronavirus lockdown measures and health risks.

Artificial Intelligence

This Company Is Making Corporate Training Videos Using Deepfakes

By Dan Robitzski

Rocket Lab's 13th launch ended in disaster when the rocket blew up and destroyed seven satellites. Elon Musk felt bad and provided some moral support.

Elon Musk Tweets Support For Startup That Exploded Rocket Launch

By Victor Tangermann

Last month, San Diego police repeatedly tapped streetlight cameras to surveil BLM protestors: a chilling use of smart city tech that threatens public trust.

Oh No, Spying on Protestors Might Make the Public Distrust Surveillance

By Dan Robitzski

China, the UAE, and the U.S. all plan to launch Mars missions this month to capitalize on the planets' fortunate alignment.

Three Separate Countries Are Launching Mars Missions This Month

By Dan Robitzski

A Bayonne, France bus driver was beaten by a group of angry passengers because they refused to abide by mask guidelines. The driver is now brain dead.

Passengers Beat Bus Driver Who Asked They Wear Masks, Leaving Him Brain Dead

By Dan Robitzski

South Korea Encourages Mask Wearing With Massive Drone-Powered Light Show

South Korea Encourages Mask Wearing With Massive Drone-Powered Light Show

By Victor Tangermann

When Tesla transitioned to online sales in 2019 and responded to the coronavirus pandemic, dealership workers were left confused and fearful for their jobs.

Workers Terrified as Tesla Shuts Down Dealerships

By Dan Robitzski

Electric carmaker Tesla has officially started selling "limited edition" red satin short shorts. "Run like the wind or entertain like Liberace."

Here’s Why Tesla Is Selling Naughty Short-Shorts

By Victor Tangermann

As Mashable points out in a fascinating new story, one spot in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean appears to be getting colder each year instead of hotter.

One Particular Spot on Earth Is Getting Colder Instead of Hotter

By Jon Christian

New research suggests that climate change could kill off 60 percent of all fish species this century. It's a sharp increase over past estimates.

Climate Change Threatens 60 Percent of the World’s Fish Species

By Dan Robitzski

A federal appeals court just ruled that the Facebook's practice of collecting data through its "like" widgets could be considered wiretapping.

Court Says Facebook has Been Wiretapping for Years

By Dan Robitzski

Boeing staff in Mississippi just powered up the core stage of the super-heavy-duty Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that it's building for NASA.

Boeing Just Powered Up NASA’s Most Powerful Rocket Ever

By Jon Christian

MIT permanently deleted a massive dataset used for training AI after learning that it was full of racist and sexist slurs.

Artificial Intelligence

MIT Deletes Database That Taught AI to Be Racist, Sexist

By Dan Robitzski

An Arizona forest fire has grown so large that satellites can easily see it from space, according to a new post by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

This Forest Fire Was So Huge, NASA Spotted It From Space

By Jon Christian

Yamato, a cty in Japan, just passed a law that requires pedestrians to put their phones away until they stop walking in order to prevent accidents.

A Japanese City Just Banned Using Phones While Walking

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists at LIGO noticed that minuscule quantum fluctuations actually knocked a large mirror in the observatory out of alignment.

Tiny Quantum Fluctuations Can Actually “Kick” Large Objects

By Dan Robitzski

The team at Firefly Aerospace used one of its rocket engines to try to light all those pesky candles on a birthday cake for its co-founder Max Polakov.

Watch These Mad Geniuses Light Birthday Candles With a Rocket Engine

By Jon Christian

Elon Musk is once again posting misleading claims about the coronavirus pandemic in an attempt to downplay the danger it poses.

Elon Musk Is Still Sharing Coronavirus Misinformation

By Dan Robitzski

A team of engineers is trying to build sustainable energy in developing communities with a new battery pack rental program.

Scientists Are Renting out Giant Batteries to Areas Without Power

By Dan Robitzski

Acclaimed musician Kanye West has been hanging out with SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, according to a photo the "Jesus Walks" singer posted on Twitter.

Kanye West Is Hanging Out With Elon Musk, For Some Reason

By Jon Christian

The Large Hadron Collider Just Discovered a Brand-New Particle

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists Say They’ve Found the Exact Center of the Solar System

Scientists Say They’ve Found the Exact Center of the Solar System

By Dan Robitzski

A bizarre celestial object too big to be a neutron star but too small for a black hole could undo the rules astrophysicsts use to understand the universe.

Scientists Are Baffled By a Bizarre Black Hole-Like Object

By Dan Robitzski

A team researchers at Facebook have created a virtual reality headset that's not much larger than a (bulky) pair of sunglasses.

Virtual Reality

Facebook Built a VR Headset the Size of a Pair of Large Sunglasses

By Victor Tangermann

A new mathematical model predicts that a self-sustaining colony on Mars could succeed with just 110 settlers working together.

According to New Equations, a Mars Colony Would Need This Many People

By Dan Robitzski

When astronomers went to update their models for a giant, bright star, they instead found an empty space where it used to be.

Science & Energy

A Giant Star Appears to Have Winked Out of Existence

By Dan Robitzski

NASA just delayed the launch date for its Mars rover, Perseverance. But barring any future delays, the mission should still go off without a hitch.

Science & Energy

NASA Pushes Back Mars Rover Launch Due to “Contamination Concern”

By Dan Robitzski

Radiation sensors recently identified a harmless-but-significant leak, likely from a nuclear power plant, in east Europe.

Researchers: Findings Suggest Something Is Leaking Radiation in Europe

By Dan Robitzski

Researchers say they have found that exposing the human eye at deep red light for three minutes a day could improve declining eyesight.

Science & Energy

Researchers Say You Can Improve Your Eyesight by Staring at This Specific Type of Light

By Victor Tangermann

Researchers found an incredibly rare explosion that they think was caused by two black holes merging while orbiting an even larger one.

Science & Energy

When Two Black Holes Collided, NASA Spotted Something Very Surprising

By Dan Robitzski

Tesla competitor Nikola Motors has started taking reservations for its upcoming Badger electric and hydrogen-powered pickup truck.

Advanced Transport

You Can Now Put Down a Reservation For This Hydrogen-Powered Pickup Truck

By Victor Tangermann

A team at NASA has figured out a way to stop touching your face during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic: a pendant that scolds you every time you try.

NASA Invents Wearable That Scolds You For Touching Your Face

By Victor Tangermann

The US Marine Corps’ New Weapon Can Electrocute Targets from 100 Feet Away

By Victor Tangermann

After hitting the Caribbean, dust from the Sahara Desert just arrived at the US gulf coast, forming what experts referred to as a "Godzilla dust cloud."

Science & Energy

A “Godzilla Dust Cloud” From the Sahara Desert Is Hitting the United States Right Now

By Victor Tangermann

Michigan lawmakers want to ban force RFID chip implants in the workplace as a way to protect employees' personal privacy.

Michigan Is Trying to Make It Illegal For Companies to Put Microchips in Their Employees

By Dan Robitzski

After Russia halted its orbital space tourism program in 2010, the country's space agency Roscosmos is planning to send two citizens to the ISS in 2023.

International Space Station

Russia Says It’s Sending Two Tourists to the International Space Station, Including a Spacewalk

By Victor Tangermann

During an early-morning spacewalk, one of the wrist mirrors on NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy's spacesuit broke off almost immediately.

Science & Energy

A Piece of a NASA Astronaut’s Spacesuit Just Fell Off During a Spacewalk

By Dan Robitzski

New proposed legislation would keep facial recognition technology out of the hands of all levels of law enforcement in the U.S.

Senators Propose a National Ban on Police Facial Recognition

By Dan Robitzski