the digest (Page 150)

Latest in the digest

Astronaut pee may be a priceless resource on future Moon settlements. It turns out it makes for a phenomenal building material.

On the Moon, the Real Gold Might Be Human Urine

By Dan Robitzski

North Dakota's coronavirus contact-tracing app was send data to third-party groups in violation of its own privacy policy.

Science & Energy

Gov Contact-Tracing App Sends User Data to Foursquare, Google

By Dan Robitzski

To convince Tesla CEO Elon Musk to open a new factory in the city, a 75-foot statue in Tulsa, Oklahoma just got an Elon Musk makeover.

This 7-Story Statue of Elon Musk Looks Absolutely Terrible

By Victor Tangermann

Experts say that China is becoming the new international leader in the hunt for extraterrestrial life. They hope for newfound international cooperation.

Science & Energy

Experts: China Is Pulling Ahead in Race to Identify Extraterrestrials

By Dan Robitzski

NASA is working on simplified, scaled-down nuclear reactors that it hopes will power future settlements on the Moon and Mars.

Scientists Want to Build Nuclear Reactors to Power Moon Colony

By Dan Robitzski

SpaceX Director of Crew Mission Management Benji Reed said he expects a "high chance" of bad weather delaying next week's astronaut launch.

SpaceX Says “High Chance” Human Launch Will Be Pushed Back

By Victor Tangermann

Neuroscientist Christof Koch is grapping with why so many people experience blissful near-death experiences, a rush that he compares to extreme activities.

Science & Energy

A Famed Neuroscientist Is Investigating Near-Death Experiences

By Dan Robitzski

NASA is looking for participants to spent eight months together inside a spaceflight simulator at the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow.

NASA Will Pay You to Chill in a Fake Mars Mission for 8 Months

By Victor Tangermann

A Canadian startup called Anahit Therapeutics is trying to get ahead of the psilocybin legalization curve by building cultivation facilities in Jamaica.

This Startup is Building a Huge Magic Mushroom Farm in Jamaica

By Dan Robitzski

A British team of biologists have created the first-ever large-scale map of algae blooming across the Antarctic that's turning parts of the peninsula green.

Scientists: Climate Change Is Turning Parts of Antarctica Green

By Victor Tangermann

In order to make space missions cheaper and safer, Japan is considering replacing astronauts with humanoid telepresence robots.

Japanese Startup Wants to Replace Astronauts With Space Robots

By Dan Robitzski

According to a new study, daily emissions decreased by 17 percent, or 17 million tons of carbon dioxide, worldwide to 2006 levels.

Renewable Energy

Study: Pandemic Caused 17% Drop in Global Carbon Emissions

By Victor Tangermann

In order to equip future Martian settlers, scientists suggest altering their DNA to give them the traits they need to survive.

Astrobiologist: We Should Gene-Hack New Traits Into Mars Settlers

By Dan Robitzski

A Texas courtroom is experimenting with the videoconferencing software Zoom, which it's using to hold a jury trial this week.

A Texas Court Is Holding The First-Ever Jury Trial Over Zoom

By Dan Robitzski

New Zealand-based robotics company Rocos just shared a video of how Boston Dynamics' dog-like robot Spot could give agriculture workers a hand.

Watch a Robot Dog Herd Sheep on a New Zealand Farm

By Victor Tangermann

SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule just arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center ahead of its first crewed test flight dubbed Demo-2 on May 27.

SpaceX Is Setting Up Crew Dragon For Its First Human Spaceflight

By Victor Tangermann

A new animation by JAXA planetary scientist James O'Donoghue shows just how slow the speed of light is on a cosmic scale.

Planetary Scientist’s Video Shows How Slow Light Speed Really Is

By Dan Robitzski

A delightful new video shows Apollo astronauts falling over in their bulky spacesuits, unaccustomed to the Moon's weak gravity.

Rejoice In This Supercut of Moon Astronauts Falling Over

By Jon Christian

After the Senate voted to reauthorize the Patriot Act, House Democrats have one last shot to introduce an amendment that would preserve American's privacy.

This Is the Last Chance to Keep Cops From Seeing Your Web History

By Dan Robitzski

This startup is selling a gigantic air-filtration helmet that it says will filter out the COVID-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus. Does it work?

Will This Gigantic Air-Filtration Helmet Protect Against COVID?

By Jon Christian

As schoolchildren stay home during formative periods of their childhood, scientists are predicting they'll face educational setbacks for years.

Scientists Predict the Pandemic Will Set Students Back for Years

By Dan Robitzski

The newly-minted US Space Force launched a secretive Boeing spacecraft this weekend, loaded with military and NASA equipment.

US Space Force Launches Secretive Spacecraft

By Jon Christian

Police in China, Italy, Dubai, and multiple other countries are now wearing thermal cameras embedded in their helmets to scan for fevers.

Cops Around the World Are Scanning for Fevers With Helmet Cams

By Dan Robitzski

A team of engineers and physicists is 3D printing a nuclear reactor, which they say will help speed up the pace at which the slow-paced industry innovates.

Engineers Are 3D-Printing a Nuclear Reactor

By Dan Robitzski

A team of researchers managed to create the most thoroughly-intermixed human-mouse chimera hybrids to date, thanks to a weird stem cell-manipulating trick.

Scientists Are Creating Mouse-Human Hybrids

By Dan Robitzski

In a stroke of incredible luck, a NASA/ESA spacecraft is on the right pass to fly right through the tail of a passing comet.

Science & Energy

Research Spacecraft May Pass Through Tail of Dead Comet

By Dan Robitzski

New research reveals that a certain class of star gives off rhythmic pulsations that are similar to a person's heartbeat.

Science & Energy

Astronomers: Some Stars Have Something Akin to a Heartbeat

By Dan Robitzski

Engineers are building experimental rovers that can vibrate intensely to escape from dangerous, wheel-clogging sand traps on Mars.

This Wiggly Mars Rover Is the Silliest Thing We’ve Ever Seen

By Dan Robitzski

According to a new report, Tesla's "million mile" battery could make its EVs far cheaper and also last much longer thanks to new technologies.

Tesla Leak Describes Upcoming “Million Mile” Battery

By Victor Tangermann

A website called thisworddoesnotexist uses AI to generate fake but believable definitions for made-up words like "lachetous."

Artificial Intelligence

This Delightful AI Generates Words That Sound Real But Aren’t

By Dan Robitzski

Facebook just agreed to pay $52 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that its content moderators suffered psychological trauma on the job.

Facebook Will Pay Mods $52M For Trauma From Gore, Sexual Abuse

By Dan Robitzski

Renowned neuroscientist Christof Koch argues that developing conscious artificial intelligence will require entirely new hardware.

Artificial Intelligence

Neuroscientist: Conventional Computers Will Never Be Conscious

By Dan Robitzski

The machine learning algorithms that recommend products online can't keep up with how rapidly the pandemic has changed our lives.

Machine Learning

The Pandemic Has Seriously Confused Machine Learning Systems

By Dan Robitzski

A new study led by the ESA found new evidence that Jupiter's moon Europa was indeed spouting plumes of water into space during a Galileo flyby.

Scientists Find New Evidence Europa Is Shooting Water Into Space

By Victor Tangermann

GOP Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced two provisions to the Patriot Act that would give the government broad new powers to spy on every American.

The US Government Is Seizing Huge New Surveillance Powers

By Dan Robitzski

In order to protect future Mars settlers from deadly cosmic radiation, researchers suggest building homes in underground tunnels called lava tubes.

Scientists Say They’ve Found the Perfect Spot for a Mars Colony

By Dan Robitzski

DARPA is preparing to launch the first experimental satellite of its Blackjack network, which would function like a military version of SpaceX's Starlink.

DARPA Is About to Launch a Military Version of SpaceX’s Starlink

By Dan Robitzski

The thermal, fever-detecting cameras being installed in workplaces and hospitals are unlikely to actually stop future coronavirus outbreaks.

Science & Energy

Experts: Fever-Detecting Cameras Won’t Really Stop Outbreaks

By Dan Robitzski

To better understand how black holes form and what gravitational waves they give off, physicists are repeatedly simulating extremely violent supernovae.

Scientists Are Killing Off Virtual Stars to Study Black Holes

By Dan Robitzski

Russia's space agency Roscosmos announced on Sunday that the tanks of the Russian Fregat-SB upper stage have disintegrated in Earth's orbit.

Russian Rocket Disintegrates in Space, Leaving Orbital Debris

By Victor Tangermann

In two emails sent to all US-based employees, Tesla outlined their plans to get production back on track. 30 percent of the regular workforce will return.

Elon Musk Says He’ll Be Working on the Tesla Assembly Line Today

By Victor Tangermann

A beautiful new infrared image of Jupiter makes the entire gassy planet look like it's turned into a giant, swirling fireball.

Science & Energy

Amazing Image of Jupiter Looks Like It’s Burning

By Dan Robitzski

An astrophysicist thinks that the mysterious Planet Nine may really be a six centimeter-wide black hole. And he has a plan to finally find it.

Science & Energy

A Black Hole May Be Orbiting Our Sun. This Guy Wants to Find It.

By Dan Robitzski

Physicists Discover New Trick to Stabilize Fusion Reactors

Physicists Discover New Trick to Stabilize Fusion Reactors

By Victor Tangermann

The experimental spacecraft China launched earlier this week successfully and safely landed Friday, paving the way for crewed space exploration.

China Lands Moon-Bound Spaceship After 3-Day Orbital Joyride

By Dan Robitzski

A team of astronomers claim they have solved the mystery behind why some highly active galaxies have four jets of radio waves, forming an X.

Science & Energy

Astronomers Solve “X-Galaxy” Mystery With Powerful New Telescope

By Victor Tangermann

Recent earning reports from companies like Lyft, Uber, and Airbnb show that the coronavirus pandemic is having a devastating effect on the sharing economy.

Advanced Transport

The Coronavirus Is Killing the Gig Economy

By Victor Tangermann

Democrat Party leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi are working on a COVID-19 relief package that they're comparing to Roosevelt's New Deal.

Congress Is Working on a Giant COVID-19 Aid Package

By Dan Robitzski

A team of neuroscientists just created a complete, three-dimensional map of a mouse brain that they say could be a game changer for researchers.

Scientists Plot 100 Million Cells to Map Full 3D Mouse Brain

By Dan Robitzski

According to a new study, the first-ever government-backed universal basic income experiment in Finland led to recipients being "more satisfied."

Universal Basic Income

Study: Two-Year Basic Income Pilot Led to “More Satisfied” Lives

By Victor Tangermann

According to a new report, Tesla is planning to potentially violate shelter-in-place orders by restarting "some car production" at its California factory.

Shrugging Off Pandemic, Tesla Prepares to Restart CA Factory

By Victor Tangermann

On May 16, the U.S. Space Force will launch a mysterious X-37B space plane on its second-ever mission, which officials say will help NASA conduct research.

The Space Force Is About to Launch a Mysterious Spacecraft

By Dan Robitzski

Health Department official Rick Bright filed a whistleblower complaint about officials in the Trump administration ignoring warnings about the pandemic.

Whistleblower: Trump Repeatedly Ignored Coronavirus Warnings

By Dan Robitzski

Charlie Brooker, creator "Black Mirror," revealed to the UK's Radio Times that he's not working on season 6, because the world is already bleak enough.

“Black Mirror” Creator: World Too Stressed Out For New Episodes

By Victor Tangermann

Astronomers discovered bizarre stripes of storm clouds blanketing a brown dwarf "star" with an old technique that's relevant again thanks to new tech.

Science & Energy

Astronomers Discover Brown Dwarf Covered in Stripes

By Dan Robitzski

Tech CEO Stephen Wolfram says he's come up with a theory of everything, but physicists at large aren't convinced by his ideas.

Scientists Aren’t Buying a Tech CEO’s “Theory of Everything”

By Dan Robitzski

Elon Musk and Grimes' new baby name, "X Æ A-12 Musk," is so unusual, experts are saying it could actually go against California law.

Elon Musk’s Strange Baby Name May Be Illegal

By Victor Tangermann

A new prototype device uses microwaves to generate plasma, showing howfuture jet engines could propel planes using just air and electricity.

Advanced Transport

Scientists Create Jet Engine Powered by Only Electricity

By Dan Robitzski

Quake in Terror at this Heavily Militarized Cybertruck

Advanced Transport

Quake in Terror at this Heavily Militarized Cybertruck

By Victor Tangermann

China just successfully tested the spacecraft that it plans to use when the time comes to send crewmembers up to its next space station.

China Tests Spacecraft That Will Send a Crew to its Space Station

By Dan Robitzski

Engineers are developing smart lunar habitats that can autonomously sense damage and repair themselves on a future moon settlement.

These Self-Repairing Lunar Habitats Could Help Settle the Moon

By Dan Robitzski

Tesla achieved a six-month average of above $100 billion, resulting in Musk qualifying for his massive $700 million payday, despite a Twitter meltdown.

Elon Musk Gets $700 Million Payday After Twitter Meltdown

By Victor Tangermann

Tom Cruise and SpaceX are reportedly partnering up to make a movie that would be the first feature film ever shot in space.

Tom Cruise Partners With SpaceX to Film Movie in Space

By Dan Robitzski

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and musician Claire "Grimes" Boucher had a baby last night, Musk tweeted.Its name, he says, is "X Æ A-12 Musk."

Elon Musk and Grimes Have Baby, Claim to Name It “X Æ A-12”

By Jon Christian