the digest (Page 154)

Latest in the digest

A team of researchers at Tsinghua University in China have created a liquid metal material to build robots that is so light, it can float on water.

Science & Energy

Scientists Want to Build Robots out of Floating Liquid Metal

By Victor Tangermann

NASA's Curiosity rover snapped more than 1,000 images, which teams back on Earth composed into a 360 degree Martian landscape panorama.

Science & Energy

NASA Mars Rover Snaps Glorious 1.8 Billion Pixel Panorama

By Victor Tangermann

Would having a robot draw your blood make the process easier? Thanks to engineers at Rutgers University that may soon be an option.

Engineers Built an AI-Powered Robot to Take Your Blood

NASA's Voyager 2, currently in interstellar space billions of miles from Earth, has recovered from a serious glitch it experienced in late January.

Science & Energy

NASA Spacecraft Recovers from Glitch 11.5 Billion Miles From Earth

By Victor Tangermann

Researchers found a way to turn biowaste, specifically the inedible cores of jackfruit and durian, into high-density ultracapacitors for storing energy.

Scientists Are Storing Energy Using Uneaten Fruit

By Dan Robitzski

Researchers at the University of California San Diego say they've built a "thermal camouflage" material that can hide from tech like night vision goggles.

Future Materials

This Material Makes You Invisible to Night-Vision Goggles

By Jon Christian

Researchers have a new theory which may help explain the strange exoplanets whose shape suggests they must have the density of cotton candy.

New Theory Could Explain Exoplanets With “Density of Cotton Candy”

Scientists say they've found compelling new evidence that the ancient Earth was an unbroken expanse of water, without a single continent.

Science & Energy

Scientists Say Ancient Earth Was Completely Covered in Water

By Jon Christian

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft made an unexpected discovery, spotting a black hole emitting a massive cloud of X-rays some 30,000 light years away.

Science & Energy

NASA Probe Exploring Asteroid Accidentally Snaps Black Hole Image

By Victor Tangermann

NASA has struck a deal with the Elon Musk-led SpaceX to launch its historic uncrewed mission to the metallic asteroid Psyche.

NASA Hires SpaceX to Launch Mission to Giant Metal Asteroid

By Jon Christian

Early Monday morning, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted a link to a video showing a Starship prototype exploding in a massive cloud of gas.

Elon Musk Tweets Vid of Starship Crumpling Up Like a Soda Can

By Victor Tangermann

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk told a room full of U.S. Air Force generals last week that "the fighter jet era has passed." Remotely-controlled drones are the future.

Elon Musk Tells Air Force General That Fighter Jets Are Over

By Victor Tangermann

During the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, China banned the game "Plague Inc." which simulates a fictional pandemic, and removed it from the China App Store.

As Coronavirus Looms, China Bans Videogame “Plague Inc.”

By Jon Christian

Michelle Kunimoto, an astronomy student, has discovered 17 new planets, including an Earth-like one that could host life, using data from NASA.

Science & Energy

Student Discovers 17 Planets, One of Which Could Host Life

By Victor Tangermann

A draft proposal, if enacted, would force vendors selling phones, tablets, or earbuds in the European Union to use replaceable batteries.

The EU Might Make Personal Electronics Use Replaceable Batteries

By Dan Robitzski

Over the last decade, MIT bionengineering professor Angela Belcher has been conscripting millions of zombie viruses to build battery parts.

This MIT Scientist Is Building Batteries Using Modified Viruses

By Victor Tangermann

The United States Navy claims that a Chinese warship fired a laser weapon at one of its surveillance aircraft last week, prompting diplomatic action.

Robots and Machines

US Claims China Fired Laser Weapon at Navy Spy Plane

By Jon Christian

To test Twitter's verification and election security systems, a high schooler created a fake Congressional candidate. Twitter verified it right away.

Twitter Verifies Fake Congressional Candidate Invented by Teen

By Dan Robitzski

A Facebook post by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine shows a research station in antarctica covered in "raspberry snow."

Science & Energy

Bright-Red “Blood Snow” Is Falling From the Sky in Antarctica

By Victor Tangermann

For the first time, scientists identified a protein molecule in a meteorite. And they say they that it didn't come from Earth.

Scientists Discover Protein in a Meteorite

By Dan Robitzski

A mysterious video that claimed China would be sending 100,000 ducks to Pakistan to help deal with a locust invasion went viral on Chinese social media.

Science & Energy

Expert: China is Not Deploying Duck Army to Devour Locusts

By Victor Tangermann

NASA has learned that Boeing did not perform a "full, end-to-end integrated test" of its astronaut-ferrying Starliner spacecraft with the Atlas V rocket.

NASA: Boeing Skipped Crucial Software Test of Starliner Spacecraft

By Victor Tangermann

Planetary scientist James O'Donoghue announced a definitive ranking of all the "ringed planet" emojis out there, based on which looked most like Saturn.

Former NASA Scientist Absolutely Shreds Planet Emojis

By Dan Robitzski

There is a chance that incoming stars that whip past the Earth could throw it out of orbit and move it away from the Sun, an astrophycisist argues.

Researcher: Passing Star Could Yeet Earth Out of Solar System

By Victor Tangermann

A team of astronomers at the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey suspect there's a small asteroid that caught itself in our planet's gravity, like a moon.

Science & Energy

Astronomers: Our Planet Might Have Another Moon, Except It’s Tiny

By Victor Tangermann

On Monday, the Pentagon announced the official adoption of a series of new principles for ethical use of artificial intelligence in warfare, the AP reports.

These Are the Pentagon’s New Ethics “Principles” for AI in Warfare

By Foster Kamer

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is developing a nuclear-powered rocket to move cargo around Earth's orbit.

DARPA’s Working on a Nuclear-Powered Rocket for Easy Moon Access

By Jon Christian

Airbnb is encouraging hosts to buy smart "party prevention" devices that can cost over $100 in an attempt to stop parties that could get out of hand.

Airbnb Wants Hosts to Buy “Party Prevention” Devices

By Victor Tangermann

Space Force Lt. General David Thompson clarifies what, exactly, the new military branch does, and how it plans to work with private companies.

Science & Energy

Space Force Working “Pretty Closely With Elon Musk and SpaceX”

By Dan Robitzski

A team of astronomers at Penn State just confirmed the existence of G 9-40b, a gigantic super-Earth only roughly 90 light years from Earth.

This Gigantic Neptune-Sized Exoplanet is Incredibly Close

By Victor Tangermann

According to a new report, the internet was intentionally shut off more than 200 times in 33 countries in 2019, affecting tens of millions of people.

Governments Shut Down the Internet Hundreds of Times in 2019

By Victor Tangermann

A new study reveals a bizarre link: on days that solar storms mess with the magnetic field, more gray whales beach themselves.

Solar Storms May Cause Whales to Crash Into Beaches

By Dan Robitzski

Six new studies were published today, detailing some of the discoveries made by NASA's InSight Mars lander, including evidence of a strange glow in the sky.

NASA Lander Detects Strange Glow In Sky of Mars

By Victor Tangermann

As crewed missions to space venture deeper and deeper, two scientists argue that space agencies ought not to ignore astronauts' human needs.

Science & Energy

Scientists: Unfortunately, Astronauts Will Need to Bone in Space

By Dan Robitzski

The Pentagon performed a training exercise last week in which it simulated a nuclear exchange with Russia, according to National Defense Magazine.

The Pentagon Just Simulated a Nuclear War With Russia

By Jon Christian

This weekend, a flat Earth conspiracy theorist launched himself in a homemade rocket — and crashed a minute later, dying in the wreck.

Guy Builds Rocket to Prove Earth Is Flat, Crashes It, Dies

By Jon Christian

Carmakers are expected to release wireless charging pads for electric cars based on a universally agreed-upon standard as soon as this year.

Advanced Transport

Carmakers Expected to Roll Out Wireless Car Chargers This Year

By Victor Tangermann

Cybertruck x Hot Wheels: Your Adorable Dream R/C Tesla Has Arrived

By Victor Tangermann

Another group of five-oh has released a rough concept for a Cybercruiser — the hardboiled highway cops of Ontario, Canada.

Advanced Transport

Check Out This Terrifying Cybertruck Police Car

By Jon Christian

Prominent investment bank JP Morgan Chase has sent a report to clients warning that climate change could have cataclysmic effects on civilization.

JP Morgan Warns Clients of “Catastrophic” Environmental Collapse

By Jon Christian

Adidas is going to have their shoe material rocketed into space, where they're going to have their proprietary material tested aboard the ISS.

Adidas Is Going to Space, on the ISS, Where They’ll Do Space Shoe Stuff

By Foster Kamer

A team of Korean researchers claim their new carbon-silicon complex car battery could more than double the driving range of electric vehicles.

Advanced Transport

New Battery Tech Could Double Electric Car Driving Range

By Victor Tangermann

In an interview with British fashion and culture magazine The Face, singer and visual artist Grimes revealed her wild plans to travel to Mars.

Grimes Wants to Send Her Mind to Mars Inside a “Humanoid Vessel”

By Victor Tangermann

Noted TV personality and public science advocate Bill Nye made an unusual pitch for NASA funding this week: that humans could be descended from Martians.

Bill Nye: Humans May Be Descendants of Ancient Martians

By Jon Christian

If there's life on Mars, experts agree, it's probably beneath the surface. Finding evidence could require some lateral thinking -- or boots on the ground.

Here’s Why NASA Suspects Mars Life Could Be Hiding Underground

By Jon Christian

What in Tarnation Is This “SpaceX Village” by the Starship Launch Site

What in Tarnation Is This “SpaceX Village” by the Starship Launch Site

By Jon Christian

Scientists have published a stark warning: If humankind doesn't manage to save the global bug population, it could spell doom for us all.

Science & Energy

Scientists Warn “Insect Apocalypse” Could Doom Humanity

By Jon Christian

Japanese space agency JAXA announced today it has greenlit a sample return mission to the Martian moon Phobos called the Martian Moons Exploration mission.

Science & Energy

Japan Gives the ‘Go’ to Sample Return Mission to Mars Moon

By Victor Tangermann

A flair in outer space may be a sign of a phenomenon first proposed in 2017: two massive black holes, wrapping around each other on a collision course.

Flaring Object in Space May Be Two Supermassive Black Holes Colliding

Quantum physicists have figured out a way to "hold" individual atoms in place, offering up an unprecedented look at the way they interact with each other.

Quantum Physicists “Hold” Individual Atoms in Place for First Time

By Victor Tangermann

An impressive new deepfake inserts Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and SpaceX founder Elon Musk into the 1965 pilot episode of storied sci-fi series "Star Trek."

Artificial Intelligence

Cursed Deepfake Shows Jeff Bezos As Veiny-Headed “Star Trek” Alien

By Jon Christian

A team of researchers and citizen scientists discovered a never-before-classified species of rare snail and named it after climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Scientists Discover New Snail, Name It After Greta Thunberg

All coral reefs across the planet will likely be dead in 80 years — killed by a combination of warming waters and ocean acidification.

New Research: All Coral Reefs May Be Completely Dead by 2100

By Jon Christian

Fifty years later, scientists debunked the idea that dinosaur footprints left on the ceiling of an Australian cave were left by one walking upside down.

Science & Energy

No, Researchers Conclude, This Dinosaur Did Not Walk Upside Down

By Dan Robitzski

A virtual anime stripper, Projekt Melody, has taken the internet by storm. It's also piqued the interest of virulently-misogynist incels.

Meet the Virtual, Anime Camgirl the Internet’s Most Toxic Men Are Obsessed With

By Dan Robitzski

A team of researchers have created tiny solar powered wings that can flap faster than butterfly wings and only need sunlight as a power source.

These Tiny, Solar-Powered Wings Flap Faster Than a Butterfly’s

By Victor Tangermann

The University of Tehran unveiled the latest iteration of its humanoid robot: Surena IV. Now it's capable of drilling holes and holding phones for selfies.

Video Shows Iran’s Humanoid Robot Drill Through Wall, Snap Selfie

By Dan Robitzski

In Ecuador, one of South America's most active, angry volcanos — given the not-at-all-terrifying name 'Throat of Fire' — is on the verge of collapse.

Science & Energy

Ecuador’s “Throat of Fire” Volcano Terrifyingly Near Collapse

By Foster Kamer

Researchers have developed a new model that enables engineers to build a type of rocket engine called a "rotating detonation engine," which uses explosions.

New Rocket Design Is Powered by a Ring of Literal Explosions

By Victor Tangermann

MIT researchers have a new plan to scout out and divert killer asteroids before they pose a threat. It boils down to knocking them off course with a rocket.

Science & Energy

MIT Proposes New Plans for Deflecting Killer Asteroids

By Dan Robitzski

Researchers posing as hackers tricked a Tesla from 2016 with cruise control enabled into driving up to 50 mph in a 35 mph zone using a small piece of tape.

Hackers Stick Tape on Speed Sign, Trick Teslas Into Going Faster

By Victor Tangermann

New video shows a pair of Boston University bots in action — expertly working together to grill hot dogs and park them in rolls.

This Hot Dog Cooking Robot Is the Beginning of the End

By Jon Christian

Jet-powered suit pilot Vince Reffet just took off from the ground in Dubai reaching a height of 100 meters in just 8 seconds.

Robots and Machines

Watch a Real-Life “Iron Man” Take Off From the Ground Like a Badass

By Victor Tangermann

A team of scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have come up with a clever device that can generate electricity from air moisture.

Clever Device Generates Electricity From Thin Air

By Victor Tangermann