the digest (Page 156)

Latest in the digest

Astronomers used the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) to observe a binary star system called HD101584 after a particularly violent and close fly-by.

Science & Energy

This Epic Star Battle Looks Like Something From a “Thor” Movie

By Victor Tangermann

NASA astronaut Christine Koch has returned to Earth after spending a record-setting 328 days aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Astronaut Sets Space Record, Says She’ll Miss Microgravity

By Kristin Houser

Assuming the vacuum of space didn't prevent sound from traveling, what would the Sun sound like? Turns out, it might be rather annoying...

Science & Energy

If Sound Traveled Through Space, the Sun Would Be Extremely Annoying

Using a neural network, YouTuber Denis Shiryaev upscaled a short film from 1896 to 4K resolution at 60 frames per second.

Artificial Intelligence

Neural Network Transforms 124-Year-Old Film Into Crisp HD

By Kristin Houser

Tesla shares fell on Wednesday after an executive revealed that Model 3 production will be delayed for about a week and a half due to the outbreak.

The Virus Outbreak Is Delaying Tesla Model 3 Shipments

By Victor Tangermann

Drone startup Terra Drone says it will be testing a drone delivery system for Ben & Jerry's beloved ice cream cups in New York.

Ben & Jerry’s Is Testing a Drone Delivery System for Ice Cream

By Kristin Houser

SpaceX has launched an online booking tool that lets companies reserve space on a Falcon 9 rocket. For $1 million, customers can send 200 kg into orbit.

You Can Now Book Space on a SpaceX Rocket for $1 Million Online

By Victor Tangermann

A nonprofit is suing the Federal Communication Commission in an attempt to force it to reconsider the impact of cell phone radiation on human health.

Nonprofit Sues FCC for Ignoring Science on Cell Phone Radiation

By Kristin Houser

A new pair of AR smart glasses don't project an image onto its lenses. Instead, it uses lasers to shoot an image directly into the eyeball.

Virtual Reality

These AR Smart Glasses Shoot Lasers Directly Onto Your Retina

By Dan Robitzski

Waymo workers have told The Verge that passengers keep shooting up in the company's self-driving cars and leaving their used needles behind.

Self-Driving Vehicles

Waymo Workers: People Keep Injecting Drugs in Self-Driving Cars

By Kristin Houser

The US Navy is looking to arm nuclear submarines with high-energy laser weapons, according to Popular Mechanics. It won't reveal why.

The US Navy Wants to Arm Nuclear Submarines With Laser Cannons

By Victor Tangermann

In a filing with the FCC, SpaceX revealed that it's requesting permission to fly its recent Starship prototype on a flight to an altitude of 12.4 miles.

SpaceX Is Planning a Miles-High Starship Flight as Early as March

By Victor Tangermann

The U.S. Army is working with chemists to develop fabrics that can absorb and neutralize nerve agents for use in future military uniforms.

The US Army Is Developing Fabrics That Neutralize Nerve Agents

By Kristin Houser

Elon Musk revealed that his secretive brain-computer interface startup Neuralink is working on an "awesome" new version of the company's prototype.

Elon Musk Says Upcoming Version of Neuralink is “Awesome”

By Victor Tangermann

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir snapped an out-of-this-world selfie during an International Space Station spacewalk in January.

NASA Astronaut Snaps Epic Selfie in Space Station Reflection

By Kristin Houser

Google says a "technical issue" caused its Takeout service to send backups of users' videos to strangers in November 2019.

Google Accidentally Sent Users’ Private Videos to Strangers

By Kristin Houser

Surgeons Gave This Adorable Cat Four Amazing 3D-Printed Paws

Surgeons Gave This Adorable Cat Four Amazing 3D-Printed Paws

By Victor Tangermann

When the FBI raided the home of a man suspected of hacking Nintendo servers, they found a folder directory containing child pornography on his electronics.

Idiot Hacks Nintendo Servers, Gets Caught With Child Pornography

By Kristin Houser

17-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, the Associated Press reports.

Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

By Victor Tangermann

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is hosting a "super fun AI party/hackathon" at his home where guests will work alongside Tesla's AI/Autopilot team.

Elon Musk Is Hosting a “Super Fun” Hackathon at His House

By Kristin Houser

esla recently released a new hidden feature called "Dyno Mode" that disables a host of safety features — and people already abusing it.

Idiots Are Driving Teslas In Mode That Disables Safety Features

By Victor Tangermann

Researchers identified a major flaw in the U.S. government's plan to store nuclear waste: groundwater can eat away at storage containers and cause leaks.

Nuclear Waste Storage Containers Break Down When Exposed to Water

By Dan Robitzski

Programmers are creating Tinder bots to swipe for them on the platform and, in some cases, have basic conversations with their matches.

Programmers Are Creating Chatbots to Flirt on Tinder For Them

By Kristin Houser

Several climate change simulations predict drastically worse warming per level of greenhouse gas emissions, suggesting the problem is worse than thought.

Several Climate Change Simulations Just Snapped Into Doomsday Mode

By Dan Robitzski

German artist Simon Weckert created his own personal traffic jam on Google Maps by loading 99 smartphones into a small cart and lugging them down a street.

Guy Causes Google Maps “Traffic Jams” By Carrying 99 Cell Phones

By Victor Tangermann

An updated NASA animation reveals what the world would look like if all of Earth's oceans, rivers, and lakes slowly vanished.

Science & Energy

Amazing Vid Shows How Earth Would Look If All Its Oceans Dried Up

By Dan Robitzski

This year's Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah allowed festival goers to experience something wild: virtual reality (VR) underwater.

Virtual Reality

This Underwater VR Tricks You Into Thinking You’re Flying

By Victor Tangermann

By combining the opinions of a lot of humans with artificial intelligence, Unanimous A.I. has created a hive mind to predict the Super Bowl LIV winner.

Artificial Intelligence

Hyper-Intelligent AI Hive Mind Claims to Predict Super Bowl Winner

By Kristin Houser

The U.S. Army is considering a fire control system for its next-gen rifle that would only let soldiers fire if they were guaranteed to hit their targets.

Artificial Intelligence

US Army Considering Rifle That Only Fires When Hit Is Guaranteed

By Dan Robitzski

A Brutal ‘Dead Star’ Is Stuck In a Whirlpool of Warped Spacetime

A Brutal ‘Dead Star’ Is Stuck In a Whirlpool of Warped Spacetime

By Dan Robitzski

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk just dropped a generic-sounding EDM song on SoundCloud. Seriously. No, we're not making this up.

Elon Musk Just Dropped a Heavily Auto-Tuned Song on SoundCloud

By Victor Tangermann

Skinwalker Ranch is the site of countless stories of paranormal activity, and this team of scientists is trying to figure out why.

This Utah Ranch Has a “Command Center” for Paranormal Research

By Kristin Houser

The United Nations (UN) was the target of a sophisticated hack in the summer of 2019, according to a newly leaked internal report.

Someone Hacked Dozens of United Nations Servers

By Kristin Houser

Animal-rights group PETA wants Punxsutawney Phil replaced with an artificially intelligent robot that would be more humane and accurate.

PETA Wants Punxsutawney Phil Replaced by a Robot Groundhog

By Kristin Houser

The Air Force's model of Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jet has awful accuracy, according to a new DoD assessment, in part because of its cracked casing.

Robots and Machines

The US’s $428 Billion F-35 Fighter Jet Can’t Even Shoot a Target

By Dan Robitzski

Advanced Transport

General Motors Announces High-Performance, All-Electric Hummer

By Victor Tangermann

Japanese billionaire Yukatu Maezawa had to break the hearts of 27,722 women, revealing that he cancelled the TV show to find himself a Moon trip companion.

Billionaire Cancels Reality Show to Find Girlfriend For Moon Trip

By Victor Tangermann

Google has unveiled a new chatbot named Meena, which it claims is capable of conversing on a level almost equal to humans.

Google Says Its Chatbot Is Capable of Near-Human Conversation

By Kristin Houser

Scientists just released the highest resolution images of the Sun's surface ever taken using the largest solar telescope in the world.

Science & Energy

The Highest Def Photo of the Sun Looks Like Caramel Popcorn

By Victor Tangermann

Rocket technology company SpinLaunch is planning to start suborbital test flights using a massive centrifuge called as soon as this winter.

This Startup Plans to Fling Rockets Into Space With a Centrifuge

By Victor Tangermann

Japan is building a massive humanoid robot modeled after those in the "Gundam" sci-fi franchise — and it'll reportedly be able to walk.

Japan Is Building a Massive Walking Gundam Robot

By Kristin Houser

There's a decent chance that two satellites will collide this evening, potentially releasing a cloud of hazardous debris into orbit.

Science & Energy

Two Satellites May Collide Today, Exploding Catastrophically

By Dan Robitzski

NASA announced on Monday that it has chosen private space station manufacturer Axiom Space to build the first space hotel for the ISS.

NASA Is Adding a Space Hotel to the Space Station

By Victor Tangermann

A group calling itself OurMine hacked the official social media accounts of the National Football League and 15 NFL teams.

Hacker Group Seizes Twitter, Facebook Accounts of 15 NFL Teams

By Kristin Houser

A new study has found that the Pacific Ocean's increasingly acidic water is dissolving the shells of newly hatched Dungeness crabs.

Science & Energy

The Ocean Is Getting so Acidic That It’s Dissolving Crabs’ Shells

By Kristin Houser

German munitions experts had to defuse seven unexploded World War II bombs at the factory site where Tesla wants to build its new Gigafactory, CNBC reports.

Seven Unexploded WWII Bombs Found at German Tesla Factory Site

By Victor Tangermann

Tesla has notified owners in China that they'll be able to charge their vehicles for free for the duration of the nation's coronavirus epidemic.

Tesla Offers Free Charging in China During Coronavirus Outbreak

By Kristin Houser

Earlier this month, China announced a new five-year plan to eventually ban single-use plastic waste in the entire country.

Science & Energy

China Announces Plan to Ban Single-Use Plastics

By Victor Tangermann

A firm managing content moderation for YouTube forced its employees to sign a document acknowledging that the job might give them PTSD.

YouTube Mods Forced to Sign Doc Acknowledging They Might Get PTSD

By Kristin Houser

Vermont state rep Rebecca White has introduced a bill that would allow Vermont car owners to use one of six emojis on their vanity license plates.

Advanced Transport

This Law Would Allow Emojis on License Plates

By Victor Tangermann

In its efforts to open a massive Gigafactory near Berlin, Germany, Tesla has to clear a lot trees and use up a ton of water — and that has people worried.

Advanced Transport

Germans Are Protesting the Berlin Gigafactory

By Victor Tangermann

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was spotted yet again, driving his Cybertruck around Hawthorne, California near the SpaceX and Tesla offices.

Elon Musk Spotted Joyriding Around California In His Cybertruck

By Victor Tangermann

On Thursday, Tinder announced several new app features that could — thankfully — bring the reality of online dating more inline with the ideal.

Tinder Announces “Panic Button,” Anti-Catfishing Features

By Kristin Houser

Researchers 3D-printed a replica of the mummy Nesyamun's vocal tract — and then used it to hear what his voice would've sounded like when he was alive.

Science & Energy

Hear an Ancient Mummy “Talk” Using a 3D-Printed Vocal Tract

By Kristin Houser

AT&T-owned satellite TV company DirecTV asked the FCC for permission to de-orbit one of its satellites that experienced a critical battery failure.

This Boeing Satellite May Be About to Explode

By Victor Tangermann

A team of cybersecurity researchers discovered a data breach in a platform used by multiple U.S. marijuana dispensaries to manage sales.

30,000 Marijuana Buyers’ Personal Info Exposed in Data Breach

By Kristin Houser

Boeing has quit DARPA's Experimental Spaceplane (XSP) project, prompting the military agency to announce it was killing the project altogether.

Boeing Quits — and Kills — DARPA Experimental Spaceplane Program

By Kristin Houser

A Swiss researcher has created a prototype robot hand that uses acoustic levitation to move objects without ever touching them.

Ultrasonic Hands Could Give Robots a Lighter Touch

By Kristin Houser

Keeping track of an immense and growing amount of objects in Earth's orbit is becoming increasingly difficult and could end in disaster, as NPR reports.

Experts Call for System Preventing Satellite Collisions

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists from Purdue University have built the world's fastest-spinning object, a nanoparticle capable of completing 300 billion revolutions per minute.

Quantum Physics

Scientists Break World Record for Fastest-Spinning Object

By Kristin Houser

The Indian Space Research Organization has unveiled a legless "half-humanoid" robot called "Voymmitra" it wants to send into space on an uncrewed mission.

India Wants to Send This Legless Humanoid Robot Into Space

By Victor Tangermann

The wildfires raging in Australia could release a billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere by the end of the fire season, says Stanford scientist.

Renewable Energy

Australian Wildfires Could Release a Billion Tons of Carbon

By Kristin Houser

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover just experienced a technical glitch losing its orientation, forcing it to stop in its tracks.

Science & Energy

Glitch Puts NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover Out of Commission

By Victor Tangermann

A team of researchers discovered 28 never-before-seen ancient viruses in 15,000-year-old ice sourced from a Tibetan glacier.

Scientists Discover Ancient Viruses Inside Glacier

By Kristin Houser