the digest (Page 168)

Latest in the digest

Alphabet-owned company Wing announced a partnership with FedEx and Walgreens to start making drone deliveries as soon as October.

Walgreens Will Start Making Drone Deliveries in October

By Victor Tangermann

The FAA has issued a temporary flight restriction over Area 51 during the weekend's Alienstock festival for safety reasons.

With “Storm Area 51” Looming, FAA Shuts Down Area 51 Airspace

By Kristin Houser

A "flying" taxi that uses hydrofoils to hover above the water was detained during a test in Paris because police didn't know it had permission to speed.

Advanced Transport

Police Detain “Flying” Taxi for Speeding During Test

By Kristin Houser

Distant galaxies are being killed off and rendered unable to form new stars. Now, astrophysicists are trying to figure out why.

Science & Energy

Astrophysicists Warn That Entire Galaxies “Are Being Killed”

By Dan Robitzski

Rapper Azealia Banks has written a song about an Elon Musk-like character who invents a brain interface — and is then executed via it.

Azealia Banks Reveals Song About Publicly Executing Elon Musk

By Kristin Houser

Google Assistant was initially supposed to have a male-sounding voice, according to Google, but the technology at the time didn't cooperate.

Google: We Weren’t Being Sexist Giving Assistant a Female Voice

By Kristin Houser

The FBI arrested a man who used his drone to drop a homemade bomb on his ex's home, potentially heralding a terrifying era of futuristic, violent crimes.

FBI Arrests Man For Bombing Ex’s House With a Drone

By Dan Robitzski

Facebook released a new data policy for its Portal devices that reveals the company will occasionally store audio recordings of Portal users.

Facebook: Actually, We Do Listen to You Sometimes

By Dan Robitzski

According to a new U.N. report based on global censuses, the number of international migrants is increasing faster than the world's population.

The Number of Migrants Is Growing Faster Than the World Population

By Dan Robitzski

Oxford Physicist: Geogineering Away Climate Change Won’t Work

Oxford Physicist: Geogineering Away Climate Change Won’t Work

By Dan Robitzski

A YouTuber deepfaked Bob Odenkirk in a scene of "Breaking Bad" with the face of president Donald Trump to explain money laundering.

Someone Deepfaked Trump Into “Breaking Bad” and It’s Horrifying

By Victor Tangermann

While performing a close flyby of Jupiter, NASA's Juno spacecraft captured several stunning images of a solar eclipse on the gas giant.

Juno Captures Stunning Images of a Solar Eclipse on Jupiter

By Kristin Houser

The editor of Chinese state-backed newspaper, the Global Times, protested government censorhip in a Weibo post that was soon deleted.

Editor of Chinese Paper Complains About Censorship, Gets Censored

By Dan Robitzski

The Japanese government has suggested it may dump contaminated water from the Fukushima power plant into the ocean, but experts say it's too dangerous.

Experts: Fukushima Water Is Too Dangerous to Dump Into the Sea

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists built rudimentary soft robots that are controlled and steered by living neurons and muscles, just like a living organism.

Scientists Built Tiny Robots Powered by Muscles and Nerves

By Dan Robitzski

Pengyi Li from China attempted to smuggle sensitive spacecraft and military missile components out of the U.S. according to documents obtained by Quartz.

The U.S. Says China is Stealing Military Spacecraft Technology

By Victor Tangermann

There's a small chance that a defunct space habitat collides with a retired Russian satellite on Wednesday, illustrating the threat of space debris.

Science & Energy

A Derelict Space Habitat May Crash Into an Old Russian Satellite

By Dan Robitzski

New apps use AI to scrutinize your texts and determine whether someone is really into you or if you might not be the best match.

Artificial Intelligence

Can an AI Scan Your Messages to Detect if Someone’s Flirting?

By Dan Robitzski

According to a German magazine, the Tesla Model S just sliced an impressive 20 seconds off of Porsche's recent Nürburgring race track record.

Tesla’s Model S Just Crushed Porsche’s Lap Time in Germany

By Victor Tangermann

On Jupiter's moon Io, the strongest volcano in the solar system is likely about to erupt within the next couple of days, according to new calculations.

Science & Energy

A Giant Volcano on One of Jupiter’s Moons Is About to Erupt

By Dan Robitzski

After hackers revealed flaws in the F-15's cybersecurity, the Air Force plans to invite white hat hackers to probe an active satellite for vulnerabilities.

The Air Force Is Inviting Hackers to Breach a Satellite

By Dan Robitzski

Three U.S. military videos that show footage of "unidentified aerial phenomenon" are authentic, according to U.S. Navy statements.

Navy Confirms That Three UFO Encounter Videos Are Real

By Victor Tangermann

Richard Stallman, who only recently reversed his position that kids and adults should have sex, resigned from MIT after backlash for comments on Epstein.

MIT Researcher Who Defended Sex With Children Resigns

By Dan Robitzski

Musk has gathered his best legal team to help him build a defense after calling a Thai rescuer a pedo last July: "pedo guy" isn't a "pedophile guy."

Elon Musk’s Legal Defense: “Pedo Guy” Doesn’t Mean “Pedophile”

By Victor Tangermann

A New Bioreactor Captures as Much Carbon as an Acre of Trees

A New Bioreactor Captures as Much Carbon as an Acre of Trees

By Dan Robitzski

According to Ars Technica, cutting-edge research into ultra-powerful lasers could pulse a laser "through fabric of the Universe."

Science & Energy

New Lasers May Be Powerful Enough to Drill a Hole in Reality

By Jon Christian

A new simulation by researchers at Princeton University paints a terrifying picture of what a nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia might look like.

This Video Shows Horrifying Devastation of US-Russia Nuclear War

By Victor Tangermann

Former Googler Laura Nolan warns that the military should never use fully-autonomous weapons, lest they accidentally spark a war.

Former Google Engineer: Killer Bots Could Commit “Mass Atrocities”

By Dan Robitzski

A team of astronomers from West Virginia University claim they've discovered the most massive neutron star to date.

Science & Energy

Astronomers Just Spotted the Most Massive Neutron Star Ever

By Victor Tangermann

When scientists released gene-hacked mosquitoes into the wild population in Jacobino, Brazil, they thought it would quell the bugs. They had no such luck.

Science & Energy

Gene-Hacking Mosquitoes to Be Infertile Backfired Spectacularly

By Dan Robitzski

German flying car startup Volocopter just showed off its flying taxi as it was taking flight at Stuttgart's Mercedes-Benz Museum

Advanced Transport

Watch This Flying Taxi Soar Over a German City

By Victor Tangermann

MIT scientist Richard Stallman backpedaled his statements on the Jeffrey Epstein debacle, clarifying that adults shouldn't have sex with kids.

MIT Scientist Says He Doesn’t Think Pedophilia Is Okay Any More

By Dan Robitzski

Thanks to the Gemini Observatory, we get a closer look at the object called C/2019 Q4 (Borisov), a comet believed to be from beyond our solar system.

Here’s a Pic of That Mysterious Object From Beyond Solar System

By Victor Tangermann

France's Minister of the Economy and Finance said that Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency will be barred from the country if it's released as planned.

French Gov Official Warns Facebook: Libra Is Not Welcome Here

By Dan Robitzski

A news reporter caught a Tesla Model X plowing its way down a flooded street in South Dakota, exiting the water seemingly no worse for wear.

Watch a Tesla Model X Blast Through Deep Flood Waters

By Kristin Houser

Scientists can finally take a closer look at the big, radioactive bubbles our galaxy's black hole burped out millions of years ago.

Science & Energy

Milky Way’s Giant Black Hole Lets out Two Giant, Radioactive Burps

By Dan Robitzski

British fishmonger Rex Goldsmith found that Instagram was censoring his photos for featuring "offensive content" twice in two weeks.

Instagram Keeps Accidentally Flagging Fish Photos as Offensive

By Kristin Houser

Over the course of nine years, Harvard University accepted about $9 million in donations from child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Unlike MIT, Harvard Cut Off Epstein Donations After Conviction

By Dan Robitzski

After a horrifying case where an unauthorized Uber driver raped his passenger, the company says its inroducing human oversight to its driver-verifying tech.

A Driver Tricked Uber’s Algorithm, Sexually Assaulted a Passenger

By Dan Robitzski

Japanese auto giant Toyota has partnered with a local energy company to test a Prius hybrid that's almost entirely covered in solar panels.

Advanced Transport

Toyota Wants to Slather Solar Panels All Over Its Prius Hybrid

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists just traced the path of a runaway star, first spotted in the 80s, back to its original home and learned it got cast away by a black hole.

Science & Energy

A Runaway Star Is Escaping a Black Hole at 1.2 Million MPH

By Dan Robitzski

A critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin used a drone to fly his electronics out of his high-rise apartment prior to a police raid on his home.

Putin Critic Uses Drone to Save Hard Drives Before Police Raid

By Kristin Houser

In an effort to personalize the experience of flying, Airbus is testing out a new Internet of Things platform that collects data like bathroom visits.

Airbus Planes Will Track How Often Passengers Go to the Bathroom

By Victor Tangermann

Researchers have created a robot fish that can "fly" up to 85 feet by shooting a steady stream of water out of its rear end.

Watch a Robot Fish Fly by Shooting Water out of Its Rear

By Kristin Houser

People from the Russian town Kiselyovsk want to gain entry to Canada as environmental refugees. Coal mining operations in their town have made it unlivable.

Residents Are Trying to Flee Russian Town Where Snow Turned Black

By Dan Robitzski

LifeShip will send your DNA to the Moon for $99 — a whimsical undertaking that could also ensure humanity lives on even if Earth becomes uninhabitable.

This Startup Will Send DNA From Your Spit to the Moon for $99

By Kristin Houser

The FBI has reportedly begun investigating Mithril Capital, the venture capital firm co-founded by Silicon Valley tycoon Peter Thiel.

FBI Investigation Targets Trump Booster Peter Thiel’s VC Firm

By Dan Robitzski

YouTube influencers feel constant pressure to churn out content, prompting some — including Christine Sydelko — to give up the gig.

YouTube Influencers Are Mentally Collapsing From Stress

By Kristin Houser

SpaceX just posted dramatic footage of its commercial space shuttle Crew Dragon undergoing hundreds of rigorous tests of its emergency abort system.

Watch SpaceX Test Its Crew Dragon’s Escape System

By Victor Tangermann

Astronomers believe they may have detected a second interstellar object, but unlike 'Oumuamua, this one is on its way into our solar system.

An Interstellar Object May Have Just Entered Our Solar System

By Kristin Houser

An electrical engineer at the University of California in LA, has come up with a device that can harness electricity from a dark night sky to power an LED.

This Solar Panel-Like Device Can Generate Electricity in the Dark

By Victor Tangermann

A pair of Dutch YouTubers who flew to the U.S. to attend the Storm Area 51 event were arrested for tresspassing on a government site.

People Are Already Getting Arrested Trying to “Storm Area 51”

By Kristin Houser

When StingRays were found in Washington D.C. in 2017, the FBI concluded that Israel was likely trying to spy on Trump and his circle.

Robots and Machines

The FBI Reportedly Thinks Israel Spied on Trump’s Phone

By Dan Robitzski

A newly released Spider-Man deepfake sees Tom Holland take over for Tobey Maguire as emo Peter Parker in 2007's "Spider-Man 3"

Artificial Intelligence

New Deepfake Transforms Tom Holland Into Emo Spider-Man

By Kristin Houser

Musk confirmed in a tweet on Wednesday that the Model S "Plaid powertrain is about a year away from production" and applies to almost all Tesla vehicles.

Elon Musk Announces “Spaceballs”-Themed Super-Fast Tesla Mode

By Victor Tangermann

A newly announced campaign calls on Ticketmaster to end its use of facial recognition tech to scan fans' faces at concerts.

Artificial Intelligence

Musicians Don’t Want Ticketmaster Scanning Your Face at Concerts

By Kristin Houser

A team of scientists discovered that the black hole at the center of the Milky Away appears to be unusually hungry based on how brightly it's glowing.

Science & Energy

Uh Oh: The Milky Way’s Giant Black Hole Is “Getting Hungrier”

By Dan Robitzski

For the first time, astronomers recorded the gravitational waves given off by the formation of a new black hole.

Science & Energy

Physicists Detect Gravitational Waves From Newborn Black Hole

By Dan Robitzski

An Indian newspaper quoted an ISRO official as saying that the country's lunar lander landed in one piece. The report has yet to be confirmed.

Indian Official: Moon Lander May Have Survived in One Piece

By Victor Tangermann

Bad actors could covertly create weapons of mass destruction using a combination of 3D printers and artificial intelligence, experts warn.

Report: Terrorists Could 3D Print Weapons of Mass Destruction

By Kristin Houser

When storage room for Fukushima's radioactive water runs out in 2022, one government official thinks the nation will start dumping it into the ocean.

Science & Energy

Japan Might Dump Fukushima’s Radioactive Water Into the Pacific

By Kristin Houser

A new delivery drone called the Silent Arrow GD-2000 could replace military airdrops, delivering supplies by drones to battlefields at half the cost.

Gliding Delivery Drones Could Replace Military Airdrops

By Dan Robitzski

A team of researchers have detected water vapor in the atmosphere of an exoplanet nine times Earth's mass and 111 light years away.

Science & Energy

Astronomers Spot Water — and Maybe Rain — on a Distant Planet

By Victor Tangermann

In his new book, Microsoft President Brad Smith describes being approached by a Trump adviser who wanted him to spy on other countries.

A Trump Adviser Wanted Microsoft to Spy on World Governments

By Dan Robitzski