the digest (Page 193)

Latest in the digest

Chinese Automaker Will Sell $8,950 Electric Pickup Truck in U.S.

Advanced Transport

Chinese Automaker Will Sell $8,950 Electric Pickup Truck in U.S.

By Victor Tangermann

A newly launched startup has entered the alt-meat market with a highly versatile protein inspired by the microbes in volcanic hot springs.

Startup Uses Volcanic Microbes to Create New Alt-Meat

By Kristin Houser

Transfusion of blood from young donors are one of the latest anti-aging treatments on the market, but they might actually hurt people rather than help them.

Prosthetics and Devices

Expert: Anti-Aging Blood Transfusions May Do More Harm Than Good

By Kristin Houser

Elon Musk's electric car maker Tesla has purchased Maxwell, a battery and ultracapacitor company, in a reported $200 million deal.

Tesla Just Bought An “Ultracapacitor” Manufacturer

By Jon Christian

MIT researchers suggest we pay attention to the oceans' color to track marine ecosystem changes caused by climate change.

Global Warming Is Changing the Oceans’ Color

By Kristin Houser

The Chinese government built an AI that finds signs of local corruption — but local officials in many areas are shutting it down.

Artificial Intelligence

China Built an AI to Detect Corruption and Officials Shut it Down

By Jon Christian

A San Francisco Board of Supervisors member proposed to ban facial recognition outright, calling for an approval process for any future surveillance tech.

San Francisco Is Considering a Ban on Facial Recognition

By Victor Tangermann

The U.S. Army has placed a $39 million order for tiny reconnaissance drones, small enough to fit in a soldier's pocket or palm.

The US Army Is Equipping Soldiers With Pocket-Sized Recon Drones

By Jon Christian

Yoshua Bengio opened up in a new interview about his anxiety about how China is using deep learning to surveil and manipulate large populations.

Artificial Intelligence

Godfather of Deep Learning: China’s AI Tech Is “1984 Big Brother”

By Jon Christian

The wildly popular video game "Fortnite" made history yesterday with a live show by EDM artist Marshmello that reportedly drew millions of viewers.

Live Concert Inside “Fortnite” Drew More Viewers Than Woodstock

By Jon Christian

Laser scientists say a machine learning breakthrough has smashed the standing record for a fusion power yield using machine learning.

Laser Scientists Just Tripled Their Fusion Power Yield

By Jon Christian

New Tech That Sucks Carbon From Chimneys Has “Tremendous Potential”

New Tech That Sucks Carbon From Chimneys Has “Tremendous Potential”

By Victor Tangermann

The FBI had to reiterate the FAA's decision to declare a "no drone zone" around the Super Bowl stadium in Atlanta. Six drones were confiscated already.

The FAA Declared a “No Drone Zone” During the Super Bowl in Atlanta

By Victor Tangermann

Researchers from MIT have created a smart pill that expands in the stomach — and they have no shortage of ideas for how it could improve human health.

Health & Medicine

This Smart Pill Grows 100 Times Bigger Once It’s in Your Stomach

By Kristin Houser

Chinese media report that one of Tesla competitor Nio's cars shut down in the middle of a Beijing traffic jam after the driver triggered a software update.

Tesla Competitor Traps Driver For an Hour While It Completes Software Update

By Victor Tangermann

CAPTCHAs Are Getting Harder Because AI Is Getting Smarter

Artificial Intelligence

CAPTCHAs Are Getting Harder Because AI Is Getting Smarter

By Jon Christian

Self-driving cars will opt to slowly cruise city streets instead of paying parking fees, according to one transportation expert.

Self-Driving Vehicles

Expert: Self-Driving Cars Will Clog Streets to Avoid Parking Fees

By Kristin Houser

During a facial recognition trial, London police stopped a man for "suspicious behavior," but the man claims all he did was cover his face.

Facial recognition

Police Said You Could Skip Public Facial Recognition. They Lied.

By Kristin Houser

A Popular Science reporter tried out a novel way of getting fit: zapping your muscles to add more resistance to your workout.

Why People Are Adding Electric Shocks to Their Workouts

By Victor Tangermann

The tiniest robot with legs is about the size of an ant's face — and you can watch it go for a run in a video released by IEEE Spectrum.

Watch an Adorably Tiny Robot Go for a Teeny Run

By Kristin Houser

Scientists at the University of California found a way to 3D print objects out of a special resin using light from a projector.

Watch a Super-Fast 3D Printer Scientists Call the “Replicator”

By Victor Tangermann

Chinese scientists built a robot submarine designed to travel into storms to fire meteorological rockets that will collect data from the atmosphere.

China Built a Robot Submarine to Shoot Rockets Into Typhoons

By Jon Christian

Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL's lunar lander Beresheet has now passed a series of launch tests, putting it one step closer to making space history.

First Private Lunar Lander Passes Launch Tests at SpaceX Facility

By Kristin Houser

A self-driving truck was spotted pulling an Amazon trailer down the I-10, a new sign that the company is committed to autonomous transportation.

Self-Driving Vehicles

Amazon Was Spotted Using a Self-Driving Truck to Haul Cargo

By Kristin Houser

Elon Musk, the CEO of electric car maker Tesla, said that he expects the company's vehicles to be capable of fully autonomous driving by the end of 2019.

Self-Driving Vehicles

Elon Musk: Teslas Should Have “Full Self-Driving” by End of 2019

By Jon Christian

Researchers found that quitting Facebook will make you spend more time with family and friends, be less politically polarized, but know less about the news.

Study: Quitting Facebook Makes You Less Politically Polarized

By Victor Tangermann

An infographic shared by Bill Gates that suggests global poverty is falling presents a "completely wrong" narrative, according to one anthropologist.

Expert: Bill Gates Is “Completely Wrong” About Global Poverty

By Kristin Houser

Strange new observations from distant quasars suggest that dark energy could be getting stronger as the universe gets older.

Bizarre New Data Suggests That Dark Energy Is Getting Stronger

By Jon Christian

According to expert linguist Gaston Dorren, translation tech is going to make learning a second language unnecessary in the future.

English’s Reign as the “Global Language” Might End, Says Expert

By Kristin Houser

Thanks to AI, MIT’s New Robot Could Beat You at Jenga

Thanks to AI, MIT’s New Robot Could Beat You at Jenga

By Victor Tangermann

Terra, the first autonomous lawnmower from Roomba-makers iRobot, has arrived and will be ready to hit American yards in 2019.

See iRobot’s First Autonomous Lawnmower in Action

By Kristin Houser

The EU is considering a microplastics ban that would prevent 40,000 tons of the tiny particles from entering the environment every year.

Science & Energy

The EU Is Considering a Major Microplastics Ban

By Kristin Houser

Tech startup Ironclad wants to help legal professionals automate their own jobs. For now, its products cut down on tedious paperwork.

Artificial Intelligence

This Startup Is Trying to Automate Law Firms

By Dan Robitzski

The electric car maker just showed off its jeans-wearing butt robot that tests its Model 3 seats in a showcase on Twitter.

Watch a Video of Tesla’s Seat-Testing Butt Robot

By Victor Tangermann

A new Reuters investigation reveals that the UAE used a sophisticated hacking tool to easily access iPhone messages, pictures, and passwords.

Secret UAE Spy Team Used “Cyber Super-Weapon” to Hack Any iPhone

By Dan Robitzski

The pandemics of obesity, starvation, and climate change are inextricably linked as a Global Syndemic, according to a new report.

Experts: To Fight Climate Change, Tackle Obesity and Starvation

By Kristin Houser

TechCrunch reports Facebook is running a program that pays users ages 13 to 35 $20 in e-gift cards for access to all of their information.

Facebook Got Busted Paying Teenagers $20 a Month for Private Data

By Victor Tangermann

A 26-ton electric excavator is about to hit construction sites in Norway — and it has the potential to dramatically decrease the nation's emissions.

Advanced Transport

This Massive All-Electric Excavator Has a 3.4 Ton Battery Pack

By Kristin Houser

The new rectenna developed by MIT engineers is the first that's flexible enough for wearables while still generating practical amounts of electricity.

MIT Says a New Gadget Could Use Wi-Fi to Power Your Smartphone

By Dan Robitzski

Israeli pharmaceutical company Accelerated Evolution Biotechnologies claims it is working on a cancer cure that will be ready within a year.

Israeli Scientists: We’ll Have a Cure for Cancer Within a Year

By Kristin Houser

In a world's first, neuroengineers from Columbia University have built a device that translates thoughts into recognizable speech.

Health & Medicine

Listen to a Gadget That Translates Thoughts Into Speech

By Kristin Houser

A bombshell report revealed a shocking Apple bug in the company's FaceTime video chat app that lets callers eavesdrop on other users before they pick up.

Robots and Machines

Bizarre Apple Bug Let FaceTime Callers Spy on Each Other

By Jon Christian

According to a new report, the Trump Administration has attacked science more than 80 times — and it's time for Congress to fight back.

A New Report Claims The Trump Era Has Been Terrible for Science

By Kristin Houser

NSA's Curiosity rover just took a last selfie before leaving the Vera Rubin Ridge on the surface of Mars. Its next stop is a suspected dried-up lake bed.

NASA’s Rover Sends Home Captivating Selfie of Martian Landscape

By Victor Tangermann

Over the next year, cameras will record life aboard the International Space Station to create a virtual reality series for TIME.

Virtual Reality

See the Stunning New Trailer for a VR Series Filmed on the ISS

By Kristin Houser

A UK airport is planning a three-month trial of robot valets that increase the number of available spaces by parking cars more closely together.

Robot Valets Will Drag Your Car Into a Parking Spot at UK Airport

By Kristin Houser

To beef up cybersecurity before the upcoming 2020 Toyko Olympics, the Japanese Government is about to systematically hack the country's IoT devices.

Japan Plans to Hack 200 Million Devices to Prepare for Olympics

By Dan Robitzski

This Ridiculous Startup Wants to Roast Coffee in Space

This Ridiculous Startup Wants to Roast Coffee in Space

By Victor Tangermann

A soft robot tendril wraps its way around a plant vine.

This Soft Robot Mimics Plant Tendrils To Creep and Climb

Researchers have developed a new tool which offers an unprecident look, like this image, of the internal structures of human capillaries

Science & Energy

Doctors Can Now Get a Detailed Look Inside Your Capillaries

An array of solar panels, which could be improved by nanomaterials, stands in a field.

Self-Assembling Nanomaterials Could Improve Solar Panels

Some pills float in a blue tinted cup of coffee

Feeling Lonely? Scientists Are Developing a Pill to Fight Loneliness

Northwestern University's new sweat-drinking biosensor patch

Health & Medicine

Sweat-Drinking Biosensor Patch Helps Monitor Your Health

New images surfaced on Russian social media of what appears to be Russia's "Okhotnik" heavy strike drone seen at an unidentified runway.

Images Surface of Russia’s Alleged Heavy Strike Drone

By Victor Tangermann

A 19-year-old teen from Austin tried to rob a bank and flee the scene of the crime on a Jump electric scooter. He didn't get far.

Advanced Transport

Uber Snitched on Teen Who Used Its Scooter to Rob Bank

By Victor Tangermann

On the week of the 15th anniversary of NASA's Opportunity rover's touchdown, officials are acknowledging that it could be permanently out of commission.

NASA’s Opportunity Rover Feared Dead: “An Honorable Death”

By Jon Christian

For the first time, researchers have used a controversial "three-parent baby" therapy in a clinical trial to help an infertile couple conceive.

Prosthetics and Devices

An Infertile Couple Is Now Pregnant With a “Three-Parent Baby”

By Kristin Houser

A team from MIT found a way to use a laser to transmit audio across a room — without anyone between the person and source of the laser hearing it.

Science & Energy

MIT Used a Laser to Transmit Audio Directly Into a Person’s Ear

By Kristin Houser

A team of scientists successfully drilled a hole, more than a mile in length, that went all the way through Antarctica's ice.

Scientists Just Drilled All the Way Through Antarctica’s Ice

By Jon Christian

A team of Chinese scientists just unveiled five cloned monkeys produced from the cells of a monkey whose genes they edited with CRISPR-Cas9.

Science & Energy

Chinese Scientists Cloned Gene-Edited Monkeys With Horrifying Results

By Kristin Houser

A new Apple patent depicts a sensor that would give iPhone and iWatches the ability to detect poisonous gases, such as carbon monoxide.

Apple Is Working on Tech That’d Let Your iPhone Detect Poison

By Kristin Houser

The Doomsday Clock is still set to 11:58, signifying that humanity is no less likely to cause an apocalyptic event than it was last year.

Doomsday Clock Is Staying at Two Minutes to Midnight This Year

By Kristin Houser

Today's lighting affects our circadian rhythms, causing a host of health problems, but a new type of light has the potential to address the issue.

Space Station Designer: Indoor Lighting Is Making Us Sick

By Kristin Houser

The startup Mapillary uses photos sourced from the crowd to create the highly detailed, up-to-date maps self-driving cars need.

Self-Driving Vehicles

Self-Driving Cars Could Rely on Crowdsourced Maps

By Kristin Houser