Tech

The US military shot down what US officials called a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina on 4 Feb 2023. Officials said that the US Navy planned to recover the debris, which is in shallow water. The US and Canada tracked the balloon as it crossed the Aleutian Islands, passed over Western

Scientists have found a clever way to generate hydrogen straight from salty seawater. This could be another step towards a clean energy future, if renewables power the process. The new device makes a few chemical modifications to existing technologies, making it possible to extract hydrogen from untreated, unpurified seawater – which could alleviate concerns about

Billion-dollar startup Colossal Biosciences claims it has come a step closer to reviving the dodo, a flightless bird that has been extinct since the 17th century. The futuristic plan is only possible now that the Dallas-based company has decrypted the dodo’s entire genome, according to a press release. The bird is the latest in the

Weighing in at just 1.2 milligrams, a new robot called FAIRY – that’s short for Flying Aero-robots based on Light Responsive Materials Assembly – is the first flying bot we’ve seen based on soft materials that respond to light. The robot was inspired by dandelion seeds, and ultimately it could be used in the same

Some 540 million years ago, diverse life forms suddenly began to emerge from the muddy ocean floors of planet Earth. This period is known as the Cambrian Explosion, and these aquatic critters are our ancient ancestors. All complex life on Earth evolved from these underwater creatures. Scientists believe all it took was an ever-so-slight increase

Even if you think you are good at analyzing faces, research shows many people cannot reliably distinguish between photos of real faces and images that have been computer-generated. This is particularly problematic now that computer systems can create realistic-looking photos of people who don’t exist. Recently, a fake LinkedIn profile with a computer-generated profile picture

Scientists have made a breakthrough in robotics: a shapeshifting robot that can switch between liquid and metal states to navigate tricky environments without compromising on strength. Because they can be both soft and hard, the small, sea cucumber-inspired robots can overcome the limitations of robots that are only one or the other, and thus have

Fiber-optic cables stretch across oceans and wind their way underground to handle our communications systems, and scientists think that this vast network of infrastructure could be put to another use: observing Earth’s surface from below. Specifically, the 1.2 million kilometers (more than 745,000 miles) of existing fiber-optic cable could be combined with satellites and other

The hottest startup in Silicon Valley right now is OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed developer of ChatGPT, a much-hyped chatbot that can write a poem, college essay, or even a line of software code. Tesla tycoon Elon Musk was an early investor in OpenAI and Microsoft is reported to be in talks to up an initial investment

All life is made up of cells several magnitudes smaller than a grain of salt. Their seemingly simple-looking structures mask the intricate and complex molecular activity that enables them to carry out the functions that sustain life. Researchers are beginning to be able to visualize this activity to a level of detail they haven’t been

Say hello to ionocaloric cooling: a new way to lower the mercury that has the potential to replace existing methods with something that is safer and friendlier to the planet. Typical refrigeration systems transport heat away from a space via a gas that cools as it expands some distance away. As effective as this process

In August 1955, a group of scientists made a funding request for US$13,500 to host a summer workshop at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire. The field they proposed to explore was artificial intelligence (AI). While the funding request was humble, the conjecture of the researchers was not: “Every aspect of learning or any other feature of

There’s not enough fresh water to go around on planet Earth, and it’s a problem that’s expected to only worsen in the coming years. To meet growing demand, recycling and restricting our water will only get us so far. Scientists will need to find new sources of this life-sustaining liquid to meet our needs. One

She’s out there somewhere, lurking in a parallel universe of possibilities. All you have to do to summon her into being is type the right prompt into an AI image generator. Like a digital incantation, the words will reveal the eerie face of a middle-aged woman with dead eyes, a vacant stare, and a disturbing

Putting a screen in front of a child is a tried and trusted way of keeping them entertained and quiet – and it works pretty well for adults, too – but as a constant calming technique, it may have its drawbacks, according to a new study. Researchers looked at the way digital devices were used

The Lensa photo and video editing app has shot into social media prominence in recent weeks, after adding a feature that lets you generate stunning digital portraits of yourself in contemporary art styles. It does that for just a small fee and the effort of uploading 10 to 20 different photographs of yourself. 2022 has

ChatGPT is the latest and most impressive artificially intelligent chatbot yet. It was released two weeks ago, and in just five days hit a million users. It’s being used so much that its servers have reached capacity several times. OpenAI, the company that developed it, is already being discussed as a potential Google slayer. Why

Our society faces the grand challenge of providing sustainable, secure, and affordable means of generating energy while trying to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to net zero around 2050. To date, developments in fusion power, which potentially ticks all these boxes, have been funded almost exclusively by the public sector. However, something is changing. Private equity

Many of us rely on GPS (Global Positioning System) to estimate travel times, find our way to new places, avoid traffic congestion, keep track of the kids, and generally avoid getting lost. But it’s not always the most reliable of systems, especially in built-up areas where it’s difficult to get a straight line of sight

Higher end AirPods have the potential to act as hearing aids for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss, according to new research that put the Apple-made earbuds up against traditional hearing aids in a series of tests. The findings could transform the lives of millions of people who don’t currently make use of hearing

The steady drum of a heartbeat is something that can easily fade into the background of our daily lives, with little thought given to the reliability of its pulse. But for those who develop an arrhythmia, the situation is much more fraught – their heartbeat is monitored and controlled by life-saving devices called pacemakers, which

Scientists continue to blow through data transmission records, with the fastest transmission of information between a laser and a single optical chip system now set at 1.8 petabits per second. That’s well in excess of the amount of traffic passing across the entire internet each second. Here’s another comparison: the average broadband download speed in

Scientists can now “decode” people’s thoughts without even touching their heads, The Scientist reported. Past mind-reading techniques relied on implanting electrodes deep in peoples’ brains. The new method, described in a report posted 29 Sept. to the preprint database bioRxiv, instead relies on a noninvasive brain scanning technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). fMRI

You might suppose Hollywood is good at predicting the future. Indeed, Robert Wallace, head of the CIA’s Office of Technical Service and the US equivalent of MI6’s fictional Q, has recounted how Russian spies would watch the latest Bond movie to see what technologies might be coming their way. Hollywood’s continuing obsession with killer robots

How many brain cells does it take to play a video game? No, really. That’s not a joke, and there isn’t a punchline. Instead, there’s a real actual answer, thanks to a neural network system called DishBrain. If that game is Pong, the number of brain cells is around 800,000. While their slow-moving, one-sided strategy

What if, as well as providing a fun way to enjoy our leisure time, video games could provide real benefits to our cognitive powers? That’s the promise of a new musical rhythm game that can not only teach drumming but also improve short-term memory. In a study of the game’s effects, 47 adults aged between

The vast number-crunching capabilities of artificial intelligence systems mean we can better predict the future of chaotic systems based on fewer and fewer patterns of the past – and a new algorithm is adding even more accuracy to the process. Developed through next-gen reservoir computing techniques, which take a more dynamic, speedier approach to machine

More than half of the digital data firms generate is collected, processed, and stored for single-use purposes. Often, it is never re-used. This could be your multiple near-identical images held on Google Photos or iCloud, a business’s outdated spreadsheets that will never be used again, or data from internet of things sensors that have no

The future of neural network computing could be a little soggier than we were expecting. A team of physicists has successfully developed an ionic circuit – a processor based on the movements of charged atoms and molecules in an aqueous solution, rather than electrons in a solid semiconductor. Since this is closer to the way

In one of the more unusual experiments we’ve seen recently, researchers attached a large pair of cartoonish googly eyes to the front of a small, self-driving vehicle – and it turns out that this kind of anthropomorphic tweak could actually improve pedestrian safety. A roving pair of peepers on the front of driverless vehicles could,

Scientists have created a robot that can transform from a black glob into a swarm of tiny beads and back again. The inventors say that the robot’s ability to split itself into many pieces and then snap back together makes it potentially useful for drug delivery. The human body is full of winding, narrow passages

We all know the routine by heart: “Please ensure your seats are in the upright position, tray tables stowed, window shades are up, laptops are stored in the overhead bins, and electronic devices are set to flight mode”. Now, the first four are reasonable, right? Window shades need to be up so we can see

It’s been easy to feel disconnected over the past two and a half years, despite all the hours spent doing Zoom trivia and online gaming with friends. But it turns out that, even when we’re physically alone, our brains may be able to sync up with the minds of others we’re playing with better than

Hydrogen has huge potential as a clean fuel: it’s abundant (mainly in compounds like water), it doesn’t produce any damaging emissions, and it can also be used to store energy from solar, wind, and tidal sources. There are challenges in producing enough of the stuff in a practical and affordable way, however. Splitting hydrogen from

Amid the continuous noise about cryptocurrencies, it’s often hard to pick out what really matters. However this month, if all goes to plan, the energy-hungry digital sector will undergo its biggest shake-up in years. Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, is tomorrow expected to start a technology changeover which, once complete, should cause its carbon emissions

An expedition team has captured the highest quality footage of the Titanic, the iconic passenger liner that sunk in 1912 during her maiden voyage. The footage, which is the world’s first and only 8K video of the underwater wreck, shows “amazing detail” that will help marine archaeologists to study further the rate of decay of

You may not have given much thought to being able to text underwater, but for millions of scuba diving and snorkeling enthusiasts, communication in the ocean is pretty essential to staying safe. Right now, hand gestures are the preferred way of keeping in touch under the waves, and professional divers use a globally recognized vocabulary

We could one day charge our phones and tablets wirelessly through the air, thanks to newly developed technology. Researchers have used infrared laser light to transmit 400mW of light power over distances of up to 30 meters (98 feet). That’s enough juice to charge small sensors, though in time it could be developed to charge

Scientists have developed an ‘atomic television’ that uses lasers and atom clouds to carry a video signal that meets the traditional 480i resolution (480 horizontal lines) standard. Just don’t expect it to be installed as part of your home entertainment setup any time soon. Key to the technology is a glass container of gaseous super-sized

It isn’t alive, and has no structures even approaching the complexity of the brain, but a compound called vanadium dioxide is capable of ‘remembering’ previous external stimuli, researchers have found. This is the first time this ability has been identified in a material; but it may not be the last. The discovery has some pretty

First, they lost their front legs. Then, their hind legs. Now, all they can do is slither. It’s been around 100 million years since a trio of genetic tweaks deprived snakes of their ability to walk, and snake-lover and YouTube ‘fixer’ Allen Pan won’t have it any longer. “When any other animal has deformed legs,

While we’re not yet close to replicating the complexity and the intricacy of the human brain with anything artificial, scientists are making progress with certain dedicated devices – like a newly developed programmable resistor. Resistors can be used to make up analog neural networks in artificial intelligence systems, based on a structure designed to mimic

Earlier today, reports began emerging Google was down.  While it has since returned, it once again highlights our dependence on technology service providers and shows how reliant many people are on a single operator for daily functions. There are few things we completely rely upon in our modern lives, but for many people, Google is

In the near future, NASA and other space agencies will send astronauts beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for the first time in over fifty years. But unlike the Apollo Era, these missions will consist of astronauts spending extended periods on the Moon and traveling to and from Mars (with a few months of surface operations

A newly developed, water-activated disposable paper battery promises to make a big impact on single-use electronics – those temporary gadgets used in medical and industrial fields where electronic waste can quickly start piling up. The battery that has been demonstrated by researchers is biodegradable, made from sustainable materials, and cheap to put together. What’s more,

When mechanical engineering graduate student Faye Yap saw a dead spider curled up in the hallway, it got her thinking about whether it could be used as a robotics component.  Turning dead spiders into mechanical grippers may be some people’s idea of a nightmare scenario, but it could have tangible benefits. Spider legs can grip

When the history of the rise of the robots is written, perhaps this might feature in the opening chapter: a seven-year-old boy has had his finger broken by a robotic opponent during a chess match in Moscow. There’s some debate about exactly what happened, but it seems that the youngster took a move faster than

A digital twin is a copy of a person, product, or process that is created using data. This might sound like science fiction, but some have claimed that you will likely have a digital double within the next decade. As a copy of a person, a digital twin would – ideally – make the same