New drilling tech could tap Earth’s geothermal energy by melting through rocks
An abundant source of geothermal energy exists far beneath our feet, but accessing it isn’t exactly easy. A a new type of enhanced drilling system may help.
Mars’ moons: Japan’s space agency preps pioneering mission
Japan will send a spacecraft to Mars in 20204. The mission will seek to learn more about Mars' two moons, and to bring back rock samples from one of them.
Terrifying handheld blaster can fire playing cards at 120 miles per hour
Intrepid engineer Emiel Noorlander has built a gun that's able to fire playing cards at 120 miles per hour. Awesome? Definitely. Totally safe? Probably not.
Boeing 737 Max: Debris found in some of the jets’ fuel tanks
Boeing says the discovery of debris in some 737 Max fuel tanks is “absolutely unacceptable.” It’s the latest in a series of blows for the beleaguered jet.
UCLA won’t use facial recognition on its campus after it receives backlash
UCLA was going to be the first university in the U.S. to use facial recognition on its campus, but after backlash, the school has decided against it.
A.I. translation tool sheds light on the secret language of mice
Ever wanted to know what mice are actually saying? Neuroscientists at the University of Delaware do too. And they've got some cutting-edge A.I. to help out.
The latest weapon in the fight against Alzheimer’s? Flickering lights
Alzheimer's is an incurable disease that affects an estimated 5.5 million people in the United States alone. Could pulsed light be the answer for treating it?
New green device generates electricity by capturing moisture from the air
A device invented by scientists at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst could generate electricity from moisture in the air, aided by a natural protein.
This smartphone sensor can detect live skin to halt facial login spoofing
Tricking facial recognition can be as easy a putting on a latex mask, but Trinamix's 'live 'skin' sensing technology will make it harder to fool your phone.
Boeing-backed passenger drone contest offers weird and wonderful designs
Five single-passenger drones built by teams from around the world will take part in a special “fly-off” event in California with a top prize of $1 million.
Alphabet gives up on ambitious energy-generating kite project
Alphabet has announced it’s no longer working on a venture to build energy-generating kites because it's been harder than expected to commercialize the system.
U.S. military facial recognition could identify people from 1 km away
The Advanced Tactical Facial Recognition at a Distance Technology project started back in 2016. A working prototype of the tech was shown off late last year.
Neural implant turns regular grasshoppers into cyborg bomb-sniffers
Everyone knows sniffer dogs, but how about bomb-sniffing grasshoppers? Here's why they're a promising idea.
We used an A.I. design tool to come up with a new logo. Here’s what happened
Can A.I. replace human creativity in graphic design? We tried Fiverr's new A.I.-powered Logo Maker to see if it could whip up a better logo for Digital Trends.
Elon Musk warns that all A.I. must be regulated, even at Tesla
Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks that organizations that are developing A.I. technology should be regulated, including his own companies.
SpaceX will offer space tourism flights sooner than you think
SpaceX has a new partner in its quest to conquer private spaceflight. Space Adventures will help send anyone who can afford it into space as soon as late 2021.
Forget the Internet of Things. Here’s what IoT really stands for
IoT means the Internet of Things, but there’s a growing movement to change the definition, to give it more meaning and set us up for the next decade of innovation. Tomorrow, IoT will mean Intelligence of Things, impacting AI, 5G, and every other buzzword. Here’s what that shift will bring – and how everything’s going to change in the decade ahead.
Exclusive: Ubco FRX1 electric dirt bike pre-orders go live at $8,999
Ubco's FRX1 is a new electric dirt bike that aims for the middle of this new arena. It's not the least expensive option at $8,999, but its powerful 15kW motor puts it on par with premium rivals that often sell above $10,000.
Solar Orbiter sends back first measurements from space just days after launch
European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter sends back its first measurements, confirming its instruments for measuring electromagnetic fields are working correctly.
SpaceX launched 60 Starlink satellites, but things didn’t go as planned
SpaceX has successfully launched and deployed 60 more Starlink satellites from a Falcon 9, bringing the total number of satellites in the network to nearly 300.
SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites today: Here’s how to watch
SpaceX will launch the next batch of 60 satellites on Monday as part of its Starlink program, which aims to build a low-cost, global broadband network. Here's how to watch
Searching for evidence of intelligent life at the heart of the Milky Way
A new trove of data on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence has been released, with the public invited to view and analyze the data for themselves.
Space tourism: Watch Virgin Galactic’s space plane arrive at new base
Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity space plane has arrived at its new base in New Mexico ahead of final preparations for its $250,000-a-seat space tourism service.
Hubble captures a beautiful spiral galaxy with loose, open arms
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured an image of the beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 2008, located 425 million light-years away in the constellation of Pictor.
3D-printing technique produces tiny, highly detailed objects in seconds
Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology have come up with a method for printing highly-precise miniature objects with different textures.
Mars Express image shows the boundary between the planet’s hemispheres
The European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter has captured this image of the Martian surface, showing the boundary between the planet's hemispheres.
Resupply mission to the ISS carries cheese and gummy sweets to hungry astronauts
After a delay, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft was successfully launched yesterday from Virginia, carrying supplies to the International Space Station.
Baby gas giant discovered wandering far from its parent star
Astronomers have recently spotted a "baby" gas giant planet only 300 light-years away, making it the nearest young massive planet to Earth discovered to date.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule arrives in Florida for first crewe mission
The launch of the Crew Dragon capsule in a few weeks will be a significant step for U.S. spaceflight, as the first launch from American soil since 2011.
The Very Large Array will search for evidence of extraterrestrial life
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is getting a boost, using existing radio telescopes to search for indicators of life elsewhere in the universe.
Mars 2020 rover leaves home on 2,300-mile journey to Florida for launch
NASA's Mars 2020 rover has completed fabrication and assembly and has been transported across the U.S. in advance of its launch to Mars in a few months.
Most distant object ever explored gives clues to how planets form
Arrokoth is the furthest object humanity has ever reached. Now, the object provides evidence of how building blocks of planets first formed in our solar system.
Why the star Betelgeuse has dimmed to just 36% of its normal brightness
Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope have captured the dimming of Betelgeuse with a pair of images taken one year apart.
This 3D-printed four-legged robot is ready to take on Spot — at a lower price
There are plenty of four-legged, dog-inspired robots about. Could 3D printing make them more ubiquitous? Ghost Robotics and 3D printing company Origin think so.