Spitzer’s last hurrah is a beautiful image of the spooky Tarantula Nebula
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has ended scientific observations after a sixteen-year mission. But its legacy lives on in an image of the Tarantula Nebula.
Europe’s newest planet-hunting satellite opens its eyes for the first time
The ESA launched the CHEOPS satellite in December. There was still one big challenge: Opening the telescope's cover, which protects the instrument during launch.
How Wikimedia controls the chaos of constant contributions to create Wikipedia
Whether it's fake news or trolling, the internet sure isn't as utopian a place as it once seemed. But Wikipedia remains a shining beacon of why the web can be a force for good. And it's all thanks to a massive collaborative effort from millions of users all over the world.
Could 23andMe’s new pharmaceutical friends finally find a fix for psoriasis?
23andMe has spent years collecting genetic samples from users, and with their consent they've begun developing pharmaceuticals to treat specific diseases. Their latest collaboration with Spanish pharmaceutical company Almirall could treat some distressing skin conditions.
How SETI@home accelerated alien hunting with an army of armchair astronomers
The SETI@home project uses citizen scientists to help look for extraterrestrial intelligence. Data from telescopes is sent to their computers for processing.
How crazy, cross-continental coordination brought us the first black hole photo
Last April, hundreds of scientists came together to produce the first-ever image of a black hole. Digital Trends spoke with the team's leader about the challenges of bringing together so many people, institutions, and telescopes with one shared aim.
Human trials take inflating needle-filled smart pills closer to market
Who wouldn’t want to be able to replace regular painful injections with an inflating smart pill? That’s what San Jose, California-based company Rani Therapeutics has developed with its innovative RaniPill. Now, thanks to a new human trial, the company is one step closer to it hitting the market.
Caltech wants to explore the ocean with swarms of bionic jellyfish
Engineers from Caltech and Stanford University have a plan to create bionically augmented jellyfish which may one day help explore the oceans.
NASA’s James Webb Telescope faces a new challenge: Time
NASA's James Webb Space Telescopes is unlikely to meet its launch date later this year, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. The report, titled 'James Webb Space Telescope: Technical Challenges Have Caused Schedule Strain and May Increase Costs,' details the status of the troubled telescope.
NASA’s Spitzer telescope mission comes to an end after 16 years of investigating space
After a 16-year-long mission to image our galaxy and beyond, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope mission ended this week. The spacecraft will no longer collect data.
Can Voyager 2, exploring space beyond the solar system, survive a power glitch?
One of the most distant man-made objects in the universe, NASA's Voyager 2, has suffered from a power glitch. Can it be repaired while in interstellar space?
According to advanced swarm A.I., this is who will win Super Bowl LIV
Do you want to know who's going to win the much anticipated Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers game at this Sunday's Super Bowl? Here's what swarm intelligence A.I. company Unanimous thinks we can expect. Here's how it creates its innovative prediction technology.
Lab-grown snake venom glands are here. Don’t worry, they’re for a good cause
Milking snakes for their venom is a crucial part of the process when it comes to making antivenoms. Could genetic engineering make things a whole lot easier? That's what researchers at Utrecht University in the Netherlands believe -- and they've created the organoid to prove it.
Google deploys its SOS Alerts system for reliable coronavirus information
Google is helping to highlight verified information on the coronavirus by pushing it to the top of search results. Powered by Google’s SOS Alerts system, those using its search engine for information on the virus will see relevant news and safety tips from the World Health Organization at the top of the results.
Wild new ‘Trojan horse’ nanoparticle clears your arteries by gobbling up plaque
A hungry nanoparticle that eats away at your insides sounds like a nightmare straight out of a Michael Crichton novel. In fact, it could be a future defense against heart attacks, strokes, and potentially other fatal diseases -- as strange as that might initially sound.
Drone delivery: Medical supplies will soon be flying around San Diego
UPS and drone specialist Matternet are teaming up for a trial drone delivery service for health care facilities in San Diego. It follows a similar trial by the two firms in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2019. The San Diego effort will see medical samples flown between facilities.
Wawa data breach: Hacker is selling 30 million credit cards on the dark web
Credit card data from a security breach last year that affected Wawa, an East Coast convenience store chain, was discovered being sold in the corners of the dark web this week. The estimated 30 million credit cards affected makes it the third-largest credit card breach in history.
Feds ban Chinese-made drones over spying fears. Could your drone be next?
The U.S. Department of Interior essentially banned Chinese-made drones and drone parts because of the fear of these drones’ potential to be used for spying. The new no-fly rule is explicitly aimed at foreign drones and the only exceptions would be for responding to natural disasters or other emergencies.
Robot fry cook Flippy is getting a makeover to make it even more useful
Robot fry cook Flippy is getting a makeover. Here's how Miso Robotics' machine kitchen assistant is receiving an overhaul that will make it more useful than ever. While taking up a whole lot less kitchen floor space in the process. Coming soon to a burger joint near you?
This is the most detailed photo ever taken of the surface of the sun
To learn more about the enormous nuclear reactor that is our sun, the National Science Foundation has debuted the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope. With a 13-foot mirror, it is the world's largest solar telescope. The telescope's first light image has been released, showing a close-up view of the surface of the sun.
Two orbiting satellites could collide tonight over Pittsburgh
According to estimates based on a network of ground-based radars that are used to detect and track low-Earth-orbit objects, the chance of a possible collision between two satellites tonight is approximately one in 20. There will be no more than 40 feet between the two space bodies.
Microsoft wants to use A.I. to make health care better for everyone
Microsoft is bringing artificial intelligence into the health care world with the launch of a new program that aims to improve the health of people and communities around the globe. A.I. for Health will focus on advancing medical research, reducing health inequality, and compiling global health insights.
Google’s next virtual assistant could chat your ear off on just about any topic
In a new paper, Google detailed a "human-like" chatbot called Meena that can "engage in conversation on any topic." Meena, unlike its peers such as Google’s own Assistant, is an open-domain chatbot and is designed to contextually and constantly converse with you -- no matter the topic.
Get off the sidewalk! Lime’s new scooter aims to make you ride on the road
Lime is testing a novel way to gently persuade its riders to stick to the street and stay off the sidewalk. The scootersharing company has added sensors to its electric two-wheelers that can distinguish between a street and sidewalk, and will send notifications to riders if they spend too much time on the latter.
XPRIZE founder says the future is coming faster than we realize. Here’s why
In Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler's new book, The Future Is Faster Than You Think, the futurist and science writer talk about converge and how a host of technologies, including VR, quantum computing, and A.I., are speeding up development of flying cars and changing new and old industries.
How to watch the SpaceX launch of 60 Starlink satellites
SpaceX has delayed the launch of a Starlink rocket until Tuesday, January 28 -- when you'll be able to watch it launch into space in real-time right here. The Starlink rocket will be supported by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and will carry 60 satellites. The launch begins at 6:28 a.m. PT.
Meet the robot helping doctors treat coronavirus patients
There have been five confirmed cases of the quickly spreading coronavirus in the U.S. Since the coronavirus can transmit from person to person, doctors at a hospital in Washington treating one of the patients have taken extra caution to protect themselves by using a robot.
How Susan Kare gave Apple’s Mac its personality
When it comes to the most famous icon designers of all time, Susan Kare is, frankly, the most iconic. The designer of the icons and typefaces for the original Apple Mac, Kare helped give a friendly personality to computers at a time when most people still found them a bit scary.
Chemists find a way to transform trash into wonder material graphene
Chemists at Rice University have developed a process that can transform trash or any large source of carbon into flakes of graphene, the all-around wonder material that promises all kinds of valuable applications. Here's how the process works -- and what they've got planned next.
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft could unravel the mystery of how the solar system formed
Next year, NASA launches the Lucy spacecraft to visit the Trojan asteroids of Jupiter. Digital Trends spoke with Hal Levison, principle investigator of the project, about how the mission could reveal clues about the formation of our solar system and could even offer insights into the origin of life on Earth.
Take a tour of the space station from the comfort of your own sofa
If you’ve ever wondered what it's like to stay on the International Space Station, then this fascinating video tour should give you a good idea. Astronauts Luca Parmitano and Drew Morgan kindly take us on a leisurely journey through the orbiting outpost, visiting an array of interesting features along the way.
When it comes to delivery drones, Google’s Wing is miles above the competition
The world has been waiting on autonomous drone deliveries seemingly forever. Google sister company Wing promises to make them a reality. Here's what it's achieved so far -- and some of the challenges it will face as it tries to get this technology off the ground. No pun intended.
Boeing hails first test flight of 777X, world’s largest twin-engine jet
Boeing on Saturday sent its new 777X jet on its first test flight ahead of deployment in 2021. Described as the world’s largest twin-engine plane in terms of length and width, the jet features specially designed folding wings that will enable it to operate at all of the airports that handle existing models of the 777.
This ancient dwarf star has oxygen from the Milky Way’s earliest supernovae
Astronomers studying one of the oldest known stars have found an unexpectedly high level of oxygen in its atmosphere. This suggests that oxygen was produced in the very earliest supernovae in our universe. The star is over 5,000 light-years away in the constellation of Lynx, and is a type called a halo star.