Pluto’s atmosphere could freeze and disappear by the year 2030
Astronomers have been studying the seasonal changes to Pluto's atmosphere, and they discovered that during some seasons it gets cold enough for the nitrogen in the atmosphere to freeze. As atmospheric pressure increases over time, this could result in the atmosphere freezing away by 2030.
How a clever photography trick is bringing Seattle’s shipwrecks to the surface
Photogrammetry uses hundreds of photos that are stitched together to make a realistic model of objects. Members of the Global Underwater Explorers, including Kees Beemster Leverenz, use the technique to make models of ships and planes that are sunk in the waters around Seattle.
Hubble data shows the universe is expanding faster than previously thought
Scientists have long known that our universe is expanding, but new results from the Hubble Space Telescope show this expansion is taking place faster than previously believed. By tracking the movement of stars in a nearby galaxy, astronomers calculated the universe is expanding 9% faster than expected.
SpaceX resupply mission to International Space Station scheduled for next week
SpaceX will shortly be launching another resupply mission to the International Space Station. The launch is scheduled for 4:21 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, April 30. This will mark SpaceX's 17th mission as part of the NASA Commercial Resupply Services contract.
See the crater blasted into an asteroid by a Japanese spacecraft
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has been investigating an asteroid called Ryugu with their spacecraft Hayabusa2. In order to collect dust, Hayabusa2 shot at the asteroid with a small mass. Now Hayabusa2 has returned closer to the asteroid to see what impact the shot had on the its terrain.
China’s Chang’e 4 lunar mission: See Yutu on the far side of the moon
China's Chang'e 4 lander touched down on the far side of the moon and has been exploring this rarely investigated part of the lunar landscape. Now the Chinese space agency has shared images captured using the panoramic camera on the Yutu 2 rover as it explores near the landing site.
The holy grail of robotics: Inside the quest to build a mechanical human hand
Building an ultra-accurate robot hand has long been the Holy Grail for robotics experts. Now the world's most advanced robot hand, the so-called Dexterous Hand, has gotten even better -- thanks to some amazing haptics tech that allows it to be operated from across the world.
Digital Trends Live: Prime’s one-day shipping, Samsung Fold delay, and more
On today's DT Live, we discuss Amazon Prime's one-day delivery plans, the Samsung Galaxy Fold is on hold, Lyft goes grocery shopping, compressed air energy storage, Tech Briefs, a browser that pays you in crytocurrency, quantum interfaces, the balloon internet gets and investment, and more.
Ford’s self-braking shopping cart offers crash-free supermarket trips
Ford has created a self-braking shopping cart designed to stop kids from smashing into things when they take off with one in the supermarket. But sadly for put-upon parents, the cart won't be commercialized, as its main purpose is to highlight the automaker's Pre-collision Assist technology.
Groundbreaking A.I. can synthesize speech based on a person’s brain activity
Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco have developed a way to use artificial intelligence to turn brain signals into spoken words. It could one day pave the way for people who cannot speak or otherwise communicate to be able to talk with those around them.
Digital Trends Live: Alexa knows where you live, lab-grown meat, and more
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, we discuss how Amazon Alexa's auditing team has access to locations, Verizon's 5G roadmap, the technology of lab-grown meat, the benefits of percussive therapy, how cloud gaming can affect the environment, a review of Sony's 8K TV, and more.
Age-verification tech could usher in vending machines for beer and weed
Ever dreamed about being able to get an ice cold beer from a conveniently placed vending machine? One of the problems with this idea is how customers prove that they're of drinking age. San Francisco-based startup Civic thinks that it's come up with the perfect solution.
Harvard looks to the natural world to make its snake robots even faster
Researchers from Harvard have found a way to make their snake-inspired soft robots faster and more efficient. The secret? Using a Japanese paper craft called kirigami to create an outer shell that grips the ground, just like the scales on a real snake skin. Check it out.
Japanese taxis will use facial recognition to target you with ads as you ride
Japanese startup Premium Taxi Vision is trying to reinvent in-taxi advertising for 2019, by using facial recognition technology to identify the key characteristics of riders and then presenting them with appropriate ads. Smart concept or privacy headache? You make the call!
The startup behind the world’s first laundry robot has folded
When the Laundroid was first announced almost three years ago, then shown off at last year's CES, it was met with a fair bit of both intrigue and derision. But now Seven Dreamers, the company behind it, says the company is out of money.
A battery-free pacemaker harvests and stores energy from heartbeats
Researchers in China and the United States have developed a new battery-free pacemaker which gathers its required electricity from the energy of heartbeats. While not yet ready for humans, it was recently demonstrated successfully in pigs. Here's why that's so important.
Alphabet’s Wing drones now have FAA approval to deliver packages in the U.S.
Alphabet Wing, the drone delivery startup owned by Google’s parent company, announced that it has become the first company to receive Air Carrier Certification from the FAA. This means that Wing can begin commercial deliveries from local businesses to homes in the U.S.
Hawaiian botanists’ drone discovers a plant thought to be lost forever
In what may be a world first, botanists in Hawaii have used a drone to find a species of plant that scientists believed was extinct. The camera-equipped flying machine was used to get close to a sheer cliff face on the island of Kauai, where the plant was first spotted in 1991.
Google’s Stadia is the future of gaming, and that’s bad news for our planet
Google’s upcoming Stadia cloud gaming service, and its competitors, are ready to change the way gamers play, and that could be bad news for our planet. Data center demand is set to rise in coming years, driving a potential spike in power consumption and water use.
Digital Trends Live: Earth Day, indoor container farming, robot submarines
Join DT Live us as we talk Earth Day tech, Samsung's hold on the Fold, A.I. writing its own death metal music, a biography on Tim Cook, indoor container farming, Tesla's roadmap to autonomous vehicles, robot spy submarines, and more. Joining as guests today are Leander Kahney and Tobias Peggs.
Geoengineering is risky and unproven, but soon it might be necessary
From light-scattering aerosols in Earth’s upper atmosphere to artificial chemical sponges created to suck carbon-dioxide out of the air we breathe, geoengineering aims to purposely change the world's climate using technology. Here's why its proponents think it must happen.
How 3D printing has changed the world of prosthetic limbs forever
When he was 13 years old, Christophe Debard had his leg amputated. Jump forward to the present day, and his experiences have led him to create the startup Print My Leg. It offers open-source designs for 3D printed leg prostheses to whoever needs them. Welcome to a growing revolution.
Climeworks wants to clean the atmosphere with a fleet of building-sized vacuums
Using machines that resemble jet engines, Climeworks wants to fight climate change by extracting CO2 from thin air. The gas can then be sold to carbonated drink and agriculture companies, or sequestered underground.
Inside the Ocean Cleanup’s ambitious plan to rid the ocean of plastic waste
In 2013, Boyan Slat crowdfunded $2.2 million to fund the Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit organization that builds big, floating trash collectors and sets them out to sea, where they’re designed to autonomously gobble up garbage. The organization has since raised over $35 million and a lot of questions from incredulous experts.
Burgers are just the beginning: Embracing the future of lab-grown everything
You’ve almost certainly heard of the 'farm to fork' movement, but what about 'lab to table'? Welcome to the world of lab-grown meat: the fast-evolving dream of bringing customers their favorite edible dead animal without actually having to kill any animals in the process.
The grid of the future will be powered by … giant subterranean bagpipes?
In order to transition to a more renewable-focused energy system, we need to scale up our grid storage capacity -- and our existing methods aren't going to cut it. Could compressed air be the key?
Gravitational forces at heart of Milky Way shaped this star cluster like a comet
This week's Hubble Picture of the Week is a view of the stunning Messier 62 cluster. The cluster is warped, with a long tail of stars which stretch out to one side to form a shape like a comet and its tail. It is thought this distortion is due to Messier 62's close proximity to the center of the galaxy.
Mercury’s wobble as it spins reveals that it has an inner solid core
Scientists have long wondered what the inside of Mercury looks like, and they now have strong evidence that the planet has a large and solid metallic core. The data for the new findings was collected by the MESSENGER mission which ended in 2015, but which is still providing fodder for new analysis.
The oldest type of molecule in the universe has been located at last
A milestone in the development of the early universe was the combination of helium and hydrogen atoms into a molecule called helium hydride. It would be expected that helium hydride would still be present in some parts of the universe. But strangely enough, it has never been detected in space before now.
Beresheet crash caused by manual command, but reflector device may have survived
After the spacecraft Beresheet crashed into the moon this month, details are emerging about what may have gone wrong. A manual command was entered which led to a chain reaction. But NASA still hopes to salvage use of its Laser Retroreflector Array, a non-powered device used for location tracking.
SpaceX experiences problem during test, Crew Dragon capsule may have exploded
SpaceX has experienced a problem during the testing of its Crew Dragon capsule, according to numerous witnesses. During the engine test firing at Cape Canaveral yesterday afternoon, an unspecified anomaly occurred. This lead to plumes of smoke rising from the test site, visible for miles.
Star gives off superflare equal to 80 billion megatonnes of TNT. That’s a lot
It's small but it's mighty: A tiny star the size of Jupiter has been observed giving off a stellar flare of truly epic proportions. The massive superflare was 10 times more powerful than any flare from our Sun and is raising questions about how much energy small stars can hold.
Happy birthday, Hubble! Telescope celebrates with image of Southern Crab Nebula
It has been 29 years since the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. In 1990 the telescope was launched into low Earth orbit, where it has remained for nearly three decades collecting information about deep space. To celebrate its birthday, Hubble imaged the beautiful Southern Crab Nebula.
Astronomers surprised to find deep lakes of methane on Titan
In the two years since the Cassini probe ended its mission and burned up in Saturn's rings, data from its recordings is still being analyzed for surprising findings. The latest research using the Cassini data has shown that Saturn's largest moon, Titan, hosts deep liquid lakes of methane.