Resupply mission carries 7,600 pounds of scientific equipment to ISS
The Cygnus spacecraft has rendezvoused with the International Space Station as part of a resupply mission. The craft will remain docked until July 23, while the crew take in the 7,600 pounds of research equipment for a variety of science projects relevant to future missions to the moon and to Mars.
Planet-hunting satellite discovers its first Earth-sized planet
NASA's planet hunting satellite, the Transiting Exoplanets Survey Satellite (TESS), has made a new discovery in the depths of space. Last month, TESS discovered its first exoplanet. And now it has achieved another milestone, locating its first Earth-sized planet and a larger sibling planet.
Meet the gene-edited bacteria that could make cannabis plants obsolete
Ever wanted to brew cannabis like you brew craft beer? At the University of California, Berkeley, synthetic biologists have managed to engineer brewer’s yeast so that it produces the main cannabinoids found in marijuana. Here's why that's so darn exciting -- and what it means.
Digital Trends Live: Facebook data security, Ubisoft helps Notre Dame, and more
DT Live talks Facebook and Instagram security issues, Ubisoft's plan to help rebuild Notre Dame, the theft of 100 Car2Go vehicles, and more. We are also joined by Emily Teteut of littleBits and Snap the Gap, Jennifer Sendrow of New York Public Radio, and DJ and producer Zeke Thomas
U.S., U.K. embrace autonomous robot spy subs that can stay at sea for months
Unmanned robot spy submarines that are able to stay at sea for months at a time may be coming to both the United States and its ally across the pond, the U.K. Both nations are hard at work on developing this technology for carrying out underwater data-gathering surveillance missions.
U.S. police are testing out Batman-style bola guns to catch criminals
U.S. police are taking a page out of Batman’s playbook with a new grappling hook gun which fires a cord able to tie up assailants in the blink of an eye. Called the BolaWrap, it is a pistol-sized device capable of shooting out an 8-foot kevlar cord at a speed of 640 feet per second.
NASA is building an inflatable space robot named King Louie
Don't expect the robots which thrive in space to look the same as the ones that we're used to here on Earth. The latest illustration of this is King Louie, a NASA-funded inflatable robot which could travel to the stars in deflated form and then be blown up when and where required.
I have seen the future, and it’s full of salad-making robots
Think that robots bussing tables, tossing salads and baking bread is a futuristic concept? It's actually not as far away as you might think. Robots took center stage at a food robotics summit in San Francisco this week, where they showed they could handle all kinds of tasks in the food business.
China bans selfies at gigantic Aperture Spherical Telescope
You can't take a selfie with the world's largest single-dish radio telescope anymore, as the Chinese government has banned everything from smartphones to digital cameras in the surrounding 5-kilometer area. The fines if you get caught flaunting the rules are large, and the ban is to lessen interfence with the 'scope.
Russia’s robot news anchor gives human TV presenters hope
Human news anchors anxious about robots taking their jobs will be feeling reassured this week after the appearance on Russian TV of a news-reading android that clearly needs a bit of work. Alex, as it’s called, read various news items, but some in the audience found the robot’s delivery a little on the stilted side.
Yale scientists restore cellular activity in a pig’s brain hours after its death
In what some may view as a porcine version of Frankenstein, Yale University scientists have restored circulation and cellular activity in a pig’s brain four hours after its death. Don't start running for the hills in fear of zombie pigs just yet -- the study is likely to be used to study brain function
How emotion-tracking A.I. will change computing as we know it
Affectiva is just one of the startups working to create emotion-tracking artificial intelligence that can work out how you're feeling. From gaming to cars to healthcare, here are some of the ways that emotion-tracking tech promises to revolutionize computing as we know it.
Adidas has created a running shoe that’s made to be remade
Adidas has unveiled the Futurecraft Loop running shoe that it claims is the first performance footwear to be 100% recyclable. The shoe is part of a growing list of green initiatives by the sportswear company and will be tested over the next 18 months before hitting stores in 2021.
NASA chooses a special spot for its next crewed moon landing
Following the U.S. government's announcement last month of a desire to see American astronauts set foot on the moon again in the next five years, NASA has revealed a location on the lunar surface where it would most like to land. It’s the South Pole, a place no previous crewed mission has visited.
New gunfire-detection system alerts police of shooters in seconds, not minutes
The Safe Zone Gunfire Detector is a fast gunfire-detection system with the ability to provoke a response to an active-shooter situation within a matter of seconds. In doing so, it could help avert potential tragedies in public places like schools, malls, or anywhere a mass shooting could occur.
Notre Dame fire: How drones and a robot called Colossus helped limit the damage
The fire that devastated France's iconic Notre Dame Cathedral on Monday shocked many around the world. As part of its efforts to contain the blaze, firefighters deployed drones and a robot called Colossus — a move that almost certainly helped to prevent even worse damage to the structure.
Watch a pack of SpotMini robot dogs perform a terrifying feat of strength
Boston Dynamics’ SpotMini robotic dog is already a stunning creation, but look what 10 of them can achieve when they work together. The company confirmed this week that SpotMinis are now rolling off the production line and will be available for a range of applications soon.
The best Rube Goldberg machines
For simple problems, sometimes a complicated solution is better. Well, maybe not better, but certainly more entertaining. Rube Goldberg machines are complex, often humorous devices built to perform ordinary, not very humorous tasks. Here's a collection of the best Rube Goldberg machines from across the internet.
Scientists manage to 3D print an actual heart using human cells
Scientists at Tel Aviv University have achieved a world-first by 3D printing a small-scale heart, complete with blood vessels, ventricles, and chambers. The heart was printed using human cells, something that would make it far less likely to be rejected by a transplant patient’s body.
Sweden is building a road that recharges electric buses that drive over it
One of the biggest hassles for electric car owners is having to charge them. To get around this, the Swedish transport administration is exploring special roads which charge vehicles’ batteries as they drive over them. It will test the idea with a short sample stretch.
How MIT hacked horticulture to cultivate a hyper-flavorful basil plant
As farmers maximize crop yield, the plants lose flavor and nutrition. MIT researcher Caleb Harper uses his personal food computers to alter indoor climates and influence the taste of basil. He found surprising results when exposing basil to light for 24 hours a day.
SpaceX’s main Falcon Heavy booster is lost at sea after falling off drone ship
SpaceX has lost the center core of its Falcon Heavy rocket after it fell in the sea following its mission last Thursday. The company said rough sea conditions resulted in the booster shifting on the drone ship before toppling over and falling into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.
Watch the fearsome DroneHunter X3 pluck rogue UAVs out of the sky
How do you stop enemy drones in their tracks? DroneHunter X3 is a new autonomous anti-drone technology which outruns and captures rogue drones in midair. Check it out as it does its thing during a recent outdoor showcase test run at Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City.
Public vote opens for new planet name, but Planet McPlanetface won’t fly
The largest unnamed world in our solar system needs an official title, and you can help choose it. The scientists who discovered the icy planetoid in 2007 recently announced a public vote offering three choices. The most popular choice will be submitted to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) for consideration.
Pepsi, StartRocket team up to launch satellites for energy drink ad in night sky
Pepsi will be the first client of StartRocket, which will be working with the beverage company to launch an energy drink advertisement into the night sky using miniature satellites. The Russian startup is looking to send its system into orbit in 2021, as it is still raising funds to support the venture.
Our nearest exoplanet, Proxima b, could have a large and chilly neighbor
Our nearest exoplanet discovered so far is Proxima b, which orbits the star Proxima Centauri located 4.2 light-years from Earth. It was previously believed that Proxima b was the only world hosted by Proxima Centauri. But now new evidence suggests that Proxima b might have a neighbor, Proxima c.
The hunt for colliding black holes is on, and you can help
The hunt for gravitational waves caused by colliding black holes is heating up. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory has already seen evidence of two pairs of colliding black holes, and a new project invites the public to contribute their computer's processing power to search for more.
After failed lunar landing, SpaceIL bounces back with Beresheet 2.0
This week the SpaceIL project to send a spacecraft to the moon suffered a sad ending when the Beresheet craft crashed into the moon's surface, rendering it inoperable. But the plucky Israeli team is not giving up, and this week they have announced their plans for Beresheet 2.0.
Watch the huge Stratolaunch plane take to the skies for the very first time
The massive Stratolaunch aircraft -- the world's largest in terms of wingspan -- completed its maiden flight in California on Saturday. The aircraft, which could one day serve as a launch vehicle for satellites, stayed in the air for 2.5 hours before its test pilots brought it safely back to base.
The most beautiful globular cluster of all: Messier 3, imaged by Hubble
Hubble has shared an image of one of the most famous and most admired globular clusters, Messier 3. Located 34,000 light-years from Earth, it is widely considered the most beautiful of all globular clusters because of its density and the variety of stars that can be seen within it.
Stellar wind plays a key role in heating Jupiter’s atmosphere
Our Sun, like other stars, gives off gases called stellar winds. Now it appears that these winds have an unexpected effect: warming the atmosphere on planets like Jupiter. Scientists found that the energetic particles of the wind interact with the planet's atmosphere to create a heating effect.
Predicting space weather to protect spacecraft from killer electrons
Weather events aren't only a problem on Earth - they can cause serious issues in space too. Space storms of high-energy particles bombard satellites or spacecraft, causing serious damage. Now a study has found a way to predict the arrival of these storms, giving scientists and astronauts time to prepare.
Curiosity collects first clay sample, could provide evidence of ancient water
The Curiosity rover's adventures on Mars continue with an exploration of the clay-rich bedrock in a part of Mount Sharp. Curiosity previously had problems drilling into the hard Mars bedrock, but the softer soil in its new location was no issue for Curiosity's drill this time.
NASA’s twin study reveals effects of time spent in space on the human body
A NASA study has revealed clues about the effects of space by studying twins. Two retired astronauts, twin brothers Scott and Mark Kelly, lent their bodies to science to be studied between 2015 and 2016. Mark stayed on Earth while Scott spent 340 days aboard the International Space Station.