Roslin Institute You may have heard the children’s story about the goose who laid the golden egg, but have you heard the very real story about the genetically modified chickens who laid the cancer-fighting eggs? This latter project is something that researchers from the U.K.’s University of Edinburgh have been working on. After splicing a […]
Emerging Tech
Meet the Icon A5: a high-tech airplane that anyone can fly
About a month ago I flew (and landed) a plane. Thing is, I’m not a trained pilot. Not even close. I have no aviation experience whatsoever and have logged exactly zero hours of flying time outside of that crappy flight simulator that you can play inside Google Earth. But despite my grotesque level of inexperience, […]
Scientists use hot water to ‘drill’ a hole a mile deep in the Antarctic
BAS/BEAMISH A team of scientists and engineers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have successfully drilled a hole more than one mile deep in the western Antarctic, hoping to uncover more information about the effect of climate change on the region. Rather than using deep drilling equipment, which can suffer problems in the harsh, low […]
Don’t worry about denting your yacht. Parking assist for boats is finally here
[embedded content] Remember the first time you had to parallel park a car? Docking a boat isn’t too much different — with the difference being that, chances are, a boat costs a heck of a lot more than your first car. Docking mishaps in a boat can be both embarrassing and very expensive. Could smart […]
Flying observatory discovers role of stellar winds in star formation
New research using NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) suggests that the formation of stars can be regulated by stellar winds, shedding new light on how stars are born. Previously, it was believed that cosmic processes such as supernovae were responsible for regulating the way in which new stars formed. Now according to the […]
Image shows the dramatic and beautiful last breath of a dying star
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has captured an image of a cosmic phenomenon known as a planetary nebula. The glow of planetary nebula ESO 577-24 will last only a short time — 10,000 years, which is extremely brief in cosmic terms — and the ESO managed to capture this image of the last dying breath […]
Are e-cigarettes safe? Here’s what the most recent science says
arminstaudt/123RF Vaping is on the rise especially among teens who are hitting their Juuls before, during, and after class. This newfound adolescent experimentation has kicked off a renewed interest in the safety of vaping. Often touted as a safer alternative to cigarette smoking, there is a lot of hysteria and misconception surrounding vaping and its […]
T-Mobile 5G rollout: Here is everything you need to know
First, schmirst. Every telecom company around the globe is working on a 5G network, and with the buzz and billions being spent on the new technology, the question of who’s first out of the gate becomes moot. The real question is: Which one will be best — and which one will be best for you? […]
IBM’s latest A.I. can help doctors detect how quickly a disease is progressing
While there obviously shouldn’t be an outcry for robots to take the jobs of human physicians, that doesn’t mean artificial intelligence can’t play an important role when it comes to helping doctors carry out certain aspects of their jobs — such as recognizing early symptoms of serious diseases that can go unnoticed. A delay in […]
Space tourism: Latest New Shepard mission shows how its ride might look
[embedded content] With its eye on launching its first crewed flights before the end of this year — and space tourism rides after that — Blue Origin on Wednesday achieved another successful test flight of its reusable rocket system. The 10-minute event streamed live (above), giving viewers a clear look at the various stages of its […]
Amazon is building a fleet of autonomous robots to deliver packages to your door
[embedded content] Having explored every time-saving delivery option from flying warehouses and package-carrying drones to checkout-free retail stores and even the controversial Amazon Key, it was only going to be so long until Amazon hopped aboard the delivery robot bandwagon. That’s what it has announced today with the launch of a brand-new service it’s referring […]
The CRISPR baby saga continues as China confirms second gene-edited pregnancy
China’s official Xinhua news agency has confirmed that a second woman has become pregnant as part of a controversial experiment to create the world’s first CRISPR genetically edited babies. The scientist responsible for the work has since been fired by the university he was working for, which claims he “illegally conducted the research in the pursuit […]
Elon Musk offers to help dig CERN’s new particle collider tunnel
[embedded content] The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) plans to put the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to shame with its proposed, significantly larger Future Circular Collider — and Elon Musk wants to help make it a reality. Because, you know, building electric cars, digging massive underground tunnels in the U.S., selling flamethrowers, and landing […]
A.I. finds non-infringing ways to copy drugs pharma spends billions developing
Drug companies spend billions developing and protecting their trademark pharmaceuticals. Could artificial intelligence be about to shake things up? In a breakthrough development, researchers have demonstrated an A.I. which can find new methods for producing existing drugs in a way that doesn’t infringe on existing patents. Called Chematica, the software platform does something called “retrosynthesis,” […]