Science and Tech

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, carrying four private citizens, has launched into space, where the crew will spend five days – and attempt the world’s first private spacewalk. The mission is funded by billionaire Jared Isaacman and is the second privately-crewed mission from SpaceX – the spaceflight company founded by Elon Musk.

Chris Baraniuk It’s estimated that one third of the world’s airline seats are made in Northern Ireland In a warehouse building in a quiet town in Northern Ireland, a robot arm is opening and closing an airplane meal table over and over again. It has been programmed to carry out this mundane task no fewer than 28,000 times, day and …

Devlyn van der Walt Devlyn van der Walt always wanted to work in video games As a child Devlyn van der Walt dreamed of one day being a video game developer. “During primary school, I would make games from paper and put them into a ring bind file, cut out paper characters and move them through the pages,” he says. …

BBC A picture posted to one of the drugs channels by a member About nine months ago while researching a story, I found myself added to a large Telegram channel which was focused on selling drugs. I was then added to one about hacking and then one about stolen credit cards. I realised my Telegram settings had made it possible …

Two voice actors take legal action claiming their voices were stolen and cloned using AI.

Want to turn your gaming hobby into a sustainable career? That’s exactly what Jordan Smith, who goes by the username Peeceful, did. The 31-year-old gamer started with Call of Duty 4 on a laptop, before navigating his way through competitive gaming, streaming, and eventually leading a games company. Putting together a portfolio of work, staying consistent and networking are among …

Quang Doan Hong There are about 600 pigs on Quang Doan Hong’s farm Quang Doan Hong is a busy person. The accountant, who lives with his family in Hưng Yên, Vietnam, also owns a farm with about 600 pigs. He’s had to learn quickly about pig health, from which vaccines are effective to when to use antibiotics. “When the weather …

AI is acting as a second pair of eyes for radiologists examining X-rays.

Recovering from a stroke can be a long process, requiring hours of repetitive exercises to regain limb function. Robotic “coaches” programmed to guide stroke and brain injury survivors through rehabilitation exercises could soon be tested in Scotland. Using a headset worn by the participant, the Nao robot picks up patient brain waves to understand their intended movements and guide them …

ESO/F Carrasco The Extremely Large Telescope under construction in Chile’s Atacama desert High on a mountain, in Chile’s bone dry Atacama desert the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is currently building the world’s largest optical telescope. No time was wasted on choosing a name – it will be called the Extremely Large Telescope or ELT. Instead, huge energy has gone into …