US prisoners released early by software bug
Source: BBC More than 3,200 US prisoners have been released early because of a software glitch. The bug miscalculated the sentence reductions prisoners in Washington state had received for good […]
How does IS communicate securely?
Source: BBC In the wake of the terrible events in Paris, governments around the world have renewed their calls for tech companies to design products that will allow law enforcement […]
Why Donald Trump Can’t Actually Close ‘Parts of the Internet’
Source: Time During Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate, frontrunner Donald Trump doubled down on his call for “closing off parts of the Internet” in order to stymie terrorist groups’ online recruitment efforts. “I would certainly be open to closing areas where we are at war with somebody,” Trump said, referring to […]
Tech giants pledge $1bn for ‘altruistic AI’ venture, OpenAI
Source: BBC Prominent tech executives have pledged $1bn (£659m) for OpenAI, a non-profit venture that aims to develop artificial intelligence (AI) to benefit humanity. The venture’s backers include Tesla Motors […]
Baidu driverless car completes test on Beijing roads
Source: BBC Chinese tech giant Baidu has successfully tested its driverless car on roads near the company’s headquarters in Beijing. The 30km (18.6 miles) test route required a modified BMW […]
Holiday lights and gadgets are killing your Wi-Fi
Source: CNN If you want super-fast Wi-Fi in your home, you may want to turn off your Christmas lights. Britain’s communications regulator Ofcom has published a report showing that about […]
Five million customers affected by Vtech database hack
Source: BBC Electronic toy and educational material seller Vtech has confirmed that about five million customers were affected in the data theft reported on Friday. They are from all over […]
The hidden world that moves your luggage
By Jack Stewart Few of us give much thought to what happens to our bags once we drop them off at the airport. We tend to be more concerned […]
The best new way to learn a language
Source: BBC It wasn’t until Prashant Choudhary quit his desk job at a Delhi insurance firm to work as a driver that he began to speak English with some fluency. […]
3 Researchers Awarded The 2015 Nobel Prize In Physiology Or Medicine
Epigraph: Allah sends down water from the sky, so that valleys flow according to their measure, and the flood bears on its surface swelling foam. And from that which they […]
There may be flowing water on Mars. But is there intelligent life on Earth?
theguardian: by George Monbiot — While we marvel at Nasa’s discoveries, we destroy our irreplaceable natural resources – so we can buy pre-peeled bananas and smartphones for dogs ‘Think of what would change if we valued terrestrial water as much as we value the possibility of water on Mars.’ […]
Hadron Collider discovers new particle
Source: BBC Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider have announced the discovery of a new particle called the pentaquark. It was first predicted to exist in the 1960s but, much […]
The Machines Are Coming
Source: NY Times CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — THE machine hums along, quietly scanning the slides, generating Pap smear diagnostics, just the way a college-educated, well-compensated lab technician might. A robot with emotion-detection software interviews visitors to the United States at the border. In field tests, this eerily named “embodied avatar […]
Gulf Stream is slowing down faster than ever, scientists say
Gulf Stream stops Britain from freezing over in Winter STEVE CONNOR SCIENCE EDITOR Monday 23 March 2015 The Gulf Stream that helps to keep Britain from freezing over in winter is slowing down faster now than at any time in the past millennium according to a study suggesting that major […]
HIV vaccine that transforms cell DNA brings fresh hope
Source: BBC By James Gallagher, Health editor, BBC News website A radical new approach to vaccination seems to completely protect monkeys from HIV, US scientists report. Vaccines normally train the immune system to fight an infection. Instead, researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California have altered the DNA of monkeys […]
Saudi Artist Ahmed Mater Sues Swiss Watchmaker Swatch For Plagiarism
Saudi Artist Ahmed Mater Sues Swiss Watchmaker Swatch For Plagiarism Coline Milliard, Wednesday, February 18, 2015 Ahmed Mater’s Magnetism (2012) is emblematic of the vibrant new art scene emerging from the Gulf. The etching print, which exists in several versions, pictures a black cubic magnet neatly encircled by steel dust—a poetic evocation of […]
How Will Kids Learn Patience When Everything Is Just One Click Away?
Huff Post: by Samantha Kemp-Jackson — Once upon a time, kids experienced a few days a year that brought incredible moments of joy. Birthdays. Christmas. Grandma coming to visit. The knowledge that these days were on the horizon only added to the excitement that children would feel. Oftentimes, the waiting […]
China’s Xi Jinping signs landmark deals on India visit
Source: BBC India and China have signed 12 agreements in Delhi, one of which will see China investing $20bn (£12.2bn) in India’s infrastructure over five years. At a news conference […]
China's Xi Jinping signs landmark deals on India visit
Source: BBC India and China have signed 12 agreements in Delhi, one of which will see China investing $20bn (£12.2bn) in India’s infrastructure over five years. At a news conference […]
Space tourism firm offers flight around the moon
Source: RT US space tourism firm Space Adventures is offering a spaceflight around the moon to private tourists on “proven” Russian Soyuz spacecraft – saying that the sponsors will not […]