Sci-Tech

With pricey electric car, Fisker eyes comeback

by Rob Lever Agence France-Presse LAS VEGAS, United States (AFP) — Henrik Fisker unveiled his $129,000 electric luxury car Tuesday, in a rebooted effort by the renowned auto designer to take on Tesla and other luxury automakers. The Fisker EMotion, which made its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, is part of a comeback effort for Henrik Fisker, a former BMW and Aston Martin designer whose first venture was halted in 2013 […]

‘To boldly grow’: Japan astronaut worried by space growth spurt

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Japanese astronaut has sparked hilarity back on Earth after he claimed to have grown nine centimeters in space, making him worried he would not squeeze into the capsule home. Norishige Kanai, who is aboard the International Space Station, tweeted: “We had our bodies measured after reaching space, and wow, wow, wow, I had actually grown by as much as 9 centimeters (3.5 inches)!” “I have grown like a plant in […]

Ingestible ‘mini pillbox’ releases weekly dose of HIV meds

by Mariëtte Le Roux Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — An ingestible “mini pillbox” which releases a cocktail of HIV drugs in the stomach over several days is a potential step towards reducing the burden of daily pill-taking, scientists reported on Tuesday. Tested only in pigs so far, the tiny device is the latest attempt to make it easier for people on medication for chronic illnesses, including those infected with the AIDS-causing virus, to stick […]

SpaceX says rocket worked fine as spy satellite reported lost

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — A SpaceX rocket worked fine in its weekend launch of a secretive government satellite, named Zuma, the company said Tuesday after reports the payload did not make it into orbit. “For clarity: after reviewing of all data to date, Falcon 9 did everything correctly on Sunday night,” said Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of California-based SpaceX. “If we or others find otherwise based on further review, we will […]

Human muscle tissue grown from stem cells: study

PARIS, France (AFP) — Working human muscle has been grown from stem cells in the lab in a breakthrough that holds promise for sufferers of degenerative muscular diseases, scientists said on Tuesday. The team from Duke University in North Carolina said they were the first to achieve this feat using adult skin or blood cells which were “reprogrammed” into a juvenile, versatile state. These are called “induced pluripotent stem cells” or iPSCs. Like naturally-occurring stem […]

Pole-dancing robots aim to spice up nerd fest

LAS VEGAS, United States (AFP) — They grind and gyrate around a pole, with moves like a real stripper. But these dancers are robots, brought in to offer a new entertainment twist to the crowds descending on Las Vegas this week for the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show. The robo-strippers are the creation of British artist Giles Walker, who said he designed the vaguely humanoid machines as an expression about surveillance, power and voyeurism. No one […]

LG adds Google AI in ‘smart home’ push

LAS VEGAS, United States (AFP) — Consumer electronics titan LG on Monday proclaimed this year a “tipping point” for smart homes, pushing hard into artificial intelligence and building Google Assistant into a smart speaker. LG Electronics is developing technology designed to enable its appliances, televisions and other devices adapt to users and collaborate to handle tasks. The AI platform is “open” to utilizing software made by other companies, LG chief technology officer I.P. Park said […]

Startup unveils ‘car of future’ for $45,000

LAS VEGAS, United States (AFP) — A Chinese startup unveiled its vision for the automobile of the future Sunday, promising to deliver an “intuitive and intelligent” car to global markets starting next year from around $45,000. The electric-powered concept car shown by Byton at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is touted as a computing device on wheels, equipped with a “digital” lounge featuring a panoramic display acting as a hub for navigation, entertainment […]

Apple urged to study iPhone addiction in children

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Two large shareholders have urged Apple to study whether iPhones are proving addictive for children and that intensive use of the smartphones may be bad for their mental health, Bloomberg News reported Monday. “There is a growing body of evidence that, for at least some of the most frequent young users, this may be having unintentional negative consequences” on their health, said Jana Partners LLC and California State Teachers’ […]

Virtual aide market a “wildfire” at CES gadget show

LAS VEGAS, United States (AFP) — Voice-commanded virtual assistants packed into speakers and other devices will be a “game-changing” trend this year, Consumer Electronics Show researchers said Sunday. Sales of smart speakers are expected to nearly double in the US, to $3.8 billion, from last year according to Lesley Rohrbaugh and Steve Koenig, researchers with the Consumer Technology Association, which organizes the annual CES trade event. “That market is not just heating up, it is […]

SpaceX launches secretive Zuma mission

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — SpaceX on Sunday blasted off a secretive US government payload known as Zuma, a mission whose nature — and the agency behind it — remains a mystery. “Three, two, one, ignition and liftoff,” said a SpaceX commentator as the Falcon 9 rocket launched under cover of darkness from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 8:00 pm (0100 GMT Monday). The launch was initially supposed to take place in November but was postponed […]

Pharmaceutical stirs outrage over price hike for brain tumor drug

by Leila MACOR Agence France-Presse MIAMI, United States (AFP) — A little known pharmaceutical company in Florida has found itself in the eye of a storm following disclosures it raised the price of an old drug used to fight brain tumors by 1,400 percent, from $50 a pill to more than $700. NextSource Biotechnology in 2013 bought the license for the drug Lomustine from Bristol-Myers Squibb, which sold a 100-milligram pill of the substance for […]