Sci-Tech

Google AI program beats top-ranked Go player

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) – Google’s computer program AlphaGo beat the world’s top-ranked player in the ancient Chinese board game Go on Tuesday, re-affirming the arrival of what its developers tout as a ground-breaking new form of artificial intelligence. AlphaGo took the first encounter in a three-game series against brash 19-year-old Chinese world number one Ke Jie, who before the game called the program a “cold machine” and vowed never to play it again after this week. […]

Headset helps the legally blind see nearly 20/20

NEW YORK, United States (Reuters) — More than three years ago, Julissa Marquez was rendered blind from a near fatal stabbing. Doctors said she would never see again. Today, with help from a team of doctors at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai and electronic glasses, Marquez’s vision is nearly 20/20. Marquez began using the eSight electronic glasses in October, which made her eyesight go from legally blind to in focus. […]

Volvo Cars moves into fast-growing Indian market

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) — Swedish carmaker Volvo said Thursday it will start assembling cars in India this year in a move into a fast-expanding market where it has had only a small presence until now. Volvo Cars said in a statement that it was teaming up with truck manufacturer Volvo Group to build cars at the latter’s existing plant in Hoskote near Bangalore. While sharing the Volvo name, Volvo Cars has not actually been part of […]

Mobile internet next target of cyber attack: insiders

  The cyber attack seems to be no longer far from ordinary people’s lives, as global authorities are busy handling the latest wave of ransomware attack. Insiders warned that the mobile network will be the next target of hackers. The ransomware, called WannaCry, which exploited the vulnerabilities in older Microsoft computer operating systems, encrypted data on the computers, demanding certain amount of payments to restore access. It is reported that the WannaCry cyber attack has […]

World close to ‘serious digital sabotage’: Dutch spy chief

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The world may be close to a “serious act of digital sabotage” which could trigger unrest, “chaos and disorder,” Dutch spy chief Rob Bertholee warned Tuesday. Sabotage of critical infrastructure “is the kind of thing that might keep you awake at night,” Bertholee told a timely cyber security conference in The Hague, as global experts grapple with the fallout of a massive cyberattack over the past days. Digital threats “are […]

Open SESAME: science center inaugurated in Jordan

AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) – Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday formally launched an international research center whose members include experts from around the world including arch-rivals Iran and Israel. The International Center for Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East, known by the acronym SESAME, “is the first research center of its kind in the region,” said the royal court. SESAME council president Chris Llewellyn Smith said the center, located in Balqa […]

SpaceX launches Inmarsat communications satellite

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — SpaceX on Monday launched a communications satellite for Inmarsat, marking its first launch for the London-based mobile broadband company. The Inmarsat-5 F4 satellite, built by Boeing, blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 7:21 pm (2321 GMT). “We’ve had confirmation of spacecraft separation,” said a SpaceX commentator about 30 minutes after launch, signaling that the satellite was successfully deployed to a distant, geostationary orbit. “We’ve […]

Astronaut’s helmet-cam captures space views

Reuters — The National Aeronautics Space Administration has released an action camera video shot by astronauts on a spacewalk outside the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Shane Kimbrough conducted a seven-hour space walk on March 30 recording their work outside the ISS on their helmet-cams. The video shows the astronauts reconnecting wires and installing covers and shields on one of the three Pressurized Mating Adapters on the ISS used for dockings, the […]

Microsoft says cyberattack should be wake up call for governments

Washington, UNITED STATES (AFP) — Microsoft warned governments Sunday against storing computer vulnerabilities like the leaked one at the heart of the cyberattack that has crippled computers in more than 150 countries. “The governments of the world should treat this attack as a wake up call,” Microsoft’s president and chief legal officer, Brad Smith, wrote in a blog post about what is being called the largest ransomware attack ever. He warned of the danger of exploits […]

Researcher finds ‘kill switch’ for cyberattack ransomware

by Kate Bartlett Agence France-Presse HONGKONG, China (AFP) – A cybersecurity researcher appears to have discovered a “kill switch” that can prevent the spread of the WannaCry ransomware — for now — that has caused the cyberattacks wreaking havoc globally, they told AFP Saturday. The researcher, tweeting as @MalwareTechBlog, said the discovery was accidental, but that registering a domain name used by the malware stops it from spreading. “Essentially they relied on a domain not […]

Smart glove could help measure muscle stiffness

CALIFORNIA, United States (AFP) — Mike Crossley was born with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that has among its symptoms muscle stiffness. Doctors assess the degree of his muscle stiffness using touch and feel during physical exams, grading it on a subjective rating scale they use to decide on medications and therapies. The problem, according to Dr Andrew Skalsky, director of the division of Rehabilitation Medicine at Rady Children’s Hospital, is that the scale often […]

Fluorescent sorting could light up recycling rates

LONDON, United Kingdom (Reuters) — British-based scientists behind a new technique that adds luminescent markers to plastic packaging labels say it will lead to marked improvements in recycling rates, if applied across the industry. Researchers at Brunel University London and their industry partners Nextek say their new technology is an inexpensive solution to low plastic container recycling rates because it can be retrofitted to existing sorting systems. The marker will only cost an additional £1 […]