Sci-Tech

Doctors use virtual reality to help patients suffering from neurological balance problems

NEW YORK, United States (Reuters) — New York University researchers have developed a system combining virtual reality with a pressure sensing mat they say could help people with vestibular dysfunction, which affects parts of the inner ear and brain and results in problems with balance and those suffering from vertigo or dizziness as a result of a brain injury. Mary-Lynn Musco got into a near-fatal car crash more than a decade ago and receives physical […]

Tesla revenues surge as it ramps for Model 3 launch

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Tesla said Wednesday that revenues more than doubled in the past quarter compared with a year ago, as the electric carmaker prepared for production of its new mass-market vehicle. In its update for the first quarter Tesla said its Model 3 development “is nearly complete.” The company expects to produce 5,000 of these cars per week at some point this year and 10,000 per week in 2018. The California firm led […]

UK firm says fusion on the grid by 2030; Skeptics disagree

OXFORD, United Kingdom (Reuters) — A British fusion reactor, the ST40, has been turned on and officially achieved first plasma, says the company behind it – Tokamak Energy. The firm, based in Oxfordshire, aims to produce a record-breaking plasma temperature of 100 million degrees – seven times hotter than the center of the Sun and the temperature necessary for controlled fusion. Tokamak Energy, one of the world’s leading private fusion energy ventures, says it believes […]

SpaceX makes first US military launch, then lands rocket again

by Kerry Sheridan Agence France Presse MIAMI, United States (AFP) — SpaceX on Monday blasted off a secretive United States government payload, known only as NROL-76, marking the first military launch for the California-based aerospace company headed by billionaire tycoon Elon Musk. The payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, which makes and operates spy satellites for the US, soared into the sky atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 7:15 am (1115 GMT). About 10 minutes after […]

Humanoid robot aims to be affordable home help

GENOA, Italy (Reuters) — Roboticists from the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) are developing a new type of automaton to help out around the home; one that will cost the equivalent of a small car. Demand for service robots is expected to accelerate in the next three years as robots – already used to perform tasks such as assisting medical surgery, milking cows or moving objects around warehouses – become more popular for domestic and […]

Scientists storing solar energy for future use

GOTHENBURG, Sweden (Reuters) — A research team in Sweden is developing a new concept which will allow people to capture, store and release solar energy whenever they want. Solar energy storage has proved incredibly challenging, but a team from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg is trying to use artificial molecules to overcome this limitation. The group has shown that it is possible to convert solar energy directly into energy stored in the bonds of […]

Twitter gets lift from uptick in user numbers

by Rob Lever Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Twitter shares surged Wednesday after its quarterly update showed improving growth in user numbers, offsetting concerns over a decline in revenue and another net loss for the social network. The first quarter results came in better than most forecasts for Twitter, which has struggled to keep pace in the fast-moving world of social media. The closely watched metric of monthly active users grew nine […]

How technology helps freezing city grow tomatoes all year round

YAKUTSK, Russia (Reuters) — One of the coldest cities in the world could grow its own vegetables in Japanese-designed greenhouses in temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius. Yakutsk, a city 5,000km from Moscow in eastern Siberia, has just five hours of daylight in the winter months and an average temperature of minus 34 degrees Celsius. No crops can be grown in the frozen soil. The region’s authorities teamed up with partner Hokkaido Corporation […]

NASA’s Super Pressure Balloon lifts off in New Zealand

WANAKA, New Zeland (Reuters) — A stadium-sized super pressure balloon launched by NASA in New Zealand began collecting data in near space on Wednesday (April 25), beginning a 100-day planned journey after several launch attempts were thwarted by a series of storms and cyclones. The balloon, designed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to detect ultra-high energy cosmic particles from beyond the galaxy as they penetrate the earth’s atmosphere, is expected to circle […]

Samsung to update software over ‘red screen’ smartphone

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Electronics giant Samsung will this week offer an unusually early software update for its newly released Galaxy S8 phone, it said Monday, after some consumers complained of red-tinted screens. The launch of the device is a key step for the South Korean tech firm as it seeks to move on from last year’s humiliating withdrawal of the Galaxy Note 7 over exploding batteries, which hammered the firm’s once-stellar reputation. The Galaxy S8 […]

“Better you than me,” Trump tells record-breaking astronaut

by Jean-Louis Santini / with Kerry Sheridan in Miami Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — United States President Donald Trump congratulated National Aeronautics Space Administration astronaut Peggy Whitson for setting a new space record on Monday, but expressed disdain for a particular rigor of space life — drinking recycled urine. Whitson, 57, marked 534 days in orbit and counting on Monday, beating NASA’s previous record-holder Jeff Williams, but remains still far short of the world […]

Virtual training for dentists

(Reuters) — A Japanese dental equipment manufacturer has developed a prototype mixed reality (MR) dental treatment simulation system. J. Morita Co. demonstrated the technology to Japanese media last Friday (April 21). The company says its technology is the world’s first dental treatment simulation to use MR, combining augmented reality (AR) with virtual reality (VR) technologies. The system is devised to help dentists learn much of their trade without the need to practice on real patients. […]