Sci-Tech

NASA and SpaceX hope for manned mission to ISS in early 2020

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — SpaceX could launch US astronauts to the International Space Station as early as next year if tests on the company’s long-delayed Crew Dragon capsule prove conclusive, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said Thursday. Bridenstine made the announcement as he toured the California headquarters of billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX, a major contractor for NASA. The visit came as Bridenstine and Musk have been engaged in a public spat over the much-delayed […]

Artificial meat is now made in space, coming to a supermarket near you

  by Juliette MICHEL Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Creating meat from cells is no longer the realm of science fiction: a Russian cosmonaut did it aboard the International Space Station, and it is just a matter of time before these products arrive in supermarkets. Tests carried out in space in September led to the production of beef, rabbit and fish tissue using a 3D printer. This new technology “could make […]

Paralyzed man walks again with brain-controlled exoskeleton

  by Amélie BAUBEAU / Patrick GALEY Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A French man paralyzed in a night club accident can walk again thanks to a brain-controlled exoskeleton in what scientists say is a breakthrough providing hope to tetraplegics seeking to regain movement. The patient trained for months, harnessing his brain signals to control a computer-simulated avatar to perform basic movements before using the robot device to walk. Doctors who conducted the […]

What’s that sound? A “Marsquake” heard by NASA

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — NASA on Tuesday released two audio clips of seismic activity on Mars after an “exquisitely sensitive” detector was set down on the planet’s surface late last year. The quakes, far too quiet to be picked up by the human ear, were recorded by the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) in May and July. Scientists hope that studying how seismic waves move through the planet’s interior will reveal the deep […]

Twitter lets users sideline unwanted direct messages

  SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Twitter on Monday said it is rolling out a filter that will hide away unwanted direct messages, providing a new tool to stymie abuse. Twitter users who receive direct messages from people they don’t follow on the platform will be able to have such missives automatically routed to a secondary folder. “Unwanted messages aren’t fun,” Twitter tweeted in August when it began testing the filter that let users […]

Tokyo hosts Japan Amateur Radio League Ham Fair 2019

By Tyra Lu Eagle News Service TOKYO, Japan (Eagle News) — Tokyo, Japan played host to Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) HAM FAIR 2019 where officers and members of the Philippine Amateur Radio Associations (PARA) recently gathered for a series of seminars and activities. Members of the SCAN International — an organization of the Iglesia Ni Cristo for amateur radio communicators and volunteers who assists people in times of calamities and in dire need — […]

First Arab set for ISS says voyage will make ‘history’

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The Emirati astronaut who will make history by becoming the first Arab on the International Space Station said Tuesday he had received support from around the world before his “dream” mission. Hazzaa al-Mansoori, 35, is set to blast into space accompanied by Russia’s Oleg Skripochka and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir onboard a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur in Kazakhstan on Wednesday. Mansoori, who will spend eight days on the ISS, will be […]

Facebook suspends ‘tens of thousands’ of apps in privacy review

by Glenn CHAPMAN © Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook said Friday it suspended “tens of thousands” of apps on its platform as a result of a privacy practices review launched following a scandal involving Cambridge Analytica. The review started in 2018 after revelations that the political consultancy hijacked personal data on millions of Facebook users, and it included attorneys, external investigators, data scientists, engineers, policy specialists and others, according to a […]

Vaping-related illness sickens over 500 in US

by Ivan Couronne and Elodie Cuzin © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — More than 500 people have been sickened in an outbreak of vaping-related illness in the United States, health authorities said Thursday, as Los Angeles became the latest city to take steps to ban flavored e-cigarettes. The known tally from the mysterious lung disease has jumped from 380 to 530, though the number of deaths stood unchanged at seven, according to a […]

Huawei in public test as it unveils latest high-end smartphone with no Google apps

  by Daphne ROUSSEAU Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Chinese tech giant Huawei launches its latest high-end smartphone in Munich on Thursday, the first that could be void of popular Google apps because of US sanctions. Observers are asking whether a phone without the Silicon Valley software that users have come to depend on can succeed, or whether Huawei will have found a way for buyers to install popular apps despite the constraints. The […]

‘Flying’ river taxi tests Seine waters in Paris

Paris, France (AFP) — A “flying” electric river taxi hailed by its creators as the future of clean city transport is being put through a battery of tests in Paris this week, with a view to being in service by the spring. Named the “Sea Bubble”, the white aerodynamic craft skimmed over the River Seine at speeds of up to 30 km/hour (17 m/hour), hovering 50 centimetres (1.5 feet) above the water. A journey from […]

YouTube ‘creators’ fret over impact of new child protection rules

by Julie JAMMOT Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Samuel Rader quit his job three years ago to work full time on his YouTube channel, “Sam and Nia,” featuring videos of his family life. The channel created by the Texas-based couple — with videos of their Hawaii vacation, setting up their backyard pool and other content about “Christian family life” — has become one of the stars of the Google-owned video service […]