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New Jersey cops use speaker-drones to help enforce pandemic lockdown

Following similar deployments in Spain and France, cops in the U.S. have started using speaker-drones telling people to stay home during the pandemic.
A helicopter plucks a dummy booster from the sky during a test run by Rocket Lab in 2020.

Watch Rocket Lab’s helicopter catch a dummy rocket in midair

Rocket Lab, like SpaceX, is developing a reusable rocket system to cut the cost of launches. But their methods of booster recovery are remarkably different.
emoji on laptop

Psychologists say using emojis is more important than ever right now. Seriously

Emojis might seem frivolous, but a psychologist from the U.K.'s University of Chichester says there is a good reason for using them in work emails right now.
masterclass buy one get free pass deal gordon ramsay

MasterClass Deal: Learn a new skill from masters like Gordon Ramsay on the cheap

MasterClass offers fantastic online courses. Right now, buy one all-access pass and you'll get one free to give to a friend or loved one.
PEEP mask 1

3D printing lets hospitals make ventilator substitutes with common equipment

Belgian 3D printing company Materialise has developed a 3D-printable device that could help hospitals deal with the current shortage of much-needed ventilators.
mit researchers develop room sized interactive surfaces with sensors and displays michael wessely 01

This spray paint lets you turn on your lights or change the TV channel with a touch

Developed by researchers at MIT, SprayableTech allows users to simply spray conductive ink on everyday surfaces to turn them into helpful digital interfaces.
nuros driverless delivery pod greenlit for california trial nuro autonomous

Nuro’s driverless delivery pod greenlighted for California trial

Nuro is getting ready to test its compact autonomous delivery pod on the streets of California. Other trials have already taken place in Texas and Arizona.
hp supercomputer still alive in space spacex dragon capsule 3 720x720

SpaceX Dragon spacecraft completes final mission ahead of crewed launch

SpaceX’s trusty Dragon spacecraft has completed its final cargo mission after returning from the International Space station. Next up: the Crew Dragon.
mayo clinic autonomous vehicle covid19 self driving

Mayo Clinic is using autonomous shuttle buses to transport COVID-19 tests

Mayo Clinic in Florida is using autonomous vehicles to transport vital medical supplies and COVID-19 tests from a nearby drive-thru testing site.
Borderlands 3 Epic Games store pc exclusive

This Borderlands 3 minigame will help map the bacteria in your gut

Borderlands 3 is getting a new interactive minigame, Borderlands Science, which will directly contribute to research in biomedicine.
SpaceX's Dragon resupply ship slowly approaches the orbiting lab as both spacecraft were orbiting 258 miles above the Mediterranean Sea Dec. 9, 2019. Filled with more than 4,000 pounds of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo, Dragon is now set to leave the International Space Station Monday, April 6.

How to watch the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft depart the ISS today

A SpaceX Dragon resupply craft will depart from the International Space Station Tuesday, carrying scientific experiments back from space to Earth.

The best smart luggage

Suitcases are wising up: Here's our list of the best luggage, bags, and trackers for your journey, whether you need device support or want more safety.
Drone Sunset

Mysterious drone tells New Yorkers to socially distance during pandemic

A drone equipped with a loudspeaker was recently spotted telling people in a New York City park to socially distance. But no one knows where it came from.
Boeing Space's Starliner spacecraft.

Boeing to attempt second Starliner test flight after bungled debut mission

Boeing says that it is determined to test its Starliner passenger spacecraft a second time following a botched orbital test flight in December 2019.
pizza

Pizza vending machines are coming, and they’re perfect for the pandemic era

How many people have touched your takeout before you eat it? This pizza-serving vending machine may turn out to be the perfect solution in the age of COVID-19.
Engineering update on the Tesla ventilator

Tesla shows how it’s using EV parts to build ventilators

Tesla has released a video showing how its is working to create a ventilator from car parts to aid in the treatment of patients with coronavirus.
Cortical Labs

Meet the sci-fi startup building computer chips with real biological neurons

Australian startup Cortical Labs is building brain-inspired neural networks using actual neurons. Here's why the company thinks that's a big deal.
BepiColombo cartoon characters 'hug' Earth ahead of the spacecraft's flyby, scheduled on 10 April.

Joint Mission to Mercury makes a ‘goodbye flyby’ of Earth

The BepiColombo mission to Mercury will get a gravity assist from Earth as it passes by the planet this week.
artist’s impression depicts a star being torn apart by an intermediate-mass black hole

Hubble may have found the ‘missing link’ in black hole formation

Researchers using the Hubble Space Telescope have found first evidence for intermediate-mass black holes, a type that has only been hypothesized so far.
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The largest astronomical project on the planet shut down due to coronavirus

Telescope facilities in the Chilean desert including the world's largest ground-based astronomical project, ALMA, have been shut down due to coronavirus.
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Awesome Tech You Can’t Buy Yet: Ultrafast toothbrushes and a laptop/phone hybrid

Every week, Digital Trends combs through crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo to round up all the best gadgets, gizmos, and gear currently in preproduction. If you're looking for innovative ideas, keep an eye on this column. This week's offerings include a Backyard biodigester.
A new NASA mission called SunRISE will study what drives solar particle storms - giant surges of solar particles that erupt off of the Sun - as depicted in this illustration. Understanding how such storms affect interplanetary space can help protect spacecraft and astronauts.

NASA wants to launch a set of six mini spacecraft to observe the sun

NASA will be launching a set of six miniature spacecraft to study the sun, in the hopes of understanding more about how space weather and solar storms develop.
2020 tech trends for the decade nasa artemis moon mission

NASA lays out plans for building a long-term moon base

NASA has released a report detailing how it intends to set up a base on the moon, which can then be used as a staging area for exploration of Mars.
Artist’s illustration of the WFIRST spacecraft.

NASA’s WFIRST telescope has a new approach to the hunt for exoplanets

NASA is working on an new instrument for spotting distant exoplanets -- the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, or WFIRST.
Three of the six flight wheels that will travel to Mars can be seen attached to NASA's Perseverance rover (which is inverted on a handling fixture) on March 30, 2020 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The protective antistatic foil covering the wheels will be removed before launch this summer.

NASA’s Perseverance rover’s new wheels can grip and better withstand rocks

NASA's Mars rover, Perseverance, nears completion as it is fitted with new wheels and a massive air brake parachute.
ibm watson covid 19 chatbot assistant

IBM turned its Jeopardy-winning A.I. into the world’s smartest COVID-19 chatbot

IBM’s Watson A.I. is most famous for whooping the butt of human champions at quiz show Jeopardy. Now, it's helping us answer essential questions about COVID-19.
r SpaceX Starship prototype destroyed

Another SpaceX Starship prototype destroyed during pressure test

SpaceX has lost a Starship prototype during a pressure test. Video of the test shows the mid-section of the prototype buckling and collapsing during the test.
Deployment tests like these help safeguard mission success by physically demonstrating that NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is able to move and unfold as intended.

Watch the James Webb Space Telescope deploy its massive origami mirror

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has passed an important test by deploying its huge mirror into the configuration it will use once it's launched into space.
voice assistant

The high-tech quest to detect COVID-19 via voice

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon have developed a web app that may be able to identify coronavirus by listening to you speak. But it has not been proven.
Hastings Gallery telepresence robot 1

Most art galleries are closed, but you can still tour this one — with a robot

An art gallery in the U.K. has teamed up with roboticists to continue giving tours while it's shuttered due to coronavirus. Here's what they've developed.
astronaut mobile game contest

NASA reveals how many Americans applied to become an astronaut

NASA's recent call for astronaut wannabes led to an astonishing 12,000 applications. The successful candidates could bag a trip to the moon, and even beyond.
traveler being scanned

How risky is air travel right now? A new supercomputer model has answers

How likely are you to contract a virus on a flight? Researchers from the Department of Computer Science at the University of West Florida investigated.
Man in kitchen talking to Google Home.

Why everyone is watching livestreams of normal life amid social distancing

Being stuck in their homes has left many of us uneasy, but some people are finding solace in live webcam views of normal everyday life amid social distancing.
MSR factory tour worker

Crowdfunding in the age of coronavirus

Crowdfunded projects are being hit hard by coronavirus-fueled factory closures, but entrepreneurs are still finding creative ways to bring their ideas to life.