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Latest by Mark Austin

Cosmos

‘Cosmos’ will return for a second season in spring 2019 with ‘Possible Worlds’

A new season of Cosmos, hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, will premiere on Fox and National Geographic in spring of 2019.
emls

Major League Soccer and ‘FIFA 18’ team up to create an esports league

In conjunction with the FIFA 18 eWorld Cup, Major League Soccer announced the formation of eMLS, a league formed of gamers from each team.
Fahrenheit 451

HBO drops a hot new teaser trailer for the upcoming ‘Fahrenheit 451’

Ray Bradbury's classic sci-fi novel Fahrenheit 451 will soon make its way to HBO, with a new adaptation starring Michael B. Jordan.
Xbox One backward-compatible Xbox games

Relive your old-school headshots with ‘The Duke’ controller for OG Xbox gamers

Good news for retro gamers — The Duke, a replica of the original massive Xbox controller, will be released in March for Xbox One.
George Clooney Catch-22

Hulu scores a major deal with George Clooney miniseries ‘Catch-22’

Nearly two decades after ER, George Clooney will return to the small screen as producer and director of the mini-series Catch-22.
anime strike

Amazon shuts down Anime Strike channel, rolls it over into Prime Video

Less than a year after its inception, Amazon has closed its Anime Strike channel and moved all the series and movies to Amazon Prime Video.
seattle

This three-year time-lapse of Seattle is like a real-life Sim City game

A Google engineer used images of Seattle captured from the Space Needle webcam to create a fast-paced look at the city's explosive growth.
Dr. Dre

Monster takes a ‘beating’ with $8 million judgment in Dr. Dre headphone case

Beats, the headphone company originally founded by Dr. Dre, scored a major victory in its ongoing legal battle with Monster.
Zenplace

Hundreds of robot realtors are helping Bay Area renters find new homes

The Silicon Valley property management startup Zenplace wants to streamline the rental process with AI learning and robot realtor home tours.
Curiosity rover

Did the Curiosity Rover just discover evidence of alien fossils on Mars?

A tiny formation in a Martian rock photographed by the Curiosity Rover may finally answer the question if there was once life on Mars.
Amazon Echo 2017 review offset alexa

‘Alexa, sell me something!’ Amazon may explore digital advertising in 2018

Ads may be coming to Amazon's popular home assistant Alexa, as industry insiders reveal plans to promote products based on user histories.
snake

The herp-loving A.I. bot ‘Fitch’ needs your help to learn how to identify snakes

You can help the AT bot "Fitch" learn to identify snakes and other reptiles by uploading photos to the What the Herp website.
painting

Experts hope high-tech 3D image analysis will help save deteriorating paintings

Researchers are baffled by a chemical reaction that causes paintings to fade, and now they hope some high-tech help will tell them why.
laser

England plans to map the entire country in 3D using planes equipped with lasers

Using laser sensors for light detection and ranging (LIDAR), England plans to map the entire country in 3D in the next three years.
tracking

That phone game you’re playing while watching TV may be secretly tracking you

A program called Alphonso may be secretly tracking you through your phone while you're watching TV, and selling that info to advertisers.
Electron Wheel

A cyclist is riding from NYC to Vegas on a bike with an Electron Wheel for CES

To celebrate Google Assistant pairing up with Electron Wheel, a cyclist is riding across the country to the CES.
Boeing

Boeing unveils prototype refueling tanker drone for aircraft carrier operations

The aerospace giant has released the first photo of the "Stingray" unmanned refueling plane, as it hopes to win an upcoming Navy contract.
American Girl

This 11-year-old on a mission to Mars is 2018’s ‘American Girl of the Year’

The newest collectible doll from American Girl was developed with assistance with NASA to help inspire young women to pursue STEM careers.
renewable energy

Thanks to renewable energy, German factories got paid to use power last weekend

Having too much electricity is sometimes a problem for Germany, where fluctuation in wind and solar power can drive the price below zero.
Martti

Martti is a self-driving car from Finland designed for icy snow-covered roads

Many self-driving cars aren't able to handle adverse weather, but the Finnish creation Martti is specially equipped for snowy roads.
Robot DJ

Robot DJ spins, scratches, and dances the night away at Prague nightclub

A former automotive assembly robot has a new gig at a Czech hotspot. It's now a robot DJ that spins records to keep the party going.
Elon Musk

Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster is ready for its long journey to Mars

The launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket will carry a custom payload -- Elon Musk's own Tesla Roadster, with David Bowie blasting on the stereo.
Alpha Centauri

NASA is planning an interstellar mission to Alpha Centauri — but not until 2069

A visit to our closest interstellar neighbor won't be soon. NASA's plan for an Alpha Centauri probe have a few obstacles to overcome.
Nuclear Fusion ITER

The world’s first nuclear fusion plant is now halfway to ‘First Plasma’

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) nuclear fusion program reached an important milestone this month.
#d printed drones

The U.S. Army is developing battlefield drones that can be 3D printed on-demand

Army and Marine soldiers may soon be able to select a specific drone and have it printed and ready to fly in just a few hours.
riton malware

Sophisticated ‘Triton’ malware shuts down industrial plant in hacker attack

Hackers successfully breached the security at an unnamed industrial facility, but were unable to gain control of the safety controls.
Hubo

Oh, yeah! Robot joins Olympic torch relay, bashes through a wall on the way

A humankind robot named Hubo joined the Olympic torch relay in South Korea, demonstrating his wall-breaking skills along the way.
mr robot

Mozilla moves ‘Mr. Robot’ promo app following Firefox user outrage

Many Firefox users were outraged when a Mr. Robot promo app was secretly installed on their browser without their permission.
Alibaba

Alibaba will start selling cars in China from gigantic vending machines

Alibaba will open two giant vending machines filled with cars, where you can book a test drive and even purchase a car using an online app.
Pentagon

Is the Pentagon’s shadowy secret UFO research program still going on?

A secret program to investigate UFOs was run by the Pentagon for five years. The government claims it has been shut down, but has it?
SpaceX Falcon 9

SpaceX launches both a reused rocket and capsule in successful ISS cargo mission

In a first for the company, SpaceX launched a reused Dragon capsule atop a reused Falcon 9 booster for a mission to the Space Station.
Uber self-driving Volvo XC90

Explosive claims of illegal spying and hacking rock the Uber vs. Waymo trial

A letter by a former security professional at Uber alleges that the company used illegal tactics against its competitors.
Colin Furze

Britain’s mad scientist built a life-size TIE Silencer from ‘The Last Jedi’

Colin Furze is known for some pretty outlandish inventions, but this time he's built a full-scale replica of a TIE Silencer.
ready player one

How many ’80s Easter eggs can you spot in the new ‘Ready Player One’ trailer?

Nostalgia for the '80s is the theme of the new Ready Player One movie, with pop culture references in nearly every frame.