Sony pulls Cyberpunk 2077 from PlayStation Store after glitches backlash. US government and private companies at ‘grave risk’ from massive cyber-attack, officials warn after Treasury spying scandal. Twitter tests Spaces ‘chat room’ feature for conversations with strangers. Scientists’ warn goliath factory ships are stripping oceans of marine life in quest for fish. Zoom lift 40-minute call limit on free accounts over festive period. Artificial intelligence Top Gun co-pilots American U-2 spy plan...
Dec 18, 2020•6 min
World Health Organisation scientists will take samples from bats and other animals in Wuhan to discover how COVID-19 spread across the world, hoping to prevent future outbreaks. Data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft reveals Saturn’s moon Enceladus could support life in its subsurface ocean. Facebook takes out full page newspaper attack ads in a row with Apple over the way users are tracked. Vodka and toothpaste from thin air: London’s Science Museum showcases tech that captures fumes to turn them ...
Dec 17, 2020•6 min
Billions of dollars were spent on US government’s hobbled anti-hacking software, which spies still managed to find a way around with trojan horse. EU rules mean yearly checks for Big Tech firms on how they are tackling harmful content. Virgin Media reveals record 2020 data usage as Britain stayed home amid pandemic. Call of Duty: Warzone Season One “battle pass” update features new scenarios, maps and weapons. Royal Mail launches post-by-drone ‘skyports’ to access remote locations Study shows ka...
Dec 16, 2020•6 min
Virus mutation latest: Top immunology professor on latest developments. Developments that Treasury and Commerce departments hack were ‘part of months-long espionage campaign’. Online platforms failing to protect users or remove harmful content face multimillion-pound fines and being blocked in UK under new laws. Amazon-owned Zoox reveals first robo-taxi without a steering wheel with 16-hour battery life. Institution of Engineering and Technology release league table of most eco-friendly countrie...
Dec 15, 2020•7 min
Russian hackers are in the frame for spying on Treasury emails - as White House calls emergency meeting. EA swoops in to buy Dirt Rally-makers Codemasters. Rare services outage for Google products, including Gmail and YouTube. Apple launches Fitness+ services for Watch. New smart bands light up and vibrate to enforce social distancing. Virgin Galactic’s rocket fails to launch as space attempt aborted. NYPD deploys first robodog and as already been deployed to help human colleagues in a hostage s...
Dec 14, 2020•6 min
Researchers in Australia are ‘devastated’ after a vaccine they were developing produced a false positive HIV response in participants. They say despite the jab having no possibility of causing HIV infection and it being ‘safe and producing a robust response’ against Covid-19, they’re abandoning the vaccine. Plus, Disney unveils plans to stream a galaxy of new series and films, the Geminid meteor shower set to be the best in years, and why swearing is good for you, especially in 2020. Listen to o...
Dec 11, 2020•7 min
SpaceX’s Starship blasted off several miles into the air from a remote corner of Texas, but the six-and-a-half minute test flight ended in an explosive fireball at touchdown. Even so, Elon Musk hailed the launch, tweeting afterwards: ‘Mars here we come!’ Plus, Cyberpunk 2077 finally launches, Facebook labels anti-trust lawsuit ‘revisionist history’, and Alexa learns the rules of football. Listen to our other podcasts: Women Tech Charge : interviews with incredible women leading in Science, Techn...
Dec 10, 2020•7 min
Apple has released its first over-the-ear, noise cancelling headphones, the AirPods Max. Their eye-watering price and even the design has been met with a frenzied reaction of shock and ridicule. But if history is anything to go by, Apple will have the last laugh. And, doctors discover patients of mystery illness have traces of lead and nickel in their blood, Google and Facebook could face multi-million dollar fines in Australia and Halo Infinite finally gets a release window. Listen to our other...
Dec 09, 2020•6 min
The UK’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said the coronavirus vaccine is ‘the route out’ as he marked the start of the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine in the UK. 90-year-old Margaret Keenan became the first patient in the world to receive the jab, and Mr Hancock said millions more could receive it by the end of next year. Plus, Donald Trump ‘came close to revealing secrets of an alien Galactic Federation,’ Japan funds AI to boost its tumbling birth rate and, mixed reviews for Cyberpunk 2077...
Dec 08, 2020•6 min
In just 25 weeks this year, the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out 25 years of progress in everything from health to the economy, according to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Girl Effect’s Jonathan McKay says for adolescent girls in developing countries the impact is particularly stark, but an agony aunt chatbot is helping them through. Plus, a mystery illness sweeps through a town in southern India, a space mission could reveal clues to the origins of the universe, and how a beer and crisps pai...
Dec 07, 2020•6 min
Here’s what the plasma inside a neutron star sounds like, thanks to MIT scientists. Facebook to ban false claims about Covid-19 vaccines after criticism of becoming hotbed for conspiracies. Facebook says it will start removing false claims about Covid-19 vaccines to prevent what the social network calls “imminent physical harm”. Meet the London doctor who’s using TikTok to fight Covid anti-vax conspiracy theories. Dog owners will need to manage their pet’s post-lockdown ‘separation anxiety’ when...
Dec 04, 2020•7 min
Hackers have tried to infiltrate the coronavirus vaccine distribution chain. Twitter expands hate speech rules to include race and ethnicity. Amazon build cheap cloud spy tech for bosses to make sure workers wear facemasks. Dua Lipa and other Spotify artists’ pages hacked by Taylor Swift ‘fan’ Chinese researchers quit U.S. after spies target Biden team. High-def streaming hurts the planet - drop your resolution to cut pollution, report says Teenager’s £100,000 crowdfunding campaign for statue ho...
Dec 03, 2020•7 min
Covid Pfizer vaccine approved for use next week in UK, care home residents and health workers at front of queue. Netflix content given age rating by algorithm for parents to cut sex and violence scenes. Spotify, Apple and Tik Tok release their year-in-review ‘best bits’. Salesforce to buy workplace app Slack in $27 billion deal. China’s Chang’e 5 lands on the moon to collect the first fresh lunar rock samples in decades. Lab-grown fake ‘chicken’ is approved to go on sale. Fortnite’s season 5 get...
Dec 02, 2020•7 min
Microsoft files patent to record and score meetings on body language. World Aids Day: Global solidarity amid concerns for treatment as frontline services stretched. One of biology’s biggest mysteries ‘largely solved’ by DeepMind AI. Astronauts could stop burning underwear in Nasa plans to make first space detergent. Australian telescope maps deep space at record speed. Australia, US to develop hypersonic missiles to counter China. New monolith pops up in Romania - alien or artist? Hosted on Acas...
Dec 01, 2020•7 min
Cyber Monday ‘deals’: Don’t believe the hype and do your resesearch, says Which? consumer expert. Step into actual Super Mario World in Florida - Nintendo to open experience for fans at Universal Studios next year. Spotify testing new Instagram-esque Stories feature. Huawei ban from UK 5G network brought forward by British government. China’s Chang’e 5 enters lunar orbit for historic attempt to return moon samples. Mysterious monolith that was found in the remote Utah desert has been removed by ...
Nov 30, 2020•7 min
Experts are warning shoppers to be wary of scams as they shop online during what retailers are expecting to be their biggest Black Friday sale yet. Promon’s Tom Lysemose Hanson says not clicking on links in emails and doing your research before downloading store apps are some of the easy ways to stay safe. Plus, Donald Trump’s furious with Twitter as #DiaperDon trends, mink in Denmark are resurfacing from their graves, and Hope's mission to Mars is going so well, its planning to collect some bon...
Nov 27, 2020•7 min
After coming under fire earlier this year over a ‘seizure challenge’, TikTok is offering a new feature to its users who have photosensitive epilepsy. The tool will allow people to tailor their profile so that videos that could act as a trigger for a seizure are automatically skipped. Plus, robots could be the next front line workers, voice assistant users get special Black Friday deals and, space worms give an insight into how our genes behave in space. Listen to our other podcasts: Women Tech C...
Nov 26, 2020•7 min
Elon Musk has pushed Bill Gates down to third place on the Bloomberg Billionaires index as his personal fortune soared by $7.2 billion dollars. It came as Tesla shares soared after it was announced they’d be added to the S&P 500, sending the company’s market value above $500 billion. Plus, how hackers are 3D printing your house keys from your Facebook photos, a treasure trove of ancient arrows found in Sweden and Google Stadia says 400 games are in development. Listen to our other podcasts: ...
Nov 25, 2020•6 min
Snapchat has become the latest competitor to TikTok, launching its own short form video feature Spotlight. And, for at least the rest of the year, users who create the most engaged-with content could receive a share of $1 million a day being handed out by the firm. Plus, China launches its ambitious mission to the moon, Amazon investigates after PlayStation 5 deliveries are reported missing, and a black monolith stuns officials in Utah. Listen to our other podcasts: Women Tech Charge : interview...
Nov 24, 2020•7 min
AstraZeneca and Oxford University report their vaccine could prevent up to 90% of people getting Covid-19, so how does it work? And, while we wait for the jab to be rolled out, scientists warn that as we head into winter, keeping a window cracked open could reduce the risk of infection by 70%. Plus, Space X launch a sea cartographer satellite and, K-pop band aespa introduce fans to their AI avatars. Listen to our other podcasts: Women Tech Charge : interviews with incredible women leading in Sci...
Nov 23, 2020•6 min
Figures reveal Instagram removed almost 80 per cent less graphic content about suicide and self-harm between April and June this year than in the previous quarter - after Covid restrictions meant most of its content moderators were sent home. Many customers trying to get hold of PS5 were left disappointed after online retailers sold out of the console. NordPass reveals people are still using ‘123456’ as their password. Facebook campaign by the Mines Advisory Group helps protect people living nea...
Nov 20, 2020•7 min
Sony’s new PS5 is available to buy in the UK from today, with new titles including Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Apple to pay $113m to settle iPhone ‘batterygate’. Lyft’s Thanksgiving travel ads receives backlash amid US pandemic crisis. Free SIM cards help disadvantaged schoolchildren stay online amid families' Covid financial struggle. Former President Barack Obama talks to Oprah Winfrey on Apple TV by the magic of green screen tech. Twitter throttles back on rollout of disappearing ‘Fleet...
Nov 19, 2020•6 min
Facebook and Twitter chief executives are grilled again by Senators, who attacked their corporate policies. Donald Trump fires a top election security tech official who contradicted him. Bitcoin hits nearly a three-year peak, and closes in on a record high value. The French flying ‘Jetman’ has died in a training accident in Dubai. TikTok has added tougher controls for parents to keep tabs on their children. Dinosaurs would have continued breeding on Earth when they were wiped out by asteroid, st...
Nov 18, 2020•6 min
Elon Musk breaks into top three world’s richest people as Tesla stock soars. Virgin Galactic announces postponement of key test flight of its spacecraft because of a surge in Covid-19 cases in New Mexico. Pharmacy CVS has become the first retailer in the US to allow customers use PayPal and Venmo QR codes for checkout payments. Social network founders Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey will appear once more before members of the Senate Judiciary Committee over speech moderation on their platforms. ...
Nov 17, 2020•7 min
Four Nasa astronauts blast off for the ISS on the first non-demo SpaceX flight. Microsoft says state-backed hackers from North Korea and Russia have been targeting organisations working on a coronavirus vaccine. The Trump administration has extended a deadline for ByteDance to restructure ownership of its short-form video app TikTok in the US amid legal battle. Ticketmaster UK fined $1.62m for failing to keep its customers’ personal data secure. YouTube ditches ‘rewind’ video for pandemic-hit 20...
Nov 16, 2020•6 min
The planet hunter, the world’s first space telescope, has been given the green light to study atmospheres of planets outside our own solar system. Professor Giovanna Tinetti says it’ll give a fuller picture of what exoplanets are made of, how they were formed, how they evolve and provide us with a better understanding of our own planet too. Plus, a two-million-year-old skull of a distant human cousin is discovered, Elon Musk ‘tests positive and negative for Covid-19 and, TikTok survives another ...
Nov 13, 2020•6 min
Elon Musk’s aerospace company is to send four astronauts into low-Earth orbit on a Crew Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday - the first commercial human spaceflight system in history. Plus, a ‘factory in a box’ could produce 600 doses of RNA vaccines a minute, black and Asian ethnicities are up to twice as likely to be infected with Covid-19 and, a town in Japan deploys robot monster wolves to protect against hungry bears. Listen to our other podcasts: Women Tech Charge : interviews wit...
Nov 12, 2020•7 min
Apple’s M1 silicon chip promises a profound impact on performance of their computers. The tech giant says this will include better battery life, instant wake from sleep mode and the ability to run iOS apps. Plus, Russia says its Sputnik V vaccine is 92% effective against Covid-19, the newly discovered Popa langur is set to be listed as critically endangered and Santa prepares for a socially distanced Christmas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 11, 2020•7 min
England’s deputy chief medical officer and the UK’s health secretary have cautiously raised hopes a coronavirus vaccine could be rolled out by Christmas. Former director of the World World Health Organisation's cancer programme Karol Sikora says the vaccine is ‘elegant’ but has some downsides. Plus, loser.com now redirects to Donald Trump’s Wikipedia page, Xbox Series X launches in the UK, and Jupiter's Europa moon may glow in the dark. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information...
Nov 10, 2020•7 min
Virgin Hyperloop has trialled its first every journey with two passengers on board. The pair were strapped to a pod as they hurtled down a 500 metre track at 100 miles per hour. Its hoped the system could eventually transport people at 670mph. Plus, how mouthwash could be a secret weapon against coronavirus, the first electric wingsuit takes flight and, a stolen 4 billion-year-old meteorite returns to its owners. Listen to our other podcasts: Women Tech Charge : interviews with incredible women ...
Nov 09, 2020•7 min
