Insulin pumps recalled for vulnerability; concerns raised over medical IoT hacks
Medical device company Medtronic is recalling a number of insulin pumps after discovering that they are vulnerable to hacks, and there is no way to patch the security holes. The FDA announced the vulnerability in the MiniMed 508 and Paradigm pumps this week, affecting around 4,000 patients.
The Pentagon can now identify you by your heartbeat — from 200 yards away
As if facial recognition and digital fingerprinting weren't scary enough, the Pentagon has reportedly developed a method for identifying and tracking people through their heartbeat. Heartbeats are as unique and distinctive as fingerprints, but are distinct in that they can be read from a distance.
SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are in position and ready to begin testing
SpaceX's ambitious project to create a global satellite broadband internet network continues, with the first batch of satellites now mostly in place and ready to start testing. The batch of 60 satellites were launched into space last month, and now 57 of these are working as intended, SpaceX announced.
How to watch SpaceX’s most difficult Falcon Heavy launch ever
SpaceX will launch a Falcon Heavy rocket Monday evening in its most challenging launch yet. The launch was delayed until Monday June 24 at 11:30 p.m. PT, but is dependent on weather conditions. You can watch NASA's livestream of the launch with coverage starting at 11 p.m. PT.
Uranus’ rings shine brightly but hold a puzzle for astronomers
New images reveal the rings around Uranus, almost invisible to most telescopes, shining brightly as they reflect light in the visible and near-infrared range. But there's a strange puzzle about them -- why they don't contain any small dust-sized particles.
Dark matter galaxy crashed into the Milky Way, causing the ripples in its disk
New research suggests hundreds of millions of years ago, the Milky Way collided with Antlia 2, a nearby dwarf galaxy. This collision caused ripples in the disk of gas around the Milky Way which we still observe today. Antlia 2 is about one third the size of the Milky Way and is dominated by dark matter.
Tiny galaxy has huge black hole at its center, gives clues to galactic evolution
A Hubble image shows a tiny galaxy, ESO 495-21, located 30 million light-years away, which could hold the clue to unraveling a longstanding question about the evolution of galaxies. Despite its small size, it hosts a feature found in much larger galaxies -- a supermassive black hole.
Security vulnerabilities found in three quarters of mobile apps
Three quarters of Android and iOS apps have security vulnerabilities related to insecure data storage, according to a new report. The insecure storage of data from apps could lead to information like passwords, financial details, personal data, and communications being accessible by hackers.
FedEx mistakenly rejects shipment of a Huawei phone to the U.S.
There has been some confusion about what exactly the placement of Huawei on the U.S. Entity List means for private customers. Recently a tech writer who tried to ship a Huawei phone from the U.K. to the U.S. was surprised when the phone did not reach its destination, and was returned to him in the U.K.
You can help search for aliens with an open access release of SETI data
The Breakthrough Initiatives, a program founded in 2015 to search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), recently submitted two papers covering the analysis of the first three years of radio telescope data. And all of the data collected is being made publicly available in an open data archive.
Ready to roll: Mars 2020 rover fitted with wheels ahead of mission next year
The Mars 2020 rover is getting ready for its trip to the red planet next year. The latest step in readying the rover is installing its wheels and suspension system, which engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have been doing this month.
SpaceX is on a hiring spree for its Starlink global internet project
After a string of delays, SpaceX's Starlink project was finally launched last month with the ambitious aim of creating a "global broadband" system. Now an analysis of data from SpaceX's job listings shows the company is on a hiring tear, advertising for more and more positions for the project.
Your smartphone could be the key to predicting natural disasters
One of the challenges for atmospheric scientists is gathering enough data to understand the complex, planet-wide weather system. Now an atmospheric scientist has come up with a clever idea to gather more data using smartphones and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
The Very Large Telescope gets upgrade to aid its hunt for habitable exoplanets
The Very Large Telescope, located in the desert in Chile, is growing even bigger. The latest addition to the telescope's suite of instruments is a tool called NEAR (Near Earths in the AlphaCen Region) which will hunt for exoplanets in the nearby Alpha Centauri star system.
The grainy texture of Saturn’s rings reveals clues to their origins
New analysis of data from Cassini shows that Saturn's rings are not smooth, but rather are grainy in texture. Scientists believe that tiny moons within the rings cause materials to cluster and form clumps and straw-like patterns, revealing rings which are more complex and dynamic than we realized.
Hubble captures explosive galaxy, the site of three recent supernovae
Hubble's latest image is of the spiral galaxy NGC 4051, located 45 million years from Earth. This particular galaxy is notable for having played host to a large number of supernovae over the years: the first seen in 1983 (SN 1983I), the second in 2003 (SN 2003ie), and the most recent in 2010 (SN 2010br).
Pass the salt please: Table salt found on Jupiter’s moon Europa
Astronomers have spotted something unexpectedly familiar on the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa -- sodium chloride, better known as table salt. Europa has been imaged several times over the years, but this is the first time that scientists have found evidence of the compound.
NASA’s Mars 2020 rover will pave the way for manned missions to Mars
Survival on Mars will be a massive challenge for humanity. Due to its thin atmosphere, there are high variations in temperature, no breathable oxygen or water, high levels of radiation, and severe dust storms. But NASA is charging ahead with plans to eventually put humans on Mars all the same.
Facebook’s comment-ranking system aimed at taming the dumpster fire
As anyone who has moderated a Facebook page knows, the comments section on public posts is usually a cesspool of hatred, bigotry, spam, and irrelevance. Even by the standards of the internet, Facebook comments are famously awful. Now Facebook is introducing a ranking system to tackle this problem.
Adobe develops tool to identify Photoshopped images of faces
With deepfake videos making headlines and campaigns against the over-Photoshopping of models, people are more aware than ever of how images can be digitally manipulated. Now the company that created Photoshop, Adobe, wants to give tools to users to let them spot faked images themselves.
Ex astris, scientia: Star Trek logo spotted on the surface of Mars
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been boldly going to Mars, and now it has spotted something where no man has gone before: a structure on the planet's surface which looks suspiciously like the Star Trek logo. The shape was created by an interaction of dust dunes, erupting lava, and strong winds.
James Webb telescope undergoes vacuum testing, finally moving toward launch
The long-delayed James Webb telescope is moving toward completion. The telescope passed a round of testing ahead of its planned launch in 2021. The spacecraft which will launch the telescope into space went through vacuum testing, in which the craft is exposed to a simulation of the space environment.
Two baby gas giants spotted in orbit around a distant star
Two baby planets have been spotted forming around a distant young star called PDS 70. The two planets are growing into gas giants, and one of them came as a complete surprise. Astronomers were expecting to see one planet called PDS 70b. The surprise was finding a second developing planet, called PDS 70c.
Hubble captures our galactic twin, the barred spiral galaxy NGC 7773
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a new image of a picture-perfect galaxy called NGC 7773, located in the constellation of Pegasus, 357 million light-years away from Earth. It is in many ways similar to our own galaxy, as both are a type of galaxy called a barred spiral galaxy.
In the search for extraterrestrial life, we should look to exomoons
The search for life outside of our planet has a new target: Exomoons. Traditionally scientists have looked to other planets for signs of life, but a new study by an astrophysicist from the University of Lincoln, U.K., suggests we may be more successful if we started looking at moons as well.
Milky Way’s supermassive black hole is wrapped in a vast mantle of cool gas
At the center of our galaxy, approximately 26,000 light-years away, is a supermassive black hole. Scientists have long theorized that there must be gas and dust orbiting the black hole which gather together in an accretion disk. Now astronomers have observed the entire accretion disk for the first time.
This beautiful map of the sky traces key sources of X-rays as seen from the ISS
NASA has released a beautiful image showing the mapping data gathered by the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer instrument aboard the ISS since the instrument was launched in June 2017. It traces the X-ray sources which NICER captures during its night time passes.
How to move a mole: NASA scientists design rescue operation for Mars lander
NASA's InSight lander is facing challenges. Earlier this year it deployed its drilling instrument, the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package, but a part of the instrument called the mole got stuck while drilling several months ago. Now scientists have a plan to save the mole.
Want a good night’s sleep? Delete that sleep-tracking app, expert advises
Sleep-tracking apps could actually be making your sleep worse, a British sleep expert has warned. Dr Guy Leschziner, a sleep disorder specialist working at Guy's hospital in London, has said the use of sleep tracking technology can raise anxieties about sleep to the point where users can develop insomnia.
NASA’s Mars Helicopter is ready to take to the red skies
NASA's Mars Helicopter passed its latest barrage of tests and is almost ready for its trip to the Red Planet, where it will travel alongside the Mars 2020 rover when the mission launches next year. The tests included simulating the cold, thin Martian atmosphere and testing the delivery system.