Science

Facebook has apologised after an algorithm generated a prompt that asked users if they would like to “keep seeing videos about primates” on a video of black men. The video, which was shared on the platform by the Daily Mail on 27 June, featured clips of black men in altercations with white civilians and police

Apple has announced that it is delaying the rollout of controversial child safety features which it had planned to launch later this year. The length of the delay is not clear, but the company faced significant criticism following the announcement in August of its CSAM (child sexual abuse material) detection system, which involved automatically scanning

A “catastrophic” supervolcano eruption could be much more likely than currently believed, according to a new study. Existing knowledge about the likelihood of eruptions is based on the presence of liquid magma under a volcano, but new research warns “eruptions can occur even if no liquid magma is found”. “The concept of what is ‘eruptible’

Virgin Galactic has been banned from launching test flights into space while US safety regulators investigate a “mishap” that occurred during founder Sir Richard Branson’s journey in July. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Virgin Galactic’s rocket plane, known as SpaceShipTwo, that took the British billionaire and five of his employees to the edge of

A Russian official has warned the International Space Station could suffer from “irreparable” failures due to outdated equipment. Cosmonauts have found new cracks in part of the ISS which could widen over time, Vladimir Solovyov, the chief engineer of rocket and space company Energia, told state media. He also said 80% of inflight systems on

The age of smart glasses is upon is, or so reckon Facebook and Apple, both of which are expected to launch devices in the near future, betting serious money that this isn’t just another fad. Consumers around the world already spend tens of billions of dollars a year on wearable technology, especially wristwear, but previous

Instagram will require all users to enter their birthdate to log in, even those who weren’t asked to give a date if they joined before 2019, as part of the app’s new child safety measures. Users will be able to dismiss the prompt initially, although Instagram will blur content that is marked as sensitive and

A government research organisation in China has outlined plans to design and build “ultra-large” spacecraft, potentially miles-wide and assembled piecemeal in space. The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) has recently published a five-year plan articulating the “urgent need” to invest in studies on space exploration equipment. This equipment could include enormous crewed spacecraft,

A COVID-19 vaccine candidate backed by a project to develop more accessible and affordable jabs has entered late-stage trials. South Korean firm SK Bioscience and UK-based GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced the start of a “phase 3” clinical study involving 4,000 people from a number of countries. It will compare the effectiveness of the drug, GBP510, against

Galaxies pollute the environments they exist in astronomers have discovered, using a new imaging system to confirm that what flows in is much cleaner than what flows out. Scientists at the WM Keck Observatory in Hawaii focused on a galaxy called Mrk 1486, about 500 light years away, which is going through a period of

A SpaceX rocket is heading for the International Space Station with vital supplies including avocados, ice cream, and a robotic arm. It is also carrying ants as part of an experiment organised by the Girl Scouts. A recycled Falcon rocket lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida before dawn on Sunday, carrying almost

A Tesla using its partially-automated driving system has crashed into a police car in the US state of Florida. The police car had pulled over to help a third vehicle just before 5am on Saturday on a highway near central Orlando. The officer, who had activated his car’s emergency lights, was narrowly missed by the

Drinking up to three cups of coffee a day can lower the risk of stroke and fatal heart disease, according to the largest-ever study of the popular beverage’s effect on health. Participants in the study were divided into three groups based on their coffee intake. No coffee was consumed by 22%, light to moderate (half

Archaeologists have analysed DNA found in the remains of a woman who died 7,200 years ago in Indonesia – challenging previous theories around the migration of early humans. The remains of the teenager, nicknamed Besse, were discovered in the Leang Panninge cave on Sulawesi in 2015. It is believed to be the first time ancient

A commercial rocket has launched from the UK ahead of the planned opening of a spaceport. Named ADA, the rocket blasted off from Benbecula Airport in the Western Isles on Thursday. Spaceport 1 joined forces with East Anglian firm Gravitilab Aerospace Services to launch the flight test vehicle, named after Ada Lovelace, the 19th century

The government has announced its plans to reform the UK’s privacy laws alongside its pick for the next person to head the country’s privacy watchdog – a lawyer who has criticised Facebook as being “morally bankrupt pathological liars”. John Edwards, a New Zealand lawyer and the country’s current privacy commissioner, is known for railing against