Earlier this year, Neuralink implanted a chip inside the brain of 29-year-old U.S. man Noland Arbaugh, who is paralyzed from the shoulders down. The chip has enabled Arbaugh to move a mouse pointer on a screen just by imagining it moving in his mind. In May 2023, U.S. researchers also announced a noninvasive way to ...
From asking smart speakers for the weather to receiving personalized advice from smartwatches, devices powered by artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly streamlining our routines and decision making. The technology is seeping into our lives in subtle ways. Manufacturers gather vast amounts of user data to ensure these smart devices are responsive and personalized. But this ...
For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or –273.15°C). That’s because the quantum phenomena that grant quantum computers their unique computational abilities can only be harnessed by isolating them from the warmth of the familiar classical ...
Virtual reality (VR) headsets are increasingly popular among adults and children. They are part of extended reality environments, which “enable ever more realistic and immersive experiences.” VR provides entry into computer-generated 3D worlds and games with different environments and interactions. Sometimes, this is loosely referred to as the “metaverse.” Most VR headsets have a lower ...
Apple Vision Pro is a mixed-reality headset — which the company hopes is a “revolutionary spatial computer that transforms how people work, collaborate, connect, relive memories, and enjoy entertainment” — that begins shipping to the public (in the United States) later this week. Critics have doubted the appeal of the face-worn computer, which “seamlessly blends ...
It is not easy to measure the impact of different events, such as marine heatwaves, on the abundance of marine organisms. Biological communities naturally change over time and between various locations. Scientists need to untangle these natural changes from those caused by humans and develop a new approach to do this. Marine biologists have traditionally ...
Some 9,700 years ago, on an autumn day, a group of people were camping on the west coast of Scandinavia. They were hunter-gatherers who had been fishing, hunting, and collecting resources in the area. Some teenagers, both boys and girls, were chewing resin to produce glue just after eating trout, deer, and hazelnuts. Due to ...
Federal Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic announced the Australian government’s response to the Safe and Responsible AI in Australia consultation. The response addresses feedback from last year’s consultation on artificial intelligence (AI). It received more than 500 submissions, noting “excitement for the opportunities” of AI tools, but also raising concerns about potential risks ...
Japan landed its Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon, or SLIM, craft on the surface of our satellite on Jan. 20, 2024. Despite a power issue with the lander, the event holds political and technical importance. It’s the country’s first lunar landing — making it only the fifth country in the world to successfully land ...
NASA and Lockheed Martin formally debuted the agency’s X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft. Using this one-of-a-kind experimental airplane, NASA aims to gather data that could revolutionize air travel, paving the way for a new generation of commercial aircraft that can travel faster than the speed of sound. “This is a major accomplishment made possible only through ...