Every robotic explorer that lands on Mars have to contend with the planet’s famously dusty conditions. NASA’s InSight lander, which took up residence on the Red Planet in 2018, is hunkering down due to a large, regional dust storm. InSight went into safe mode — a mode designed to protect the lander –on January 7 […]

Moxie Marlinspike, the co-founder and chief executive of encrypted-messaging app Signal, has resigned. He blogged it was a “good time to replace myself as CEO” after working on Signal for over a decade. Signal recently enabled crypto-currency payments within the app, which has concerned some users. Mr. Marlinspike remains a board member of the SInal […]

Tesla’s automated driver-assist feature has added an assertive driving mode. The setting will follow other cars more closely, change lanes more frequently, not leave the overtaking lane, and perform rolling stops. Such driver behavior by humans is often discouraged by safety groups. However, it could sometimes be safer for an automated system to be more […]

There were as many crashes involving e-scooters in the first half of last year as in the whole of 2020, figures show. Between January and June 2021, 258 collisions were recorded, compared with 266 in the whole of 2020. During 2019 there were 38 incidents, while there were nine in 2018. The Met Police also […]

French regulators have hit Google and Facebook with 210 million euros ($237 million) in fines over their use of “cookies”, the data used to track users online, authorities said Thursday. Data privacy watchdog the CNIL said both sites were making it difficult for internet users to refuse the online trackers. Consent for the use of […]

Bitcoin prices have fallen to their lowest level in months following remarks from the US Federal Reserves. The crypto-currency dropped in value from $47,000 (£34,700) earlier this week to less than $42,000 (£31,000) per digital coin. It follows minutes from a meeting of the Federal Reserve, which suggested it may raise interest rates. Political events […]

Manufactures rely on rare earth elements, like Neodymium, to create strong magnets used in motors for electronics including hybrid cars, aircraft generators, loudspeakers, hard drives, and in-ear headphones. But mineral deposits containing neodymium are hard to reach and are found in just a few places on Earth. Due to increasing industrial demands for neodymium, a […]