September 26, 2023
Via: ArsTechnicaLike the US Navy has long protected sea lanes during conflict, the military could be called upon to defend commercial satellites from attack, particularly as the Pentagon relies more on commercial networks for communication and surveillance, the Space Force’s top […]
August 25, 2023
Via: ArsTechnicaThe Food and Drug Administration sent a flurry of warning letters this week over bogus homeopathic products falsely claiming to be antiviral cures—products mostly marketed to children. Amazon, Walmart, and the homeopathic company behind Naturasil products were among those receiving […]
Energy & Environment, Industry
July 27, 2023
Via: ArsTechnicaFour years from now, if all goes well, a nuclear-powered rocket engine will launch into space for the first time. The rocket itself will be conventional, but the payload boosted into orbit will be a different matter. NASA announced Wednesday […]
February 23, 2023
Via: ArsTechnicaBack in the simpler times of 2018—before the US Food and Drug Administration had to grapple with emergency authorizations in a deadly pandemic, before it scrambled to address a scandalous baby formula shortage, and before it largely bungled oversight of […]
Energy & Environment, Industry
December 20, 2022
Via: ArsTechnicaIn the US, it’s well-documented that poor neighborhoods are likely to suffer from higher pollution levels. Sources of pollution, like power plants and freeways, are more likely to be located in poor neighborhoods. The ensuing pollution adds to the economic […]
Energy & Environment, Industry
December 12, 2022
Via: ArsTechnicaUS government scientists have made a breakthrough in the pursuit of limitless, zero-carbon power by achieving a net energy gain in a fusion reaction for the first time, according to three people with knowledge of preliminary results from a recent […]
November 1, 2022
Via: ArsTechnicaRochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has experienced a COVID-19 rebound—a return of mild symptoms and positive tests after completing a course of the antiviral drug Paxlovid and testing negative—the CDC announced today. Walensky first […]
Energy & Environment, Industry
October 21, 2022
Via: ArsTechnicaThe past several years have seen a lot of unexpected turbulence in the global energy market. Lockdowns during the early pandemic response caused energy use to plunge in 2020, but carbon emissions soared as the economy rebounded in 2021. Early […]
Energy & Environment, Industry
September 21, 2022
Via: ArsTechnicaThis week, the US Department of Energy’s Berkeley Lab released its annual analysis of solar energy in the US. It found that nearly half the generating capacity was installed in the US during 2021 and is poised to dominate future […]
Emerging Tech & Modernization, Federal, Policy, Tech
August 26, 2022
Via: ArsTechnicaMany federal policy changes are well known before they are announced. Hints in speeches, leaks, and early access to reporters at major publications all pave the way for the eventual confirmation. But on Thursday, the White House Office of Science […]
August 26, 2022
Via: ArsTechnicaSpaceX and T-Mobile announced an ambitious plan on Thursday evening to provide ubiquitous connectivity from space to anyone with a cell phone. The project would pair SpaceX’s Starlink satellite technology with the second-largest wireless carrier in the United States, T-Mobile […]
July 15, 2022
Via: ArsTechnicaThe Kremlin has made it official in a short communique—Dmitry Rogozin is out as director general of the country’s state-owned space corporation, Roscosmos. The decree is effective immediately. Former Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov will replace Rogozin. The moves come […]
June 9, 2022
Via: ArsTechnicaPeople have performed many mathematical proofs to show that a quantum computer will vastly outperform traditional computers on a number of algorithms. But the quantum computers we have now are error-prone and don’t have enough qubits to allow for error […]
Energy & Environment, Industry
April 21, 2022
Via: ArsTechnicaNuclear plants occupy an odd position in the US’s energy landscape. They’re currently the most expensive form of generation out there, and many of the plants are a decade or more past their planned life span. At the same time, […]
April 6, 2022
Via: ArsTechnicaPresident Joe Biden on Tuesday issued a memorandum directing the secretary of Health and Human Services to coordinate and speed efforts to understand and treat long COVID, which is estimated to affect up to 23 million Americans. In a White […]
March 9, 2022
Via: ArsTechnicaLet’s face it, the US budgeting process is largely broken. The current budget year, fiscal year 2022, began back on October 1. This year is now nearly half gone, and the US Congress has yet to pass a budget for […]
Energy & Environment, Industry
December 6, 2021
Via: ArsTechnicaCarbon taxes can attract a lot of flak. On one hand, some groups hate taxes and are indifferent to climate change—in Canada, various provincial governments actively fought (and ultimately lost) against the federal government’s implementation of a carbon levy. On […]
Energy & Environment, Industry
September 22, 2021
Via: ArsTechnicaChinese President Xi Jinping used his speech to the United Nations General Assembly to announce a major new step towards controlling global emissions. After reiterating his own country’s climate pledges, Xi said that China would start making it easier for […]
August 13, 2021
Via: ArsTechnicaJust before midnight on Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration updated the emergency use authorizations for both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, allowing immunocompromised people to receive a third dose of vaccine at least 28 days following the two-dose […]
Emerging Tech & Modernization, Tech
May 14, 2021
Via: Tech CrunchWhile modern machine learning systems act with a semblance of artificial intelligence, the truth is they don’t “understand” any of the data they work with — which in turn means they tend to store even trivial items forever. Facebook researchers […]