Engineers attempt to fix a computer glitch on Voyager 1

Last November, the Voyager 1 spacecraft began sending gibberish radio signals back to Earth. Engineers have now identified the problem, but trying to repair a 46-year-old device on a craft 24 billion kilometres from Earth is not easy. Voyager 1 and its twin Voyager 2 were both launched in 1977 on a reconnaissance mission to … Read more

New satellite will track elusive methane pollution from oil and gas industry globally

A privately funded satellite is set to push methane tracking into a new era, once it launches into space on Monday. A collaborative mission between Environmental Defense Fund, Google, the Government of New Zealand and several other partners, MethaneSAT will track methane emissions around the globe in attempts to identify and quantify sources spewing the climate-heating greenhouse gas.  For 20 … Read more

AI chatbots are sparking romance (with the chatbot, that is)

A few months ago, Derek Carrier started seeing someone and became infatuated. He experienced a “ton” of romantic feelings but he also knew it was an illusion. That’s because his girlfriend was generated by artificial intelligence. Carrier wasn’t looking to develop a relationship with something that wasn’t real, nor did he want to become the … Read more

E-readers were supposed to kill printed books. Instead, they’re booming

Cost of Living8:55The return of the bookstore When e-readers like the Amazon Kindle burst onto the scene, showing up next to menorahs and under Christmas trees in the early 2000s, they were predicted to bring about the death of the print book — and maybe the independent bookstore too. But publishing sales data and on the … Read more