Latest News On Science and Technology

18/05/2025

Rogue communication devices found in Chinese solar power inverters



U.S. energy officials are reassessing the risk posed by Chinese-made devices that play a critical role in renewable energy infrastructure after unexplained communication equipment was found inside some of them, two people familiar with the matter said.

Power inverters, which are predominantly produced in China, are used throughout the world to connect solar panels and wind turbines to electricity grids. They are also found in batteries, heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers.

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/ghost-machine-rogue-communication-devices-found-chinese-inverters-2025-05-14/

19/03/2025

Welcome Home! NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Back on Earth After Science Mission



NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov land in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida on March 18, 2025. Hague, Gorbunov, Williams, and Wilmore returned from a long-duration science expedition aboard the International Space Station.
Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/welcome-home-nasas-spacex-crew-9-back-on-earth-after-science-mission/

https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/commercial-space/commercial-crew-program/

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 completed the agency’s ninth commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station on Tuesday, splashing down safely in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, in the Gulf of America.

NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, returned to Earth at 5:57 p.m. EDT. Teams aboard SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and its crew. After returning to shore, the crew will fly to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and reunite with their families.

“We are thrilled to have Suni, Butch, Nick, and Aleksandr home after their months-long mission conducting vital science, technology demonstrations, and maintenance aboard the International Space Station,” said NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro. “Per President Trump’s direction, NASA and SpaceX worked diligently to pull the schedule a month earlier. This international crew and our teams on the ground embraced the Trump Administration’s challenge of an updated, and somewhat unique, mission plan, to bring our crew home. Through preparation, ingenuity, and dedication, we achieve great things together for the benefit of humanity, pushing the boundaries of what is possible from low Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars.”

Hague and Gorbunov lifted off at 1:17 p.m. Sept. 28, 2024, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The next day, they docked to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. Williams and Wilmore launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on June 5, 2024, from Space Launch Complex 41 as part of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. The duo arrived at the space station on June 6. In August, NASA announced the uncrewed return of Starliner to Earth and integrated Wilmore and Williams as part of the space station’s Expedition 71/72 for a return on Crew-9. The crew of four undocked at 1:05 a.m. Tuesday to begin the trip home.

Williams and Wilmore traveled 121,347,491 miles during their mission, spent 286 days in space, and completed 4,576 orbits around Earth. Hague and Gorbunov traveled 72,553,920 miles during their mission, spent 171 days in space, and completed 2,736 orbits around Earth. The Crew-9 mission was the first spaceflight for Gorbunov. Hague has logged 374 days in space over his two missions, Williams has logged 608 days in space over her three flights, and Wilmore has logged 464 days in space over his three flights.

Throughout its mission, Crew-9 contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities and technology demonstrations. Williams conducted two spacewalks, joined by Wilmore for one and Hague for another, removing a radio frequency group antenna assembly from the station’s truss, collecting samples from the station’s external surface for analysis, installing patches to cover damaged areas of light filters on an X-ray telescope, and more. Williams now holds the record for total spacewalking time by a female astronaut, with 62 hours and 6 minutes outside of station, and is fourth on the all-time spacewalk duration list.

The American crew members conducted more than 150 unique scientific experiments and technology demonstrations between them, with over 900 hours of research. This research included investigations on plant growth and quality, as well as the potential of stem cell technology to address blood diseases, autoimmune disorders, and cancers. They also tested lighting systems to help astronauts maintain circadian rhythms, loaded the first wooden satellite for deployment, and took samples from the space station’s exterior to study whether microorganisms can survive in space.

The Crew-9 mission was the fourth flight of the Dragon spacecraft named Freedom. It also previously supported NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4, Axiom Mission 2, and Axiom Mission 3. The spacecraft will return to Florida for inspection and processing at SpaceX’s refurbishing facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where teams will inspect the Dragon, analyze data on its performance, and begin processing for its next flight.

The Crew-9 flight is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, and its return to Earth follows on the heels of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 launch, which docked to the station on March 16, beginning another long-duration science expedition.

The goal of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the space station and low Earth orbit. The program provides additional research time and has increased opportunities for discovery aboard humanity’s microgravity testbed for exploration, including helping NASA prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

13/03/2025

Laser light made into a supersolid for the first time

A small international team of nanotechnologists, engineers and physicists has developed a way to force laser light into becoming a supersolid. Their paper is published in the journal Nature. The editors at Nature have published a Research Briefing in the same issue summarizing the work.

https://phys.org/news/2025-03-laser-supersolid.html

Supersolids are entities that exist only in the quantum world, and, up until now, they have all been made using atoms. Prior research has shown that they have zero viscosity and are formed in crystal-like structures similar to the way atoms are arranged in salt crystals.

Because of their nature, supersolids have been created in extremely cold environments where the quantum effects can be seen. Notably, one of the team members on this new effort was part of the team that demonstrated more than a decade ago that light could become a fluid under the right set of circumstances.

To create their supersolid, the researchers fired a laser at a piece of gallium arsenide that had been shaped with special ridges. As the light struck the ridges, interactions between it and the material resulted in the formation of polaritons—a kind of hybrid particle—which were constrained by the ridges in a predesigned way. Doing so forced the polaritons into forming themselves into a supersolid.

The research team then set themselves the task of testing it to make sure it truly was a supersolid—a task made more difficult by the fact that a supersolid made from light had never been created before. Despite the difficulties, they were able to show that their supersolid was both a solid and a fluid and that it had no viscosity.

The team plans to continue their work with the light-made supersolid to learn more about its structure. They note that supersolids made from light might be easier to work with than those made with atoms, which could help us better understand the nature of supersolids in general.

12/03/2025

Elon Musk makes India inroads with two major deals

Elon Musk has secured a major win in India by signing two back-to-back deals to bring SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet services to the country.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/12/tech/india-reliance-jio-bharti-airtel-starlink-deals-intl-hnk/index.html

12/03/2025

Airtel signs distribution pact to bring Starlink to India

Bharti Airtel Ltd. announced a distribution agreement allowing it to sell SpaceX’s Starlink services in India, a major breakthrough for the Elon Musk-owned satellite Internet firm. The agreement does not mean that services will be offered immediately and Starlink still needs to get necessary authorisations from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Ministry of Home Affairs before it can commence operations in India.

https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/airtel-signs-distribution-pact-to-bring-starlink-to-india/article69317322.ece

Bharti Airtel partners with SpaceX's Starlink for satellite Internet services in India, awaiting regulatory approvals for operations.

11/03/2025

Blood moon 2025: How to see this week's lunar eclipse


A crimson moon will be visible in UK skies thanks to a partial lunar eclipse. But when is it, what exactly will you see and what causes it?

The moon will turn red in the night sky soon in an event known as a blood moon.

https://news.sky.com/story/blood-moon-2025-how-to-see-this-weeks-lunar-eclipse-13313997

10/03/2025

AI’s Next Chapter: Four Major Shifts in Software Development for 2025



AI ushered in a new era in software development last year, driving significant gains in productivity, code quality, and innovation. As technology leaders navigate this new landscape, many are still determining how to target future strategic investments and seeking new opportunities to gain a competitive edge through AI

https://www.geekwire.com/sponsor-post/ais-next-chapter-four-major-shifts-in-software-development-for-2025/

10/03/2025

Microsoft and Amazon quantum advancements spark questions about the future of encryption



With recent announcements of new quantum computing advancements, Microsoft, Amazon and Google have set a new countdown clock ticking on today’s encryption — now an even shorter race than expected.

https://www.geekwire.com/2025/microsoft-and-amazons-quantum-advancements-spark-questions-about-the-future-of-encryption/

10/03/2025

Intel’s Modular Concept: Why It’s Time To Rethink Laptop Design



While components in most desktop computers can be easily — well, relatively easily — replaced, laptops tend to be far more difficult to upgrade or replace. Intel is pushing a modular concept that could make upgrading your laptop less expensive than buying a new one and substantially reduce e-waste.

https://www.technewsworld.com/story/intels-modular-concept-why-its-time-to-rethink-laptop-design-179598.html

09/03/2025

WhatsApp Beta Introduces AI-Generated Group Icons, Meta AI Widget

WhatsApp has started testing two new features on recent beta versions of the messaging app on Android. The Meta-owned chat service has added a new widget that makes it easier for users to access its Meta AI chatbot, without having to open the app. Meanwhile, a new AI-generated group icon feature is available to some beta testers, and users can use Meta AI to create and set group photos using prompts. These features are eventually expected to make their way to all users on WhatsApp for iOS and Android.

https://www.gadgets360.com/ai/news/whatsapp-meta-ai-widget-beta-testing-personalised-chatbots-7878705

08/03/2025

AI in 2025: Generative Tech, Robots, and Emerging Risks

In 2025, AI-driven humanoid robots, generative tech, and automation will reshape business, health care, and cybersecurity, while introducing new ethical challenges.

The past year saw artificial intelligence (AI) push the boundaries of what’s possible, with industries racing to integrate its capabilities to boost productivity and automate complex tasks.

In 2024, AI advancements accelerated at a pace outstripping previous high-tech innovations, setting the stage for even greater disruption ahead. But with this rapid progress comes a risk: without human oversight, AI’s missteps could be just as monumental as its breakthroughs.

Generative and agentic AI are already enhancing users’ ability to obtain sophisticated content across various media, while AI-powered health care tools are reshaping diagnostics — outperforming human physicians in certain tasks. These developments signal a looming transformation in health care delivery, with AI poised to play an even bigger role in business and industrial operations.

The power of AI will also birth humanoid agents, noted Anders Indset, author and deep-tech investor in exponential technologies such as AI, quantum technology, health tech, and cybersecurity. As we step into 2025, the technology landscape is rapidly evolving, with a spotlight on humanoid agents.

“This year began with excitement surrounding large language models (LLMs) but is set to end with groundbreaking advancements in autonomous humanoid robots,” Indset told TechNewsWorld.

In 2024, the development of robots surged, with innovations that once seemed far off now coming into view. The long-anticipated release of fully autonomous humanoids — previously confined to industrial settings — is approaching, he observed.

The arrival of 2025 brings anticipation for the widespread adoption of AI in robotics, enhanced human-robot interactions, and the rise of robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) models. These will make advanced robotic solutions accessible to more industries, Indset explained, describing the ensuing transformative period for the robotics industry.

“Humanoid agents will reshape our interactions with technology and expand the possibilities for AI applications across different domains,” he predicted.

AI’s Expanding Role in Cybersecurity and Biosecurity
AI will play an increasingly critical role in cyberwarfare, warned Alejandro Rivas-Vasquez, global head of digital forensics and incident response at NCC Group. AI and machine learning (ML) will make cyberwarfare more deadly, with collateral damage outside of conflict zones due to hyper-connectivity, he offered.

Cybersecurity defenses, already a successful tool for digital warriors, will extend beyond protecting digital systems to safeguarding people directly through implantable technology. Neural interfaces, bio-augmentation, authentication chips, and advanced medical implants will revolutionize human interaction with technology.

According to Bobbie Walker, managing consultant at NCC Group, these innovations will also introduce significant risks.

“Hackers could exploit neural interfaces to control actions or manipulate perceptions, leading to cognitive manipulation and breaches of personal autonomy. Continuous monitoring of health and behavioral data through implants raises substantial privacy concerns, with risks of misuse by malicious actors or invasive government surveillance,” Walker told TechNewsWorld.

To mitigate these risks, new frameworks bridging technology, health care, and privacy regulations will be essential. Walker cautioned that standards for “digital bioethics” and ISO standards for bio-cybersecurity will help define safe practices for integrating technology into the human body while addressing ethical dilemmas.

“The emerging field of cyber-biosecurity will push us to rethink cybersecurity boundaries, ensuring that technology integrated into our bodies is secure, ethical, and protective of the individuals using it,” she added.

According to Walker, early studies on brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) show that adversarial inputs can trick these devices, highlighting the potential for abuse. As implants evolve, the risks of state-sponsored cyberwarfare and privacy breaches grow, emphasizing the need for robust security measures and ethical considerations.

AI-Driven Data Backup Raises Security Concerns
Sebastian Straub, principal solution architect at N2WS, stated that AI advancements better equip organizations to resume operations after natural disasters, power outages, and cyberattacks. AI automation will enhance operational efficiency by addressing human shortcomings.

AI-powered backup automation will reduce the need for administrative intervention to near zero, he explained. AI will learn the intricate patterns of data usage, compliance requirements, and organizational needs. Moreover, AI will become a proactive data management expert, autonomously determining what needs to be backed up and when, including adherence to compliance standards like GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS.

But Straub warned that as this level of AI dominance dramatically transforms disaster recovery processes, errors will occur through the learning process. In 2025, we will see that AI is not a silver bullet. Relying on machines to automate disaster recovery will lead to mistakes.

“There will be unfortunate breaches of trust and compliance violations as enterprises learn the hard way that humans need to be part of the DR decision-making process,” Straub told TechNewsWorld.

AI’s Impact on Creativity and Education
For many AI users, tools to help improve communication skills are already in steady use. ChatGPT and other AI writing tools will emphasize the value of human writing rather than a workaround for personal language tasks.

Students and communicators will adjust from asking AI writing tools to produce work on their behalf to owning the content creation process from start to finish. They will leverage technology to edit, enhance, or expand original thinking, suggested Eric Wang, VP of AI at plagiarism detection firm Turnitin.

Looking ahead, Wang told TechNewsWorld that writing would be recognized as a critical skill, not just in writing-focused areas of study but also in learning, working, and living environments. This change will manifest as the humanization of technology-enabled fields, roles, and companies.

He sees the role of generative AI shifting, with early-stage usage helping to organize and expand ideas while later stages refine and enhance writing. For educators, AI can identify knowledge gaps early on and later provide transparency to facilitate student engagement.

Hidden Risks of AI-Powered Models
According to Michael Lieberman, CTO and co-founder of software development security platform Kusari, AI will become more widespread and challenging to detect. His concern lies with free models hosted on platforms.

“We have already seen cases where some models on these platforms were discovered to be malware. I expect such attacks to increase, though they will likely be more covert. These malicious models may include hidden backdoors or be intentionally trained to behave harmfully in specific scenarios,” Lieberman told TechNewsWorld.

He sees an increasing prevalence of data poisoning attacks aimed at manipulating LLMs and warns that most organizations do not train their own models.

“Instead, they rely on pre-trained models, often available for free. The lack of transparency regarding the origins of these models makes it easy for malicious actors to introduce harmful ones,” he continued, citing the Hugging Face malware incident as an example.

Future data poisoning efforts are likely to target major players like OpenAI, Meta, and Google, whose vast datasets make such attacks more challenging to detect.

“In 2025, attackers are likely to outpace defenders. Attackers are financially motivated, while defenders often struggle to secure adequate budgets since security is not typically viewed as a revenue driver. It may take a significant AI supply chain breach — akin to the SolarWinds Sunburst incident — to prompt the industry to take the threat seriously,” Turnitin’s Wang concluded.

www.technewsworld.com

15/08/2021

COVID-19 Will Become Endemic in the Global Population – Mostly Childhood Disease Like Common-Cold


COVID-19 risks may shift from older adults to younger children as the SARS-CoV-2 virus becomes endemic, according to new modeling results.

Within the next few years, as the SARS-CoV-2 virus becomes endemic in the global population, COVID-19 may behave like other common-cold coronaviruses, affecting mostly young children who have not yet been vaccinated or exposed to the virus, according to new modeling results. Because COVID-19 severity is generally lower among children, the overall burden from this disease is expected to decline.

“Following infection by SARS-CoV-2, there has been a clear signature of increasingly severe outcomes and fatality with age,” said Ottar Bjornstad. “Yet, our modeling results suggest that the risk of infection will likely shift to younger children as the adult community becomes immune either through vaccination or exposure to the virus.”

Bjornstad explained that such shifts have been observed in other coronaviruses and influenza viruses as they have emerged and then become endemic.

“Historical records of respiratory diseases indicate that age-incidence patterns during virgin epidemics can be very different from endemic circulation,” he said. “For example, ongoing genomic work suggests that the 1889-1890 pandemic, sometimes known as the Asiatic or Russian flu — which killed one million people, primarily adults over age 70 — may have been caused by the emergence of HCoV-OC43 virus, which is now an endemic, mild, repeat-infecting cold virus affecting mostly children ages 7-12 months old.”

Bjornstad cautioned, however, that if immunity to reinfection by SARS-CoV-2 wanes among adults, disease burden could remain high in that group, although previous exposure to the virus would lessen the severity of disease.

“Empirical evidence from seasonal coronaviruses indicates that prior exposure may only confer short-term immunity to reinfection, allowing recurrent outbreaks, this prior exposure may prime the immune system to provide some protection against severe disease,” said Bjornstad. “However, research on COVID-19 shows that vaccination provides stronger protection than exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, so we encourage everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”

The U.S.-Norwegian team developed what is known as a “realistic age-structured (RAS) mathematical model” that integrates demography, degree of social mixing, and duration of infection-blocking and disease-reducing immunity to examine potential future scenarios for age-incidence and burden of mortality for COVID-19.

Specifically, the researchers examined disease burden over immediate, medium and long terms — 1, 10 and 20 years, respectively. They also examined disease burden for 11 different countries — including China, Japan, South Korea, Europe, Spain, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, United States, Brazil and South Africa — that differed widely in their demographics. They used data from the United Nations for each of these countries to parameterize the model.

“Regardless of immunity and mixing, the population-level burden of mortality may differ among countries because of varying demographics,” said Ruiyun Li, postdoctoral fellow, University of Oslo. “Our general model framework allows for robust predictions of age-dependent risk in the face of either short or long-term protective immunity, reduction of severity of disease given previous exposure, and consideration of the range of countries with their different demographics and social mixing patterns.”

According to Li, social distancing is well documented to affect transmissibility, and many countries implemented interventions, such as “shelter in place,” during the build-up of the virgin COVID-19 epidemic. Therefore, the team’s model assumes that the reproduction number (R0) — or the level of transmissibility — on any given day is linked to the amount of mobility on that day. The model also incorporates a variety of scenarios for immunity, including both independence and dependence of disease severity on prior exposure, as well as short- (either three months or one year) and long-term (either 10 years or permanent) immunity.

The team’s results were published on August 11, 2021, in the journal Science Advances.

“For many infectious respiratory diseases, prevalence in the population surges during a virgin epidemic but then recedes in a diminishing wave pattern as the spread of the infection unfolds over time toward an endemic equilibrium,” said Li. “Depending on immunity and demography, our RAS model supports this observed trajectory; it predicts a strikingly different age-structure at the start of the COVID-19 epidemic compared to the eventual endemic situation. In a scenario of long-lasting immunity, either permanent or at least 10 years, the young are predicted to have the highest rates of infection as older individuals are protected from new infections by prior infection.”

Jessica Metcalf, associate professor of ecology, evolutionary biology and public affairs, Princeton University, noted that this prediction is likely to hold only if reinfections produce only mild disease. However, she said, the burden of mortality over time may remain unchanged if primary infections do not prevent reinfections or mitigate severe disease among the elderly.

“In this bleakest scenario, excess deaths due to continual severe reinfections that result from waning immunity will continue until more effective pharmaceutical tools are available,” she said.

Interestingly, due to variations in demographics, the model predicts different outcomes for different countries.

“Given the marked increase of the infection-fatality ratio with age, countries with older population structures would be expected to have a larger fraction of deaths than those with relatively younger population structures,” said Nils Chr. Stenseth, professor of ecology and evolution, University of Oslo. “Consistent with this, for example, South Africa — likely due, in part, to its younger population structure — has a lower number of deaths compared to older populations such as Italy. We found that such ‘death disparities’ are heavily influenced by demographics. However, regardless of demographics, we predict a consistent shift of the risk to the young.”

The researchers said that they designed their model so that health authorities will have a powerful and flexible tool to examine future age-circulation of COVID-19 for use in strengthening preparedness and deployment of interventions.

Bjornstad said, “The mathematical framework we built is flexible and can help in tailoring mitigation strategies for countries worldwide with varying demographics and social mixing patterns, thus providing a critical tool for policy decision making.”

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