Tech and Science Daily | The Standard

The European Space Agency is looking for a new cohort and applications are now open. Thomas Reiter, ESA astronaut and advisor to the Director General, tells us what it’ll take to make the cut of the agency’s most diverse team yet. Plus, new evidence of meteor particles reaching Antarctica 430,000 years ago, a living robot’s been created out of frog skin cells, and coins unearthed in Rhode Island may help solve one of the planet's oldest cold cases. Listen to our other podcasts:Women Tech Charge: interviews with incredible women leading in Science, Technology, Engineering and MathsThe Leader: a daily news podcast helping you make sense of the day’s most important stories Ask your Smart Speaker to ‘play the news from the Evening Standard' Visit standard.co.uk/tech for more tech news Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Police in China and the tech giant Tencent say they have busted $10-a-day cheating hacks ring allegedly netting $76 million for codes to games including Call of Duty and Fortnite. No intergalactic experience required: first all-civilian crew ready to buckle-up for SpaceX flight. Another super-rocket fail for Elon Musk as exploding prototype scatters debris over miles in Texas.Rise of ‘extortionware’ as hackers seek to embarrass victims for cash. DNA can be collected from air so could help enforce social distancing, scientists discover. Fears child had finger on nuclear button as gibberish tweet by US Strategic Command sparks panic. A digital Gormley in your living room...sculpture park recreated virtually in Minecraft for those unable to visit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Earth’s been given the all-clear for the next century, with NASA dismissing the threat from a particularly menacing asteroid. But we’ll still have a close encounter from Apophis in 2029 and Marina Brozovic from Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory tells us it's the space rock that’ll be more likely to experience a shudder as it passes by Earth. Plus, light coming from an explosion three billion years ago has illuminated a ‘goldilocks’ black hole, long-term weightlessness causes the heart to shrink and, Donald Trump’s back - on his own terms.  Listen to our other podcasts:Women Tech Charge: interviews with incredible women leading in Science, Technology, Engineering and MathsThe Leader: a daily news podcast helping you make sense of the day’s most important stories Ask your Smart Speaker to ‘play the news from the Evening Standard' Visit standard.co.uk/tech for more tech news Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The World Health Organisation says its ‘extremely unlikely’ Covid-19 came from a lab leak in Wuhan, China. The Associated Press reveals details of a leaked report from a WHO team who visited the city to study the origins of the virus. Plus, a Suez Canal video game aims to capture the ‘gargantuan’ task of freeing the boat, a mass experiment shows how music festivals post-Covid can go ahead, and Elon Musk hints at another Starship launch. Listen to our other podcasts:Women Tech Charge: interviews with incredible women leading in Science, Technology, Engineering and MathsThe Leader: a daily news podcast helping you make sense of the day’s most important stories Ask your Smart Speaker to ‘play the news from the Evening Standard' Visit standard.co.uk/tech for more tech news Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An investigation by Facebook security researchers shows Chinese hackers used spyware to target Uyghur activists and journalists living in the United States. Twitter’s Jack Dorsey launches own online poll during Congress grilling. Six-month-old babies are youngest participants in Pfizer’s trials of children’s Covid vaccine. Rare elephant breeds being driven to extinction by ivory poachers, conservationists warn. Three-minute gadget deliveries by drone being tested. Facial recognition: 700-year-old Scottish skulls found in graveyard dig have faces reconstructed. Do not try this at home - the video game streamer online for 10 days. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Attorney generals for 12 US states accuse Facebook and Twitter of failing to stop misinformation spreading about coronavirus vaccines. Computer says you’re fired: union warning over rise of the AI boss. Digital self-defence classes lead online fightback for women and non-binary people. Nasa’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity has a tiny piece of Wright brothers’ first plane stowed aboard. Stop sign where no-one stops is Twitch sensation. Knights who say NFT...John Cleese hopes to make fortune from ‘absurd’ digital art token boom. Wool not pulled over medieval eyes after sheepskin discovered as anti-fraud weapon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

YouTube is being criticised for allowing a lengthy, graphic livestream of the tragedy in Boulder, Colorado, as Twitch deleted the footage. Scientists warn there’s a rising risk of wildfires in colder countries from climate change. Cyberpunk 2077 in 8K over Steam? If you’ve got the bandwidth now you can, maybe. It’s Mars or bust for SpaceX rockets by 2030, says Elon Musk. You can buy a Tesla now with bitcoin instead of olde worlde cash or credit. ‘I’m no longer a Mac’...as Noughties computer ad actor defects to PC. Get ready for District 10 as long-awaited dystopian sci-fi thriller sequel is being written right now.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Security researchers have revealed that fake vaccine cards and what are claimed to be Covid-19 shots are being offered for sale on the dark web. Nasa’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity gets first taste of Red Planet atmosphere ahead of historic maiden flight. Hot ticket: Thousands flock to see Iceland volcano eruption aftermath. ‘Just setting up my twttr’: Twitter boss sells first-ever tweet as NFT for £2 million. Zoom meetings: A third of WFH staff wore pyjamas or no trousers to chat with their boss, survey finds. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Tesla boss - or ‘Technoking as he likes to be known - has spoken out after reports the electric cars were banned from Chinese military bases because of their surveillance camera capabilities. Social media Covid-19 fraud warning after thousands scammed by hackers. Study finds hearing could be loss another indicator of coronavirus infection. Research reveals -195C post-match ice chambers aren’t as good as claimed...you might just get a cold. WFH consumers ‘let down’ by biggest broadband providers during pandemic. Sophia the humanoid robot has drawn an artwork due for auction as a non-fungible token. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The world’s first mission to clean up space junk is ready for launch. Dr Jason Forshaw from Astroscale, the firm behind the mission, tells us how they’ll go about tackling the enormous clean up. Plus, a new study shows the massive fires in Australia led to record pollution levels in the atmosphere, while ESA says they’re research shows smaller fires could be having more of an impact than first thought, and Richard Garriott becomes the first person to travel to the North Pole, South Pole, ISS and the deepest point on Earth. Listen to our other podcasts:Women Tech Charge: interviews with incredible women leading in Science, Technology, Engineering and MathsThe Leader: a daily news podcast helping you make sense of the day’s most important stories Ask your Smart Speaker to ‘play the news from the Evening Standard' Visit standard.co.uk/tech for more tech news Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.