Tech and Science Daily | The Standard

Elon Musk’s futuristic Starship soared more than six miles after lifting off from the southern tip of Texas. Then, after what seemed like a perfect landing, it exploded with such force it was tossed into the air surrounded by a ball of flames. Plus, scientists pinpoint the location of particles on the sun that are potentially hazardous to air passengers, bats equipped with minicomputers reveal echo hunting techniques, and WhatsApp launches video calls on its desktop app. 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.

Yusaku Maezawa, a billionaire online fashion tycoon, wants eight people to join him on an all-paid-for mission to the moon in 2023. He’s calling for artists to apply who are ready to “push the envelope” creatively and be willing to help other crew members do the same. Plus, we join the Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit in Africa as they launch the ‘virtual ranger’ to protect endangered animals, Daan Roosegaarde’s Urban Sun project beams light into cities that can clean spaces of Covid-19 and, glow-in-the-dark sharks are discovered in New Zealand.  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.

Space hurricanes hundreds of kilometres above the North Pole could make things difficult for astronauts on the International Space Station. Space scientist Professor Mike Lockwood explains how the surprise discovery could also impact us here on Earth. Plus, a single shot of the Pfizer or Oxford vaccine is more than 80% effective at preventing hospital admission among the over-80s, Twitter expands its use of warning labels to target misleading coronavirus vaccine tweets, and scientists claim Neanderthals had the ability to perceive and produce speech like us. 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.

Professor Tim Atkins says his blood ran cold as he learned the deadly nerve agent Novichok had been discovered in Salisbury three years ago. He went on to lead the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory’s investigation into the poisoning of a former Russian double agent, and says he came out of it ‘a slightly different person’. Plus, an expert on chemical and biological attacks warns Covid-19 could be used as a biological weapon, a SpaceX launch aborted again and, a 10-second video artwork sells for $6.6 million.  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.

Bill Gates says he’d rather invest in vaccines than Bitcoin. During a live chat on social network Clubhouse, the Microsoft founder told host Andrew Sorkin he doesn’t choose his investments on the basis of whether they would be worth more to others. Plus, the FDA allows the Pfizer vaccine to be stored and transported at warmer temperatures, it wasn’t just Nasa’s Perseverance rover that landed on Mars - millions of people did as well, and embattled Cyberpunk 2077 runs into yet more trouble.  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.

America’s top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci says we can vaccinate our way out of the coronavirus pandemic, but he’s concerned anti-vaxxers could prevent us from reaching that goal. Plus, the hidden message on the Nasa Perseverance rover’s parachute revealed, Facebook and Google must now pay for news in Australia and, how 30,000 elephant 'selfies' will help in conservation. 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.

Nasa’s Perseverance rover is about to start its long-awaited Mars mission and Dr Kelsey Moore from the agency’s Jet Propulsion Lab is one of the scientists involved in looking for evidence of past life on the red planet. She tells the Standard what exactly their looking for and how likely it is they’ll find it. Plus, Spotify says its open to alternative models for calculating how artists should be paid, Sony is launching a new virtual reality system for the PlayStation 5, and we debunk the story behind the viral ‘un-scented’ perfume.  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.

Nasa has released audio of the first sounds recorded from the surface of Mars. A microphone on the Perseverance rover captures a gust of wind on the red planet, and the audio has had a wider impact than the scientists anticipated. Plus, Facebook re-friends Australia, WhatsApp users will be cut off if they don’t accept the new terms and conditions, and Twisted Metal fans could soon be bingeing on a TV series based on the iconic game.  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.

There’s more good news on the efficacy of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs: researchers say both are having a “substantial effect” on hospital admissions and the risk of serious illness. It comes as a roadmap to ease England’s lockdown measures is to be detailed today, but the plan has already been met with mixed reviews. Plus, cyber fraudsters are switching from big money scams to ‘silent stealing’ on a massive scale, NHS doctors are the first in the world to use reanimated hearts to save the lives of six children, and a new study finds people who hold extremist attitudes tend to perform poorly on complex mental tasks. 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.

Now Perseverance’s work begins, but how does it avoid punctures on the craggy Martian surface and send samples millions of miles back to Earth? Nasa explains. Forty dead, millions without power and water in Texas after extreme winter storm, as White House links to climate change. Britain’s first coal mine for 30 years is being planned, inflaming tensions over environmental impact versus local jobs. Meet the YouTuber who built the world’s largest working PS5 console weighing a quarter of a ton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.