Microsoft’s Bethesda purchase cements gaming as world’s biggest entertainment industry
It’s difficult to find a silver lining to a global pandemic, but the gaming industry is winning big out of Covid-19. The economic fallout (no pun intended) caused by Covid-19 has shaken up entire industries and changed consumer behaviours drastically. People are spending more time than ever before within the confines...
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Are microscopic robots the future of invasive human treatment?
Microrobots the size of single cells could soon patrol the human body, according to professors at Cornell. In 1959, Cornell’s Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman talked up the possibility of ‘shrinking technology’ revolutionising the medicinal industry in his lifetime. He may have been wide of the mark in that...
Facebook promises to cut emissions by 2030
The social media giant has also launched a ‘Climate Science Information Centre’ for some users alongside ambitions carbon reduction plans. Facebook joins many larger tech firms in promising to heavily reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decade. It has said it will be purchasing renewable energy and offsets...
Venus may hold the key to discovering extra-terrestrial life
NASA is set to investigate a recent discovery showing possible signs of microbial life in the clouds of Venus. Researchers have discovered the presence of a rare and toxic gas called phosphine floating around the atmosphere of Venus. Known to biologists as one of the strongest indicators – or ‘biosignatures’...
Oracle wins bidding war for TikTok’s US operations
A month of uncertainty surrounding TikTok’s future in the US has reportedly ended, with tech consortium Oracle winning the race to head up all Western operations. Trump has made no secret of his disdain for TikTok since ByteDance’s acquisition of Musical.ly in 2017, but a deal has been reportedly been...
Amazon takes down over 20,000 fake reviews
Nearly all of the top ten users in the UK appear to have written fraudulent five-star reviews that undermine Amazon's product recommendations. Amazon has removed over 20,000 ‘fake’ reviews created by a small handful of top users as it struggles to keep on top of false and inaccurate user feedback. Seven...
Biotech start-up floods the black market with fake rhino horns
Biotech start-up Pembient is aiming to undercut illicit rhino poaching by flooding the black market with fake horns. Rhino horns are one of the most valuable commodities on the black market fetching in around $3,000 per pound, down from $60,000 just a few years ago. Believed to hold curative properties for traditional Eastern medicine and used for the selling of trinkets and carvings across East Asia, these horns are sought...
Snapchat launches face masks for 2020 March on Washington
Six black artists were enlisted to create digital face mask filters and Bitmoji accessories for Snapchat. Real, physical versions are also available to purchase. Snapchat has released a set of new selfie filters that allow users to wear digital face masks to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington. Six artists were enlisted to design original pieces that celebrated recent racial justice causes and protests, most notably the...
Cosmic signals from a black hole collision 7bn years old reach Earth
Seven billion years ago two massive black holes collided, and signs of the cataclysmic event have just reached Earth. Astronomers claim to have detected gravitational shockwaves emanating from chaotic merger of two black holes some seven billion years ago. The signal which provided ‘the biggest bang since the Big Bang’ rattled laser detectors in the US and Italy, telling the story of two black holes colliding and forming a previously unknown...
TikTok enlists Teespring to oversee new merch feature
TikTok creators will soon be able to sell original merchandise within the app. Having always had the potential to become an eCommerce powerhouse, TikTok is finally rolling out integration for in-app merch purchases this September. Teaming up with custom apparel platform Teespring, TikTok users across the globe will now be able to advertise and sell personal merch within their profiles much like Instagram and YouTube. No doubt buzzing off the cash...
