The China Mail - Technology

Featured

Study sheds light on origin of Australia's odd echidna

Australia's burrowing echidna evolved from a water-dwelling ancestor in an "extremely rare" biological event, scientists said Tuesday in a new study of the peculiar egg-laying mammals.

Less-thirsty rice offers hope in drought-stricken Chile

A cold, dry part of Chile might not sound like the best place to grow rice, a famously thirsty grain that thrives in tropical conditions.

Last news

First audio recorded on Mars reveals two speeds of sound

The first audio recordings on Mars reveal a quiet planet with occasional gusts of wind where two different speeds of sound would have a strange delayed effect on hearing, scientists said Friday.

Blue Origin launches its fourth crew to final frontier

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin successfully carried out its fourth crewed spaceflight Thursday, a ten-minute joyride beyond the planet's atmosphere and back again.

Hubble telescope spots most distant star ever seen

The Hubble space telescope has peered back to the dawn of cosmic time and detected light from a star that existed within the first billion years after the Big Bang -- a new record, astronomers said Wednesday.

Russian, US ISS record-holders return to Earth

A record-breaking US astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts returned to Earth from the International Space Station Wednesday, with tensions between Moscow and the West soaring over Ukraine.

Mideast, Central Asia temperature-rises twice world average: IMF

Temperatures in the Middle East and Central Asia have risen 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) since the 1990s, twice the global average, according to an International Monetary Fund report released on Wednesday.

Canada announces billions in new climate spending

More electric vehicles and green energy were among the measures Prime Minister Justin Trudeau laid out Tuesday under a multibillion-dollar plan for how Canada will meet its carbon emissions target.

Koons on the Moon -- sculptures to be placed on lunar surface

American pop artist Jeff Koons is to send sculptures to the Moon later this year on a spacecraft blasting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, his gallery said Tuesday.

Giant ice volcanoes identified on Pluto

Strange lumpy terrain on Pluto unlike anything previously observed in the solar system indicates that giant ice volcanoes were active relatively recently on the dwarf planet, scientists said on Tuesday.

Sign of things to come? Royals' Caribbean tour hit by protests

Prince William's trip to the Caribbean was meant to help Commonwealth countries where his 95-year-old grandmother is also head of state celebrate her record-breaking 70 years on the throne.

Canada torn between economy, climate in deciding oil project

Eco warrior turned Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, picked by Justin Trudeau five months ago to guide Canada's climate policy, will soon face his first major test in deciding on a new offshore oil project.

Male contraceptive pill found 99% effective in mice

A team of scientists said Wednesday they had developed an oral male contraceptive that is 99 percent effective in mice without causing side effects, and could enter human trials by the end of this year.

Water supply fears as Morocco hit by worst drought since 1980s

As Morocco withers under its worst drought in 40 years, experts warn that a combination of climate change and bad resource management could trigger severe drinking water shortages.

Chemists cook up way to remove microplastics using okra

Extracts of okra and other slimy plants commonly used in cooking can help remove dangerous microplastics from wastewater, scientists said Tuesday.

New US rule requires publicly-listed firms to disclose emissions

Publicly-traded US companies would be required to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and their approach to managing climate change risks under a proposed rule approved by Washington Monday.

Nations vet 3,000-page handbook to halt climate crisis

Nearly 200 nations gather Monday to grapple with a question that will outlive Covid-19 and Russia's invasion of Ukraine: how does a world addicted to fossil fuels prevent carbon pollution from making Earth unliveable?

Antarctica hits record temperatures, say experts

Eastern Antarctica has recorded exceptionally high temperatures this week, more than 30 degrees Celsius above normal, say experts.

Russian trio blast off for ISS in shadow of Ukraine war

Three Russian cosmonauts blasted off to the International Space Station Friday, as Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine brought the Kremlin's relations with the West to their lowest point since the Soviet era.

Great Barrier Reef suffers 'widespread' bleaching event

The Great Barrier Reef has again been hit with "widespread" bleaching, authorities said Friday, as higher-than-average ocean temperatures off Australia's northeast threaten the already struggling World Heritage site.

US comic Pete Davidson not going to space after all

Plot twist: American comedian and actor Pete Davidson isn't going to space next week after all.

New microscopic organisms found in deep sea trench baffle Chile scientists

When Chilean scientist Osvaldo Ulloa led an expedition 8,000 meters under the sea to an area where no human had ever been, his team discovered microscopic organisms that generated more questions than answers.

36-million-year-old whale fossil found in Peruvian desert

Paleontologists on Thursday unveiled the fossilized remains of an ancient whale that inhabited the seas 36 million years ago, found last year in a Peruvian desert.

NASA rolls out its mega Moon rocket -- here's what you need to know

NASA's massive new rocket is poised to make its first journey to a launchpad on Thursday ahead of a battery of tests that will clear it to blast off to the Moon this summer.

'Visionary' US astrophysicist Eugene Parker dead at 94

Eugene Parker, a pioneering American astrophysicist whose mathematical prediction that charged particles streamed from stars in a solar wind was met with disbelief before he was ultimately vindicated, has died aged 94, NASA said on Wednesday.

'Visionary' US astrophysicist Eugene Parker dead at 94: NASA

Eugene Parker, a pioneering American astrophysicist who developed a mathematical model predicting the stream of charged particles from the Sun known as solar wind, has died aged 94, NASA said on Wednesday.

Landslide in Peruvian Andes buries dozens of homes

A landslide on Tuesday in the northern Peruvian town of Retamas has buried dozens of homes and trapped at least 15 people, according to authorities.

Australian court strikes down landmark climate ruling

An Australian court on Tuesday threw out a landmark legal ruling that the country's environment minister had a duty to protect children from climate change.

German WWII ghosts loom large in Ukraine crisis

The war weighs heavy on Ilse Thiele's mind these days as she sits in the floral print armchair in her Berlin living room, the television constantly tuned to the news from Ukraine.

US comedian Pete Davidson blasting off to space next week

American comedian and actor Pete Davidson, who has made headlines recently for his new relationship with Kim Kardashian, is going to space as part of a six-member team on Blue Origin's next flight next week, the company said Monday.

Amid NFT boom, artists worry about climate costs

Digital art is nothing new to vonMash, who describes his blend of painting, video and sound as "afro-delic" -- a psychedelic twist on Afrofuturism.

Inside Germany's secret Cold War cash bunker

For many years, the residents of the leafy town of Cochem in the German Rhineland went about their daily business with no idea they were living on a gold mine.

Huge spiders to colonize US East Coast, but maybe it's a good thing

Big and scary-looking Joro spiders have spread from Asia to the southern United States and are now poised to colonize the country's cooler climes -- but they're nothing to fear and might end up actually helping local ecosystems.

New giant tortoise species found in Galapagos after DNA study

A new species of giant tortoise has been discovered in the Galapagos after DNA testing found animals living on one island had not yet been recorded, Ecuador's environment ministry said.

The China Mail - Technology (English)