
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team is using a “standard, paid Google workspace network” with only limited support from the federal government thanks to Donald Trump’s refusal to concede the 2020 elections and efforts to hobble the inbound Democratic administration, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

On Friday morning, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that they would be seeking an emergency use authorisation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today for their jointly developed covid-19 vaccine. If granted, that would make this vaccine likely the first to reach the public in the U.S., followed closely by…

The U.S. reported 1,971 deaths from covid-19 on Thursday, the highest death toll since May, according to the Covid Tracking Project. The country also recorded over 182,000 new cases and more than 80,000 Americans are currently hospitalised, both grim new records for the U.S. during the pandemic. Public health experts…

It sounds like science fiction: giant solar power stations floating in space that beam down enormous amounts of energy to Earth. And for a long time, the concept – first developed by the Russian scientist, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, in the 1920s – was mainly an inspiration for writers. A century later,…

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is going after Peters for its single-wrapped ice cream racket in Aussie servos and convenience stores. The consumer watch dog has begun Federal Court proceedings against Peters for anti-competitive behaviour. Peters is responsible for brands such as Drumstick, Connoisseur, BillaBong and Maxibon. I…

Australia’s media and internet watchdog is set to block another group of illegal offshore online gambling websites from access in Australia following an investigation that found they were breaching Australian laws. Earlier this week, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced their intention to block four further websites and…

Sharkboy and Lavagirl are back in Robert Rodriguez’s superheroic follow-up. Lauren Ridloff talks Eternals reshoots. Zack Snyder teases the zombie mayhem of Army of the Dead. Plus, Christopher Landon has high hopes for a truckload of money to make Happy Death Day 3, and what’s coming on Walking Dead: World…

The recent failure of two support cables at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico has destabilised the structure such that it cannot be repaired without placing construction workers at significant risk, according to officials with the National Science Foundation. As feared, the beloved 305 metre telescope will have to be…

Over this past weekend I sent my telepresence robot to BlinkerFest, the annual turn-signal enthusiasts’ meetup, held this year in Barcelona. Due to COVID reasons, only telepresence robots or service animals were allowed to attend, and while an all-remote solution would have made more sense, the deposit on the banquet…

The big idea Building robotic grippers that can firmly grasp heavy objects and also gently grasp delicate ones usually requires complicated sets of gears, hinges and motors. But it turns out that it’s also possible to make grippers out of simple sheets of flexible material with the right creases in…