A 400 year old painting of a nativity scene has been discovered hidden under another work of art, just weeks before Christmas. Experts from Northumbria Unviversity were examining a badly damaged painting of John the Baptist when they found what looked like a baby in an X-Ray of the work. They were trying to determine the … Read more
NASA’s Mars 2020 rover passes its driving test: Robotic vehicle proves it can move backwards and forwards and ‘pirouette’ in major mission milestone NASA’s next mission to Mars will launch from Florida in July or August next year The Mars 2020 Rover officially passed its ‘driving test’ on Tuesday 17 December It involved a ten … Read more
The Royal Statistical Society has revealed its ‘statistics of the year’ for 2019, with the winning UK statistic relating to the extent of in-work poverty in the UK. The statistic from the Institute for Fiscal Studies relates to the proportion of those in relative poverty who live in a working household – which is as … Read more
Huawei planning to launch an improved version of its $2,400 the Mate X folding phone with faster processor and stronger screen just two months after initial release Huawei’s folding Mate X will get an improved version in early 2020 The company says it will have a stronger screen, hinge, and faster processor The Mate X will … Read more
Spotify is secretly testing a new social media feature called ‘Tastebuds’ that lets you see what your friends are listening to Reverse app engineer spotted a new social media-like feature in Spotify It is called ‘Tastebuds’ and lets users see what their friends are listening to Users can follow friends and social groups to keep … Read more
There may be an ‘I’ in ‘team’ after all: Scientists find individuals are more creative when they feel personal ownership towards a group project Study found creativity improves when we feel personal ownership of a project However, there also needs to be a form of collective ownership within the team Teams with high levels of … Read more
Homo erectus, a direct ancestor of modern humans and the first species to walk fully upright, survived 300,000 years longer than previously thought, scientists claim. A small group of the extinct humanoid species made its last stand on the island of Java in Indonesia about 110,000 years ago, according to new research. An international team of … Read more
Scientists are developing a ‘smart TOILET’ that samples urine to detect illnesses before you have symptoms – but it comes with privacy risks Smart toilets could create a snapshot of your health and day-to-day life Scientists took 110 samples of their own urine over a 10-day period Showed sleep, exercise, alcohol or coffee intake and medication … Read more
Anonymous whistleblower reveals $43million fraud scheme at Apple assembly partner Foxconn’s biggest iPhone factory in China that ‘sold more than 300,000 bootleg phones made from defective parts’ Some workers at Foxconn were involved in a bootleg iPhone scheme They used defective components to assemble phones to sell on the black market Between three and five … Read more
AT&T introduces call validation display to help combat robocalls by showing customers a green check mark with authenticated phone numbers AT&T will adorn legitimize calls with a green check mark to stop robocalling The feature will be available on some Android devices including the Galaxy S10 Technology is targeting ‘spoofed’ calls that disguise their phone number … Read more
NASA shared a festive image of a ‘cosmic candy cane’ just in time for the holidays. A structure resembling the Christmas treat was spotted in a colorful composite image of the Milky Way galaxy. The feature spans 190 light-years and is one of a set of long, thin strands of ionized gas called filaments that … Read more
Neolithic seawall constructed 7,000 years ago in Israel is the ‘oldest known coastal defence system’ against rising sea levels anywhere in the world – and it failed The wall was built to protect a late Stone Age village on Israel’s Carmel Coast The 328 feet-long defence had been made from rocks from rivers a mile away Mediterranean sea … Read more
Instagram vows to crack down on brand influencers who get paid to hawk guns, tobacco or vaping products Those posts are already banned, but Instagram says it will increase enforcement The platform will also eventually roll out rules on alcohol and supplements Brand influencers will also now be able to share metrics with companies By … Read more