Geeky international news on technology, business and culture.
How the McMurtry Spéirling defied gravity to become the first car to drive upside down
14 April 2025 @ 6:59 pm
Motorheads have long theorised that the extreme downforce generated by high-performance cars could one day let them drive upside down. Now, British carmaker McMurtry has turned that wild idea into a reality for the first time. In a stunt that would make Batman jealous, McMurtry drove its insanely fast electric Spéirling flipped over. More impressively, it did that for over a minute while keeping the vehicle completely stationary — save for a quick acceleration to prove the car wasn’t tied down. While it might look like the car has defied gravity, in reality, it’s basic physics coupled with some clever…Quantum utility is at most 10 years away, industry experts believe
14 April 2025 @ 5:01 pm
Quantum professionals around the world overwhelmingly agree that quantum utility will arrive within the next decade, according to a new survey by Economist Impact. Quantum utility refers to the point at which quantum computers provide practical advantages over classical computers in solving specific real-world problems. A whopping 83% of the survey’s respondents think that moment will come within 10 years or less. One-third of them are even more optimistic, predicting that quantum utility could be achieved within the next one-to-five years. That’s more in line with the roadmaps of quantum companies like Finnish startup IQM, which is targeting quantum utility as…TECH5: DACH’s 5 top scaleups enter ‘Champions League of Technology’
14 April 2025 @ 7:12 am
Five fast-rising scaleups from the DACH region have qualified for TECH5 — the “Champions League of Technology.” The DACH entrants fought off off stiff competition to reach the finals, which will crown the hottest scaleup in Europe. Comprising Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, DACH blends deep industrial roots, high R&D spending, elite research institutions, and a growing startup scene. Collectively, the three nations have created a regional tech powerhouse. Individually, each of them has unique strengths. Germany leads with a booming startup scene in Berlin and a deep tech hub in Munich. The county also had Europe’s second-highest total VC investment last…Former ASML CEO: Deep tech will ‘make the impossible possible’
11 April 2025 @ 1:39 pm
After steering Dutch chip giant ASML to become Europe’s most valuable tech firm, Peter Wennink is now focused on the next frontiers of deep tech. Wennink has already been involved in numerous breakthroughs in the field. Over his 25-year career at ASML — including over a decade as CEO — the company laid foundations for countless deep tech innovations. Under his leadership, the business earned renown as the sole supplier and producer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines. These systems are essential for manufacturing the world’s most advanced chips. They have become a crucial force in today’s AI boom, supporting…Return of the dire wolf? More like a Colossal case of conservation-washing
10 April 2025 @ 6:10 pm
US biotech startup Colossal Biosciences has resurrected the dire wolf — or at least that’s what the company would like you to believe. Social media is abuzz with viral videos, memes, and images of fluffy white wolf puppies. The Game of Thrones references are — predictably — omnipresent. The news even made it to Time magazine’s latest cover. But behind the hype lies a dangerous de-extinction delusion that could distract from proven solutions to the biodiversity crisis. The Trump administration is already using Colossal’s claims as an excuse to slash endangered species protections. First, let’s set something straight — Colossal…An answer to AI’s energy addiction? More AI, says the IEA
10 April 2025 @ 1:00 pm
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has published its first major report on the AI gold rush’s impact on global energy consumption — and its findings paint a worrying, and perhaps contradictory, picture. Energy use from data centres, including for artificial intelligence applications, is predicted to double over the next five years to 3% of global energy use. AI-specific power consumption could drive over half of this growth globally, the report found. Some data centres today consume as much electricity as 100,000 households. The hyperscalers of the future could gobble up 20x that number, according to the IEA. By 2030, data…Defence tech startup ARX Robotics targets 1,800 autonomous land drones a year at new UK plant
9 April 2025 @ 11:55 pm
German startup ARX Robotics has announced plans to invest £45mn into a new UK facility, where it will build autonomous battlefield robots for deployment in war zones around the world. Located at an undisclosed site in southwest England, ARX expects the plant to produce 1,800 ground-based drones each year once up and running. ARX’s battlefield robots look like small tanks — but without guns. The vehicles drive around on treads and can be fitted with equipment such as radar, mine-sweeping devices, or medical stretchers. The largest of ARX’s machines carries military payloads weighing up to 500kg — including injured soldiers —…Spotify CEO’s Neko Health opens its biggest body-scanning clinic yet
9 April 2025 @ 11:01 pm
Body-scanning startup Neko Health has opened its largest clinic yet, continuing its expansion in London — just six months after launching its first site in the city. The futuristic new facility expands access to Neko’s high-tech health vision. Blending body scans, lidar sensors, and AI with blood tests, eye pressure checks, and strength tests, the startup maps millions of data points in minutes. The findings can reveal warning signs about the skin, heart, blood vessels, and inflammation. A human doctor then immediately takes the user through the findings. Within an hour of arriving, they’re on their way out of the…Mews leads top 10 funding rounds in rough quarter for Dutch tech
9 April 2025 @ 4:44 pm
Hospitality software firm Mews raised Dutch tech’s biggest funding round in the first quarter of 2025, in what was a tough start to the year for the sector. Dutch startups raised around €460mn in the quarter, with a 59% decline in growth-stage funding raising alarm bells, according to the Quarterly Startup Report. Together, the top 10 deals accounted for over €320mn — more than 75% of all funding raised last quarter. Here are the biggest Dutch deals of Q1 2025: 1. Mews — €68mn ($75mn) Mews, based at TNW City in Amsterdam, has built a cloud-based system that helps hotels and…Cosmic radio station could probe early universe from far side of the Moon
8 April 2025 @ 11:01 pm
A UK startup wants to build a cosmic radio station in the Moon’s orbit to listen to radio waves from the early universe. Blue Skies Space has secured a contract from the Italian Space Agency to design a fleet of tiny satellites that could orbit the Moon and listen for signals from the cosmic “dark ages.” That’s the time before the first stars lit up, when the universe was mainly a swirling mass of hydrogen gas. Hydrogen atoms naturally emit radio waves at a very specific frequency: 1420MHz – known as the hydrogen line. When you stretch that signal across…
Valvular heart disease (VHD) is a potentially fatal condition, yet it's difficult to diagnose with a regular stethoscope. A possibly life-saving new multi-sensor stethoscope is claimed to be much better at the job, with the added benefit that it can be used by just about anyone.Continue ReadingCategory: Medical Devices, Medical Innovations, Body & MindTags: 
Now this is the sort of application of AI that really intrigues me. Researchers have developed DolphinGemma, the first large language model (LLM) for understanding dolphin language. It could help us translate what these incredible creatures are saying, potentially much faster than we ever could with manual approaches used over several decades.Continue Reading
Consuming cannabis can certainly be a way to deal with some health conditions like chronic pain or insomnia. But when a user goes too far and winds up in the hospital, the negative consequences can reach far into the future, says a new study.Continue ReadingCategory: Addiction, Brain Health, Body & MindTags: 
There appears to be a race on to launch the first 13.3-inch color ePaper monitor. Dasung currently has an Indiegogo waiting in the wings, but it's looking like Bigme will be first to the line with pre-order status for its B13 device.Continue ReadingCategory: Mobile Technology, Consumer Tech, TechnologyTags: 
Not everyone with ADHD responds to stimulants like Ritalin, which increase dopamine levels in the brain. Now, new research suggests the drug’s effectiveness is less about the amount of dopamine it produces and more about the number and type of receptors that respond to it.Continue ReadingCategory: ADHD & Autism, Brain Health, Body & MindTags: 
The suitably named Mod trailer from Trail Trailers (say that five times fast) is one in a new wave of ultra-modular trailers designed to build up from chassis bones to fully capable, plug-and-play adventure wagon. The Mod starts off as a basic, rugged, military-inspired utility flatbed weighing well under 500 lb (227 kg). From there, it builds up via available modular components into a capable toy hauler, towable toolbox, and/or multi-day adventure tagalong.Continue ReadingCategory: 
A three-year study has found robust evidence that one particular vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) offers older adults long-term protection against the infection, even if efficacy wanes from season to season. Despite this, just a single dose cut serious illness by nearly two thirds, and getting a shot every year was not more beneficial.Continue ReadingCategory: Infectious Diseases, Illnesses and conditions, 
If you've ever looked into the living conditions of astronauts in space, you probably know they make do with spartan arrangements, including mostly rehydratable meals.Continue ReadingCategory: Space, ScienceTags: Food, 
The McMurtry Spéirling has just redefined what "hypercar" actually means. The little single-seater electric beast dethroned a 21-year-old record held by a Formula 1 car at the Top Gear Test Track ... and not in a very subtle way. It went for the full usurper kill.Continue ReadingCategory: Automotive, TransportTags: McMurtry Automotive, 
Factory wood-cutting robots may be capable of fast and intricate carpentry tasks, but they're expensive – plus they put actual carpenters out of work. A new augmented reality system splits the difference, by precisely guiding the hands of human carpenters.Continue ReadingCategory: Virtual Reality, Consumer Tech, TechnologyTags: EPFL, 
(Arrival is a fantastic movie. Watch it, but don’t stop there – read the Story of Your Life novella it was based on
With early computers, you didn’t boot up to a fancy schmancy desktop, or a screen full of apps you could easily poke and prod with your finger. No, those computers booted up to the command
The United States frequently outs the names of alleged Chinese hackers; China rarely does the same.
A 29-year-old woman in Paris, France, likely suffocated on Monday evening due to a nitrogen leak from a cryotherapy machine.
The project has been described as similar to rival Elon Musk's social media site, X.
The Star Wars showrunner and Rogue One star look back on coming into season 2 already knowing where Cassian's journey would take him.
Stolen data, proportedly from 4chan, was shared on soyjack.party.
Archaeological records indicate that prehistoric people in Europe relied on fire throughout the Ice Age—but the evidence drops off during its harshest period.
The price of pharmaceuticals will likely go up soon, and generics are poised to be hit the hardest.
Karn and Meero will still be hunting for Cassian Andor, but it looks like they'll also be doing... something else?
Veo 2 is about to turn your social media into a feed of AI videos.
Tom Hiddleston and Mark Hamill lead a stacked cast in the not-a-horror-film hitting theaters June 6.
ProWritingAid VS Grammarly:
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