Beyond Infinity

After a 2 year international investigation, the dark net's biggest drug marketplace has been closed. The sophisticated operation was being run out of New Jersey by three men. When their property was raided, police made the largest pill seizure in New Jersey history.

Prolific Chinese Android App developer DO Global has been banned from the Google Play store after being caught out committing ad fraud and violating other Google policies. This is a serious embarrassment for Google, which has suffered reputational damage to the core of its advertising-based business model.

China and others are rapidly expanding their presence in Antarctica - not just for scientific purposes. There are now 80 international bases with several new ones under construction. Will the 1959 Antarctic Treaty continue to restrict activity in the world's last pristine wilderness? And is Australia's 42% sovereign claim to the continent at risk?

The ride-sharing juggernaut has revised down the value it proposes for its initial public offering by about 30%, to between US$80.5 to US$91.5 billion. This follows sharp falls in recently listed rival Lyft since its IPO. There are concerns over intensifying competition, high operating costs and the fact that since launching services in July 2010, Uber is yet to make a profit.

Israeli scientists have succeeded in printing a mini heart the size of a cherry tomato, complete with cells, blood vessels, ventricles and chambers. Engineered with bio-ink made from the tissue of patients.

Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that botox and cosmetic surgery can prevent facial expression mimicry between people and even prevent emotions and empathetic thoughts. The loss of minute facial movements could result in disconnection from your feelings and those of others.

Age-verification for online pornography will come into force on 15 July 2019 in the UK. It's an effort to protect minors from stumbling across explicit material and is a worthy goal, but there are questions about privacy, data security and whether it's technically viable.

A Russian start up has grand plans to place artificial constellations of cubesats in orbit to promote Pepsi's Adrenaline Rush energy drink. The coordinated swarm would light up as a giant billboard visible from Earth. Aiming to launch in 2021, $20,000 could buy 8 hours of night sky advertising.

In a PR disaster reminiscent of the Galaxy Note 7 snafu, the South Korean tech behemoth has indefinitely postponed the public release of its latest bendable smart phone-come-tablet after reviewers around the world reported breakages and basic quality issues with the very expensive gadget.

Is blockchain, the technology that underpins Bitcoin and other crypto currrencies, just a passing fad or can it have long-term benefits for Australian industry and employment? A comprehensive report has just been released by the Australian Computer Society called 'Blockchain 2030: A Look At The Future Of Blockchain In Australia' which strives to shed light on this question. One thing is certain th...

The Event Horizon Telescope, a huge effort of more than 200 scientists who synchronised 8 different telescopes around the world, has directly imaged a black hole for the first time. Located at the heart of galaxy Messier 87, it is 55 million light-years from Earth and has a mass some 6.5 billion times that of our Sun.

Despite assurances it's secure and your privacy is protected, sources claim that in addition to software and AI responding to your Alexa voice commands, there are humans listening back at Amazon.

The Human Research Program is NASA's comprehensive effort to enable safe and productive travel for people in space. Now retired identical twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly took part in a year long mission to closely compare changes in their bodies. Scott spent more than 300 days aboard the ISS, while Mark remained on Earth. Both submitted to regular checks of their immune systems, genetics, bon...

Launched from Norway, NASA's Auroral Zone Upwelling Rocket Experiment dropped gases through aurora borealis to better understand the interaction of Earth's ionoshere with particles from outer space.

The new video game streaming service will start in late 2019. It'll run on the Chrome browser, will "state share" via YouTube and, depending on available bandwidth, promises lots of great hi-def games without the need for local storage.

Antibiotics were introduced in the 1940s and have saved countless lives from deadly infections. Now drug-resistant super bugs are becoming more prevalent, preying on the weak and infirm. This is largely due to massive over-use of antibiotics in farming and the third world.

From solid state data storage and back-up through to dash cams and smart plugs, we rack our brains for the most indispensable and affordable consumer devices out there. For detailed product info and to send feedback to us, head to http://beyondinfinity.com.au

UK scientists at Imperial College London are working on a synthetic alcohol substitute which promises many of the joys of grog, minus the hang-over or physical harm.

A slew of new, highly capable robots can now do amazing things. The latest factory robot, the Handle, can handle heavy boxes with ease and neatly stack pallets.

In addition to hunting for microbes, testing oxygen production and caching rock cores, NASA's next big rover will carry a small solar-powered helicopter. If this technology demonstrator is successful, expect to see more helicopter drones exploring the surface of the red planet.

The lawless wild west internet has failed. Now is the time to introduce tough, binding global regulations of social platforms. And with the prospect of monster fines and even prosecution of top executives, Mark Zuckerberg agrees that there should be laws controlling Facebook content.

In the wake of the Christchurch massacre, law makers around the world are focused on how to control the spread of extremism and objectionable material on social media. But can it be done and what will be the effect on the internet as a whole?

Rolling out in 2020, 5G mobile technology promises to be super fast, with minimum speeds of 100mbs. But you'll need a new 5G compatible device and a pretty robust data plan to handle the speed. If you only have 10 gigabytes of data a month, you could easily get through this in under a minute!

Spotify has complained to the European Commission that Apple's AppStore rules "purposely limit choice and stifle innovation" and asked the regulator to take action to guarantee fair competition. Apple has countered that "Spotify's aim is to make more money off others' work" and that it under-pays artists.

The Disinformation and 'Fake News' Final Report has been published on parliament.uk. It is scathing of social media platforms, especially Facebook's role in illegally influencing democratic elections and referenda in Britain, going back to 2014. The Commons Select Committee calls for tough modern regulations and far more law enforcement oversight of social media companies, with heavy penalties for...