Tech and Science Daily | The Standard

President Trump is out of the hospital but is he out of the woods? We take a look at some of the Covid misinformation floating around the net. Back in the UK, government's latest coronavirus gaff involves test and trace and a really big Excel spreadsheet. How a London addiction centre is helping gamers. Instagram has its tenth birthday and Apple updates the masked face emoji to give it a smile. Wi...

Donald Trump’s doctor, Sean Conley, says the President is being treated with dexamethasone, a steroid typically given to patients with severe cases of Covid-19. It's added to the confusing and at times contradictory updates on Mr Trump’s health since he was admitted to hospital three days ago. Plus, Proud Boys takes on a new meaning, Mars is closer to Earth than it will be for 15 years, and the No...

Donald Trump has tested positive for Covid-19 and experts say he has at least three risk factors for contracting it severely: his age, weight and gender. At 74-years-old and medically obese, the US President is at a higher risk of hospitalisation or death. Meanwhile, his Democratic challenger 77-year-old Joe Biden, is also taking precautions after sharing a debate stage with him on Tuesday. Plus,...

Google’s vice president Rick Osterloh has officially announced the Pixel 5, and he says it’s been designed with the effects of a pandemic in mind. While they didn’t predict the coronavirus crisis, they did anticipate an economic downturn. So, the latest model has lost some of its headline features to make it more affordable. But, the Evening Standard’s Mark Blunden says it will still pay to shop a...

US Democrat candidate Joe Biden’s team has sent a letter to Facebook, angry at their alleged inaction in safeguarding the election. Also, The ISS’s desperate middle of the night search for a leak. Is a super enzyme coming to eat all of our plastic? David Attenbourgh's warning about the "grave danger" facing the world. Are women being unethically targeted by eggs freezing firms? Brit...

WHO will deliver 120 million Covid-19 tests to developing nations. Microsoft 365 back up after outage – what does this mean for WFH life? Paying with your palm – Amazon’s new trick to make payments totally digitless. Life on Mars – we look at research from an Italian study. Why are some people left handed? Jetpack paramedics coming to the Lake District. New Jurrasic World themed ride announced by...

The video sharing platform stumbles on after a federal judge issued a temporary injunction on the US government's attempt to remove it from stores. 64 world leaders make huge commitments to protect the environment from 64 but critics say some important ones missing. How some smartphone users are fixing their own devices despite alleged ‘planned obsolescence’. Uber wins its appeal to...

New documents reveal Facebook is looking to change people’s perception of the world. The firm appears to be planning for wearers of its smart glasses to be absorbed in their own ‘artificial reality’ as they go about daily life. Some critics are calling the plan ‘very black mirror’ but others welcome the tech as a new way to stay connected. Plus, Amazon’s new security drone raises privacy fears, th...

The UK’s health secretary, Matt Hancock, has already been forced to defend technical issues with the rollout of the contact tracing app. After months of delay, now people with older phones say they’re having issues downloading it. But Matt Hancock says this is a ‘tipping point’ in the fight against coronavirus, which is seeing a second wave across Britain. Plus, Google launches a Covid-19 dat...

Elon Musk has claimed a more affordable electric car from Tesla will be ready ‘in about three years’. But, his claim at his annual ‘Battery Day’ event did little to excite investors who wiped $50 billion from its market value. Plus, Facebook removes fake accounts that tried to disrupt US politics, Tom Cruise is heading to space, Nasa astronauts avoid a potential collision with space junks and, and...

Twitter is investigating after a ‘horrible experiment’ appeared to suggest its image cropping tool was racially biased. A San-Francisco-based programmer tweeted two examples of a picture where President Barack Obama was cropped out when he appeared in an image with Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, saying it was ‘another example of racism manifesting in machine learning algorithms’. Plus,...

Britain’s top coronavirus advisers warn of a need to get new infections under control. President Trump’s WeChat ban blocked over free speech claims. TikTok gets a reprieve through a Oracle/Walmart deal and a promise to give money to US education. 28 days without spots on the sun – as we enter a new solar cycle. The asteroids flying by. China is losing Australian space tracking stations. Electric a...

A German hospital is thought to have recorded the first death - directly or indirectly - from a ransomware attack. A woman died after the hospital’s IT systems failed following an attack by hackers and she had to be transferred to another city for treatment. Plus, 53 million tonnes of plastic waste could enter waterways every year by 2030, a new reality show plans to send the winner to outer space...

Sony has revealed its PlayStation 5 will be released just two days after XBox Series X and have the same price tag as its rival. It marks the start of 2020’s next-gen console war - and Sony’s armed itself with the latest instalment of Final Fantasy as well as the highly anticipated Hogwarts Legacy . Plus, hackers target the global video game industry, the discovery of a new mass extinction event a...

Apple unveiled a number of new products at its latest virtual event but its the new Fitness+ service that experts say should have rivals worried. The subscription-based workout platform runs off the Apple Watch, which saw two new models released on Tuesday evening. But, iPhone fans will have to wait a few more weeks to see any new updates. Plus, Kim Kardashian West boycotts social media, Scientifi...

Nasa's so excited, it wants to make the planet a priority for space missions. And will Mars be next? the Evening Standard talks to the UCL team recreating the red planet's extreme conditions in London’s commuter belt for a future search for life. If 2020 wasn’t stressful enough, an asteroid is entering earth's orbit on Thursday. Creating super livestock from super sperms. LG’s winge...

The parent company of the video app TikTok has opted for Oracle over Microsoft after Trump forced it to sell the app. British chips bought by the Americans – they’ve promised jobs for the UK. Should social media companies be doing more to combat harmful online video? Worrying news out of Greenland as ice breaks off. Coronavirus surging again – how long can this go on for? And could Instagram start...

US political parties were among those targeted, after Microsoft security software thwarted most of the attempts. And travel firms are also being blasted for failing to secure their websites despite previous cyberattacks. Reforms have been proposed to alter laws in the UK targeting online abuse. A new study suggests the public's confidence in vaccines is improving in the UK and Europe, but the...

China is demanding Twitter investigate a ‘hack’ after the account of its ambassador to the UK liked a pornographic post. Liu Xiaoming retweeted an official statement condemning the ‘attack’, saying: ‘A good anvil does not fear the hammer’. Plus, Portland bans facial recognition tech, Apple makes its own face mask, the world’s animal populations are in ‘freefall’, and a search of 10 million solar s...

Oxford scientists have had to put the stoppers on their trials of a new Covid vaccine as a UK Patient has had an adverse reaction, Apple files a counter lawsuit accusing the makers of Fortnite of being greedy,  San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is back - this time in virtual action, plus Sonic the Hedgehog is about to turn 30 and we could be a...

After PUBG Mobile and Mobile Lite were banned in India last week citing security concerns, the corporation now wants to work directly with the Indian government to find a solution. New reports suggest businesses of the future will be based on a mix of AI tech, and robots could be introduced to help care for the elderly after Pepper was a hit with older adults. And talking of bots, Amazon's autonom...

UK health secretary Matt Hancock has dramatically raised hopes of a Covid-19 vaccine in the coming months. He told LBC radio it was ‘looking up’ that a jab could be available soon after trials if it's approved - potentially by early next year. Plus, Virgin Galactic’s next crewed test flight planned for October, 90s game Doom played on a pregnancy test and, cheating on Fall Guy: Ultimate Knock...

Experts warn Facebook’s bid to stop misinformation in the week leading up to the US election by banning paid political ads will do little to stop the organic spread of fake news. They also say - and the President agrees - it’ll limit the ability to counteract bogus claims at crunch time. Plus, the FTSE 100 makes gains despite a sudden sell off of tech stocks across the Pond, the moon is rusting an...

The Center for Countering Digital Hate and Restless Development said their Failure to Act report shows social networks are failing in their own misinformation policies. A new £500-million funding package will support trials of a 20-minute test for Covid-19. Also as tensions continue to escalate between India and China along its disputed land border, the Indian government has blocked more...

The FBI says its foiled attempts by a group with links to the Kremlin to "interfere in US public debate" with the shutdown of several accounts on Facebook and Twitter. In India, Facebook execs face a grilling over hate speech and political bias. New research suggest steroids could reduce risk of death by 20% in Covid patients, ZTE drops the worlds first Selfie camera phone and Joe Biden jumps...