MILAN Stellantis has invested in Lyten to help the U.S. startup develop applications for lithium-sulfur EV batteries, lightweight

Nearly a dozen Senate Democrats wrote to Google this week with questions about how it deletes users' location history when they have visited sensitive locations such as abortion clinics, expressing concerns that the company may not have been consistently deleting the data as promised.

A man paralysed in a bicycle accident more than a decade ago has regained the ability to stand and walk naturally, using technology developed by researchers in Switzerland. Neuroscientists at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) have created what they call a “wireless digital bridge” which is able to restore the connection lost between the brain and the spinal cord. This digital bridge is a brain–spine interface which allows Gert-Jan Oskam to regain control over the movement of his legs, enabling him to stand, walk and even climb stairs. The team said their technology also enabled Mr Oskam to recover some of the brain function he had lost since his accident, where he was able to show motor skills when the digital bridge was turned off. According to the researchers, this “digital repair of the spinal cord suggests that new nerve connections have developed”. Mr Oskam, 40, an engineer from the Netherlands, was living and working in China when he had a cycling accident in 2011. He injured his spinal cord and lost movement in his legs. Neurosurgeon Jocelyn Bloch, who is a professor at the EPFL, said: “When we met Gert-Jan, he was unable to take a step after a severe spinal cord injury.” Gregoire Courtine, a professor of neuroscience at the EPFL, said: “To walk, the brain must send a command to the region of the spinal cord responsible for the control of movements. For the first time after 10 years (I was able) to stand up and have a beer with some of my friends, so that was pretty cool Gert-Jan Oskam “When there is a spinal cord injury, this communication is interrupted. “Our idea was to re-establish this communication with a digital bridge – an electronic communication between the brain and the region of the spinal cord that is still intact and can control the leg movements.” Mr Oskam underwent two surgeries to implant electrodes in the brain and the spinal cord to make the digital bridge. The technology uses artificial intelligence to convert movement thoughts into actions, establishing a direct link between the brain and spinal cord regions involved in walking. Prof Courtine said: “For the first time this digital bridge bypasses an injury, restoring the communication between two regions of the central nervous system that are disconnected.” The team said their findings, published in the journal Nature, establish a framework where natural control of movement can be restored after paralysis. Mr Oskam said he is able to walk at least 100 metres or more, depending on the day. He is also able to walk on crutches, when the implant is switched of, raising hope that technologies such as these could restore lost nerve function. Prof Courtine said: “What we observed is a digital repair of the spine, a recovery of neurological function that he has lost for many years.” Mr Oskam said: “For the first time after 10 years (I was able) to stand up and have a beer with some of my friends, so that was pretty cool.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Meta Ireland to cut about 490 jobs Netflix begins crackdown on password sharing in the UK and US Netflix begins sending emails to UK customers about account sharing

SpaceX has launched a new service for its space-based Starlink internet service that allows customers to connect from nearly anywhere on the planet while in motion. Starlink Mobility uses a receiver that has a wide field of view and improved GPS to connect to SpaceX’s constellation of more than 4,000 low-Earth orbit satellites. SpaceX boss Elon Musk tweeted that it works “almost everywhere on Earth”, including the middle of oceans and deserts. The first customers to try out Starlink Mobility are a fleet of school buses in Arizona, SpaceX said, allowing students to “stay connected and complete their homework” while travelling to and from school. SpaceX said the new service is “ideal for mobile businesses and public sector use cases, including trucking, buses, shuttles, and emergency response”. Subscribers to Starlink Mobility, which costs $250 per month on top of a one-time hardware fee of $2,500, receive network priority over other users during peak hours, meaning emergency responders should avoid losing internet connection. “Starlink Mobility provides 100 per cent coverage in your country and every country where Starlink service is available across the globe,” SpaceX states on its website. “Plans can also be used on the ocean, with connectivity available in the vast majority of the Earth’s oceans and seas.” The Starlink satellite dish, which is a next-generation version of its standard hardware, is designed to be permanently installed on a customer’s vehicle, offering the same download speeds of up to 220 Mbps. SpaceX achieved global coverage of its Starlink internet network last year, four years after launching the first batch of satellites into space. Despite this, some countries have blocked Starlink from operating in its country, such as China and Iran. SpaceX is hoping to launch a satellite-to-cellphone service that would allow users to connect to its internet constellation without the need for additional hardware, however some service providers fear that it will interfere with existing wireless services. AT&T in the US urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reject SpaceX and T-Mobile’s proposal, claiming it would “jeopordise or inhibit” its own terrestrial service. Testing of the satellite-to-cell service is expected to begin later this year. Read More SpaceX launches two missions just hours apart ‘It’s becoming like an airport’: How SpaceX normalised rocket launches Apple launches new campaign about the dangers of losing your health data Meta Ireland to cut about 490 jobs This is how AI ‘superintelligence’ would replace us as the dominant lifeform on Earth

Black holes are the most confusing things out there in the universe and no-one really knows what they are – at least, that’s our very basic grasp of it. Now, though, a new study has posited a theory that black holes are structures created by unseen cosmic dimensions - or topological stars. And just to make it a little more confusing, these topological stars exist purely in the hypothetical realms of mathematics. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have been exploring string theory, which posits that particles in the universe are actually tied to extra (hidden) dimensions through vibrating strings. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter According to their findings, hypothetical topological stars could exist for real in the universe and they’re essentially formations of nothing which could appear in space. The study finds that topological stars would appear “remarkably similar to black holes in apparent size and scattering properties, while being smooth and horizonless”. The study, which was published in Physical Review D, found that these stars which until now have only existed in hypothetical form, look an awful lot like the black holes out in the universe. “String theory is a theory that reconciles quantum physics and gravity into a quantum gravity theory,” study leader Pierre Heidmann said. Speaking to Motherboard, he said: “Usually when you have a new theory like that, you have new degrees of freedom that come with it, and you can try to see what new fundamental objects can arise from that.” Co-author of the study Ibrahima Bah added: “It’s an interesting question to ask: Are there things other than a black hole [that] will give you a hint about what new physics could look like?” “But before you get there, you need to know how to tell whether you have a black hole or not, and to do that you have some prototype examples of things that are not black holes to be able to compare." As ever, black holes remain the most mysterious, and the most fascinating things out there. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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