The biggest headlines this week came from the world of consumer technology. At its Far Out event, Apple unveiled a new series of iPhones - the iPhone 14 - and the latest iterations of its smartwatch, the Apple Watch.
Elsewhere, in a recently published study, scientists had some warnings on the ‘Doomsday glacier’ in Antarctica. Here’s a recap of what made news in the world of science and technology this week.
Robo-bugs to the rescue: An international team of researchers, led by the RIKEN team in Japan, has made a system to create ‘cyborg cockroaches’ that can be controlled wirelessly. The wireless control module is backed by a solar-powered rechargeable battery. In the future, these robo bugs could be used to survey hazardous areas in time-sensitive rescue missions. The research was published in the journal npj Flexible Electronics.
Doomsday glacier could retreat rapidly: Earlier this week, scientists warned that Antarctica’s doomsday glacier – the Thwaites Glacier – is ‘holding on by its fingernails’ as it could rapidly retreat in the coming years. In a study published in Nature Geoscience, scientists said the rapidly retreating glacier may raise global sea levels by 3-10 feet, putting coastal areas at risk. Underwater robots were used to study the glacier and collect high-resolution images of the seafloor. “Beauty aside, what’s alarming is that the rate of Thwaites’ retreat that scientists have documented more recently are small compared to the fastest rates of change in its past,” marine geophysicist Alastair Graham, who led the study, at the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science, said in a news release.
Google Chrome’s zero-day flaw: One of the world’s most used web browsers has a major bug. Google alerted Windows, Mac, and Linux users to update their Chrome browsers after it discovered a security issue that was being ‘actively exploited’ by hackers. According to a report on The Verge, this was the sixth zero-day vulnerability Chrome has faced so far in 2022.
The Apple iPhone 14 is here, along with a lot more: It has now become an annual event that smartphone enthusiasts thrive on. At the recently concluded Far Out event, the Cupertino-based Apple unveiled the Apple iPhone 14 series, which features the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Another big highlight from the event was the Apple Watch Series 8 and the Apple Watch SE, which the company promises will deliver the core Apple Watch experience at an affordable starting price of $249. That’s not all. Apple also unveiled a third smartwatch – the Apple Watch Ultra – which brings a new bold design and a wide range of features built for endurance, exploration, and adventure.
– Compiled by Nitin Sreedhar
