DUTYSELL

College student Fatima Guerra, 19, will be the first to admit, she’s into some really nerdy stuff. “Like, up there nerdy.” “Way up there nerdy,” she says. “All the way up into space.” Guerra is an astronomer in training, involved since a high school internship with a small project at …

Google has blocked access to the hugely popular video app TikTok in India to comply with a state court’s directive to prohibit its downloads, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. The move comes hours after a court in southern Tamil Nadu state refused a …

Women are woefully underrepresented in technology, science, engineering and mathematics jobs in South Africa. But for the last decade, a homegrown, UNICEF-supported program has worked to bring 11,000 lower-income high school girls into these industries. Among those students was Raquel Sorota. Sorota has come a long way from her humble …

Women are woefully underrepresented in technology, science, engineering and mathematics jobs in South Africa. But for the last decade, a homegrown, UNICEF-supported program has worked to bring 11,000 lower-income high school girls into these industries. VOA’s Anita Powell catches up with a few such “TechnoGirls” in Johannesburg and brings us …

The world’s largest aircraft took off over the Mojave Desert in California Saturday, the first flight for the carbon-composite plane built by Stratolaunch Systems Corp., started by late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, as the company enters the lucrative private space market. The white airplane called Roc, which has a wingspan …

Even though the U.S. first landed on the moon 50 years ago this year, it’s never been — nor will it ever be — an easy thing to accomplish. The Israelis learned just how difficult it is. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …

In the race to beat China in the fifth generation of wireless technology, known as 5G, U.S. President Donald Trump is announcing the largest-ever auction of radio frequencies and a $20 billion fund to build a rural fiber-optics backbone. “We cannot allow any other country to outcompete the United States …

Facebook Inc. more than doubled the money it spent on Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg’s security in 2018 to $22.6 million, a regulatory filing showed Friday. Zuckerberg has drawn a base salary of $1 for the past three years, and his “other” compensation was listed at $22.6 million, most of …

SpaceX launched its second supersized rocket and for the first time landed all three boosters Thursday, a year after sending up a sports car on the initial test flight. The new and improved Falcon Heavy thundered into the early evening sky with a communication satellite called Arabsat, the rocket’s first …

Lin Feng contributed to this report WASHINGTON — A senior official in the U.S. Department of State said Wednesday the security concerns the government has raised related to Chinese telecommunications firms Huawei and ZTE extend to all companies headquartered in China, saying they are effectively “under direction” of the Chinese Communist …

The arched stone-built hall in Jerusalem venerated by Christians as the site of Jesus’ Last Supper has been digitally recreated by archaeologists using laser scanners and advanced photography. The Cenacle, a popular site for pilgrims near Jerusalem’s walled Old City, has ancient, worn surfaces and poor illumination, hampering a study …

Dutch ASML said on Thursday it had been the victim of corporate espionage in 2015 involving employees from countries including China but said it had not been the target of any “national conspiracy.” ASML said the perpetrators took “large files” on memory sticks from its Silicon Valley software subsidiary that …

Amazon challenged its retail rivals to raise their wages and improve benefits, saying the competition will help everyone. CEO and founder Jeff Bezos said in a letter to shareholders Thursday that as Amazon grows, so does the size of its “failed experiments.” He said Amazon is willing to continue to …

Facebook says it is rolling out a wide range of updates aimed at combatting the spread of false and harmful information on the social media site. The updates will limit the visibility of links found to be significantly more prominent on Facebook than across the web as a whole. The …

The top U.S. diplomat for cybersecurity policy has praised Germany’s draft security standards for next generation mobile networks, which he said could effectively shut out China’s Huawei. Rob Strayer said Wednesday the standards published last month were a “positive step.” They call for mobile providers to use “trustworthy” telecom equipment …

The live-streamed video of the Christchurch, New Zealand, mosque shooting last month highlighted the continuing struggle by social media companies to police extremist content on their platforms. Facebook and Google representatives told U.S. lawmakers Tuesday the effort to balance free speech with oversight of white supremacist content is ongoing. VOA’s …

Futuristic electric flying taxis like those seen in the movie “Blade Runner” could offer a more sustainable – and much faster – way to travel long distances than traditional car journeys, academics at the University of Michigan said on Tuesday. Several firms are working to develop car-sized vertical takeoff and …

Facebook says it will use artificial intelligence to help find profiles of people who have died so their friends and family members won’t get, for instance, painful reminders about their birthdays.   The social network said Tuesday that it is also adding a “tributes” section to accounts that have been …

Virgin Galactic’s first test passenger received her commercial astronaut wings from the U.S. aviation regulator on Tuesday after flying on the company’s rocket plane to evaluate the customer experience in February. Virgin Galactic’s chief astronaut instructor, Beth Moses, who is a former NASA engineer, became the first woman to fly …

The European Commission says Facebook has changed the fine print in its terms of service to clearly explain that it makes money by selling access to users’ data. The social media giant modified its terms after discussions with the commission and consumer protection authorities.   European Union Consumer Commissioner Vera …

Momentum is gaining in Washington for a privacy law that could sharply rein in the ability of the largest technology companies to collect and distribute people’s personal data. A national law, the first of its kind in the U.S., could allow people to see or prohibit the use of their …

Ever since Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1818, the world has been fascinated with the idea of creating life in a lab. But it remained in the realm of fiction… until it became a bit closer to reality with genetic engineering work in a Swiss lab. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …

Emojis, those cute, vivid images that liven up emails and texts, seem to come in all shapes, colors and sizes. After all, there are more than 2,800 to choose from. Among the favorites: the smiley face, the thumbs up, the birthday cake. But it turns out, there is more people …

Emojis, those cute vivid images that liven up emails and texts, seem to come in all shapes, colors and sizes. The smiley face, the thumbs up, the birthday cake. Add one more to the list — interracial couples. Michelle Quinn looked into the story behind this new emoji, expected to …