Beyond Infinity

How Russia's extended assault on US democracy used computational propaganda to mislead and divide Americans. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were all exploited to microtarget millions of voters between 2013 and 2018.

Whether it's fake texts from Australia Post, threatening robo calls from the Australian Tax Office or bogus calls from an Indian call centre seeking access to your PC, the scammers are out in force over the holiday season. We run through some of the most common tricks and what to look out for to protect yourself and your finances.

An ambitious world-first mission is set to land in Von Karman crater and release a rover to investigate the little known far side of our nearest celestial neighbour. It will set the scene for the Chang'e 5 and 6 sample return missions.

Is it possible to simulate a smell through the nasal cavity by an electric signal?

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission reckons that the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) testing of Australian supermarket honey brands by Germany's Quality Services International (QSI) lab is "not yet reliable enough to determine whether honey is adulterated". Industry whistle-blower Simon Mulvany disagrees with this finding and says his legal dispute with Capilano Honey could be adversely effected by the news.

After getting more than 4% of the primary vote in the Victorian state election for the seat of Nepean, anti food fraud campaigner Simon Mulvany outlines his plans to contest the Federal seat of Flinders in the next federal election due in May 2019. He would be taking on Greg Hunt, Australia's health minister and a frontbencher with leadership ambitions of his own.

Simon Mulvany of Save The Bees Australia takes us through some of what he can and can't say in his legal dispute with Capilano. He is also critical of an article about Capilano published on Choice.com.au, a website which claims to be pro-consumer, independent and "free from commercial bias". He explains how new labeling regulations have exposed the real amount of Australian honey in supermarket products.

He Jiankui, an associate professor at Shenzhen's Southern University of Science and Technology, has shocked the world with claims he's succeeded in editing the genes of new-born twins Lulu and Nana. Bioethicicists and genetic researchers fear he has opened Pandora's Box.

With Opposition support, the Australian Government has rushed through new laws to force device makers and software companies to enable law enforcement and intelligence organisations to access encrypted communications.

A virtual reality driving simulator for the aged is being trialed in Invernell in NSW. It aims to assess and enhance driving skills to improve road safety and give those who've stopped driving a taste of the real thing.

An Australian/Israeli start up has developed a clean, efficient and cost effective new fuel comprising a stable mix of hydrogen and water. We talk to Michael Simonetti, the digital marketing expert entrusted with spreading the story of this intriguing new technology which he says will change the world.

Finally, after technical issues delayed the mission by 2 years, NASA's latest outpost on the red planet is safely established at Elysium Planitia. InSight will use a crane to deploy surface instruments to study Mars' interior, listen for marsquakes and drill several meters beneath the landing site with a heat probe.

Victoria is following in the footsteps of the world's biggest battery at the Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia, building new battery sites in Ballarat and Gannawarra. Australia is one of nine countries leading the big battery charge and is tipped to be a global leader in grid-scale battery storage.

Australia's national science agency is spending up on space technology and AI. Objectives include improved food security and quality, health and well being, better security for Australia and our region, improved response to drought and management of food resources and better genome and climate data to help with crops and livestock performance.

Kids are amazing: energised and enthusiastic about science, tech and how to take best advantage of the internet of things. Three young winners of Australia's 'Little Big Ideas Competition' will go on an all-expenses-paid innovation adventure to the US, including a visit to NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

After 11 years in space and historic orbits of 2 separate objects in the main asteroid belt, the Dawn mission is over. Part of NASA's Discovery Program, Dawn was a huge success, demonstrating cutting-edge ion propulsion and vastly improving our knowledge of the origins of the solar system, the large asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres, a startling and exotic world believed to once have an ocean.

Simon Mulvany of Save The Bees Australia has been embroiled in a legal dispute with Capilano Honey for years. Here he provides startling revelations about the leadership of Capilano in the person of Ben McKee, the company's CEO. He says his battle is partly about free speech and reckons in future there'll be benefits from his case for other activists.

The China Academy of Space Technology is aiming high, with an orbiter, lander and rover mission to Mars scheduled for 2020. Thirteen payloads will be carried, including ground-penetrating radar and a methane-sensitive spectrometer to look for hints of biological processes. But getting there aint easy, with more than half of all Mars missions ending in failure.

Fragmentation of quality programming among different streaming services is causing more people to turn to bit torrent and the like to get hold of the content they want.

Monsanto has been ordered to pay $290m to Dewayne Johnson, a Californian groundskeeper riddled with cancer after working with the herbicide Round Up. Simon Mulvany of Save The Bees Australia offers his thoughts on how this landmark case could open the door to over 4000 related law suits. He explains the terrible effects of Round Up on dogs and bees, and outlines alternative safe strategies to control weeds.