Beyond Infinity

Google Plus, Google's failed social networking platform, suffered a significant security breach of users' private profile data but failed to disclose it immediately out of fear of 'reputational damage'.

Peptides extracted from Australia's deadly funnel web spider appear to be very effective in selectively killing melanoma skin cancer cells and Tasmanian Devil facial cancer cells. And there could be other uses in the biopharmaceutical industry.

In an effort to tap China's 750 million internet users, Google has secretly developed a search engine for the Chinese government that incorporates tight censorship and blacklists. Yet under pressure from free speech advocates, Google says the custom search engine may never be used.

There were only 40,000 cases of influenza in the 2018 Australian flu season, compared with 230,000 the year before - thanks mainly to an effective (and lucky) national vaccination program.

A flawed genius or just chronically over-worked? Elon Musk's behaviour over the past few months has raised eyebrows among investors and regulators. Tesla's share price has fallen nearly 30% and the hunt is on to find a person to assume some of the responsibilities currently shouldered by the company's founder and CEO.

One of the biggest and most damaging malware attacks of the past 10 years, Wannacry infected millions of computers running Windows XP, 7 and 10 around the world, compromising hospitals, airports and government systems. Now the FBI has charged North Korean programmer Park Jin Hyok for a string of big cyber attacks, including Wannacry, the hacking of Sony Pictures in 2014 and stealing $81 million from a bank in Bangladesh.

A survey of British school kids showed that 63% would be happy if social media had never been invented. Other studies suggest that younger crew are becoming disenchanted with Facebook, while older generations are getting on board.

RangerBot, developed at the Queensland University of Technology, is a compact autonomous submarine that can identify and kill crown of thorns starfish with a lethal injection of animal bile. In future, fleets of these robotic bounty hunters could help tame the scourge of coral-killing sea stars which threaten the Great Barrier Reef.

A run through of some of the Australian Museum's Eureka Prizes, including a glue to close wounds in place of stitches, a super-sensitive test for detecting leukaemia and an outdoor gaming app to encourage citizen scientists.

Researchers at Auckland University of Technology's Knowledge Engineering and Discovery Research Institute have come up with an AI model which predicts choices made by the sub-conscious mind before you are even aware you've made a decision. The breakthrough has huge implications for marketing and advertising.

After recent ABC News revelations about adulterated imported honey from China, activist Simon Mulvany reflects on his protracted legal battle with Australia's biggest honey company ASX-listed Capilano and the personal toll it has taken on him and his family. While legal proceedings are yet to be resolved, he is already tempted to feel that the worst might be over and that his arguments about truth in advertising, about tainted imported honey and protecting the local bee-keeping industry are finally being vindicated. Part 2 of a 2 part interview.

Independent analysis using nuclear magnetic resonance at the Quality Services International lab shows that about half of honey on sale at big supermarket chains is adulterated with sweet-tasting syrups. Following revelations on the ABC's '730 Report', much of this has now been withdrawn from sale. But fundamental questions have been raised about food fraud, truth in advertising, about consumer naivety about the quality of imported ingredients and the vulnerability of the Australian honey industry. Part 1 of a 2 part in-depth interview with honey activist Simon Mulvany of Save The Bees Australia.

Tougher screening laws at airports in Australia mean you can be required to unlock electronic devices for inspection or face heavy fines and up to 10 years behind bars. Nathan Hague, a British-Australian IT developer, had his devices taken out of sight and his laptop's password cracked at Sydney airport. He reckons his files may have been copied and software installed on his equipment.

After a perfect course-refining engine burn on August 20, NASA's first dedicated mission to the Sun is on course for a gravity assist from Venus on October 3 before its first perihelion on November 5. The fastest spacecraft ever will travel at speeds up to 690,000 kmh, endure temperatures of 1400 C and send back vital information about space weather, the solar wind and our nearest star's enigmatic atmosphere.

The widespread use of weak or common passwords among the general public is well known, but a recent check by the auditor general on agencies of the state government of Western Australia showed that 60,000 out of 234,000 accounts used insecure passwords. And these very agencies are supposed to be trusted with the safe handling of the public's data.

Graeme Hanigan, Secretary of White Cliffs Solar Thermal Power Station Friends Inc, explains how he became involved in efforts to preserve the disused site of the world's first commercial solar power station. From 1981 to 1997, 14 parabolic dishes covered in thousands of mirrors harnessed the sun, generating power for the small outback town of White Cliffs in Western NSW. Graeme gives us the history of the project and how various technical and logistical hurdles were overcome. The conservation project recently received a government grant of almost $60,000 to fund repair and restoration works to ensure this important part of our engineering heritage is preserved for future generations.

Hydrogen derived from ammonia could soon be powering cars in Japan, Korea and Singapore. This follows ten years of research at Australia's CSIRO into a special membrane to convert hydrogen to ammonia, meaning it can be shipped safely and then easily converted back to hydrogen anywhere in the world.

John takes us through some smart moves with home sharing that can save you big time on popular internet services.

Donald Trump arguably benefited from WikiLeaks during the 2016 US presidential campaign and said he "loved" the publisher of damaging information to the Democrats. But time could be running out for Julian Assange, as the Australian hacker and founder of WikiLeaks may soon be ejected from the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Trump's new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the US "can no longer allow Assange and his colleagues to use free speech values against us".

What to do with old phones, laptops, TVs, printers, monitors, cables and chords? Well, it could prove cheaper to 'mine' this rubbish for the valuable metals it contains than to actually mine such materials from ore. It would also be far better than dumping our growing mountains e-waste in landfill.