Psychologist Niels Birbaumer has spent a great part of his career dealing with people whose bodies have failed them. He published a paper in 2008 about the quality of life among people who have lost the ability to control their bodies, many of whom needed a breathing tube to live. In new research published this… more

Twitter says it is stepping up efforts to prevent “abuse and harassment” on its microblogging platform. On Tuesday, the company announced several steps it is taking. First, Twitter says it will identify people who have been banned for online abuse and prevent them from creating new accounts. Additionally, the company says it will create a… more

Uber has hired an engineer from the U.S. space agency NASA to work on its initiative to nurture a flying car industry.  Mark Moore joins the Uber Elevate project, which is aimed at supporting companies that are developing vehicles, as well as working with regulators and governments that would be involved in setting rules.  Uber… more

A hospital in Tanzania is using 3-D printers to make artificial limbs, shortening a process that used to take weeks to just a few hours. Researchers want to see if this technology can be scaled up to meet the needs of the estimated 3.5 million people living with a disability in Tanzania. For VOA, Willy… more

A Super Bowl advertisement for digital home assistant caused problems for many who already owned the device. During Super Bowl LI Sunday, Google touted its Google Home device, which uses voice commands to perform various tasks around the house such as playing music or turning lights off and on. But the commercial showed people actually… more

The tech industry is bracing itself for an expected Trump administration executive order that will most likely limit U.S. employers’ use of a set of visas for skilled foreign workers. As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump criticized visa programs that allow U.S. employers to bring skilled foreign workers into the country. He promised to make… more

Amazon isn’t content just being the “everything store.” Increasingly, it looks like it wants to be its own deliveryman, too. Its Monday announcement of a new air cargo hub in Kentucky is merely Amazon’s latest foray into building out its own shipping and logistics unit. If successful, the move could ultimately mean lower costs for… more

The state of California is experiencing what could be considered a modern-day gold rush, though markedly different from the one that took place in the mid 1800s. The new gold: technology and successful startups in California’s Silicon Valley. It attracts people from around the world, who go there and try to make it big. Tech… more

Building skyscrapers in earthquake-prone areas, such as the U.S. West Coast, may seem irresponsible, but thanks to recent advancements in construction engineering, Los Angeles will soon open a 73-story tall hotel capable of withstanding up to 8.3 magnitude earthquakes. VOA’s George Putic has more. …… more

Artificial intelligence has made history by beating humans in poker for the first time, the last remaining game in which humans had managed to maintain the upper hand. Libratus, an AI built by Carnegie Mellon University, racked up over $1.7 million worth of chips against four of the top professional poker players in the world… more

Holy drone, Batman! Mechanical masterminds have spawned the Bat Bot, a soaring, sweeping and diving robot that may eventually fly circles around other drones. Because it mimics the unique and more flexible way bats fly, this 3-ounce prototype could do a better and safer job getting into disaster sites and scoping out construction zones than… more

The medals for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics will be made from metals reclaimed from discarded cell phones. Olympic organizers say they are asking the Japanese public to donate old phones or other old electronic appliances in an effort to collect as much as eight tons of metal to produce the 5,000 gold, silver… more

Last weekend in Los Angeles, 27 international teams gave us a preview of what could be the future of transportation. The idea sprang from the mind of Elon Musk, CEO of Space X, but the engineering was done by universities and companies all over the world. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …… more

Four people will join the daily White House press briefing on Wednesday, as the “inaugural panelists” for “Skype seats,” press secretary Sean Spicer said. The cyberseats are an attempt by the Trump administration to open the briefings to a more diverse group of journalists, as well as allow outlets without traditional White House access and… more

Noting populist and nationalist forces making gains in democratic states last year, Freedom House has declared 2016 the 11th consecutive year of a decline in global freedom. Of the 195 countries assessed in the Freedom House report, less than half were rated Free.  Forty-nine countries were rated “not free”, and of those, Syria, Eritrea, North… more

With the advent of the digital age, anyone with a good idea and the ability to code can produce innovations that were not possible before the internet. Taking that idea to the next level, and ultimately forming a startup, takes a team of people with unique skills. Forming those teams often occurs at an event… more

Google has created a crisis fund that could raise up to $4 million for four immigrant rights organizations.   Google has confirmed a USA Today report that it is funding an initial $2 million for the fund that can be matched with up to $2 million in donations from employees. The money will go toward… more

News of President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting U.S. immigration from seven Muslim majority countries hung over TechWadi, a weekend annual technology event in San Francisco focused on entrepreneurship and investment in the Middle East over the past 10 years. Deena Shakir, a manager at Google and an event moderator, said that in Silicon Valley,… more

For centuries, wood was civilization’s primary construction material, but as the use of concrete, glass and steel grew, wood was largely relegated to flooring and interior paneling. An exhibition at the National Building Museum in Washington challenges that narrow use. It suggests that tomorrow’s buildings will or should be constructed of wood. The exhibition, “Timber… more

For centuries, wood was civilization’s primary construction material, but it gave way to concrete, glass and steel and was largely relegated to flooring and interior paneling. An exhibition at the National Building Museum in Washington challenges that. It suggests that tomorrow’s buildings will or should be constructed of wood. VOA’s June Soh has more, in… more

Mastercard has launched a new digital marketplace for East African farmers to sell their crops and receive payment via their mobile telephones. “2Kuze” (pronounced “tuh-KOO-zay”) works with existing mobile money systems like mPesa to facilitate transactions between farmers, agents and banks, the financial-services corporation said. The World Bank’s Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)… more

Washington Auto Show 2017 opened Friday in the U.S. capital, featuring several interesting new models. Manufacturers are trying to dazzle prospective buyers with electric propulsion, better performance, comfort, style and better and better mileage. VOA’s George Putic reports. …… more

The tech industry brought us self-driving cars, artificial intelligence and 3-D printers. But when it comes to racial and gender diversity, its leading companies are no trailblazers.   Despite loudly touted efforts to hire more blacks, Latinos and women, especially in technical and leadership positions, diversity numbers at the largest tech companies are barely budging.… more