Science + Technology

• New Chia cryptocurrency promises to be greener than Bitcoin, but may drive up hard drive prices
  Bitcoin has been widely criticised for its enormous energy footprint. A new cryptocurrency may solve that problem, but might bring some unintended consequences.
  Mohiuddin Ahmed, Lecturer of Computing & Security, Edith Cowan University
• A giant piece of space junk is hurtling towards Earth. Here's how worried you should be
  China's Long March 5B rocket, after a successful blast-off in April to deliver a space station module, is now on track to crash-land somewhere with a latitude between New York and New Zealand.
  Steven Freeland, Professorial Fellow, Bond University / Emeritus Professor of International Law, Western Sydney University, Western Sydney University
• Sure, video games want to get you hooked on spending. But there's no evidence they can manipulate you
  There's not enough scholarly evidence to suggest game companies can control our minds or our wallets.
  Ben Egliston, Postdoctoral research fellow, Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology
• Is 'Spot' a good dog? Why we're right to worry about unleashing robot quadrupeds
  Marketing for robotic 'dogs' plays up their potential for good, but the debate about lethal autonomous weapons suggests public anxiety is warranted.
  Jeremy Moses, Associate Professor in International Relations, University of Canterbury
• Humans weren't to blame for the extinction of prehistoric island-dwelling animals
  The famous deaths of moas and dodos has fed a narrative in which humans are agents of extinction for island-dwelling animals. But research suggests this only recently became the case.
  Julien Louys, ARC Future Fellow, Griffith University