In a new study published in Science, researchers have developed a new method for detecting infrared light by changing its frequency to a corresponding frequency in the range of visible light.

Electromagnetic waves have a characteristic frequency and wavelength that are inversely proportional; as one increases, the other decreases. Measured in Hertz (Hz), human eyes can perceive light frequencies between 400 and 750 trillion Hz, or terahertz (THz). Smartphone cameras can detect down to 300 THz, and other detectors used in fiber-optic cables can detect around 200 THz.

Lower frequency light does not have sufficient energy to be registered by the photoreceptors in our eyes, meaning we cannot see frequencies of light like infrared that fall below this threshold but contain a great deal of information. As everything with warmth radiates energy, temperature differences can be detected visually with infrared spectroscopy, remotely, and without contact.

Taking place on Saturday, December 4th, you may be able to see the year's only total solar eclipse if you live towards the south pole.

A solar eclipse occurs when a new moon moves in front of the Sun from a viewer's perspective on Earth. Total solar eclipses happen when the moon is close enough to Earth during its orbit that it blocks out the entirety of the Sun as it passes between the Earth and the Sun. The length of the totality and percent of Sun covered varies considerably based on the observer's location. It's not advised to look directly at the event without some form of protective eyewear.

In Antarctica, almost two minutes of totality is expected, and NASA will broadcast the event from Antarctica if the weather allows. The best views will be from there, but some eclipse will be partially viewable from Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and South Africa.

The video has been posted by Engineered Arts to its YouTube channel and reveals the first look at the humanoid robot Ameca.

Developed by Engineered Arts, Ameca is the most advanced humanoid robot from the company and in a video recently posted to the Engineered Arts YouTube channel, Ameca's facial expressions have been demonstrated. Ameca can be seen slowly waking up by shrugging its shoulders and then quickly opening its eyes with a shock or surprised look on its face.

The facial expressions demonstrated here are truly mind-blowing, and I believe what has made this demonstration so impactful is Ameca's small facial movements such as a furrowed brow, blinking multiple times as if it was waking its eyes up, and looking down at its own hands as if it was inspecting what they are capable of.

SpaceX and Telsa CEO Elon Musk took to his Twitter to make a sly joke towards the US political system by suggesting an age limit be implemented.

Musk posted the Tweet early Thursday morning to his 65 million Twitter followers, where it gained a massive amount of traction on the platform, amassing 320,600+ likes. Futurism reports that Musk is taking a shot at President Joe Biden, as there has been much criticism about the President's age since he took office in early 2021. However, that claim is yet to be proven as Musk's statement is very broad and doesn't specifically mention Biden.

It appears Musk is simply making a joke about the infamous number "69", while also combining a political element. In other Musk news, reports recently revealed through an internal SpaceX email that Musk is concerned that SpaceX may face a genuine risk of bankruptcy. On the same day as the email from Musk to SpaceX staff about the bankruptcy comes to light, a leaked video of the inside of Starship surfaces as well. Check out both of those stories below.

One of the largest clothing and footwear design and manufacturers has announced it's being led into the Metaverse.

Adidas has announced that the Bored Ape Yacht Club and PUNKS Comic are now leading the company into the Metaverse, with Adidas teasing a Metaverse where people in "overlooked locations with updates values" are able to share their "most original ideas". Engadget reports that Adidas is being quite cryptic about what it's sharing with its audience about the announcement, but judging on who is involved, it can be assumed that the entry into the Metaverse will come with NFTs.

The extremely popular collection of Bored Ape NFTs that can be purchased on the Ethereum blockchain has a new entry, Adidas' "rebellious optimist" ape Indigo Herz. Adidas said that this is a "sign of what's to come", and pushes people who are interested in learning more about this announcement to download the Adidas' Confirmed app to "discover more". If you are interested in learning more about this story, or would like to download the app, check out the Adidas website here.

Researchers have identified an asteroid that is scheduled to make a relatively close approach to Earth very soon.

The asteroid is 4660 Nereus, and it measures in at a whopping 1,083 feet in diameter, which is just shy of the height of the Empire State Building. 4660 Nereus was first discovered back in 1982, and every 10 years or so, the massive asteroid flies relatively close by Earth which makes it a perfect candidate for asteroid missions. Next week on December 11, 4660, Nereus will pass by Earth at a safe distance of 2.44 million miles, which is a little over 10 times the distance between Earth and the Moon.

4660 Nereus is officially classified as a "potentially hazardous" object, as is any asteroid that passes 4.65 million miles of Earth and has a diameter larger than 500 feet. Reports indicate that the next approach 4660 Nereus makes will be the closest it has made in decades, and the next time that it will come close to Earth will be on February 14, 2060. If you are interested in reading more about asteroids, or comets, check out this link here.

More than a year ago, a company called MegaDodo revealed an ambitious VR headset project called DecaGearthat would include multiple biometric sensors to make virtual reality experiences even more immersive. After several months of silent delays, the company recently revealed that it's making a pivot because of economic factors. A former employee of the company has suggested that things could be worse than MegaDodo's leadership is letting on.

In mid-November, MegaDodo's founder, Or Kurtzman, announced that his company would shift from becoming a hardware maker to a designer that licenses hardware. Development of the DecaGear headset continues, but the company is no longer planning to manufacture it themselves. Instead, MegaDodo would work with other companies who wish to license their technology. The company said it would fulfill existing pre-orders, but it won't launch the headset as initially planned.

On Wednesday, someone claiming to be a former employee at MegaDodo posted a damning message on a Discord server, subsequently shared on Twitter. The supposed employee said that multiple people have left the company due to internal changes and "exaggerated marketing." They went on to say that you should consider requesting a refund if you placed an order.

The popular city building game, Cities Skylines, has been rebuilt for VR. Cities: VR is coming to Quest next year.

Fast Travel Games announced something special on Thursday. The veteran VR developer behind top titles like Apex Construct, The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pet, and Wraith: Oblivion - Afterlife revealed that it licensed the Cities: Skylines IP from Paradox Interactive to bring the city building genre to virtual reality. The game will debut on the Meta Quest 2 in the Spring of 2022.

"Cities: Skylines is the ultimate modern city-builder, and it's an honor to bring this franchise to VR," said Erik Odeldahl, Creative Director at Fast Travel Games. "The city-building genre has huge potential in the VR market, and we couldn't wait to work on this IP. We've spent a ton of time, research, and energy to translate Cities: Skylines to VR in a way that is both approachable for new players and a new challenge for Cities veterans. We can't wait to see what players build!"

The Meta Quest 2 is the most affordable and most convenient VR headset for consumers. The Quest 2 starts at $299, with a more expensive version available for $399. When you look at the other options on the market, nothing even comes close to those prices. Not to mention, you don't need a computer to use the Quest 2, so it's a no-brainer for newcomers to the medium.

SteamVR is Valve's distribution platform for VR content and driver system for VR hardware. Valve's headset, the Valve Index, is a costly PC-connected system, which has been on the market for over two years. The Quest 2 is a much cheaper device, and it boasts many advantages over Valve's device, not least of which is the wireless streaming feature for tether-free VR.

It's no wonder that Valve's latest Steam Survey results show that Meta's Quest 2 is still gaining traction month over month. This month's survey results show that over 36% of SteamVR users enjoy their VR content with a Quest 2 headset. Pair that with the 4% that the original Quest headset holds, and you have 40% of all SteamVR users running a Quest device.

It seems that most people aren't upgrading to Microsoft's latest version of its operating system, with less than 1% of PC users upgrading to Windows 11.

This is according to Lansweeper, an IT asset management firm, which says only 0.21% of PC users are running Windows 11. This is flying in the face of Microsoft offering Windows 11 as a free upgrade for Windows 10 users and comes days after Microsoft CEO Nadella Satya off-loaded over half of his Microsoft stock.

Lansweeper investigated data from over 10 million Windows devices in both businesses, and home users, finding that Windows 11 is the 5th most popular OS overall. Hell, there are more people using both Windows 8 (ugh) and Windows XP than there are people running Windows 11. There's 3.62% of people running Windows XP, and 0.95% running Windows 8.