...The ultimate e-bike
For anyone who lives in hilly areas, the rise of e-bikes has been welcome. Gone is the embarrassment of puffing up a climb at a snail's pace, while getting overtaken by walkers. A few companies stood out this year, but our favourite is Cowboy, whose Cruiser is as much computer as mode of transport. It has a built-in phone charger, automatic lights and an app to measure your battery life, speed, location and more. Swapping the chain for a belt and hiding the electrical parts inside the frame ensures a sleek, minimalist design and makes it nigh impossible to break. There are no gears - instead, the bike automatically provides enough power for any given situation. It's no surprise, then, that this is not a budget e-bike, but it could be worth the outlay all the same.
Cowboy Cruiser
UK.cowboy.com, From £2,190
...The next-gen AI image generator
ChatGPT was the biggest tech news story of 2023, but its lesser-known sibling, DALL-E, also broke new ground. Launched in early 2021, the original DALL-E was one of the first and most influential artificial intelligence (AI) image generators. With the third iteration unveiled in 2023, OpenAI - the company behind ChatGPT - continued to make the technology more powerful and accurate. For DALL-E 3, detail and understanding of prompts have improved, along with copyright controls (artists can opt out of having their work used for training the AI). Earlier versions were confused by complicated subjects and requests demanding high levels of logic, but DALL'E's 'brain' has also been tweaked to better understand the context of images. We'll be talking about this kind of technology for years to come. Whether that's a good or bad thing remains to be seen.
DALL-E 3
openai.com, Free
Denne historien er fra New Year 2024-utgaven av BBC Science Focus.
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Denne historien er fra New Year 2024-utgaven av BBC Science Focus.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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THE HUNGER GAME
Obesity is on the rise, but as we blame our unhealthy food-ridden environment and look to wonder drugs to get rid of unwanted fat, what role do our genetics play?
HOW THE UNIVERSE WILL END
A colossal supercollider now in the early stages of development may one day help us predict the ultimate fate of the Universe. With it, scientists will be trying to find a hidden instability built into the fabric of existence... an instability that could destroy everything
DARK ENERGY MIGHT BE ABOUT TO THROW A SPANNER IN THE WORKS
The most mysterious phenomenon in the Universe could be about to spring another surprise on us
TAKE-OFF AT LAST
AFTER A LONG WAIT, THE WORLD'S FIRST ZERO EMISSIONS AEROPLANES ARE FINALLY TAXIING TO REALITY. BUT ARE THEY THE SOLUTION WE NEED?
INSIDE THE 3D, NANOSCALE ATLAS THAT REVEALS A FRACTION OF THE HUMAN BRAIN
The map is now the highest-resolution picture of the human brain ever created
HOW THE LATEST DEVELOPMENT IN NUCLEAR FORENSICS MAY HELP CLEAN UP CHERNOBYL
Contrary to popular belief, radioactive material doesn't glow. But a team of nuclear forensics experts are working on a device to make it do just that. BBC Science Focus's Noa Leach meets the scientists behind the innovative device
MAJOR STUDY SHOWS HOW ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS CHANGE YOUR LIFESPAN, IF YOU'RE NOT EATING YOUR VEG
While ultra-processed food is bad for your health, a decades-long study suggests it may not be as harmful as previously thought
ORIGIN OF EARTH'S 'SECOND MOON' DISCOVERED
Asteroid sampling mission will confirm whether moon-like Kamo'oalewa came from our Moon
INTERMITTENT FASTING AND CORRECTLY TIMED WORKOUTS ARE KEY TO FAT LOSS, SAYS STUDY
A new approach to dieting and exercise could help you lose weight and enhance your health
MASSIVE EXPLOSION SPOTTED ON MYSTERIOUS DEAD STAR
A satellite in the right place at the right time captured an important cosmic sight