Naturalist Charles Darwin believed the expanse of open ocean in the Pacific was an'impassable barrier' that separated species living on its east and west coasts. This, he argued, accounted for the differences seen in animals on each side of the ocean in much the same way as a mountain range or a desert may split habitats and lead to different species evolving on either side. Now researchers have proved him correct after showing that coral living in the eastern tropical Pacific are completely isolated from the rest of the ocean. Researchers have simulated how coral larvae spread across the Pacific Ocean using computer simulations. While coral themselves are invertebrates that form large static reefs fixed in place by their hard exoskeletons, they can spread by producing swarms of larvae that can colonise new areas.

Threat of AI taking over humankind could be one step closer to reality, as China is building a range of killer cruise missiles. The missiles, dubbed'death drones, will be equipped with artificial intelligence to guide them in flight and potentially even choose new targets. The country is leading the world in the development of AI weapons, a senior designer said today. China is building a range of killer cruise missiles which will be equipped with AI. President Xi Jinping is overseeing an ambitious military modernisation programme, including developing stealth fighters and building aircraft carriers.

Startup Civil Maps has a plan to get human-piloted cars to hasten their own demise. Autonomous vehicles like those being tested by Google, Uber, and major automakers rely on 3-D maps that record the position of curbstones and traffic lights with high accuracy. The maps are usually created by driving around in vehicles outfitted with expensive sensors. Civil Maps wants to use consumer cars as a low-cost mapping workforce instead, taking advantage of the sensors being added to premium models for advanced cruise control and crash avoidance. Those cheaper sensors can't match those in a dedicated mapping vehicle.

For the past several years, Google and other companies have been testing out self-driving car technology on public roads. But if you were a member of the general public, there was no way for you to ride around in a self-driving car. Uber is about to change that. Later this month in Pittsburgh, the ride-hailing company will offer the first self-driving car service that's available to the general public. It represents a big step toward transforming self-driving cars from a research prototype into a commercial service.

Ride-booking company Uber plans to offer customers self-driving cars in Pittsburgh soon. The vehicles will come with human backup drivers. Ride-booking company Uber plans to offer customers self-driving cars in Pittsburgh soon. The vehicles will come with human backup drivers. Uber is plowing ahead with its ambitious plan to make self-driving cars a reality.

The second-oldest confirmed shipwreck in the Great Lakes, an American-built, Canadian-owned sloop that sank in Lake Ontario more than 200 years ago, has been found, a team of underwater explorers said Wednesday. The three-member western New York-based team said it discovered the shipwreck this summer in deep water off Oswego, in central New York. Images captured by a remotely operated vehicle confirmed it is the Washington, which sank during a storm in 1803, team member Jim Kennard said. "This one is very special. We don't get too many like this," said Mr. Kennard, who along with Roger Pawlowski and Roland "Chip" Stevens has found numerous wrecks in Lake Ontario and other waterways.

Which is the best iPhone voice control technology? And which is the best Mac voice control? Which mobile platform - or speaker setup - offers the best voice control technology: Siri, Cortana, Google Now or Amazon Echo's Alexa? Siri has made a lot of progress in the last couple of years, developing into an impressive digital assistant that can handle all sorts of tasks on your iOS devices, on the latest Apple TV and - once macOS Sierra launches in the autumn - on Mac as well. This last step is long overdue: Siri's absence on the Mac has been a glaring omission for years, especially as Microsoft has had its own Cortana voice-tech running on Windows PCs since the launch of Windows 10 last year.

The investment firm Susa Ventures won't have any partners based in Los Angeles as it begins investing from a new 50-million fund. Susa unveiled its second fund -- double the size of its first -- Tuesday. In looking at the first batch of investments, Susa's geographically spread apart team realized that most of the companies were in the San Francisco Bay Area, including finance start-ups Robin Hood and LendUp. They decided to consolidate in San Francisco, too. "To take it to take next level, we all needed to be in the same office and S.F. seemed like the best," said general partner Seth Berman, who moved there from Los Angeles more than a year ago.

CyberLaunch, the leading accelerator for information security and machine learning startups, today announced its inaugural'Demo Day,' for Thursday, Aug. 25, at Atlanta Tech Village. Accredited investors, entrepreneurs and media are invited to attend a private viewing of the accelerators' first seven startups. Demo Day attendees will have the opportunity to meet with each startup founder, network with investors and executives from the corporate community, and get to know some of CyberLaunch's 140 mentors. The event will also include a Startup Showcase, featuring 20 additional startups, and a panel on information security and machine learning, consisting of global industry experts. "Information security and machine learning are two tech industries poised for exponential growth in the coming years," said Christopher Klaus, CyberLaunch co-founder and serial entrepreneur.

CAMBRIDGE, England--After a long push inspired by Silicon Valley, this centuries-old college town has taken on a new role as a modern, tech-industry hub. The reward has been a flood of jobs and money. The downsides have been the same sort of housing and traffic strains beleaguering the San Francisco Bay Area. Another, more recent complaint by some locals: Foreigners keep snapping up the best companies that have sprouted here. Cambridge's tech bona fides were validated afresh last month when Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank Group Corp. 9984 -0.17 % agreed to pay 32 billion for ARM Holdings ARMH -0.52 % PLC.