It's a good time to be an alien hunter. In August astronomers discovered Proxima b, a potentially life-supporting planet only 4.2 light-years away. Not long after, news surfaced of a possible signal coming from HD164595, a star in the Hercules constellation, first noticed by Russian scientists in 2015. Then there's KIC 8462852, better known as Tabby's Star, a body whose inexplicable light fluctuations have inspired a rash of speculation. Are we finally going to learn that we're not alone?

Investment into the digital health market topped 4.5 billion in 2015, and we are seeing an acceleration of investment in 2016. According to StartUp Health, investment into the digital health market for the first half of 2016 reached 3.9 billion. Early-stage innovation made up more than 65% of deals, with the majority of investment capital it going into Series A rounds. As of July, patient and consumer products, which include wearables, are leading with over 960 million invested in this sector, followed by wellness at 854 million, personalized health at 524 million, big data/analytics at 406 million and workflow at 328 million. Digital health research and population health are at the bottom of the start-up health company's list, with 65 million and 55 million, respectively. It's no surprise that we are seeing digital health M&A activity coming from tech giants such as Google, Apple and IBM.

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display

This week federal regulators released a highly-anticipated policy for autonomous vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a 116-page document that outlines how automakers should test and deploy self-driving cars. Safety advocates have been pushing for stronger federal guidance regarding vehicle automation. Meanwhile, robotic cars are already let loose on American streets . Dutch police train eagles to attack drones, but here's why it won't happen in the US Police eagles are just as awesome as they sound, but are they really a practical solution for drone defense?

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display

Theresa May's government is "committed" to a law that would pardon thousands of gay men convicted under historical gross indecency laws. A spokesperson for Downing Street confirmed to Mashable reports that the legislation, called the "Alan Turing law", would be introduced "in due course". Turing, a World War Two codebreaker, was pardoned posthumously in 2013 after an official apology was made by Gordon Brown, then prime minister, in 2009. The mathematician had been convicted of gross indecency in 1952 after an affair with a 19-year-old man. He took his life two years later.

With rising security challenges in the global commons, there is growing interest in the subject of "intelligent" weapons systems. This is especially so in the maritime realm, where recent studies have shown that precision-guided weaponry and networked systems are likely to play an increasingly important role. Even while accepting autonomous systems as the future of maritime warfare, however, many find the subject of "intelligent weapon systems" to be deeply contentious. A good point of departure for the discussion on autonomous combat systems is a recent report in the Chinese media about the development of a family of cruise missiles with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. In August this year, a Chinese daily reported that China's aerospace industry was developing tactical missiles with inbuilt intelligence that would help seek out targets in combat.

Yesterday, the President of the United States did something unusual. In an op-ed published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Barack Obama explicitly made the case for putting people inside of robots and moving them around. That is, he argued in favor of driverless cars, which is a less horrific statement of the same thing. Self-driving cars, or autonomous vehicles, are in development from Google, Apple, and Uber, as well as others, and they bring the promise of perfect, more efficient travel, with cars communicating automatically to each other and deadly human error a thing of the past. It is an exciting potential future, but if it's to come to fruition, it needs rules.

NEW YORK – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan's aging, shrinking population was not a burden, but an incentive to boost productivity through innovations like robots, wireless sensors and artificial intelligence. Abe's comments on Wednesday came days after official data showed that Japan has 34.6 million people aged 65 and older, or 27.3 percent of the population -- the highest proportion among advanced nations. "I have absolutely no worries about Japan's demography," Abe said in a prepared speech at a Reuters Newsmaker event, noting that nominal gross domestic product had grown despite losing 3 million working-age people over the last three years. Japan may be losing its population. But these are incentives for us," he said. Because we will continue to be motivated to grow our productivity," Abe added, citing robots, wireless sensors, and Artificial Intelligence as among the tools to do so.