As the first new German astronaut after Alexander Gerst there are going to be comparisons, and even here today (2.2.2017) at the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, you were almost introduced as Gerst. How are you going to jump that shadow? What do you bring to the table? Matthias Maurer: Well, you said it: Alexander Gerst is very well known in Germany - he's famous here. That's because he did an outstanding job. He flew the 2014 Blue Dot mission. And next year he flies again and then it'll be as commander of the International Space Station (ISS). So I believe he did an outstanding job, and I want to follow his example. But I also want to try to find my own profile.

Going in search of people who will speak on the record about artificial sweeteners like Aspartame at a sweets fair is like going to a tobacco convention to talk about cancer. Everyone can see the elephant in the room but no one wants to chew it. And there's a palpable sense of anxiety. No one wants to say the wrong thing.

Scientists have developed a brain-computer interface that reads the brain's blood oxygen levels and enables communication by deciphering the thoughts of patients who are totally paralyzed and unable to talk.

Apple could be the next big tech company to take legal action against President Trump's travel ban. The iPhone maker is considering legal options regarding Trump's executive order, which has affected hundreds of its employees, CEO Tim Cook said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Apple has not addressed the multiple issues surrounding its iOS 10 software update, particularly with the issue of iPhones dying down despite having more than enough battery life. The company has admitted there is a battery problem with a small batch of iPhone 6s units, but so far it has not addressed the battery concerns of those who have different iPhone models.

BlackBerry Mercury is shaping up to be one of the most impressive phones of the year, if the latest rumours are to be believed.

Researchers at the University of Exeter exposed Escherichia coli (also known as E.coli) bacteria to eight rounds of antibiotic treatment over a period of four days. In the process, the germs, which usually cause stomach pain and diarrhea and in worse cases kidney failure, increased antibiotic resistance with each treatment.

The first telecommunications satellite developed in Germany in over 25 years reached geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometers (21,500 miles) above Earth on Friday night. A Russian-built Soyuz-2 ST-B rocket launched from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana at 10:03 p.m. local time, carrying into orbit the Hispasat 36W-1 satellite.

Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba has entered into a digital partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that will see it customise the Olympic Channel for a Chinese audience.

Andreas Lindenthal: Yes, it is true, unfortunately! In the 1970s and 80s there was a strong push from German operators, like Deutsche Telekom, and the relevant ministries for research and technology, to develop the capabilities for launching, designing and producing telecommunications satellites. It was seen as a potential market for German industry. Then after the first satellites were launched - and the last was in the early 90s - the biggest industry group at the time (now known as Airbus) decided to share work on an international, European basis. That led to all systems responsibilities moving to France. And since then France has produced these telecommunications satellites for the global market, the European market and the German market.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization granted young Egyptian tourism expert Mohamed Youssef its most prestigious award for 2016 for his contributions to the development of the tourism industry, state-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported on Thursday.

DW: Mr. Wörner, what were you most excited to announce today? Jan Wörner: For me, the most important thing was not the facts and figures - this is of course very nice - but the future, the strategy, how we are realizing Space 4.0 and uniting space in Europe. What's the status of the moon village? The moon village is a concept. Meaning that we, as ESA, are proposing to all different actors worldwide to go to the moon, to do something over there jointly. Which does not mean having each and every detail [arranged], or a fixed situation, but to use the moon as a place for different activities - mining, tourism, science, moon science - and also as a stepping stone for further travels into our solar system.

The futuristic blue and red modules of the Halley VI research station certainly make an impressive sight, perched as they are on stilts with giant skis. The structure is now on the move, little by little, to a point 23 kilometers (14 miles) inland, away from two cracks in the Brunt Ice Shelf that gave cause for concern.

Today, I'm wearing a cotton t-shirt, a ruffled black sweater that is 72 percent viscose and 28 percent nylon, and dark blue denim jeans. From a fashion perspective, I look okay. But by environmental standards, my outfit is a disaster.

A Japanese meteorological satellite studying the planet Venus may have spotted the largest recorded gravity wave ever in our solar system, after pictures caught a wave 10,000 kilometers in length (more than 6,000 miles) stretched across the planet's surface in December 2015. After looking at pictures taken while in the planet's orbit, scientists theorize in a paper published in the journal "Nature Geoscience" that the geological bulge may be a gravity wave, due to its ability to remain unaffected by 359 kilometer per hour (223 mph) winds in Venus' upper atmosphere.

Former US astronaut Eugene "Gene" Cernan has died, according to the US space agency NASA. The ex-naval officer made three trips into space, including two to the moon. Cernan died on Monday surrounded by his family, according to a press release from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He was 82.

Poultry farming is a particularly unpleasant business - especially for male chicks. Because they are not well-suited to be raised for meat - and because they don't lay eggs - about 45 million male chicks are killed shortly after they hatch each year in Germany alone. Worldwide, that figure is put at about 2.5 billion.

Facebook on Sunday announced an initiative to combat the proliferation of fake news on its German-language social media platforms. "We are working very carefully on a solution to this problem. Our efforts are focused on the distribution of unique false alarms generated by spammers. We have also used third parties to provide objective, unbiased reviews of news," Facebook said in a statement.

Jia Jia” can hold a simple conversation and make specific facial expressions when asked, and her creator believes the eerily life-like robot heralds a future of cyborg labour in China.

Kyoto-based Nintendo released new details Friday on its new Switch video game console, which it said would hit the shops globally starting March 3. Anticipation had been mounting for months. In teaser videos, Nintendo had shown players using a handheld, whose remote controller section detached from the left and right sides of the main part of the device's display. This means that players will be able to use the Switch as a regular handheld, put the display on the table, or use a TV screen as a monitor.

In the aftermath of several terror attacks in Germany, politicians and journalists are debating whether such violent acts could be prevented by the use of electronic ankle bracelets for radicalized individuals known to authorities, referred to in German as "Gefährder" ("endangerers").