Beyond Infinity

Smart home devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Nest are super handy but do come with some security risks. There are now 50 million in use in America, with 21% of adults owning them and sales are booming. Representative Seth Moulton (D-MA) is calling for a new generation of digital privacy laws to protect people's private conversations at home from being recorded without permission.

We look at the effects of the accelerating trade war on consumer spending on everyday items in America, in particular on the pricing of Chinese-made devices from Apple.

See for yourself just how comprehensive new tariffs are at ustr.gov

From The Vault: The Best Of Beyond Infinity.

The first time one spacecraft orbited two separate objects in our solar system was NASA's pioneering DAWN mission to Vesta and Ceres.

PLUS: Planet X - the hunt for the elusive 9th planet; and the JUNO spacecraft's hairy encounter with the gas giant Jupiter.

From The Vault: The Best Of Beyond Infinity.

Honey and Bees. Cedar Anderson talks development of the Flowhive, his gadget which gives "honey on tap" and his wildly successful social media campaign that made it a worldwide hit.

PLUS: Bee experts Simon Mulvany and Ben Moore on the challenges facing the honey bee industry in Europe, New Zealand and Australia, and the banning of neonicitinoids.

A recent Michigan State University study published in the Journal of Behavioural Addictions suggests that heavy social media users act in a way not dissimilar to cocaine or heroin addicts.

Newly developed at the Institute of Technology in Madras, iron-ion batteries are safe, clean and stable. They can't be recharged as many times as lithium-ion batteries, but for specific uses they offer advantages.

If it passes a final vote in the Senate, California's AB5 bill will force companies like Uber, Lyft, Instacart and Postmates to classify workers as employees, not independent contractors. This fundamental challenge to a beloved business model of Silicon Valley could seriously effect bottom line profitability.

Hollywood is embracing the latest VFX techniques to accurately depict what actors looked like when they were much younger. Ang Lee's 'Gemini Man' and Scorsese's 'The Irishman' showcase the incredible (and very expensive) tools filmmakers now have at their disposal.

US tech giants are cracking down on misuse of their platforms. Twitter recently closed 200,000 fake accounts from China and Google has taken action against government-backed hacking attempts, issuing an update titled "Maintaining the integrity of our platforms".

Billions of CCTV cameras now monitor cities across the world but don't necessarily result in big reductions in crime or improvements in public safety. What they do provide is a data bonanza for governments, anxious to keep ever closer tabs on 'their' people.