Despite assurances it's secure and your privacy is protected, sources claim that in addition to software and AI responding to your Alexa voice commands, there are humans listening back at Amazon.

The Event Horizon Telescope, a huge effort of more than 200 scientists who synchronised 8 different telescopes around the world, has directly imaged a black hole for the first time. Located at the heart of galaxy Messier 87, it is 55 million light-years from Earth and has a mass some 6.5 billion times that of our Sun.

The Human Research Program is NASA's comprehensive effort to enable safe and productive travel for people in space. Now retired identical twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly took part in a year long mission to closely compare changes in their bodies. Scott spent more than 300 days aboard the ISS, while Mark remained on Earth. Both submitted to regular checks of their immune systems, genetics, bone formation, gut bacteria, the effects of vaccines, radiation and biochemical changes. The information recorded will be used for years to come to understand how to make a return journey to Mars survivable.

Launched from Norway, NASA's Auroral Zone Upwelling Rocket Experiment dropped gases through aurora borealis to better understand the interaction of Earth's ionoshere with particles from outer space.

The new video game streaming service will start in late 2019. It'll run on the Chrome browser, will "state share" via YouTube and, depending on available bandwidth, promises lots of great hi-def games without the need for local storage.

Antibiotics were introduced in the 1940s and have saved countless lives from deadly infections. Now drug-resistant super bugs are becoming more prevalent, preying on the weak and infirm. This is largely due to massive over-use of antibiotics in farming and the third world.

From solid state data storage and back-up through to dash cams and smart plugs, we rack our brains for the most indispensable and affordable consumer devices out there. For detailed product info and to send feedback to us, head to http://beyondinfinity.com.au

UK scientists at Imperial College London are working on a synthetic alcohol substitute which promises many of the joys of grog, minus the hang-over or physical harm.

A slew of new, highly capable robots can now do amazing things. The latest factory robot, the Handle, can handle heavy boxes with ease and neatly stack pallets.

In addition to hunting for microbes, testing oxygen production and caching rock cores, NASA's next big rover will carry a small solar-powered helicopter. If this technology demonstrator is successful, expect to see more helicopter drones exploring the surface of the red planet.