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    PROGRAMMING You've always wanted to learn how to build software yourself—or just whip up an occasional script—but never knew where to start. Luckily, the web is full of free resources that can turn you into a programmer in no time. Since the invention of the internet, programmers have been using it to discuss software development techniques, publish tutorials, and share code samples for others to learn from and use online. If you're curious about how to become a programmer, you can get off to a running start using tons of great free web-based tutorials and resources. First Things First: Don't Get Hung Up on Choosing a Language A common pitfall for beginners is getting stuck figuring out which programming language is best to learn first. There are a lot of opinions out there, but there's no one "best" language. Here's the thing: In the end, language doesn't matter THAT much. Understanding data and control structures and design patterns does ma

WHY IT MATTERS TO YOU Lab-grown meat could bring an end to unnecessary animal deaths. A new research paper just brought that dream one step closer. A new study published in the  journal  Scientific Reports  has taken us one step closer to the dream of animal-free meat. (And, no, in case your mind immediately goes to the 1973 sci-fi movie  Soylent Green , it ain’t people, either!) “What the paper describes is research designed to generate muscle from a newly established pig stem-cell line, rather that from primary cells taken directly from a pig,” co-author Dr. Nicholas Genovese, a stem-cell biologist (and vegetarian), told Digital Trends. “This entailed understanding the biology of relatively uncharacterized and recently-derived porcine induced pluripotent stem cell lines. What conditions support cell growth, survival and differentiation? These are all questions I had to figure out in the lab before the cells could be turned into muscle.” As you can imagine, this wasn’t straightfo

By  Trevor Mogg   NASA The mission could provide vital information that helps pave the way for a human trip to Mars. As the rover’s own name cleverly suggests, Mars 2020 is set to head for the red planet in three years’ time. The mission, assuming everything goes to plan, will see the rover carry out geological assessments of its landing site on Mars, as well as examine the habitability of the harsh environment. It’ll also search for signs of ancient Martian life, and attempt to make an assessment of the natural resources and hazards for future human visitors. Its work could also lead to the first-ever return of rock samples from the planet. Landing site After a recent meet-up with scientists at a workshop in Monrovia, California, NASA has taken a big step toward choosing the all-important landing site for Mars 2020. The team narrowed the choice from eight locations to three, though the original list included 30 different sites. First up is Columbia Hills, Gusev Crater. “Miner

Rob Price   Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan.AP Mark Zuckerberg's wildly ambitious plan to treat and cure all diseases has made a step forward with the announcement that it is funding dozens of scientists over the next five years. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is an organisation run by the Facebook cofounder and pediatrician Priscilla Chan, his wife.  Launched with a $3 billion (£2.4 billion) cheque book in September 2016 , its aim is to help "cure all disease" by the end of the twenty-first century, with a focus on investing in long-term scientific research that wouldn't necessarily pay off straight away. Part of the CZI is the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, a medical research organisation — and on Wednesday,  the Biohub announced it is providing $50 million (£40 million) in funding to researchers, TechCrunch reports . The cash is going to 47 different people, to fund their research for the next five years with up to $1.5 million (£1.2 million) each. (More tha