From Solo Cup to an asteroid: NASA's newest space mission and other top stories.

• From Solo Cup to an asteroid: NASA's newest space mission

  The idea for a device that could unveil the origins of life in our solar system began with a Solo cup. Next month, an invention inspired by that plastic, disposable beverage cup will launch into space aboard the United States' first robotic mission aimed at scooping up 4.5 billion-year-old dust from an asteroid. The $800 million NASA mission is called OSIRIS-REx, which stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer. The unmanned spacecraf..

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• No wonder Microsoft's Xbox One S console is so beautiful, look who designed it

  

  We really dug the Xbox One S, calling it "svelte and good-looking". The latest update to Microsoft’s flagship gaming console is a very pretty box, and now we know why: Andrew Kim was part of the design team. In case the name doesn’t ring a bell, Kim is a "visual and product" designer who came to work for Microsoft after making a splash when he put together his own design concepts for the company’s rebranding in 2012. After seeing his designs, the company hired him to work within their design de..

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• Robocall Strike Force brings unwanted calls and texts to justice

  

  Some of the biggest names in tech are partnering up for what they're calling the Robocall Strike Force.It may sound like a "Transformers" rip-off, but the strike force could actually be the best thing to happen to your phone since unlimited texting plans came out. Download the WPTV app:>> Download the WPTV app for breaking news alertsVerizon, Apple, Google and Microsoft are among more than 30 tech companies that will work with the Federal Communications Commission to try and stop those annoying..

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• Does The Volvo-Uber Deal Signal The Start Of A Bigger Merger?

  

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• Tesla creates two-year lease option for Model S and X

  

  Looking to buy a Tesla? The company just launched a new two-year lease program for all of its Model S and X vehicles. However, the trial program will apply to all orders of the company’s vehicles from now until September 12th. The new option comes with a hefty price tag Tesla already offered a three-year lease program, but said it received numerous requests from potential customers asking for a shorter lease period. The monthly payment will start at $593, but that's only half the story — it wil..

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• This tree in Greece is Europe's oldest known living tree

  

  European history has had one continuous observer for more than a thousand years: a pine tree in Greece.Dendrochronologists have calculated the tree’s age to be at least 1,075 years old, making it the oldest tree in Europe. This little pine, nicknamed “Adonis,” has seen world wars, a century of revolutions, the Protestant Reformation, the Crusades, and a good chunk of the Dark Ages."The tree we have stumbled across is a unique individual," said Stockholm University graduate student Paul J. Krusi..

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• New software can track global poverty...from space

  

  Around the world, there are people who need help. But sometimes, populations of poverty-stricken people are difficult to find.That is why researches at Stanford have put together a program to find people who need help, from space.One of the many difficulties in dealing with poverty is simply not knowing where to send aid. In many poor countries, data on which areas need the most help are hard to get.According to World Bank data cited in the Stanford team's press release, 39 out of 59 African co..

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• Frozen fashion: Decoding Ötzi the Iceman's wardrobe

  

  An outfit can tell a lot about somebody – particularly if that person died 5,300 years ago.Ötzi the Iceman, a natural mummy discovered frozen in the Ötztal Alps in Italy, has offered scientists a broad variety of clues into the lives of Copper Age Europeans since its discovery a quarter century ago. And now researchers know what leathers and furs the mysterious man wore.But the investigation wasn't just to see if the famous mummy was fashion-forward. Knowing which animal skins Ötzi wore is anot..

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