10.8-Billion-Year-Old Radio Burst Points to Surprising Home
A record-distant radio burst traced to a young dwarf galaxy also revealed a hidden galaxy group, showing how bursts can map matter between galaxies. #Update #Astronomy #FRB20240304B
Technology
Tether’s Open Automation Toolkit Gains Mining Industry Support
@Tether_to says 15 mining firms and hardware makers will integrate its open toolkit, designed to help operators control mixed $BTC mining equipment through one interface. #Update #Mining $BTC
Gold Bugs Face Machine That Prints Gold
@MarathonFusion says it turned mercury into stable gold, but has not disclosed its output or costs, and independent verification remains unreported. #Update #Gold
Ethereum Delays Glamsterdam Testing Over Contract Concerns
@Ethereum developers canceled Glamsterdam’s Oct. 26 Hoodi test after @ChainSecurity found 13 deployed contracts at risk of permanent failure under proposed gas rules. Mainnet users need take no action. #Update #Security $ETH
Soft robot swims in 3D with two actuators
@NCState researchers built a tethered soft robot that swims and steers in 3D using two air-powered actuators and four elastic wings, with no onboard AI. #Update #Robotics
Lab Tests: UV-Activated Composite Breaks Down 90% of Forever Chemicals
A UV-activated graphene composite broke down 90.2% of PFOA’s fluorine bonds in lab tests, but worked less well on shorter-chain PFAS; energy use and durability remain hurdles. #Update #PFAS
Police Test: Interior Photos Can Reveal Addresses
@GraylarkTechnologies’ Raven can match interior photos to home addresses using online listings, without GPS or metadata. The Los Angeles Police Department and Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office are testing it. #Update #Privacy
Human-Guided Robot Finds Four New Asymmetric Reactions
A Polish Academy of Sciences lab robot found four previously unknown asymmetric reactions in 30 days, using reinforcement learning to choose experiments. Chemists set the search space and verified the products. #Update #Chemistry
Micro-Roughness Cut Wing Drag 43%
@TohokuUni researchers report that patterned micro-roughness cut drag by up to 43.6% in wind-tunnel tests by delaying turbulence. Full-scale performance and durability remain untested. #Update #Aviation
Motors used 53% of global electricity in 2023
@IEA data show electric motors use more than half the world’s electricity. Researchers say demand-based speed controls could cut power use and emissions. #Update #EnergyEfficiency
Pan Am Plane Found After 74 Years
Searchers found the wreck of a Pan Am flight off Puerto Rico, confirming the site of a deadly crash that helped shape today’s preflight safety briefings. #Update #Aviation
China Launches 16-Year Iron Battery
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences redesigned an alkaline all-iron flow battery electrolyte, achieving 6,000 cycles with no capacity loss, targeting grid storage. #Update #Tech
XRP Ledger Approaches Oct 23 Upgrade
XRP Ledger’s fixCleanup3_4_0 targets Oct. 23 activation, securing over 80% validator support, while native lending amendments remain below approval threshold. Crypto $XRP
NASA Launches 2,478 Jellyfish to Space
NASA’s 1991 jellyfish experiment revealed space-born organisms struggle with Earth’s gravity, highlighting potential challenges for life developed in microgravity. #Update #SpaceBiology