30 Dec 2023

Number 275

Novel Helmet Liner 30 Times Better At Stopping Concussions

A new, lightweight foam made from carbon nanotubes could be the future of protective helmets.

From toilets to the sky: UK startup makes waste into low carbon jet fuel

Regulators said its quality is nearly identical to what is traditionally used in planes.

Researchers Come Up With Better Idea To Prevent AirTag Stalking

Solution relies in part on cryptography practice of secret sharing to maximize privacy.

Retailers To Pay For Consumers’ E-waste Recycling From 2026 Under UK Plans

Households will be able to drop off cables and other electrical waste in-store or have home collections, says Defra

Amazon Plans To Make Its Own Hydrogen To Power Vehicles

Amazon thinks hydrogen can be a more sustainable fuel for vehicles at its warehouses, but it’ll have to clean up hydrogen production first.

Why 37Signals Abandoned the Cloud

Web software firm 37Signals has migrated off the cloud after spending $3.2 million on Amazon Web Services last year

== have had article on this before, hopefully this is not a repeat
This Winnipeg scientist is using viruses to fight drug-resistant superbugs

Cutting-edge bacteriophage research has human and animal applications.

Earth Was Due for Another Year of Record Warmth. But This Warm?

Earth is finishing up its warmest year in the past 174 years, and likely the past 125,000.

World’s Tallest Wooden Wind Turbine Starts Turning

What is made from the same wood as a Christmas tree, held together by glue and manufactured in a Swedish factory for assembly later?

Scientists Destroy 99% of Cancer Cells In the Lab Using Vibrating Molecules

Scientists discovered a way to break apart the membranes of cancer cells by stimulating aminocyanine molecules with near-infrared light.

The fish that eats piranhas for breakfast

Guillermo Otta Parum has been fishing in the Bolivian Amazon his whole life, for more than 50 years.

== yjc, lengthy, paywall??
Has Gratuity Culture Reached a Tipping Point?

Paying extra for service has inspired rebellions, swivelling iPads, and irritation from Trotsky and Larry David. Post-pandemic, the practice has entered a new stage.

Swedish Researchers develop ‘electronic soil’ that speeds up plant growth

‘eSoil’ enhanced seedling growth in barley by an average of 50 percent.

How Thermal Management is Changing in the Age of the Kilowatt Chip

Air cooling holdouts take notice, the fun stuff is all liquid

Joe Biden Plans To Ban Logging in US Old-Growth Forests in 2025

Move aims to protect millions of old-growth trees, which are better at storing carbon, but its outcome depends on 2024 election.

== yjc, my sentiments exactly (I still use Excel and Word 2003; my e-mail client, 40+ years old, doesn’t do HTML or javascript)
The Beauty of Finished Software

Let me introduce you to WordStar 4.0, a popular word processor from the early 80s.

== another perspective on the troubles the Amazon forest faces
How a Surge in Organized Crime Threatens the Amazon

The global community needs to break the web of transnational crime networks and corruption threatening one of the world’s largest carbon sinks.

After years of drought and wells running dry, this Nova Scotia community is looking to the sea

Barrington to test a wave-powered desalination system designed by a Quebec company.

Meet Oscar, the Canadian-built, AI-driven recycling system helping governments go green

Technology developed in Canada is improving recycling in government buildings.

Amazon drought: ‘We’ve never seen anything like this’

The Amazon rainforest experienced its worst drought on record in 2023. Many villages became unreachable by river, wildfires raged and wildlife died. Some scientists worry events like these are a sign that the world’s biggest forest is fast approaching a point of no return.

== yjc
Want to avoid the post-holiday meal nap? Eat more turkey