Once the wearer begins sweating, the vents open
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Nike Aerogami running jacket vents open automatically when you sweat
There are plenty of jackets out there with adjustable vents, but virtually all of them require that you manually open the vents when you run hot — not necessarily convenient when you’re in rhythm on a run. With its all-new Aerogami running jacket, Nike experiments with a more intuitive, seamless form of venting. Without the need for a battery pack or any electronics, the jacket’s vents automatically open when the runner sweats, providing cooling performance that doesn’t require slowing down or yanking on zippers.
Australia becomes first country to allow MDMA and psilocybin treatment
The psilocybin in Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms, aka magic mushrooms, has shown great promise in many clinical trials
Two illicit substances best known for their ‘recreational’ use have been given the tick of approval by Australian authorities to be prescribed for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.
Following the announcement in February, one that surprised many scientists, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) — the country’s FDA — has authorized the use of psilocybin and 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA), which came into effect on July 1. However, access will be limited to those who meet certain mental health criteria and can only be prescribed by authorized psychiatrists.
NASA awards contract for commercial astronaut jetpack
Prototype of the commercial maneuvering unit
In anticipation of the near future when Low-Earth orbit (LEO) will become a cosmic building site for privately owned and operated crewed space stations, NASA has awarded a Space Act Agreement (SAS) to Special Aerospace Services to develop a commercial version of the space agency’s Autonomous Maneuvering Unit (AMU) astronaut jetpack.
In the classic sci-fi feature Destination Moon from 1950, there’s a scene where one of the Technicolor astronauts loses his grip during a spacewalk and floats away from the Moon-bound spaceship. It’s the potential nightmare of every space mission that includes some extravehicular activity (EVA), so it’s no wonder that space engineers have long been interested in ways to help space travelers move about in the weightless vacuum.
Transgenic soybeans could replace pork, by producing pig proteins
Regular soybeans (top) as compared to porky-pink Piggy Sooy beans
Great strides are being made in the field of lab-grown meat, but its price remains a barrier to wide commercial use. British startup Moolec has created what it claims is a less costly alternative, in the form of soya plants that produce pig-protein-rich beans.
Although the details of Moolec’s molecular farming technology are a trade secret, the company states that it has added pig genes to the genome of regular soya plants. As a result, a quarter of the proteins in those plants’ “Piggy Sooy” beans are pig proteins — 26.6%, to be precise. The flesh of the soybeans even has a pink, pork-like color.
Euclid lifts off on mission to shed light on dark matter mystery
ESA’s Euclid mission to map the universe and learn more about dark energy and dark matter is on its way. On July 1, 2023 at 5:12 pm CEST the space telescope lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Dark matter and dark energy are still hypothetical concepts but their existence would explain many very basic questions about the universe and how it formed. More importantly, these invisible, untouchable things make up most of the mass of the universe. However, learning anything at all about them is next to impossible because the only property of dark energy and dark matter that can be detected is their gravitational pull.
Photonic radar can remotely monitor breathing without privacy concerns
Researchers have developed a device that uses photonic radar to monitor breathing without requiring contact with a patient
Researchers have created a device that uses photonic radar to remotely and accurately monitor breathing, even distinguishing between more than one patient. They say their device might one day be used in hospitals, aged care facilities and at home to provide contactless monitoring of people with respiratory concerns.
Monitoring a patient’s vital signs is, well, vital to tracking their health and bodily functions. Many current methods used in hospitals require wired contact with the patient — think of those sticky electrodes placed across the chest that record heart and respiratory rates — which can be problematic if a patient is burned, for example, and has little accessible skin.
Galactic-scale detector picks up background distortions in spacetime
An artist’s impression of a pulsar timing array picking up a background of gravitational waves, which has now been achieved for the first time
The very fabric of spacetime is constantly warping, on unimaginably tiny scales, as ripples from past cataclysms wash over us. Astrophysicists have now detected a background sea of gravitational waves, using a galaxy-scale detector made up of dead stars.
Gravitational waves are distortions in spacetime itself, which were first predicted by Albert Einstein over a century ago. But it wasn’t until 2015 that they were directly detected for the first time, as the purpose-built LIGO facility picked up gravitational waves from a collision between black holes. Around 100 detections have been made in the years since.
Outrageously ambitious VTOL flying car is FAA-approved for takeoff
Fully unfolded into aircraft mode, the Aska A5 is less of a visual calamity than it is on the road
The four-seat Aska A5 is the size of an SUV, but at the touch of a button it extends an array of electric propellers and converts to a cruise-capable eVTOL aircraft with an impressive hybrid range. The FAA has cleared it for flight testing.
Last time I looked, the year 2000 was 23 years ago. When I was a young’un, the year 2000 was supposed to be the future. We weren’t just supposed to have flying cars and jetpacks, we were supposed to be commuting vertically on the daily.
