Featuring the latest in daily science news, Verge Science is all you need to keep track of what’s going on in health, the environment, and your whole world. Through our articles, we keep a close eye on the overlap between science and technology news — so you’re more informed.
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Google plans to reuse heat after expanding a data center for AI
Google says it’ll give away heat as its data centers gobble up more energy for AI.
Another online pharmacy bypasses the FDA to offer cut-rate weight loss drugs
Making it easier to buy drugs online.
At a Beverly Hills mansion, where an electric truck is your only source of power
GM staged a blackout to demonstrate how EVs can power an entire home — and also shore up our aging grid infrastructure.
The FDA has given the Elon Musk company a green light for its second patient, the Wall Street Journal reports. Neuralink’s first implant in a human started to detach from that person’s brain, causing him to briefly lose some functions. To try to solve that problem, Neuralink reportedly plans to place the device’s threads deeper into the brain.
Or the period before menopause, when ovaries gradually stop working. This particular study is aimed at shedding light on the physiological changes that happen during perimenopause and menopause — something that’s still not well understood as menopausal people are often excluded from studies.
Oura’s also adding a Cycle Insights Report feature, as well as including period data when calculating Readiness scores.
We’ve been waiting for the Quesst X-59 and the return of supersonic air travel for years now, and NASA’s latest update says things are moving along:
A Flight Readiness Review board composed of independent experts from across NASA has completed a study of the X-59 project team’s approach to safety for the public and staff during ground and flight testing.
Space
Safe and accounted for.
Blue Origin’s capsule is back on Earth.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket has safely touched back down in Texas.
Blue Origin’s NS-25 mission just reached space.
Energy
Google plans to reuse heat after expanding a data center for AI
The EV industry can’t shake its human rights abuse problem
At a Beverly Hills mansion, where an electric truck is your only source of power
Microsoft’s AI obsession is jeopardizing its climate ambitions
Microsoft’s AI obsession is jeopardizing its climate ambitions
After pledging to slash its greenhouse gas emissions, Microsoft’s climate pollution has grown by 30 percent as the company prioritizes AI.
Wiley, a publishing company that’s more than 200 years old, is shuttering 19 journals today, the Wall Street Journal reports. Wiley has reportedly had to retract more than 11,300 papers recently “that appeared compromised” as generative AI makes it easier for paper mills to peddle fake research.
AI, EVs, and Joe Biden’s push for domestic manufacturing are putting more pressure on aging power grids. The nation also needs double the transmission capacity to meet Biden’s goal of 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity.
To get more transmission lines up, FERC just overhauled rules for new projects — including a mandate that grid operators start anticipating energy needs at least 20 years in advance.
More residents across the US are asking that question about carbon dioxide, The Washington Post reports, as technologies that capture CO2 from smokestacks become more popular with companies that want to claim they’re fighting climate change. All that captured carbon dioxide has to go somewhere, and concerns are growing about the safety of new CO2 pipelines and underground storage wells.
[The Washington Post]
The group of 800 demonstrators accused Tesla of environmental harm, citing mining lithium for EV batteries. The group is said to want to stop the factory’s expansion. CEO Elon Musk said it’s “fishy,” and called them dumb. In March, the factory shut down temporarily after an arson attack.
The implant is a coin-shaped chip embedded into the skull with threads that reach into the brain.
In the weeks following the surgery, a number of threads retracted from the brain
That limited how much data it could collect, but Neuralink found a workaround by making its algorithm more sensitive. The Elon Musk company wrote about the problem in a blog after The Wall Street Journal asked about the issue.
Universal could have pulled off one of the funniest bits possible by releasing Twisters — a movie about swirling vortexes of earth, wind, and fire — on September 21st. But film’s latest trailer is a reminder that studios hate fun, and Twisters is out July 19th.
In a memo sent to stores, Apple says it’s not including stickers with the new iPad Pro or iPad Air, but customers can still ask for them at the store, according to 9to5Mac. The company reportedly pointed to its environmental initiatives, like its plastic-free packaging goals.
Apple has been omitting stickers in more products, but that’s mostly only included gadgets like its AirPods.
Instead of defacing clay tile roofs with standard blue or black solar panels, these 400W double-glass panels from Austria-based Sonnenkraft are available in terracota red, yet still claim a 20.02 percent conversion efficiency.
I guess Tesla is still working out the kinks with its red roof solution promised back in 2016.
The Crew Flight Test was scrubbed Monday night just as the astronauts settled into position, but now NASA says the launch will be pushed back by a couple of weeks, at least.
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test now is targeted to launch no earlier than 6:16 p.m. EDT Friday, May 17, to the International Space Station. Following a thorough data review completed on Tuesday, ULA (United Launch Alliance) decided to replace a pressure regulation valve on the liquid oxygen tank on the Atlas V rocket’s Centaur upper stage.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just launched its Energy Star NextGen Certified Homes and Apartments program. For decades, Energy Star has certified efficient products from kitchen appliances to washers, dryers, air conditioners, and heat pumps. Now, it’s also starting to certify homes and apartments that are at least 20 percent more efficient than typical builds.
Shell sold millions of carbon credits that were supposed to represent CO2 emissions captured in Canada. But only half of those credits were linked to real eductions in pollution, according to documents obtained by Greenpeace and shared with the Financial Times. It’s an explosive investigation into carbon capture tech fossil fuel companies are using to make sustainability claims that might not pass the smell test.
[FinancialTimes]

