Welcome to Overnight News Digest- Saturday Science. Since 2007 the OND has been a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of science stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time.
Topics in tonight’s digest include:
- Nuclear battery breakthrough
- More efficient hydrogen energy systems
- Ancient portal to the underworld found
- Leatherback turtle makes rare appearance
- The sun’s magnetic field is about to flip
- Wingless supersonic jet concept predicts NY to London in less than five hours
- Making nuclear energy more efficient, affordable and safer
- Slash your energy bill, without installing solar panels
- Total immersion (almost) in bee exhibit
- Plastics that breakdown without any help
- Building tunnels and bridges under water
World Nuclear News
US company claims nuclear battery breakthrough
[Infinity Power] says its nuclear battery - developed with support from the US Department of Defense - has been demonstrated to attain an overall efficiency of more than 60%.
"Compared to other radioisotope energy conversion methods with low efficiency (<10%), it marks the highest level of overall efficiency ever achieved," according to the company. "This shows that the upcoming commercial release of next-generation radioisotope power sources holds out huge hope."
Nuclear batteries - also known as radioisotope batteries - work on the principle of utilising the energy released by the decay of nuclear isotopes and converting it into electrical energy through semiconductor converters. Unlike typical other converters, Infinity Power says its battery uses novel electrochemical energy conversion.
Popular Mechanics
by Darren Orf
Earth Has a Third Form of Life—and It Could Change How We Generate Power
- Earth’s immense web of life fill three broad domains—archaea, bacteria, and eukarya.
- Scientists from Monash University recently discovered hydrogen-producing enzymes in archaea, which were thought to only exist in the other two orders.
- These archaea enzymes, known as hydrogenases, are smaller and more complex than those found in the other two domains, and could help biotech firms develop better, more efficient hydrogen energy systems.
Popular Mechanics
by Darren Orf
An Ancient Portal to the Underworld Was Found in Denver
- Originally stolen sometime in the early 20th century, a “portal to the underworld” depicting the Olmec jaguar god Tepeyollotlicuhti returned to its Mexican home in May of 2023.
- Because the looters broke the object into smaller pieces, Mexican authorities with the government’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have spent a year restoring the statue to its former glory.
- The return of the statue was the result of a decades-long effort among archeologists and officials working in stolen antiquities.
The Herald Sun
by Mark Price
Large creature rarely seen on Outer Banks lumbers ashore at Cape Lookout, NC park says
A lumbering sea creature that can reach 1,000 pounds made a rare visit to North Carolina’s barrier islands, according to Cape Lookout National Seashore. The leatherback sea turtle was photographed Wednesday, June 12, on the South Core Banks, which is unusual for an endangered species that prefers tropical beaches.
“Over the last five years or so, we average about one leatherback nest a year,” park spokesman Nate Toering told McClatchy News in an email.
Space
by Daisy Dobrijivik
The sun's magnetic field is about to flip. Here's what to expect.
The sun is on the verge of a significant event: a magnetic field reversal.
This phenomenon happens roughly every 11 years and marks an important stage in the solar cycle. The shift in polarity indicates the halfway point of solar maximum, the height of solar activity, and the beginning of the shift toward solar minimum.
The Cool Down
by Rick Kazmer
Designer Oscar Viñals could be considered a modern-day Leonardo Da Vinci, at least when it comes to imagining the future of human flight.
Da Vinci was limited to pen and parchment to record his more than 200 concepts in the 1480s. Barcelona-based designer Viñals has the advantage of computer software, which allows him to give vibrant vision to breathtaking — and potentially groundbreaking —plane designs.
Some examples of his work, all concepts shared by Yanko Design, include a fusion-powered craft, an 800-passenger eco-jet, and a spacecraft carrier.His latest concept is a wingless, supersonic hydrogen jet that can hit nearly 1,150 miles per hour, or Mach 1.5, and carry 300 people, as detailed by Interesting Engineering. It's called Sky OV and can "fly between London and New York in less than five hours."
The Cool Down
by Leslie Sattler
Imagine if a tiny design tweak could prevent some of the worst nuclear accidents imaginable while simultaneously making clean nuclear energy more efficient and affordable.
It sounds too good to be true, right? But that's exactly what a team of researchers may have just accomplished, according to Interesting Engineering.
What they found is that carefully crafting the surface of materials used in nuclear reactors can actually change when and how liquids boil — a discovery with massive implications for reactor safety and performance. When water touches an extremely hot surface, it floats on a layer of its own vapor in what's known as the "Leidenfrost effect."
The Cool Down
by Leslie Sattler
What if there was an easy way to support local clean energy efforts and save money on electricity without putting solar panels on your roof?
It's called community solar, and it generally works by letting you subscribe to a nearby solar farm to power your home.
Community solar is a simple way to support clean, local energy and save money on your electric bills — no rooftop panels required.Also known as shared solar or roofless solar, these innovative models make renewable energy accessible to more people — even renters and homes with shaded roofs.
My Modern Met
by Jessica Stewart
Immersive Exhibition Tells the Story of Bees Through Sights, Sounds, and Smells
An innovative exhibition at Liverpool's World Museum merges art and science to bring the public into the fascinating world of bees. Bees: A Story of Survival is a tale of 120 million years of adaptation and survival. Designed and produced by artist and sculptor Wolfgang Buttress, the exhibition is a full sensory experience.
This isn't just an exhibition with bee specimens displayed in cases. The show uses video, sound, and cutting-edge technology to tell the tale of how bees are vital to our ecosystems and essential to human existence. The public is invited into eight immersive rooms that range from a hive-like environment that features a live stream of a real hive to a trail into a wildflower meadow that uses sounds and smells to demonstrate their role as pollinators.
The Cool Down
by Leslie Sattler
Imagine if the plastic in your yoga pants or memory foam pillow could simply disappear when you're finished with it, without harming the environment.
Thanks to innovative scientists at the University of San Diego, this green dream is on its way to becoming a reality.
Researchers have created a remarkable new biodegradable plastic by combining thermoplastic polyurethane, the material used in products such as shoes and cushions, with spores of bacteria. Their findings recently appeared in the journal Nature Communications.
The Conversation
by Ari Perez
When I was a kid, I discovered a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip that posed one of my own burning questions: How do they know the load limit on bridges? Calvin’s dad (incorrectly) tells him, “They drive bigger and bigger trucks over it until it breaks. Then they weigh the last truck and rebuild the bridge.”
Several decades later, I’m a geotechnical engineer. That means that I work on any construction projects that involve soil. Now I know the real answers to things people wonder about infrastructure. Oftentimes, like Calvin’s dad, they’re thinking about things from the wrong direction. Engineers don’t typically determine the load limit on a bridge; instead, they build the bridge to carry the load they’re expecting.
It’s the same with another question I hear from time to time: How do engineers build things underwater? They actually don’t typically build things underwater – instead they build things that then end up underwater. Here’s what I mean.
This is an open thread where everyone is welcome, especially night owls and early birds, to share and discuss the science news of the day. Please share your articles and stories in the comments.