💣 North Korean 'leaf mines' in danger of being washed into South, NASA axes moon ice-hunting VIPER rover, world's tiniest forever-flying solar drone

Plus: World’s first device to modulate deep brain neural circuits using magnetism developed                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 July 19, 2024 | [Read Online]( INTERESTING ENGINEERING SHOP [[Keep Calm Stainless Steel Bottle] Keep Calm Stainless Steel Bottle $44.99 $34.99]( [[Engineer By Choice - Unisex Tee] Engineer By Choice - Unisex Tee $25.99]( [[Engineering Inspiration Mug ] Engineering Inspiration Mug $13.99]( [[F=MA Trucker Hat] F=MA Trucker Hat $24.99 $19.99]( Following the release of hundreds of air balloons carrying trash into South Korea, North Korea has now devised a new river-based strategy to infiltrate its long-standing rival. According to South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense (MND), the North Korean military has been installing landmines in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) – a buffer zone between North and South Korea – for several months despite the scorching heat and monsoon rains. It is common for countries to use landmines to impede the military advancement of their rivals. The intriguing aspect of North Korean landmines is that they resemble leaves. For more on this development, check out today’s [Must-Read](. 🔥Today’s job of the day as featured on [jobs.interestingengineering.com](: > [Senior Software Engineer (Network Core Datapath)]( > [Electrical Hardware Development Engineer]( Reading Time: 4 mins Did a friend forward this e-mail to you? [Subscribe here.]( MUST READ 💣 [Rain may wash 40gm explosive-loaded ‘leaf mines’ from North to South Korea]( The [leaf mines](, named after their similar appearance to leaves, contain about [40g of explosives](, somewhere between anti-personnel mines (about 20g) and wooden box mines (about 70g). These land mines, colored green and brown, are difficult to see with the naked eye. However, these landmines are not powerful enough to cause a large explosion but sufficient to [inflict serious injury]( on anyone who steps on them. South Korea’s MND reported that more than ten North Korean casualties occurred due to landmine explosions and thermal injuries during their installation work. Last year, Russia used such mines denoted as PFM-1 mines or b[utterfly mines]( against Ukraine. 🧊[No fangs for ice: NASA axes VIPER moon rover after spending $450 million]( After pouring hundreds of millions, NASA has made the difficult decision to [scrap the VIPER lunar rover]( due to budgetary constraints. VIPER, short for Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, was a robot rover designed to [search for ice]( and other resources near the Moon’s south pole. It was supposed to launch in late 2023 but faced delays due to additional testing and schedule issues. These delays drove up expenditures, pushing the project beyond budget. ☀️ [World’s tiniest, 4-gram solar drone can fly forever with high lift efficiency]( Researchers have built an [ultralightweight solar-powered drone]( that is capable of [unlimited flight]( during the daytime. The device, called ColumbFly, weighs just 4 grams and uses a solar cell to generate electricity, creating an [electric field]( between oppositely charged plates arranged in a circle. These opposing charges act like repelling magnets, producing enough force to turn the rotor blades. This generates [torque](, lifting the robot off the ground. Love what you're reading, but too many emails? Sign up to IE+ to get Blueprint Weekly, our exclusive weekly premium newsletter that gives all the insights you love in a more digestible weekly format– plus, enjoy an Ad-Free experience on our website. Try IE+ today for just $1 in the first month. [Subscribe here]( HOT TOPICS OF THE DAY SCIENCE > In the southern arm of the Arctic Ocean, beneath the Davis Strait, scientists have found a microcontinent. Beneath the deep icy waters, a proto-microcontinent formed between Greenland and Canada. It is a submerged piece of continental crust about 12 to 15 miles long. ([More]() > Experts have shown that freshwater microbe species called rotifers, when infected by fungi, turn on hundreds of genes “stolen” from bacteria and other microorganisms. ([More]() > Physicists have proven new theorems in quantum mechanics that describe the 'energy landscapes' of collections of quantum particles. Their work addresses decades-old questions, opening up new routes to make computer simulation of materials much more accurate. ([More]() ENERGY > HYLENR- an India-based startup – has demonstrated what it says is the world’s first cold fusion technology to generate clean energy. The company has also received a patent from the Indian government for its Low-Energy Nuclear Reactor technology. ([More]() > In a significant advancement for energy storage technology, researchers have developed a novel electrode that effectively suppresses the harmful self-discharge phenomenon in flowless zinc-bromine batteries (FLZBBs). ([More]() > The US added about 700 new public fast-charging stations for electric cars in the second quarter, bringing the nationwide total to nearly 9,000. ([More]() INNOVATION > Researchers at the Institute of Basic Science (IBS) and Yonsei University in South Korea have developed Nano MIND, the world’s first device to modulate deep brain neural circuits using magnetism. ([More]() > A new artificial intelligence (AI)-aided tool has been developed that holds the potential to predict the emergenceof rogue waves up to five minutes in advance. ([More]() > Researchers have designed tiny, enzyme-powered, mucus-busting “snot bots” that can help deliver drugs to some sticky parts of the body. ([More]() VIDEO > The athletes' arrival via boat at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris is "a visual feast, but also a challenging event to broadcast". ([More]() > In a bid to cut screen time and endless scrolling, a rising number of people in the US are ditching smartphones for more basic handsets. Could we be seeing the return of the ‘dumbphone’? ([More]() IE QUIZ: THE RESULTS In yesterday’s quiz, we asked youto find the missing digit. The answer is: 3 Ready for more brainy challenges? Gear up for future IE quizzes by following us on [Instagram]( and [Facebook!]( FROM THE WEB > Dubai princess breaks off marriage via Instagram [post]( > A horse riding accident left Georgie Brayshaw in a coma at 15. Now 30, she tells Andy Bull about her recovery and her pursuit of Olympic [gold]( > The liquid hydrocarbon seas, lakes, and rivers on the Saturnian moon Titan have varying compositions and signs of active tides or [currents]( > Mushroom byproducts from farming helped experts design bricks with insulation properties to solve Namibia’s housing [crisis]( > The nearly complete “Apex” stegosaurus skeleton that showcases remarkable preservation and evidence of rheumatoid arthritis has been sold for a staggering [$44.6 million]( > Two skeletons found in the ruins of a Pompeii building may have been crushed by wall collapses triggered by [earthquakes]( Additional Reads --------------------------------------------------------------- [⚙️ Mechanical:](Explore the wonders of mechanical engineering. [🛩️ Aerospace:]( The latest on propulsion, satellites, aeronautics, and more. [🧑🏻‍🔧 Engineer Pros:]( The latest in engineering news, career updates, and insider knowledge. 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