Cryptocurrencies take a brutal fall 📉

Plus: Growing plants in soil samples from the moon May 13, 2022 [View in browser]( Although it may seem like it, crypto is not dead. Then again, every morning seems to bring new pain to crypto owners, as they wake to open trading apps only to be met by a sea of crimson. The color signifies a plunge in many major cryptocurrencies to their lowest marks since late 2020. Considering buying the dip? You should probably tread carefully, because it’s come to feel like trying to catch falling knives. I would know. Before we take a look at the shrinking fortunes of crypto billionaires, watch today’s video to see the world’s longest suspension bridge, which is a triumph of exceptional engineering. Good morning. I’m Derya, an editor at IE, and it’s Friday the 13th. It’s still better than Monday. This is The Blueprint. Let’s ride the crash. [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [The brilliant engineering behind the longest suspension bridge in the world]( It spans a whopping 6,637 feet! [The brilliant engineering behind the longest suspension bridge in the world]( CULTURE [Crypto billionaires lost over $100 billion in days amid market crash]( [Bitcoin crash.]( Crypto billionaires who were enjoying the high waves in November last year [have seen their fortunes shrink]( in just a few days as cryptocurrencies have continued their downward slide since last week. It’s a perfect storm. - Fears turned to reality last week when the U.S. Federal Reserve announced the tightening of its monetary policy. Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, which had been hovering over the halfway point of its November high for a few months, took a further dip. Ethereum was no different and plunged as well. [With uncertainty prevailing]( investors have continued their sell-off of crypto coins, wiping out $200 billion of market share in just one day. Turning tables. The most visible impact of these sell-offs has been evident on the fortunes of crypto billionaires. Coinbase founder, Brian Armstrong, had a net worth of $13.7 billion last November, which was reduced to $8 billion as Bitcoin lost some of its sheen. With the latest slump, his personal fortune stands at $2 billion. These are some really tough times for crypto billionaires. [Read More]( SCIENCE [Scientists grow plants in soil samples collected from the moon]( [View of moon limb with Earth rising on the horizon.]( Can plants grow in lunar soil? Turns out, they somehow can. In an eye-opening study, scientists [have grown an Earth plant]( Arabidopsis thaliana, commonly called thale cress, in lunar soil for the first time, an important step toward making long-term stays on the moon and beyond possible. - For their study, the researchers used 12 samples containing lunar soil collected during Apollo 11, 12, and 17 missions between 1969 and 1972. Apart from the lunar samples, they also used 16 volcanic ash samples collected on Earth to compare the growth of plants in both types of soils. Life finds a way. The researchers saw that, compared to volcanic ash, the lunar soil samples don’t support much plant growth, especially if they have been exposed to the moon’s surface. That’s because the lunar surface is often hit by solar wind and many types of cosmic rays, which harm the soil. This is a breakthrough with earthly implications. With further research, we can better understand the ways in which plants can be efficiently grown on the moon, which is critical to [NASA’s long-term human exploration goals](. [Read More]( CULTURE [Elon Musk says Twitter deal 'temporarily on hold']( [Elon Musk.]( Less than three weeks after Twitter's Board of Directors accepted Elon Musk's $44-billion offer to take the social media company private, the world's richest person [has put the deal on hold](. Wait up. Musk has zero tolerance for bots on social media platforms. All throughout the Twitter acquisition saga, he's been very vocal about eliminating them from the platform and verifying real human users. In a filing earlier this month, Twitter had said that it had served advertisements to 229 million users this quarter, and its false or spam accounts represented less than 5 percent of its daily active users. - Musk now wants the company to furnish him with calculations showing that the number is indeed less than 5 percent. Musk hasn't expressed particular concerns about this number, because he believed they were different. It also isn't clear why the deal is on hold now, when the numbers have been in the public domain for over 10 days. The move also raises doubts over Musk's claims that his Twitter buyout [is not governed by financial goals](. Meanwhile, he has already tweeted that he remains committed to the acquisition. [Read More]( MAIL & MUSINGS Elon Musk, the world's richest person and a self-proclaimed free speech absolutist, wants to eliminate Twitter's big, bad bot problem. Do you think bots are a significant problem on Twitter? Be sure you check back tomorrow for the results! [Yeah! I can't wait for Musk to defeat spam bots (or die trying).]( [Not really. Normal people seem like bots on Twitter anyway.]( [I don't use Twitter ⁠— way too noisy!]( [Don't we have bigger problems than this?]( Yesterday’s Results We asked whether nuclear fusion is a viable source of energy. The general consensus seems positive and hopeful. We are trying, and I’m hopeful. 46% Yes. It’s so close I can taste it. 40% We should focus on renewables instead. 9% Nope. This is all in vain. 5% QUOTE OF THE DAY “ Genetic control will be the weapon of the future. ” Jeanette Winterson in “Art and Lies” (1994) AND ANOTHER THING... - How do you photograph something that soaks up all light? Here’s [how the Event Horizon Telescope takes pictures of black holes](. - The horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki made the whole world afraid of the atomic bombs. Today, that fear has mostly passed out of living memory, and with it, [we may have lost a crucial safeguard](. (The Guardian) - Fluorine nanostructures [can desalinate water 2,400 times faster]( than carbon nanotubes. Impressive! - Author Eva Holland explores her family’s role in [the poisonous legacy of the Giant Mine]( asking whether her grandfather could have done more to stop the dangerous dust that spewed from the mine for decades. (The Walrus) - The first official UFO hearing in more than 50 years [could end "excessive secrecy"]( and bring more reports from pilots and other military officials. - Stalking is nothing new, as one in three women will tell you, but Big Tech and law enforcement were unprepared to face [the threat of AirTags and tile trackers](. (Jezebel) - Researchers [have managed to run a computer]( for six months using a colony of blue-green algae as a power source. Prepared by Derya Ozdemir and Brad Bergan Enjoy reading? Don't forget to forward to a friend! Was this email forwarded to you? [Subscribe]( [About Us]( | [Advertise]( | [Contact Us]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( You are receiving this email because you have subscribed to our newsletter. Manage your email preferences or unsubscribe [here.]( © Copyright 2022 | The Blueprint is by Interesting Engineering, Inc. 201 Spear Street, Suite 1100 San Francisco, CA 94105 | All Rights Reserved [Interesting Engineering]