Groundbreaking spaceplane crashes before landmark aerospike rocket test

[New Atlas logo]( Aircraft [Groundbreaking spaceplane crashes before landmark aerospike rocket test]( [The MIRA I looking]( It was set to be the world's first flight test for an aerospike rocket engine, but the MIRA I prototype crashed on takeoff before the most innovative part of its propulsion system could fire. Undeterred, Polaris is building two bigger prototypes. [Read more]( Special Promotion for New Atlas Readers [Buy gold at Costco with this $40 Digital Costco Shop Card* deal]( While Costco is known for its bulk grocery and household finds, you might be surprised to learn that you can strike some literal 24-karat gold bars with a membership. Don’t have one? Check out this limited-time deal. [Read more]( Around The Home [Cold brew coffee in under 3 minutes? Ultrasound makes it possible]( [UNSW researchers have managed to make cold brew coffee in under 3 minutes using an espresso machine and ultrasound]( A fresh cup of coffee in the morning can be vital for facing the day ahead, but what if you had to wait a day to get your caffeine hit? That's on the menu if you like your Joe brewed cold, but researchers have used ultrasound to cold brew in minutes. [Read more]( Materials [Special silk sheets suppress sound by giving off good vibrations]( [An MIT illustration shows one possible use of the technology, as a curtain against a wall – although it could also be utilized outside of people's homes]( There may be new hope for people with noisy neighbors. Scientists at MIT have developed a method of using thin sheets of fabric to either cancel or block sound – in the latter case, the racket even gets reflected back to its maker. [Read more]( Military [Mayman Aerospace flying motorcycle becomes a military VTOL jet drone]( [Razor can carry a variety of missiles]( Mayman Aerospace has unwrapped its new family of jet-powered, High-Speed Vertical Take-Off and Landing (HS VTOL) AI-equipped drones that can deliver everything from medical supplies to Hellfire missiles at 500 mph (800 km/h) in a compact airframe. [Read more]( Robotics [Dexterous robot hand can take a beating in the name of AI research]( [Designed to withstand trial-and-error abuse from AI learning experiments, the Shadow Hand has also been fitted with dexterous fingers that a sensitive to touch]( A robotics company likely most famous for a demo of its dexterous robot hand at ICRA 2019 with Jeff Bezos has now unveiled a new robust model designed for machine learning research, which was developed in collaboration with Google's DeepMind. [Read more]( Technology [Please, Google, for the good of humanity add this to YouTube]( [The Viblio browser extension could curb misinformation on video-sharing platforms like YouTube]( These days, more people are getting their news from YouTube, which is known for being a hub of misinformation. But researchers have developed a browser extension that allows people to thumbs up (or down) a video's credibility by adding their own citations. [Read more]( Biology [Unprecedented 3D wiring diagram of human brain looks like a tiny world]( [One neuron (white) connects to over 5,000 axons (blue) from other neurons, via at least that many synapses (green)]( Harvard and Google Research have mapped thousands of cells and millions of synapses in a poppy seed-sized sample of tissue. The result is a set of truly stunning images and marks a major step towards understanding of the biggest challenges in science. [Read more]( Medical [Salting your food increases your risk of stomach cancer by 41%]( [Like a pinch or two of salt at the dining table? Scientists warn that it comes with a significant cancer risk]( There's already a link between salt intake and stomach cancer in Asian populations. Now, a broader study has confirmed those earlier findings: Always adding salt to food at the table significantly increases cancer risk, no matter where you're from. [Read more]( Biology [Excretings! Elephants say hello in a way you'll never forget]( [A male and female elephant greet each other]( There are so many ways to say hello. People wave, bow, shake hands, hug, kiss, fist bump, say “hi” or any combo. But there’s one greeting from nature that we sure hope doesn’t catch on, as a new study finds that elephants often greet chums with a dump. [Read more]( Robotics [Soft caterpillar robot moves its body by origami-power]( [The bio-inspired Robotopillar, with its modular origami body segments]( If a soft-bodied robot uses rigid actuators to move its body, then it isn't really soft now, is it? An experimental new caterpillar-inspired bot gets around that conundrum by using soft, collapsible origami segments to squirm and steer its way into our hearts. [Read more]( You are receiving this email because you signed up for our daily newsletter at [newatlas.com]( (or [gizmag.com]( before August 2016). [Update profile]( | [Unsubscribe]( Copyright New Atlas © 2022