Weekend Edition: Tall timber, desert dwellings, and Martian moisture

[New Atlas logo]( Welcome to our weekly wrap of the best stories to grace the pages of New Atlas over the last seven days. Sit back, relax and enjoy the Weekend Edition. Architecture [New world's tallest timber skyscraper planned for the USA]( [The timber tower will consist of 55 floors, making it the tallest mass timber skyscraper in the world]( Residents of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, may soon get the opportunity to live in the world's new tallest wooden skyscraper. Designed by Michael Green Architecture, the ambitious project has been submitted to local planning authorities. [Read more]( Architecture [Saudi Arabia seeks to silence Neom project doubters with images and video]( [Trojena will have skiable slopes for three months during the winter]( Neom, the extraordinarily ambitious 10,200-square-mile (26,500-sq-km) urban area with a US$1.5-trillion budget planned for the northern tip of the Red Sea is apparently still happening, and Saudi Arabia is providing the pictures and video to prove it. [Read more]( Space [Vast underground ocean of water found on Mars]( [Mars lost most of its surface water billions of years ago]( The good news is that there's a vast ocean of water under the surface of Mars – enough to cover the entire planet to a depth of a mile (1.6 km). The bad news is that this repository is so deep and unreachable that it might as well be in another galaxy. [Read more]( Health & Wellbeing [Common drug restores youthful function to clean up aging brains]( [Restoring the brain's ability to drain itself of dirty fluid could go a long way toward fighting diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's]( A drug used to induce labor in pregnant women has been shown to reactivate tiny waste-clearing pumps in the brains of old mice. The finding could hold promise for fighting Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and overall cognitive decline. [Read more]( Outdoors [Inflatable-frame tent and canopy pop into shape with an electric pump]( [The Gouse Tent (pictured) weighs a claimed 25 kg (55.1 lb), with the Luli Canopy reportedly coming in at 15.3 kg (33.7 lb)]( If many of the camping-related Kickstarter projects are anything to go by, people hate setting up tents. The Gouse Tent and Luli Canopy are the latest offerings that are claimed to make the process easier, with a little help from an electric pump. [Read more]( Health & Wellbeing [Low level of common nutrient linked to disease-causing DNA damage]( [Nuts, seeds, dark leafy greens, and dark chocolate are all good dietary sources of magnesium]( If you're getting plenty of leafy greens, dark chocolate, nuts, and beans, you're probably doing fine. But if your diet is lacking, you might want to pay attention to this new eye-opening study that links a mineral deficiency issue to DNA changes. [Read more]( Energy [Spaceship tech slashes energy usage of existing AC systems by 50%]( [The Helix Micra system can be retrofitted to existing commercial AC systems]( Helix Earth Technologies has repurposed a technology originally developed to filter air on spacecraft to develop a system that can be retrofitted to existing commercial air conditioning units and slash their energy usage. [Read more]( Automotive [Slick, versatile mini-camper van out-flexes new Volkswagen California]( [The Citroën Holidays table can be used on the inside or outside of the kitchen block, or out of the van all together with the removal of the kitchen]( VW's California remains the global vanlife icon, but other pop-top mini-camper vans provide a similar, even superior, experience. The Citroën Holidays becomes the latest, boasting conveniences like a removable kitchen and portable toilet. [Read more]( Bicycles [Pedal-by-wire cargo cycle hauls 1,000 pounds like a mini HD truck]( [The Dynamic Drives Intelectra: Part electric quad-cycle, part pickup truck, and part heavy duty go-cart]( Looking like a cross between a pedaled dump truck and modern motor carriage, the new Intelectra is a muscular e-cargo mover for cities. It carries just under 1,000 lb of payload and operates via a low-maintenance electronic pedaling system. [Read more]( Motorcycles [24-hour motorcycle distance record absolutely smashed in Italy]( [Iván Cervantes on his way to a Guinness Word Record]( The Guinness World Record for the greatest distance covered on a motorcycle in 24 hours is now credited to Spaniard Iván Cervantes, who smashed the old record by over 600 km (370 miles) while averaging a speed of 167.79 km/h (104.26 mph) on July 9, 2024. [Read more]( Outdoors [Expandable camping pod turns barren ground into RV-style kitchen]( [The Cinch Wild Land Kitchen Cruiser delivers RV-style cooking in an easy-carry module]( The new Kitchen Cruiser is a nomadic camp kitchen that packs neatly and flips up into an RV-like kitchen block at camp. Throw it in the trunk of a roof tent-topped car, and you have yourself a deconstructed RV ready to explore and camp. [Read more]( Robotics [Video: Google robot paddles human table tennis competitors]( [Google DeepMind's table tennis robot takes on a human competitor in a trial of the system]( Using heaps of data, Google DeepMind trained a table-tennis-playing robot to take on human competitors and get better as it did so. The results were impressive and represent a leap forward in robotic speed and dexterity. It also looks really fun. [Read more]( Medical [Gluten reaction trigger identified, could lead to new celiac treatments]( [Scientists have identified where the gluten response begins in celiac disease, potentially opening new treatment options]( Scientists have made a breakthrough that could lead to new treatment options for celiac patients. The team identified how and where the gluten response begins, with certain cells playing a bigger role than thought. [Read more]( Aircraft [Dawn Aerospace spaceplane prototype hits transonic speeds]( [The Mk-II reached transonic speeds on its latest test flight]( Aerospace startup Dawn Aerospace has made a major advance in its push to create a highly reusable spaceplane. The latest test flight reached transonic speeds of Mach 0.92 and an altitude of 50,000 ft (15,000 m), or 3 times and 5 times, respectively, better than before. [Read more]( Automotive [Nissan made its own camper van, and it's a gorgeous Murphy bed retreat]( [Nissan brings back the MyRoom]( We like Nissan cars and trucks well enough but wonder if the company is wasting its talents by not focusing solely on campers. Its latest, the Caravan MyRoom debuts as a warm, welcoming tiny RV with a clean-folding Murphy bed and sliding workstation. [Read more]( Transport [621-mph maglev vacuum train "T-Flight" test successful]( [T-Flight mock-up of what it could be]( In February of this year, we reported on the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, and its phase one testing of a low-vacuum-tube hyperloop-style maglev ultra-high-speed (UHS) train. In initial 1.24-mile-long tests, the T-Flight hit 387 mph . [Read more]( Health & Wellbeing [Autism in boys linked to common plastic exposure in the womb]( [New research has found a link between prenatal exposure to a common chemical found in plastics and autism]( Prenatal exposure to higher levels of bisphenol A, a plastic chemical known to leach into our foods and drinks, has been linked to autism spectrum disorder in boys, according to a new study that also identified the biological mechanism underlying this link. [Read more]( Tiny Houses [Scandinavian-inspired tiny house starts at just $50k]( [The Kemi starts at US$50,000]( Dragon Tiny Homes' Kemi is a compact model that draws inspiration from Scandinavian design and offers a simple and affordable getaway that would be a good fit for use as a vacation home or guesthouse. [Read more]( Health & Wellbeing [New compound flips memory back on in Alzheimer's cases]( [A new molecule that switched memory and cognition back on in mice with Alzheimer's could one day do the same for humans, as illustrated in this generative image]( Instead of focusing on fighting the plaques linked to Alzheimer's, researchers took a look at boosting electrical oscillations in the brain. The molecule they invented got the job done in mice, offering hope for a new treatment path for humans. [Read more]( Motorcycles [Ola's Roadster e-motorcycles deliver over 120 mph for less than $3,000]( [The Pro model sits at the top of the Roadster pack]( Last August, Indian company Ola Electric announced its lineup of electric motorcycles. The firm has now provided specs for one family of the bikes, the Roadsters, which boast a range of up to 579 km (360 km) and a top speed of 194 km/h (121 mph). [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