Weekend Edition: A boxy skyscraper, a box-wing eVTOL and a better bandage

[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. Darren Quick Editor-in-Chief Architecture [Huge cuboid skyscraper "big enough to hold 20 Empire State Buildings"]( [The Mukaab will reach a height, width and length of 400 m (1,312 ft), forming a huge cuboid supertall skyscraper]( An incredibly ambitious new cuboid skyscraper is planned for Riyadh that will reach a height of 400 m and host a twisting tower inside. According to Saudi Arabian authorities, its interior will be so big that it could hold 20 Empire State Buildings. [Read more]( Aircraft [Long-range, box-wing eVTOL prototype begins flight testing down under]( [The Vertiia's box-wing architecture will feature a sleek 5-person cabin and hydrogen fuel storage at the wing tips]( Australia's AMSL Aero has celebrated the first tethered test flight of its ultra-efficient Vertiia eVTOL aircraft. With its unique box wing formation, eight tilting propellers and five seats, it promises a 1,000 km range and speeds up to 300 km/h. [Read more]( Medical [Electronic bandage speeds wound healing and dissolves into body after use]( [The molybdenum electrodes transmit real-time data to the bandage's coil at the opposite end]( The days of ripping off a Band-Aid could soon be in the past, with scientists creating a new affordable, flexible electronic covering that not only speeds and wirelessly monitors healing but is harmlessly absorbed into the body when its job is done. [Read more]( Medical [Spinal cord stimulation restores limb mobility in stroke survivors]( [Stroke survivor Heather Rendulic demonstrates the function restored to her left arm and hand]( Loss of arm and hand mobility is a common and devastating disability among stroke survivors, but a promising new study shows how cervical spinal cord stimulation could improve limb function and restore quality of life. [Read more]( Outdoors [SuperTourer composite truck camper looks to outmaneuver adventure vans]( [The Enduro Campers SuperTourer is a lightweight, extreme-duty composite truck camper for overlanders]( Enduro Campers is pitting its composite pop-top truck camper against the off-road adventure camper van market. The SuperTourer camper uses ultralight composite construction to allow the base truck's true rugged, off-road-savvy nature to shine through. [Read more]( Architecture [Ambitious 170-km-long Saudi skyscraper city gets construction go ahead]( [UK firm Atkins has been commissioned to help realize an ambitious plan to build a linear city in the Saudi Desert called the Line]( Imagine taking a population the size of New York and putting it into a 170-km-long skyscraper in the desert. An incredibly ambitious project named the Line is doing just that, and UK firm Atkins has been commissioned to help realize it. [Read more]( Electronics [Meta-display concept could retire LCD panels in big-screen TVs]( [The metasurface display technology could replace the LCD layer in flat-screen televisions, bringing thinner panels, higher resolution, fast response times and lower power consumption]( A research team from the UK's Nottingham Trent University, the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales Canberra has developed a display prototype that could replace the LCD panels common to many of today's big-screen TVs. [Read more]( Health & Wellbeing [Asthma drug activates healthy fat, no cold plunges needed]( [Unhealthy white fat cells like these are gobbled up by brown fat cells, offering scientists a research target for treating diabetes, obesity and heart disease]( All it takes is a spin through Instagram to see how keen people are to activate their brown fat cells by sitting in freezing bodies of water. Now, researchers have found a way to do the same thing using a common asthma drug. [Read more]( Space [James Webb spots "impossibly massive" galaxies in the distant universe]( [An artist's impression of the Milky Way galaxy, which has a similar mass to newly discovered "impossible" galaxies in the early universe]( The James Webb Space Telescope keeps challenging our models of the universe, seeing farther away than ever before. Now it’s discovered “impossibly” gigantic galaxies that contain more mass than was thought to exist in the whole universe at that time. [Read more]( Automotive [XNH Volkswagen camper van packs homey interior and two kitchens]( [German motorsport and automotive specialist ABT presents its first camper van, the XNH]( ABT is known best as an automotive tuner and motorsports sponsor, but it's stepping into the RV market. It transforms the VW T6.1 into the XNH, a camper van with exterior body kit, four-sleeper floor plan, and indoor and outdoor cooking areas. [Read more]( Around The Home [Pro-Ject gets in the groove to help clean your vinyl records]( [The VC-E2 and VC-S3 record cleaning machines feature a new cabinet design, a handy magnetic clamp, better components and a pre-mixed cleaning solution]( The return of vinyl records may have prompted legacy album spinners to dust off some attic classics. Folks looking to remove accumulated gunk from the grooves will be interested to learn that Austria's Pro-Ject has launched two new cleaning machines. [Read more]( Aircraft [Airspeeder prepares for crewed eVTOL racing with Mk4 design reveal]( [A first look at the striking design of the Airspeeder Mk4 racing eVTOL]( Following more than 350 test flights and two demonstration races of its remotely piloted Airspeeder Mk3 eVTOL, Alauda Aeronautics has revealed the design for the first crewed racer – which boasts a top speed of 360 km/h and a range of 300 km. [Read more]( Bicycles [Lectric challenges the family car with 150-mile XPedition cargo ebike]( [The XPedition has a max payload capacity of 450 lb, plus can support a rider weight of up to 330 lb]( Phoenix-based e-mobility outfit Lectric has announced a new addition to its cargo-hauling two wheelers. The XPedition cargo ebike can haul up to 450 lb, comes with a 1.3-kW peak motor and can be had with dual batteries for 150 miles of riding range. [Read more]( Energy [Silver mirror triples efficiency of perovskite solar cells]( [An artist's impression of a perovskite (cyan) solar cell with a new layer of material underneath (gray), which boosts efficiency by creating reflections of electron-hole pairs (red and blue)]( Perovskites are one of the most promising new materials for solar cell technology. Now engineers at the University of Rochester have developed a way to more than triple the material’s efficiency by adding a layer of reflective silver underneath it. [Read more]( Physics [Startling new evidence suggests black holes drive expansion of universe]( [An artist's impression of a black hole and its accretion disc]( A groundbreaking new study could answer a perplexing astrophysics mystery without complicating our current models. Physicists suggest that black holes could contain a strange form of energy that’s accelerating the expansion of the universe. [Read more]( Robotics [Multi-segment shapeshifter drones: The precursors to flying squid-bots]( [Flying "Dragon" and "Spidar" robots show off some fascinating shape-shifting multicopter technology with awesome potential]( A remarkable group of drone prototypes from a team at the University of Tokyo takes multirotor complexity to the next level. These hypnotic flying robots are able to change their structural shape mid-air, creating some unprecedented capabilities. [Read more]( Military [US Zumwalt destroyers first to get hypersonic missiles under new deal]( [The USS Zumwalt class will be the first US Navy ships armed with hypersonic missiles.]( Lockheed Martin has secured a contract worth a potential US$2 billion to install Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) hypersonic missile launchers on the US Navy's three Zumwalt-class destroyers by the middle of the decade. [Read more]( Outdoors [Tune Tacoma topper adds flared camping space and glass panorama]( [Tuner Outdoors gets into the pickup topper market with more space-to-weight and serious glass]( The Tune Outdoors M1 camping topper looks from afar like any other light pickup canopy with a full-length pop-top. However, this one features flared sides for added interior space, and full-length smoked windows for a scenic truck camping experience. [Read more]( Materials [Asphalt additive could continuously keep roads ice-free]( [Microcapsules containing sodium-acetate-based salt could melt ice on asphalt for years at a time]( Ice on roads isn't a good thing, but neither are the eco-unfriendly chloride-based salts used to melt it. Scientists have developed a greener and more effective alternative, however, that could be mixed into the asphalt and remain active for years. [Read more]( Environment [MIT team makes a case for direct carbon capture from seawater, not air]( [MIT proposes mobile seawater carbon capture plants on boats]( The oceans soak up enormous quantities of carbon dioxide, and MIT researchers say they've developed a way of releasing and capturing it that uses far less energy than direct air capture – with some other environmental benefits to boot. [Read more]( You are receiving this email because you signed up for our daily newsletter at [newatlas.com]( (or [gizmag.com]( before August 2016). 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