Weekend Edition: ChatGPT on the cheap, powdered beer, and tardigrade life-savers

[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 Technology [The genie escapes: Stanford copies the ChatGPT AI for less than $600]( [Stanford's Alpaca AI performs similarly to ChatGPT – but it's less safe, and you can build one yourself for less than US$100]( Stanford's Alpaca AI performs similarly to the astonishing ChatGPT on many tasks – but it's built on an open-source language model and cost less than US$600 to train up. It seems these godlike AIs are already frighteningly cheap and easy to replicate. [Read more]( Lifestyle [German monks create world's first powdered beer]( [A purely speculative, AI-generated image of a potential beer powder packet]( A monastic brewery near Munich says it's created the first powdered beer. Just add water, and it'll froth up, complete with a foamy head and full flavor. The result promises massive savings on transport, because it can be shipped at 10% of the weight. [Read more]( Biology [The world's toughest animal could one day help save your life]( [Water bear, moss piglet, scientific marvel: the tiny tardigrade]( They can live in extreme cold and heat, at pressures six times that of the deepest ocean trenches, and in the vacuum of space. One mechanism that makes the tardigrade so resilient has now been tapped to help crucial medicines travel further, easier. [Read more]( Lifestyle [111 Resources, idea starters and opportunities for people who can "work from anywhere"]( [A new age of mass international mobility got kickstarted by the pandemic and the world will never be the same again. This listing of the best resources for people who people who can work from anywhere will almost certainly result in you becoming better informed to make decisions about how you spend the rest of your life]( The collective mindset change that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have begun a societal revolution that may well return us to our nomadic origins. We've collected a list of resources available for those who can work-from-anywhere. [Read more]( Automotive [SpaceX alums beat RV establishment to first electric camper van in US]( [Grounded's G1 all-electric camper van rides on a Ford E-Transit base and will roll out to the first customers in the coming weeks]( Grounded RVs has presented a Ford E-Transit camper van it plans to have ready for delivery in a few weeks' time. An impressive smart RV with modular interior, the G1 camper van officially kickstarts the electric van life era in the US. [Read more]( Space [The galactic hunt for a planet in the Venus Zone has begun]( [An artist's depiction of how Earth and Venus may have gotten their starts and evolved as planetary neighbors]( Is the evolution of our nearest planetary neighbor into a nightmarish hellscape typical? If it is, should Earthlings be worried? To find out, astronomers have proposed using the James Webb Space Telescope to look at five exoplanets in the Venus Zone. [Read more]( Space [Giant galaxy redefined after flipping jet to point straight at Earth]( [An artist's impression of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) or quasar firing off a jet of emissions]( Astronomers have reclassified a radio galaxy in the sky after it was found to have redirected a jet of radiation straight towards Earth. This marks the first observation of a reorientation so dramatic that it changes the category a galaxy fits into. [Read more]( Architecture [Recycled plastic bottles and mud help form remarkable twisting residence]( [Chuzhi's interior is arranged around a central open area which contains a kitchen, dining, and living room ]( Likened to a snake coiling under a rock on a hot day, the Chuzhi house is defined by its intricate twisting roof. The ambitious residence was constructed using sustainable building techniques, including the use of 4,000 recycled plastic bottles. [Read more]( Outdoors [Hive portable hammock stand doubles the hang wherever you roam]( [The Hive is designed to hold two full hammocks and possibly a third smaller hammock above]( We've seen many portable hammock stands over the years, and virtually all of them share one thing in common: they hold just one hammock. The new Yobogear Hive stand travels anywhere to make treeless hammocking a couples-friendly affair. [Read more]( Bicycles [Acer rides into ebike space with lightweight ebii urban commuter]( [Acer's first ebike is called the ebii, an AI-powered smart commuter that auto-adjusts motor assistance "to provide effortless riding based on users’ pedaling and route environment"]( Consumer electronics giant Acer isn't the first name that comes to mind when you think of electric micro-mobility, but that could change as the company reveals an upcoming "AI-driven" commuter ebike called the ebii. [Read more]( Space [Astronomers discover first direct evidence of vulcanism on Venus]( [A computer-generated model of Maat Mons, a mountain on Venus that has shown signs of volcanism in recent decades]( After decades of speculation, astronomers have discovered the first direct evidence of volcanic activity on Venus. Radar images of Earth’s “twin” taken just a few months apart reveal a recent eruption. [Read more]( Environment [Underwater turbulence revealed as a key factor in climate change]( [Researchers have looked at the influence of underwater turbulence on the movement of heat and carbon, an important factor in climate change]( Much of the heat and carbon produced by humans is absorbed by the ocean. New research has shed light on the role that underwater waves play in moving that heat and carbon around our oceans, an important factor in predicting climate change. [Read more]( Medical [Synthetic protein tweak could lead to universal cancer immunotherapy]( [A new technique could pave the way for off-the-shelf immunotherapies for cancer]( Scientists have made a breakthrough towards an off-the-shelf treatment for immunotherapy against cancer. A synthetic protein tweak can allow immune cells from any donor to be given to any patient without the risk of a dangerous immune reaction. [Read more]( Health & Wellbeing [Humble tea’s antidepressant properties confirmed]( [Giving stressed mice matcha tea activated the parts of the brain that produce dopamine, a mood-enhancing substance that is lacking in people with depression]( A tea that’s been around for more than 900 years might be just what the doctor ordered as a treatment for depression. Already renowned for its health benefits, researchers have now demonstrated matcha tea’s antidepressant-like effects. [Read more]( Photography [Dazzling hand-held winners of the 2023 Mobile Photography Awards]( [Geocentric Explorations – First place in Landscapes and Wildlife]( If you've got a photographer's eye, today's smartphones certainly won't hold you back from taking incredible photos. The winners of the 12th annual Mobile Photography Awards prove that the best camera truly is the one you've got with you. [Read more]( Outdoors [Modular micro-camper builds from basic sleeper to beastly adventurer]( [The cornerstone of Zion's design is modularity that lets buyers build from a basic sleeper trailer to a go-anywhere adventure launchpad, either at the time of initial purchase or over the course of months and years]( Born in the heart of American road trip country, Zion Off-Road has developed a more modular breed of camping trailer. It can be ordered bone stock and accessorized up over time from basic towable sleeping pod to expedition-ready backcountry retreat. [Read more]( Outdoors [Tentsla adds a four-person tent to the back of a Tesla Model Y]( [The Tentsla X1 is presently on Kickstarter]( While we've seen several camping concepts which incorporate the Tesla Cybertruck, chances are most of us will never own such a vehicle. The Tentsla X1 tent, however, is aimed at the existing – and widely owned – Tesla Model Y SUV. [Read more]( Automotive [Review: 2023 Genesis G90 is a new generation of luxury]( [The Genesis G90 is now competitive with the top-end European options in the full-sized luxury sedan market]( The Genesis flagship sedan enters a second generation, with the 2023 G90 seeing a full redesign including engine, interior, and price revamps. The G90 is now competing with the high-end European offering. [Read more]( Biology [Vision restored in mice thanks to refined CRISPR system]( [The image on the left shows a lack of rod photoreceptors due to retinitis pigmentosa – the image on the right shows a thicker retina with more rod cells (shown in red) after a genetic mutation was corrected with a new gene-editing system called PESpRY.]( Using a refined version of the CRISPR gene-editing tool, researchers have restored vision in mice with retinitis pigmentosa. The results may open the door for treatments for the one in 5,000 humans afflicted with the blindness-inducing condition. [Read more]( Aircraft [Pilot makes crazy plane landing on skyscraper helipad 212 m above Dubai]( [Third time lucky: Polish pilot Luke Czepiela successfully landed his heavily modified fixed-wing CubCrafters Carbon Cub airplane on a supertall skyscraper's helipad at a height of 212 m (695 ft) on the third attempt]( Pilot Luke Czepiela has completed an amazing landing on Dubai's iconic Burj Al Arab Jumeirah. Using a lightweight plane, he touched-down on the skyscraper's helipad at a height of 212 m, coming to a stop with only a few meters to spare. [Read more]( Technology [Meet the new space brick, now with added potato and a pinch of salt]( [This slab of StarCrete could build the first Mars bar, as well as other infrastructure]( The race is on to find viable materials for building on other planets, and one team has (thankfully) moved on from its last creation made of blood and urine to unveil a new biocomposite brick that's not only much stronger but a little more palatable. 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