GE resurrects the propfan aircraft engine, cutting fuel burn by 20%

[New Atlas logo]( Aircraft [GE ressurects the propfan aircraft engine, cutting fuel burn by 20%]( [CFM's ultra-efficient open-rotor Rise engine will fly aboard an Airbus technology demonstrator within 5 years or so]( GE once thought super-efficient propfans were the future of air travel, until low fuel prices in the late 1980s moved fuel consumption down the list of priorities. Now, it's bringing them back with the CFM Rise, promising 20% fuel savings. [Read more]( Special Promotion for New Atlas Readers [Say 'adios' to awkward language fumbles with Rosetta Stone, only $160]( Learning a new language can be daunting, but with the right tools and resources, it’s easier than ever before. For nearly 30 years, Rosetta Stone has been helping people worldwide to learn new languages, and here’s your opportunity to join them. [Read more]( Technology [You can now use your phone to ID skin conditions]( [Dr Google will examine your rash and suggest matching conditions and treatments]( Got a rash or spot to check out? Take a photo! Google Lens can now save you from wading through hundreds of images of skin conditions, letting you search for your own much more easily and delivering results for diagnosis and recommended treatment. [Read more]( Aircraft [NASA's X-66A transonic plane doesn't have a perfect wing, but it tries]( [The X-66A is a modified MD-90 aircraft]( Meet the X-66A, NASA's Sustainable Flight Demonstrator full-scale single-aisle research plane, featuring transonic truss-braced wings and designed to explore net-zero aviation emissions and more economical passenger flight near the speed of sound. [Read more]( Outdoors [Origami solar panel collapses small for fast, light travel anywhere]( [Sego Innovations is looking to launch a solar panel that instantly compacts to 1/8 its expanded size]( Reaching far beyond cutesy paper sculptures, origami has underpinned some cutting-edge breakthroughs. Sego Innovations uses it to create the most packable solar charger around, with a panel that packs down to an eighth of its size in about a second. [Read more]( Tiny Houses [Luxurious gooseneck tiny house packs in plenty of big-home comforts]( [Casey’s 32' x 10' Tiny Home is described as a luxury tiny house by designer MitchCraft Tiny Homes and has a suitably luxurious price tag of US$250,000]( MitchCraft Tiny Homes' latest model offers the kind of luxurious features usually associated with a full-sized house, and includes a light-filled and flexible living space, underfloor heating, a dishwasher, netted loft, and a spacious bedroom. [Read more]( Energy [Chinese scientists push lithium batteries up to a record 711 Wh/kg]( [An impressive leap in lithium battery density has been claimed by Chinese researchers]( Tesla's 4680 cells, for comparison, measure somewhere between 244-296 Wh/kg. So the extreme-density cells recently tested in Beijing represent a huge leap forward from the status quo – even if they're solely focused on maximizing a single metric. [Read more]( Automotive [$1.6-million SOD 6x6 RV is brutish but hospitable rustic-chic explorer]( [SOD marries a rugged 6x6 truck chassis with a comfortable, well-appointed motorhome to create the Peak 6x6]( Stone Offroad Design crawls up-mountain with its Peak Series, showing it's truly mastered the art of blending ultra-rugged vehicle chassis with ultra-luxurious living amenities. The Peak 6x6 pairs a MAN six-wheeler with a rustic-modern living area. [Read more]( Bicycles [Compact cargo ebike taps into Bosch power for triple-load hauling]( [The CS cargo ebikes can be configured with a rack front and back, plus another slung low in the middle]( German cargo bike maker Ca Go has revealed the triple-load CS range of cargo ebikes, which mix aspects of short-tail haulers with front loaders for a flexible compact city ride capable of carrying up to 75 kg or goods or gear. [Read more]( Biology [New duck-billed dinosaur baffles scientists with its epic world travel]( [An illustration of the new dinosaur, a master of migration]( Meet the Gonkoken nanoi, a large duck-billed dino that roamed very far and wide 72 millions years ago. Discovered in southern Chile, it has now raised even more questions as to how ancient hadrosaurs moved across the planet during the Mesozoic Era. [Read more]( Space [NASA detects life's rarest building block in water ice of Saturn's moon]( [Enceladus as imaged by the Cassini spacecraft]( A new discovery has boosted the chances of life soon being found on another world. NASA has announced the detection of phosphorus, the rarest element that’s essential to life, in the oceans of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. [Read more]( Technology [GPS alternative taps cosmic rays for underground or underwater navigation]( [Scientists have demonstrated a proof-of-concept for a new navigation system that can work underground and underwater by tracking particles from cosmic rays]( GPS doesn’t work as well inside buildings, underground or underwater. Now engineers in Japan have developed and tested an alternative technology that uses cosmic rays to track movement beneath a building with precision of a few meters. [Read more]( Military [DARPA goes fundamental to find game-changing battlefield anesthetics]( [DARPA is seeking an anesthetic that can be used on the battlefield without complex support or medical expertise]( DARPA has announced its new Anesthetics for Battlefield Care (ABC) program, which is aiming to develop a new combat anesthesia that can be applied to casualties in the field without requiring specialized medical training or complex monitoring apparatus. [Read more]( Home Entertainment [OmniStar L80 LED projector aims to outshine the competition]( [The OmniStar L80 1080p projector's LED light source is reported to put out 1,500 ANSI lumens]( Following the crowdfunding success of it A6 triple-laser 4K projector last year, Casiris Tech has returned to Kickstarter with a Full HD model called the OmniStar L80 that's promised brighter than other LED models on the market. 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