Sunday Special: The science of crowd control

Have you found yourself knocking elbows in a crowded subway, wondering why everyone seems to be going the wrong way? A team of mathematicians from MIT may have just figured it out. Also, scientists claim to have used sunshine to make jet fuel, and it could change aviation forever.

P.S. The Sunday Special is designed to help you discover the most important scientific and technological breakthroughs outside of AI. Our regular AI and Tech updates will resume as usual on Monday.

SCIENCE SUNDAY

The most interesting scientific discoveries and breakthroughs this week

Solar Surge: Caltech researchers have built a photothermocatalytic reactor that uses sunlight to create jet fuel. The system captures solar heat, using it to drive the chemical reactions that convert ethylene into longer hydrocarbon chains — the essential components of jet fuel. With aviation being one of the toughest industries to decarbonize, the breakthrough could offer new hope for cleaner skies.

Crowd Control: MIT researchers have developed a mathematical model to predict when pedestrian traffic will shift from orderly to chaotic in crowded spaces. They discovered that the transition point occurs when walkers veer off course by more than 13 degrees, tipping the crowd into disorder. The model could help urban planners design more efficient pedestrian thoroughfares that allow for foot traffic to flow more smoothly.

Claw Conundrum: Fossils unearthed during construction of a water pipeline in Mongolia reveal a rare new dinosaur species, 'Duonychus tsogtbaatari'. Unlike its relatives (which typically had three clawed fingers), this dinosaur sported two "big, sharp, and nasty” claws, ideal for gripping vegetation and for defense. Dubbed one of "the weirdest dinosaurs ever," this discovery adds another fascinating chapter to the Cretaceous period.

Spin Spark: The next source of renewable energy might be the literal spinning of our planet. Physicists have proposed a way to generate electricity from the Earth’s rotational energy using a special device. The team successfully produced 18 microvolts of power, and while the results are small and need further verification, the potential to scale this up could one day contribute to the clean energy mix.

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NEW TECH

Our favorite new tech gadgets this week

1. Bambu Lab H2D: An all-in-one personal manufacturing hub that combines 3D printing, laser engraving, and digital cutting in one high-precision machine.

2. FirstBuild Sourdough Sidekick: A countertop device that automates sourdough starter feeding. It packs an Auto Mode that gets rid of daily discard and a Custom Mode to match your own schedule.

3. Eufy Auto Robot Lawn Mower: A fully autonomous robotic lawn mower that features AI-driven navigation, smart obstacle avoidance, and multi-zone mapping for front and back yards — all controlled via an app.

4. PixelMug P1: An AI-powered smart mug with an in-built pixel display. It displays custom art, reminders, games, and animations right on your cup.

SOCIAL SIGNALS

What’s trending in tech on socials this week

⚾ Space Slugger: A video of astronaut Koichi Wakata playing baseball with himself in zero gravity has taken X by storm. Watch him play ball here.

🎯 Useless Utility: Chindogu is a Japanese concept where inventors create brilliantly useless gadgets that solve problems you never knew you had. Images of such gadgets blew up on Reddit this week.

👔 Workplace Wobbles: An employee secretly reprogrammed his colleague’s ChatGPT to spout nonsense, leaving him concerned that “DeepSeek has hacked ChatGPT". Click here to check out the prompt he used – just in time for April Fools’.

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ONLY GOOD NEWS

A healthy dose of optimism to kickstart your week

Liver Leap: In a world-first, surgeons have successfully transplanted a gene-edited pig liver into a human, marking a major milestone in xenotransplantation. The six-gene-modified pig liver functioned effectively within the human body, producing bile and albumin, and showing no signs of rejection. While challenges remain, this breakthrough offers hope for tackling the critical shortage of donor organs.

Mind Mover: Chinese researchers unveiled the world’s first portable, wearable brain stimulation device, enabling therapy during everyday tasks. Weighing just 6.6 pounds, this innovation swaps out the traditional 110-pound machines used for neurological disorders like depression and PTSD. Early trials show promising results, and if this scales, it could democratize advanced brain treatment.

Eating Ethically: Scientists have found a cruelty-free way of making foie gras – without the controversial practice of gavage. The new method uses a duck's own fat-digesting enzymes and an additive-free recipe to replicate the texture and taste of the dish, eliminating the need for force-feeding. While still relying on farmed animals, the process could offer a more ethical alternative to traditional foie gras production.

Double Defense: A new study suggests that combining two cholesterol-lowering drugs — statins and ezetimibe — could prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths annually from cardiovascular diseases. Research found that starting both treatments immediately for high-risk patients is 19% more effective at reducing the overall risk of death. Scientists are urging doctors to make this the "go-to treatment" for at-risk patients across the globe.

Immunity Clock: Scientists have developed an AI-powered model that tracks how immune cells change over time, offering the first detailed look at aging at the cellular level. By analyzing data from over 2M immune cells, the researchers identified key genes linked to aging and inflammation in the immune system. This breakthrough could pave the way for new therapies to promote healthy aging and improve immune function.

SUNDAY SCIENCE TRIVIA

And here’s the result from last week’s trivia: Almost 75% of you got it right!

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Until next time,

Zain and the Superhuman AI team