Sunday Special

The Saudi Arabian megacity construction Neom is currently consuming 20% of the world's steel, according to a spokesperson for the project. It’s the world’s biggest construction site and the crown jewel of the project is The Line, a horizontal city which will stretch 105 miles and house 9 million people.

P.S. This is our second experimental Sunday Special email. I’ve created it to help you discover the latest scientific and technological breakthroughs beyond AI. Please share your feedback at the bottom of today’s email to help me create better emails for you!

SCIENCE SUNDAY

The biggest scientific discoveries and breakthroughs this week

Healthy Sugar: Instead of cutting sugar, scientists at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute and other organizations plan to make sugar healthier by developing a variant that is absorbed in smaller quantities by our bodies.

Prime Time: The record for the largest known prime number has been broken by an amateur mathematician. Study of prime numbers began roughly 350 years ago, and new primes are now notoriously hard to find and prove.

Smelly Science: A new study reveals that the way you breathe changes your sense of smell. Some particular nasal airflow patterns may even have an impact on physiological and mental health.

Space Explosion: A satellite mysteriously blew into pieces in geostationary orbit last weekend. It’s unclear why the satellite exploded, but thankfully the event poses no immediate risk according to the US Space Force.

Growth Spurt: Scientists find that Mount Everest is getting taller every year. While scientists previously thought this happening was because of shifts in the planet’s tectonic plates, new research indicates that it may actually be happening thanks to pressure created from a nearby river network.

NEW TECH

Our favorite new tech gadgets this week

1. Light Phone: A phone that’s designed to be used as little as possible. Comes with essentials like a calendar, directions, music, a camera, and more, while eliminating distractions like social apps and web browsing.

2. TinyMaker: A small open-source 3D printer that’s portable, low on power consumption, and doesn’t burn a hole in your wallet.

3. Analogue 3D: One for the retro gaming fans who miss the days of Super Mario and GoldenEye. The 3D is a gaming device that lets you play all the classic N64 games and scale it up to 4k. Also compatible with all the original N64 game cartridges.

4. Lymow One: The Lymow is a robotic lawnmower that trims your grass and knows how to avoid obstacles. Think of it as a Roomba for your lawn. You can operate it from your phone. Comes with a price tag but may be worth it for folks who hate mowing their lawns.

SOCIAL SIGNALS

What’s trending in Tech on socials this week

Time Travel: One social media user imagined what life could look like with VR glasses, in a post that has since gone viral.

Blast From The Past: How were the pyramids really built? One person used AI to come up with a nonsensical (but very satisfying) video of what went down.

Clone Yourself: AI startup HeyGen released a new feature that lets you build a video clone of yourself. It looks pretty realistic.

Hair Care: Bryan Johnson, the longevity athlete and entrepreneur who has spent millions on extending his lifespan, shared his research and routine on growing back his hair.

Shrek Republic: My favorite new follow on socials is Terrible Maps, who shares terrible (but hilarious) maps of the world.

ONLY GOOD NEWS

A healthy dose of optimism to kickstart your week

Air Filter: Students at UC Berkley say they’ve created a new compound called COF-999 (pictured above), a pound of which they claim can absorb and remove the same amount of CO2 from the air as a mature oak tree.

Historical Achievement: Malaria has been fully eradicated in Egypt for the first time. The disease has plagued Egyptians for over 4,000 years — since the days of the pharaohs.

Positive Miscalculation: A new study claims that plants absorb 31% more carbon than previously thought, advocates for upgrading climate models.

Fighting Chance: A new cervical cancer treatment regime has shown the biggest gain in survival since 1999. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women globally.

Roaring Ahead: Polish zoo celebrated the rare birth of 4 Sumatran tigers, a critically endangered species. It’s estimated only 400 Sumatran tigers are alive today in the wild.

MEME OF THE WEEK

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Zain and the Superhuman AI team