Sunday Special: Data center on the moon

A group of Chinese scientists claim they’ve found a way to create an artificial sun right here on Earth and sustain it for a few minutes. And one company is on a mission to build data centers on the moon. It’s been another big week in science.

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

Star Power: Chinese scientists claim to have brought us closer to near-limitless clean energy by successfully sustaining an "artificial sun" for over 17 minutes — almost tripling their own previous record from 2023. Although the project has been in the works for over 70 years, practical use is still far off.

Deep Dive: Scientists have landed $2.4M in support funding for a project that could flip the script on the search for alien life. They plan to deploy special sensors on the ocean floor to detect "dark oxygen" — oxygen created without sunlight. If this pans out, it could help us understand how life can be sustained on planets that don’t get direct sunlight.

Lunar USB: The search for stronger AI is taking us to the moon — literally. Space startup Lonestar Data Holdings is set to launch a solar-powered data center to the moon next month via SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. It will tap into the Moon’s natural cooling for more efficient data storage, helping us keep up with AI’s growing computational needs.

Cosmic Curveball: A new study might have just broken our understanding of physics. It confirms the 'Hubble tension' — a set of discrepancies in our calculations that prove the universe is expanding much faster than we initially thought. This challenge to decades of theoretical work in physics opens the door to deeper mysteries like dark energy and dark matter.

Plot Twist: For years, scientists believed that the Moon was the result of a collision between Earth and the protoplanet Theia. Now, a new study suggests that the Moon may have been part of the Earth’s mantle all along, formed from material that was ejected into space. The study also challenges long-held ideas about the origins of water on Earth.

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NEW TECH

Our favorite new tech gadgets this week

1. Lockly Vision Zeno: This next-gen video smart lock comes with a built-in 2K camera, an intercom, and Apple Home Key integration.

2. Plantaform: The world’s first smart indoor garden that allows you to grow fresh herbs and vegetables using fog. It comes with an app to help you monitor plant growth.

3. Tonal 2: A home gym that brings professional-grade training straight to your living room. It also features real-time coaching via upgraded cameras and HIIT workouts.

4. Anker 340 Charger: This charger comes with three USB-C ports and one USB-A port, allowing you to power up to four different devices, including 2 laptops — all in one go.

SOCIAL SIGNALS

What’s trending in Tech on socials this week

Silver Linings: SpaceX’s rocket burst into a million pieces minutes after launch last week. Musk didn’t seem to mind though, posting a clip of the debris tumbling through the cosmos like a meteor shower and quipping "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!"

Life Saver: A ChatGPT user claims that the bot may have saved their life by diagnosing a severe health issue in the gym, helping the user get to the hospital in time.

Supernova Seed: A video of a neutron star just blew up on Reddit. These strange bodies are leftovers from supernova explosions, having a diameter of less than 12 miles but the total mass of the Sun.

Scholar Shocker: Wharton professor Ethan Mollick posted his research on X, claiming that AI models have outperformed PhDs at a graduate-level Q&A test, sparking huge debate on socials.

Hitachi Hulk: A video clip of a massive Hitachi mining machine has got Reddit buzzing. It’s definitely bigger than most highway overpasses, leading many users to wonder how it’s able to make it to the job site in the first place.

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ONLY GOOD NEWS

A healthy dose of optimism to kickstart your week

Mind Over Motor: A new interface helped a tetraplegic participant control a virtual quadcopter by just thinking about it. Electrodes in his brain decoded how he wanted his fingers to move, allowing him to navigate the quadcopter through an obstacle course. This could enable people with paralysis to game, work, and more — all with their minds.

Organs On-Demand: Scientists at the University of Galway have developed a new 4D bioprinting technique to create tissues that change shape, mirroring the natural development of organs. This pushes us closer to building fully functional organs in the lab, which could have major implications for disease modeling and regenerative medicine.

Cretaceous Comeback: Lost to war, found by science. Paleontologists have uncovered a new, 32-foot-long dinosaur species from the Cretaceous period — all by analyzing photos of a fossil site lost to a WWII air raid in Egypt. This breakthrough could pave the way for uncovering more ancient species from damaged fossil sites using photo archives.

Micro Miracle: Paris-based startup Robeauté just raised $28M to advance its microrobot — designed to be the size of a grain of rice. Initially to be used for biopsies, the breakthrough tech could eventually transform neurosurgery, offering a less invasive way to deliver drugs and implant devices deep in the brain without any major tissue damage.

Heart Hack: Scientists just pushed the 'Reset' button on heart attacks. They’ve discovered a dormant gene that could potentially regenerate heart tissue after heart failure. Inspired by a zebrafish's ability to heal their hearts naturally, the discovery has shown some promise in repairing heart tissue in mice, with human trials soon to follow.

MEME OF THE WEEK

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Zain and the Superhuman AI teamni