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Writer Fuel: Will We Finally Get the Flying Cars We Were Promised?

Alef retro flying car

A new kind of road-legal flying car is now a step closer to hitting the roads, and skies, after its maker Alef Aeronautics signed an agreement with aerospace companies PUCARA Aero and MYC to build it. The Alef Model A is designed to work as both a road vehicle and aircraft, with its aim being … Read more

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Writer Fuel: Wait, There Are Space Tornadoes?

tornado - deposit photos

“Space tornadoes” are swirling near the supermassive black hole at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy, new telescope observations have revealed in unprecedented detail. Astronomers recently zoomed in on the cosmic twisters using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. Although these rotating structures had been seen previously, the new observations with ALMA … Read more

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Writer Fuel: The Aptly Named Extremely Large Telescope Could Transfrom Earth-Based Astronomy

Extremely Large Telescope

The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), currently under construction in northern Chile, will give us a better view of the Milky Way than any ground-based telescope before it. It’s difficult to overstate how transformative it will be. The ELT’s primary mirror array will have an effective diameter of 39 meters. It will gather more light than … Read more

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Writer Fuel: Are Fossil Fuels a Necessary Step in a Civilization’s Development?

burning coal - deposit photos

The burning of fossil fuels — coal, oil and gas — propelled humanity into the industrial revolution, remaking civilization in its wake. Gasoline powers many of the cars we drive; coal and natural gas are central to global energy. But if aliens were building their own society, would they have to go down the same … Read more

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Writer Fuel: “Silent” X Chromosomes Reawaken In Older Females, Possibly Boosting Brain Power

x chromosome - deposit photos

Dormant genes on the X chromosome may reawaken in old age, potentially giving the aging female brain a boost that the male brain doesn’t receive. This phenomenon may help to explain why, on many measures, females show a higher level of cognitive resilience in old age than males do. The findings come from a new … Read more

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Writer Fuel: Self-Bending Beams Deliver Sound to Your Ears Alone

sound waves - deposit photos

What if you could listen to music or a podcast without headphones or earbuds and without disturbing anyone around you? Or have a private conversation in public without other people hearing you? Our newly published research introduces a way to create audible enclaves — localized pockets of sound that are isolated from their surroundings. In … Read more

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Scientists Find Cheap Way to Break Down Plastic Waste Into Something More Valuable

plastic waste - deposit photos

Scientists have developed a new method to break down plastic waste, using moisture from the air. By exposing a common type of plastic to an inexpensive catalyst and leaving it exposed to ambient air, researchers broke down 94% of the material in just four hours. The plastic transformed into terephthalic acid (TPA), a highly valuable … Read more

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Writer Fuel: We Have Another Visitor

earth and asteroid

NASA scientists have confirmed that a mysterious object shooting toward us through the solar system is an “interstellar object” — only the third of its kind ever seen. Experts have also given the cosmic interloper an official name, and revealed new information about its origins and trajectory. News of the extrasolar entity, initially dubbed A11pl3Z, … Read more

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Writer Fuel: Start-Up Proposes Nuclear Space Tugs

space tugs - Pulsar Fusion

A U.K. start-up has shocked the space exploration community after unveiling plans to use a novel nuclear fusion propulsion system to power an orbital fleet of reusable “alien-like” rockets, known as Sunbirds, which the company says could revolutionize how we explore the solar system — and beyond. The technology behind this ambitious project will begin … Read more

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Writer Fuel: Heat is the Final Boss

extreme heat - climate change - deposit photos

We live in places that will be flooded by rising sea levels. We have food production systems dependent on specific climates. And we have built economic structures, trade relationships and social dynamics contingent on certain temperatures. What’s more, we are not alone in this world, and the rapidly changing climate is a threat to the … Read more