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Prompting AI art, low-carbon crypto, Patagonia's environmental efforts and more

Making a Lithium-Ion Battery Alternative Out of Crab Exoskeletons Products powered by lithium-ion batteries (like electric vehicles) are in high-demand, but sourcing and mining the element requires unsustainable amounts of water and energy. On top of that, it’s a scarce resource and acquiring it can be dangerous. To find an alternative, engineers from the University of Maryland created a battery using crabs whose exoskeletons are …

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An explosion of color in Stockholm, NASA's Mars precautions, updates to our perception of marijuana and more

NASA’s Preventative Measures Against Potential Martian Pathogens Although the risk is small that threatening organisms will make their way to Earth via the Martian rock samples currently being collected, NASA is taking precautions. These samples—set to arrive in the 2030s—will first be held in a receiving facility that’s “capable of safely containing the most dangerous pathogens known to science,” that also “prevents substances on Earth …

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Talking to animals, ultra-high-speed public transport, Seoul art fairs and more from around the web

TransPod’s Fully Electric “FluxJet” Transportation System Can Travel 1,000 km/h In development by Canadian mobility startup TransPod to carry passengers and cargo, the FluxJet ultra-high-speed ground transportation system employs contactless power transmission, enabling it to reach speeds of 1000km/h. The FluxJet will travel along the TransPod Line, which is already under construction. Once it is in operation, “it will cost passengers approximately 44% less than …