MIT engineers have developed a revolutionary way of producing clean hydrogen fuel from used soda cans, seawater, and caffeine. When pure aluminium reacts with seawater, it naturally creates hydrogen gas, a clean fuel source. Caffeine enhances this reaction, speeding it up significantly. In a study published in Cell Reports Physical Science, researchers generated hydrogen by dropping prepared aluminium pellets into saltwater. The aluminium is treated with a gallium-indium alloy to remove its oxide layer, allowing it to react with saltwater and produce hydrogen. Surprisingly, the active comp
Scientists at the Texas Heart Institute (THI) have successfully implanted a titanium-constructed artificial heart. The technique was part of a preliminary feasibility study sponsored by the United States Food and Drug Administration. BiVACOR invented the heart, a biventricular rotary blood pump with a single moving element that uses a magnetically levitated rotor to replace both ventricles of a failing heart. The titanium heart has major advantages over earlier types because of its frictionless design, which reduces wear and tear and increases longevity. It works with a small rechargeab
Kawasaki has taken a huge step towards environmentally friendly transportation by publicly testing its first hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine (ICE) motorcycle at the Suzuka Circuit. The Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX features a modified 998 cc supercharged inline-four engine with direct hydrogen fuel injection. The bike has redesigned mounts for hydrogen fuel cylinders and a specific management system, and the side-mounted tanks are refuelled via valves. According to Kawasaki, this hydrogen-powered engine performs similarly to standard petrol engines, releasing just water vapour while
Researchers discovered phosphine and ammonia in Venus' atmosphere, which could indicate the presence of life. Venus, the second planet from the Sun, has a hostile environment with surface temperatures of around 450 degrees Celsius and an atmosphere primarily composed of carbon dioxide. A team led by Jane Greaves of Cardiff University discovered phosphine in Venus' upper atmosphere using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. This study, reported in Nature Astronomy, suggests that biological activity may exist in the acidic cloud deck, where temperatures hover around 75 degrees Celsius and p
A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool to improve farming methods in India has been unveiled by Google: the Agricultural Landscape Understanding (ALU) Research API. Google VP Jeanine Banks announced the Google I/O Connect event in Bengaluru. ALU Research API aims to increase agricultural output, facilitate access to financing, and broaden agricultural product markets. To investigate its potential applications, Google is teaming up with organisations such as Ninjacart, Skymet, Team-Up, IIT Bombay, and the Indian government. The ALU tool provides precise landscape insights at the farm le
NASA published photos from the James Webb Space Telescope of two galaxies, the Penguin and the Egg, combining in a cosmic ballet. This marks two years since the telescope's first scientific findings were revealed. Launched in 2021, Webb began gathering data the following year, altering our view of the early universe and producing breathtaking cosmic images. Arp 142 refers to the galaxies in the Hydra constellation, which are 326 million light-years away. Jane Rigby, NASA Webb senior project scientist, noted that the merging galaxies, each with billions of stars, show how galaxies like o
The MV Sea Change, the world's first hydrogen-powered commercial passenger ferry, will start operations on San Francisco Bay on July 19. As part of a six-month free test programme, this 70-foot catamaran will transport up to 75 passengers from Pier 41 to the downtown San Francisco ferry terminal. The ferry, which can travel 300 nautical miles and run for 16 hours before refuelling, is intended to reduce carbon emissions by replacing diesel-powered ferries. Jim Wunderman, chair of the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority, emphasised the project's significance,
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched Daichi-4, an advanced Earth observation satellite, on the brand-new H3 rocket. The H3 rocket reached a new level of reliability with its successful launch at Tanegashima Space Centre. The H3 rocket dropped its payload into orbit while its remnants fell into the Indian Ocean, following a predetermined trajectory. Hiroshi Yamakawa, the head of JAXA, highlighted the progress in preserving Japan's autonomy and global competitiveness in space access when he announced that Daichi-4 had started its mission. Prime Minister Fumi
Scientists from India have revealed a new way to determine pi, which should make it easier to extract pi from phenomena such as the quantum scattering of high-energy particles. Arnab Saha and Aninda Sinha of the Centre for High Energy Physics (CHEP) published this research in Physical Review Letters. According to IISc, "The new formula under a certain limit closely mirrors the 15th-century representation of pi by Indian mathematician Sangamagrama Madhava." Creating a model with fewer parameters to explain particle interactions in high-energy physics was the original goal of the sc
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing for the Chandrayaan-4 mission, which is designed to retrieve samples from the Moon using India's most powerful rocket system. Chandrayaan-4 will be launched in different parts and assembled in orbit, unlike previous missions, because the spacecraft's size exceeds the rocket's capacity. This method, which is similar to the construction of the International Space Station, establishes a new standard for space exploration and is unprecedented for lunar missions. According to ISRO, the mission's architecture involves numerous launche