INNOVATION
Tesla’s Optimus Robot Is a Bit of a Flop, but That Doesn’t Mean It Isn’t Important by gizmodo.com
In August 2021, Tesla CEO Elon Musk annouced the electric car manufacturer was planning to get into the robot business. Musk has now unveiled a prototype of the robot, called Optimus, which he hopes to mass-produce and sell for less than US$20,000. Read more
SCIENCE
Nobel Prize Awarded to Scientist Who Sequenced Neanderthal Genome by nytimes.com
Svante Pääbo, a Swedish geneticist, was honored for work that created a new field of ancient DNA studies and identified populations at higher risk of disease. Read more
MOBILITY
An all-electric passenger plane completed its first test flight by theverge.com
The small aircraft carries big hopes for more sustainable aviation, but there are roadblocks ahead. Read more
PODCAST
The Langley Files on spotify.com
On this debut episode of The Langley Files, CIA Director Bill Burns joins the hosts, Dee and Walter, to dispel some common misconceptions about the CIA, provide insights into the character and skills of the Agency’s workforce, and share some personal anecdotes about what it means to him to lead the world’s premiere foreign intelligence organization. Listen
UNUSUAL
Living plant controls a machete through an industrial robot arm by designboom.com
David Bowen’s installation, ‘Plant Machete,’ enables a living plant to move a machete through an industrial robot‘s bionic-like arm. Read more
