In this week’s edition of The Prototype, we look at ancient tool making, SpaceX’s big explosion, reducing AI’s big power draw and more.You can sign up to get The Prototype in your inbox here.
SpaceX attempted an eight test flight of its Starship, its next generation spacecraft and rocket, on Thursday. The launch looked good as Starship made it into space and the booster rocket was successfully caught on the ground. However, as it was ascending, it started to lose control of its orientation. Cameras showed the spacecraft spinning wildly before the company lost contact with it.
A few minutes later, the Starship exploded. Multiple videos circulating on social media showed bright streaks across the sky in places like the Bahamas, Florida and Dominican Republic. As a consequence of the debris, the FAA briefly grounded flights scheduled to depart from airports in Miami, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach.
The cause of the rocket failure is not yet known. The previous test flight, which similarly failed as the rocket was powering into space, most likely failed because of a leak in an engine causing a pressure buildup, the company said last month. CEO Elon Musk dismissed criticism of what this failure might mean for the company’s Starship program, calling it a “minor setback.”
Stay tuned.
Humans Made Bone Tools A Million Years Earlier Than Previously Thought
Tool made from an elephant bone
CSIC
Archaeologists have long known that our ancestors began using stone tools in a sophisticated way about 2.6 million years ago. But it had been long thought that humans didn’t start using bones–a common, versatile material–for tool making until about 500,000 years ago. But a new discovery pushed that timeline back by over a million years.
An archaeological dig in Tanzania unearthed dozens of bone tools dating back about a million and a half years. The large number of tools discovered shows signs of intentional mass production. Some of the tools were made from hippopotamus bones, not surprisingly, as they were native to the region. But others were made from elephant bones, which would have had to be transported to the area, suggesting that transmission of technical know-how and possibly trade was happening this early in the history of our species.
Making new technology–and talking about it–is clearly a fundamental part of being human.
DISCOVERY OF THE WEEK: REDUCING AI’S ENERGY USE
The rapid growth of AI over the past few years has brought with it massive power consumption, which is predicted to double over the course of the decade due to the computational demands of training new models. Or maybe not. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich have published a paper demonstrating a new mathematical training approach for AI neural networks that is 100 times faster than current methods with similar accuracy, resulting in less energy demand.
FINAL FRONTIER: COMMERCIAL MOON LANDINGS
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost landed on the surface of the Moon in an upright position last Tuesday, the first commercial lander to successfully do so. It will spend the next few days supporting NASA missions and testing its own technology. Houston-based Intuitive Machines wasn’t as fortunate. Its Athena lander made it to the surface on Thursday and is communicating back to the company, but it’s not clear yet if it landed upright or whether it can complete its missions.
WHAT ELSE I WROTE THIS WEEK
Each year hundreds of children are born legally blind because of a genetic defect in their AIPL1 gene that degrades their retinas. I wrote about a new gene therapy from MeiraGTx, which has restored eyesight to 11 such children.
In my other newsletter, InnovationRx, my colleague Amy Feldman and I wrote about how tariffs could hit medical devices, Stand Up for Science rallies, AbbVie’s move into weight loss drugs and more.
SCIENCE AND TECH TIDBITS
Waymo is now operating its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. This is the fourth city where the Alphabet subsidiary’s self-driving cars are available to passengers.
A potential new drug might serve as a treatment for Alzheimer’s by supercharging the immune system to clear the brain of plaques.
Plexiglass might now be recyclable, thanks to a new method developed by researchers at ETH Zurich.
You might see bigger tomatoes and eggplants at the grocery store soon, as researchers have discovered the genes that control their size.
AI models canidentify and transcribe cuneiform characters from ancient tablets, making these writings more accessible to archaeologists.
PRO SCIENCE TIP: EAT MORE VEGETABLE OIL AND LESS BUTTER
Plant-based oils may be the scourge of diet influencers on Tiktok, but a new large-scale study suggests they’re good for you. Researchers followed diet and health data from over 200,000 people over the course of more than 30 years and found that higher intake of these oils was associated with lower mortality, particularly from cancer and cardiovascular issues. Eating more butter, by contrast, was associated with an increased risk of cancer and overall morality. “[W]e saw a 17% lower risk of death when we modeled swapping butter with plant-based oils in daily diet,” the study’s lead author said in a press release. The results were published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
WHAT’S ENTERTAINING ME THIS WEEK
I’ve started watching the Hulu show A Thousand Blows, the latest from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. Set in London’s East End, the show follows two newcomers from Jamaica as they navigate the gangs, prejudice and bare-knuckle brawling of the Victorian era. Many of the characters are real figures, inspired by the research of historian Sarah Elizabeth Cox, who’s a consultant for the show.
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