Data centers are breaking the electric grid. Meet the $6 billion startup and its visionary CEO solving the problem - Fast Company

I’m not convinced this solves anything in its current state. However, the concept that the startup is using recycled car batteries (and other larger scale batteries) to supply power in an ever-power-thirsty world is a good step in the right direction. 

And, I couldn’t help but think of Edison’s notion of having smaller power plants to produce DC power (as opposed to what we do today with large plants, power distribution, and AC power that was fleshed out from a Nikola Tesla idea) is sort of the answer as our power needs change. 

https://www.fastcompany.com/91534619/data-centers-are-breaking-the-electric-grid-meet-the-6-billion-startup-and-its-genius-ceo-solving-the-problem

NASA is making a powerful new ion engine to send astronauts to Mars — and it just passed its 1st test | Space

Flight readiness is still a ways off. But the theoretical ion engine that could propel humans into deep space just took a nice leap forward. 

NASA successfully tested an ion engine (one that feeds off an electromagnetic reaction rather than a chemical one) that can produce 120 kw. This should be sufficient to propel a craft to mars. 

I look forward to seeing how this goes. 

https://www.space.com/astronomy/mars/nasa-is-making-a-powerful-new-ion-engine-to-send-astronauts-to-mars-and-it-just-passed-its-1st-test

I’ll take any good news I can get…

Hello MoveOn friend,

Thank you for signing the petition to stop Trump and RFK Jr. 's chosen U.S. Surgeon General nominee, Casey Means. She was a completely unqualified wellness influencer, did not complete her medical residency, and doesn't hold an active medical license. Like RFK Jr., Means pushed an anti-science agenda that threats America's public health.

There isn't a lot of good health care news to share these days, but I did want to make sure you knew that our messages to our Senators actually worked. 

The Senate did not have enough support to confirm her nomination. So Trump announced on Truth Social today¹ that her replacement would be Fox News contributor and radiologist Dr. Nicole Saphier. Saphier will be his third nominee for the job. 

Affordable telescopes.

Technology has come quite a long way. There’s a low-cost telescope available that has some pretty cool optics, and appears to be much easier to control that the telescopes of the past. 

I was kind of intrigued:

https://www.seestar.com/products/seestar-s30-pro

And then I saw this:

https://youtu.be/-v8mIvP_zUA?si=ZN7zMy98haGD2FJ1

Putting them in series to do some mapping?! It sounds totally crazy but is so cool! And completely possible because of these technological advancements. 

Disney’s $60 billion bet on the one thing AI can’t replace

This is a long form article about, essentially, Disney betting big on physical experiences such as theme parks and cruise lines. 

It’s an interesting perspective to be sure. And they do point out that the other CEO that took over for Iger - chapek - was also investing in theme parks, but he was very big on the revenue and thus raised prices and cut amenities. 

Something D’Amaro appears less likely to do. But we'll see…

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/technology/articles/disney-60-billion-bet-one-131500076.html

An interplanetary shortcut can speed up trips to Mars

In a way, this harkens back to the original moon missions.  Computers (ie, the people - mostly women - who did the computing by hand) figured out the most efficient way to get to the moon, orbit it, and come back to earth… and have a fairly precise landing spot (yes it was many 10s of miles, but it was a reasonable calculation in the 1960s). 

Here, a scientist looked at the path that a meteor took in its path between mars and earth, and figured out that we could theoretically have a “fairly short” trip to mars because of the orbital mechanics and whatnot. 

It’s a cool way to look at the way in which we can get to the red planet. 

https://phys.org/news/2026-04-interplanetary-shortcut-mars.html

A New Big Database of DNA From Indigenous Americans Shakes Up Scientists' Theories About Human Settlement of South America

I’m always fascinated by the fact that new discoveries can lead to new scientific concepts and update a long-held theory. 

Here’s another example of how indigenous people migrated between the Americas - and they did it in waves for various reasons is pretty remarkable. 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-new-big-database-of-dna-from-indigenous-americans-shakes-up-scientific-theories-about-human-settlement-of-south-america-180988628/