Show Notes:

This ingenious wall could harness enough wind power to cover your electric bill | Fast Company (01:22)

• Today, most of our wind power comes from large-scale wind farms set upon rolling hills and windswept coastlines. 
  • If you have driven across the country I’m sure you have seen them
• What if we could build wind turbines in our cities? Not the big bulky.
  • American designer and entrepreneur Joe Doucet has created such a concept.
• This wind turbine wall consists of a grid of square panes spinning simultaneously along 25 axes.
  • Size and format can change depending on needs
• In its current iteration, the wall is made up of 25 off-the-shelf wind turbine generators.
  • Attached to 25 vertical rods with square panels attached.
  • The wall is 8 feet tall and 25 feet wide, but the concept can be scaled, according to the article.
• According to the US Energy Information Administration, the average annual electricity consumption for an American home, in 2020, used a little over 10,700 kilowatt-hours per year.
  • Based on simulations run on Doucet’s prototype, these walls would be enough to supply that power. 
• Doucet, who is in talks with several large manufacturers, discusses how this concept could be used larger-scale commercial projects:
  • “Instead of the typical retaining walls along roads and freeways, you’d have an array of these … With the added wind boost from trucks, our highways could take care of all our energy needs.”

Researchers develop a new way to find cancer at the nanometer scale | MedicalXPress (07:45)

• In a new Concordia-led paper, researchers describe a new liquid biopsy method using lab-on-a-chip technology that they believe can detect cancer before a tumor is even formed.
  • Another step towards early diagnosis.
• The liquid biopsy chip attracts, with magnetic particles, and captures (bonding agent) particles containing cancer-causing biomarkers. 
  • A droplet of organic liquid—whether blood, saliva, urine or anything else.
  • Close analysis can identify the type of cancer they are carrying.
• The chip targets extracellular vesicles (EVs), a type of particle that is released by most kinds of organic cells.
  • Extremely small, 40 and 200 nanometers
  • Contain a cargo of proteins, nucleic acids such as RNA, metabolites and other molecules.
  • Also, contain biomarkers associated with cancer and other diseases 
• Paper’s senior author Muthukumaran Packirisamy, discusses the technique:
  • “This technique can provide a very early diagnosis of cancer that would help find therapeutic solutions and improve the lives of patients … Liquid biopsies avoid the trauma of invasive biopsies, which involve exploratory surgery … We can get all the cancer markers and cancer prognosis just by examining any bodily fluid.”
• With a precise diagnosis, the medical field can devise a special localized treatment for the specific type of cancer. 
• Could you imagine getting screened for different types of cancer when you give blood or provide spit/urine? Attacking it before it spreads could have huge impacts.

Elon Musk’s Boring Company gets green light for Las Vegas tunnel system | The Verge (13:39)

• The Boring Company just won approval from local officials to move forward with building a network of vehicle tunnels underneath Las Vegas. 
• Dubbed the “Vegas Loop,” allowing passengers to hitch rides in Teslas to different locations throughout the city.
  • Airport, Football stadium, the Las Vegas Strip, etc.
• The Boring Company already operates a small version of this “Teslas in Tunnels” system underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center. 
  • Opened in late May of this year.
  • Two 0.8-mile tunnels
• The system that was approved involves 29 miles of tunnels and 51 stations.
  • According to Clark County officials, 57,000 passengers will be able to travel through it per hour.
  • Compare that to the New York Subway system, which handles (if even distributed) roughly 136,000 passengers per hour. 
• The Boring Company previously said that it would foot the bill for building the main tunnels but planned to ask hotel casinos or other businesses that want a station to pay for those construction costs.
• The Boring Company has said the plan is to ultimately use Teslas that can drive themselves, but right now they do not have that capability. 
  • Currently, the Teslas that run under the Convention Center have human drivers.
• And if you are wondering why going the tunnel route instead of a subway is worth it, well this is Boring Company’s answer:
  • “To solve the problem of soul-destroying traffic, roads must go 3D, which means either flying cars or tunnels are needed. Unlike flying cars, tunnels are weatherproof, out of sight, and won’t fall on your head. 
  • Tunnels minimize usage of valuable surface land and do not conflict with existing transportation systems. A large network of tunnels can alleviate congestion in any city; no matter how large a city grows, more levels of tunnels can be added.”

Lockheed Martin plans to build Starlab commercial space station by 2027  | New Atlas (19:01)

• Lockheed Martin, Nanoracks, and Voyager Space have entered into a partnership to launch a permanently crewed commercial space station by 2027.
  • Called Starlab
  • Semi-inflatable platform
  • Available to the US government and private industry
• With the International Space Station (ISS) slated for retirement and disposal by 2030, the United States is looking to private companies to provide replacements.
  • Starlab is one of those replacements. 
• The purpose of Starlab is to carry out a wide variety of activities, including general science, materials research, plant growth, astronaut training, and tourism.
  • Will allow for a continued American presence in space
• Nanoracks: Leading Starlab’s development 
  • Mentioned them way back in Episode 32! (Plan to Turn Scrapped Rockets Into Space Stations)
• Voyager Space: handling the business side
• Lockheed Martin: build and operate the station
• Current Specs that we know:
  • Consists of a large inflatable habitat module 
  • A metallic docking node. 
  • Volume of 340 m3 (12,000 ft3)
  • Four solar arrays totaling 60 kW
  • A regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) supporting a permanent crew of four astronauts plus visitors. 
  • Robotic arm to handle cargo ships and outside experiments.
• Lisa Callahan, vice president and general manager, Commercial Civil Space at Lockheed Martin, talks about this partnership:
  • “Lockheed Martin’s extensive experience in building complex spacecraft and systems, coupled with Nanoracks’ commercial business innovation and Voyager’s financial expertise allows our team to create a customer-focused space station that will fuel our future vision. We have invested significantly in habitat technology which enables us to propose a cost-effective, mission-driven spacecraft design for Starlab.”

Walmart Has Quietly Begun Hosting Bitcoin ATMs | Coindesk (24:30)

• Walmart, the world’s largest company by revenue, is letting customers buy bitcoin at dozens of its U.S. stores.
  • Purchase the cryptocurrency at Coinstar machines inside the big box stores. 
• Walmart communications director Molly Blakeman told CoinDesk via email:
  • “Coinstar, in partnership with Coinme, has launched a pilot that allows its customers to use cash to purchase bitcoin … There are 200 Coinstar kiosks located inside Walmart stores across the United States that are part of this pilot.”
• The ability to buy bitcoin is enabled by Coinme, a crypto wallet and payment firm that specializes in bitcoin ATMs (BTMs).
  • After inserting bills into the machine, a paper voucher is issued.
  • Then you have to set up a Coinme account and pass a know-your-customer (KYC) check before the voucher can be redeemed.
• The machine charges a 4% fee for the bitcoin option, plus another 7% cash exchange fee, according to the Coinstar website and verified by CoinDesk.
• Coinstar is not new to this BTM space since they started adding bitcoin-buying services with Coinme in early 2019, and in 2020 announced plans to double its fleet of 3,500 Coinme BTMs.
• This is a step up from those BTMs, since Walmart is seen as the crown jewel to bringing crypto financial services into the mainstream. 
  •  A company with 4,700 stores and a market cap of $409 billion.