Happy Thanksgiving! Here are three things st3v is grateful for:

• Bees

• Robo-dogs

• You <3

-Steve

Get the coolest STEM news in 5 minutes every Saturday, Join The Convo!

Tardigrade Wizard

Harry Potter is influencing newly discovered species. Macrobiotus naginae becomes the fifth known member of tardigrades’ micro-fam.

• Named after Nagini, a character turned into a snake

• In reference to M. naginae’s smaller legs and claws

• Tardigrade = micro-animals that survive in extreme environments up to 10 yrs.

This new species was discovered in Finland where it hitchhikes inside snail guts. The risky commute increases two-day travel distance by 32 feet and has a ~30% survival rate. Makes our commutes sound great.

.....,......,......@\-/

Sea Sips

Mmmm, saltwater. Oneka’s Iceberg-class buoy safely generates fresh water in the ocean using wave energy.

• Made from 170k recycled plastic bottles

• Creates up to 13k gallons of fresh water per day

• Brine discharge is only ~30% saltier than surrounding water

Typical desalination generates salty brine that can be toxic, especially if chemically treated. Oneka will begin testing a utility-scale version next year in Nova Scotia. No word on a carry-on approved sizes for tropical vacations.

Oh buoy

Dusty Bacteria

Holiday travel hack: fly hundreds of miles for free just by being bacteria. New research uncovered just how far dust traveled to Israel.

• Researchers collected local dust at various times

• DNA sequencing revealed bacterial aspects

• Trajectory modeling estimated dust origins

As much as a third of Israel’s aerobiome blew in from distant areas. More research is underway to assess the possibility of antibiotic resistance spreading by wind. As a precaution, please do not pet the dust bunnies.

Leaving antibiotics in the dust

Clickables

• Seeing is believing - lab-grown eyes

• This movie about a rover brings all the feels

• Call 911, someone is driving a Porche in the desert

• Break the internet in 1 second, but only until 2035

• Commute to your home office in Volkswagen’s office chair

st3v on site

Abracadabra

Everyone knows Macrobiotus Leviosa is our new software engineer, but it's a lot more fun to call them a wizard.

Thank you for reading!

Missed last week’s Convo?

Catch-up here: Moonshot | Spinal Zap | Giant Turtles - The Convo Kit #75

What would improve this email for you?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Reach out on Twitter @_steveburgess or reply to this email.