Dune-Inspired Spacesuit Recycles Astronauts’ Urine Into Drinking Water

A new spacesuit designed by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University, inspired by Frank Herbert Dunecould make spacewalks longer and less disgusting by recycling expelled urine in a special filtration backpack.

The traditional design of NASA spacesuits has been around since the 1970s and features only an absorbent polymer to collect astronauts’ urine. This outdated waste collection system has also led to hygiene and medical issues, such as urinary tract infections and gastrointestinal problems, among astronauts. This isn’t just a matter of science fiction fantasy.

The new “stills” are equipped with an “external vacuum catheter connected to a combined forward and reverse osmosis unit” that astronauts wear on their backs. These suits were designed for NASA’s future space missions, including the Artemis II and Artemis III missions, both destined for the Moon. However, NASA has not yet adopted this spacesuit or its technology.

Oh, and get ready: Amazon Prime Day starts tomorrow.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

​​You can receive these reports daily directly in your inbox. Subscribe here!

They say confidentiality agreements prevent employees from speaking out about security risks.

The whistleblowers wrote a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging that OpenAI employees were forced to sign “unlawfully restrictive” agreements that prevented them from speaking out about the potential dangers of the company’s technology. The whistleblowers are asking the SEC to “take swift and aggressive action” to enforce the rules they accuse OpenAI of violating. They allegedly required employees to sign agreements “that did not exempt them from making securities violation disclosures to the SEC” and required employees to obtain the company’s consent before disclosing confidential information to authorities. The letter also says that OpenAI’s agreements required employees to “forgo congressionally mandated compensation as an incentive to report and provide financial assistance to whistleblowers.”

Continue reading.

But you will need to download virtual machines.

Retro PC game emulator UTM SE is now available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro. This is the first time Apple has allowed a PC emulator for iOS on its marketplace. You’ll first need to download a pre-built virtual machine (several of which UTM offers for free on its website) or create your own from scratch.

Continue reading.