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🌏 Apollo 8 astronaut dies in plane crash, next-gen antibiotic kills pathogens and spares gut microbes, lesbian dating app uses facial recognition to exclude trans women

Plus: A new electronic device that mimics the Venus flytrap’s intelligent prey-capture mechanism

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William Anders, an Apollo 8 astronaut, was killed in a plane crash on June 8 in Washington state, at the age of 90. He had gained worldwide recognition for taking the iconic ‘Earthrise’ photo.

Anders was one of the first three humans to orbit the moon. He co-founded the Heritage Museum near Burlington, which confirmed that he was killed in an aircraft accident.

The Heritage Flight Museum mentioned that Anders was flying the plane alone when it went down the coast of the San Juan Islands archipelago. For more on this development, check out today’s Must-Read.

🔥Today’s job of the day as featured on jobs.interestingengineering.com:

> Senior Software Engineer - Autonomy
> Principal Software Engineer, Platform

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MUST READ

🌏 Apollo 8 astronaut who took ‘Earthrise’ photo dies in plane crash

His son Greg Anders told the Seattle Times, “The family is devastated. He (Anders) was a great pilot and we will miss him.” Reports say that the plane was flying south when it crashed and sank off the north end of Jones Island.

The exploits of Anders are repeated to almost all and sundry. He and his fellow astronauts were treated as ‘national heroes’. They earned this repute when they led Apollo 8 in transmitting images of Earth from the lunar surface. They landed three days later in the Pacific Ocean. Time magazine called them the “Men of the Year.

“Earthrise,” one of the most famous photographs of Anders, will forever remain etched in the minds of people throughout history. Earthrise was the first colored image of the Earth captured from space.

💊 Next-gen antibiotic kills harmful bacteria, spares healthy gut microbes

Researchers have developed a new antibiotic drug that kills pathogenic bacteria while sparing healthy microbes.

Called lolamicin, the drug reduced or eliminated bacterial infections in mouse models of acute pneumonia. Crucially, it spared healthy microbes in the mouse gut.

According to researchers, the drug also warded off secondary infections with Clostridioides difficile, a common and dangerous hospital-associated bacterial infection, and was effective against more than 130 multidrug-resistant bacterial strains in cell cultures.

👭🏽 Lesbian dating app uses facial recognition to exclude trans women

Gender-critical activist Jenny Watson has developed L’App, a dating app that scans prospective users’ faces. Utilizing smartphone technology, the app claims to detect whether a woman signing up on the platform is cisgender or transgender with 99% accuracy.

L’App’s use of facial recognition technology raises concerns, as this technology is notorious for inaccuracies, particularly with non-white individuals and women. Several women of color have already faced discrimination due to such algorithms.

The launch of the app has drawn strong criticism from netizens. Many have commented that this is “terrible news” since the app founder is discriminating on the basis of gender.

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HOT TOPICS OF THE DAY

SCIENCE

> In a groundbreaking event, the ESA, collaborating with the Negative Ions at the Lunar Surface (NILS) instrument, has confirmed the success of its scientific mission aboard the Chang’e-6 spacecraft to the far side of the moon. (More)

> Researchers at the University of Oxford have created a luminous marker dye that will act as a “second pair of eyes” for surgeons during prostate cancer surgery. (More)

> JWST has discovered a large variety of carbon-rich gases that serve as ingredients for future planets around a very low-mass star. (More)

ENERGY

> Researchers have optimized a new method for extracting lithium from widespread sources such as seawater, groundwater, and “flowback water” (a byproduct of fracking and offshore drilling). (More)

> In a recent development, a firm called DrinkingMaker is soon expected to launch DrinkingWater, a solar-powered, next-generation multifunctional dispenser that extracts water from the air. (More)

> The former boss of BP John Browne has appeared to back a key energy policy by calling for an end to new North Sea oil and gas drilling licences. (More)

INNOVATION

> Researchers in Finland have developed a new model that enables computers to interpret and understand human emotions. (More)

> Engineers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have developed a new electronic device that mimics the Venus flytrap’s intelligent prey-capture mechanism. (More)

> Scottish researchers say they have discovered a bioengineering breakthrough which would allow broken bones to heal quicker in seriously injured patients. (More)

VIDEO

> Every year, one-third of the food produced for human consumption across the world is wasted. But a restaurant in London, UK, is trying to tackle the issue by aiming to produce no waste for the landfill. (More)

> Germany’s suspension monorail is one of the closest modes of transport you’ll get to a flying train. (More)

> The Soma project serves as a testbed of sustainable ideas which could be rolled out across Japan - and around the world. (More)

IE QUIZ: THE RESULTS

In yesterday’s quiz, we asked, How many gears will turn counterclockwise?

The answer is: 14

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FROM THE WEB

> A Shetland woman has been telling how a search for a gene variant alerted her to her breast cancer diagnosis

> 22-pound small great ape species discovered, Germany debugs old notion

> Scientists have traced the origin of the modern horse to a lineage that emerged 4,200 years ago

> The top 10 finalists for Miss AI, the world's first artificial intelligence beauty pageant, have been announced

> Fossil-hunting diver says he has found a large section of mastodon tusk off Florida's coast

> A new trial reveals that sildenafil, commonly known as Viagra, enhances blood flow to the brain and improves the function of brain blood vessels in patients at a heightened risk of vascular dementia

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