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Japan’s new electric spoon makes food taste saltier without actual salt
Known as the Electric Salt Spoon, the device was developed through a collaboration with researchers from Meiji University and went on sale in Japan in May 2024 in limited numbers. The spoon uses a mild electric current to concentrate sodium ions on the tongue’s taste receptors, making food taste saltier without adding extra salt. Users…
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A space humanoid uses four arms to assist astronauts
Orbit Robotics developed Helios based on a simple idea: robots built for space shouldn’t be modeled after systems designed for gravity. The outcome is a striking four-armed machine that may look futuristic, but reflects a highly practical vision for space operations. The company says Helios divides its four arms into two functional pairs. One pair…
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The galaxy’s coldest “stars” could actually be enormous structures built by aliens
Astronomers could potentially detect Dyson swarms by searching for unusually cool, smooth infrared emissions surrounding long-lived stars. Since physicist Freeman Dyson first proposed the concept in 1960, the “Dyson sphere” has become one of the most prominent hypothetical technosignatures in the search for advanced extraterrestrial intelligence. A highly advanced civilization might surround its star with…