🔋 Lithium battery plant blows up in South Korea, China-linked espionage malware found targeting diplomatic circles, millions of male mosquitoes to save rare Hawaiian birds

Plus: Fish species named after 'Lord of the Rings' villain                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 June 24, 2024 | [Read Online]( In Coordination with ASME Industry trailblazers are built here. Are you prepared for the road ahead? Discover how ASME Membership can support you along the way. Visit our website today to learn more about our member exclusive benefits suite and join our global community! [“Visit our website here”]( A devastating fire erupted on Monday at a lithium battery manufacturing factory near South Korea’s capital, resulting in a tragic loss of life and leaving many others injured or missing. The incident occurred in Hwaseong city, just south of Seoul, at a factory operated by the battery manufacturer Aricell. Officials have reported at least nine people dead, four injured, and 15 others missing following the incident, while Yonhap News, the South Korean news agency, reported that around 20 bodies were discovered. For more on this development, check out today’s [Must-Read.]( 🔥Today’s job of the day as featured on [jobs.interestingengineering.com](: >[Â]([Senior QA Engineer, Automation,]([Roku]( > [Senior DevOps Engineer]( Reading Time: 4 mins Did a friend forward this e-mail to you? [Subscribe here.]( MUST READ 🔋 Lithium battery plant with 35,000 units blows up in South Korea, 20 dead The fire broke out in the [early hours of Monday](, at around 10:30 a.m., at the factory, which is run by battery manufacturer [Aricell]( in Hwaseong. Local fire official Kim Jin-young announced during a televised briefing that eight additional bodies were found within the factory, raising the death toll to nine. “Most of the missing people were [foreign nationals](, including Chinese,” Kim stated, as reported by ABC News. The search efforts continue as officials work tirelessly to locate the remaining 15 individuals. 🦠SugarGh0st: China-linked espionage malware found targeting diplomatic circles Researchers at one of the largest commercial threat intelligence teams globally, [Cisco Talos](, have uncovered a sophisticated cyber-espionage operation targeting [global diplomatic circles](. The group, dubbed “[SneakyChef](,” has been found to target ministries of foreign affairs and embassies in [Africa and Europe](. Their modus operandi involves deploying “SugarGh0st,” a customized version of Gh0st RAT—a malware that has been around for over 15 years. This remote access trojan gives the attackers unprecedented access to victim systems, allowing them to [snatch sensitive diplomatic communications]( and intelligence. Gh0st RAT has been a popular tool of choice for state-sponsored cyber attacks. 🦟 Millions of male mosquitoes to save rare Hawaiian birds, here’s how Millions of mosquitoes are being released from helicopters in Hawaii in a last-ditch attempt to save[rare birds slipping into extinction](. The archipelago’s endemic, brightly colored [honeycreeper]( birds are dying of [malaria]( carried by mosquitoes first introduced by European and American ships in the 1800s. Male mosquitoes possess a naturally occurring bacterium called [Wolbachia](. It acts like birth control, effectively stopping females from reproducing, a technique known as the [incompatible insect technique](. If a male mosquito with Wolbachia mates with an uncontaminated female mosquito, her eggs won’t hatch. Currently, helicopters are releasing [250,000 mosquitoes a week]( onto the scene. [Ten million](have already been deployed in an aggressive effort to save honeycreepers from extinction. Love what you're reading, but too many emails? Sign up to IE+ to get Blueprint Weekly, our exclusive weekly premium newsletter that gives all the insights you love in a more digestible weekly format– plus, enjoy an Ad-Free experience on our website. Try IE+ today for just $1 in the first month. [Subscribe here]( A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR Industry trailblazers are built here. Are you prepared for the road ahead? Discover how ASME Membership can support you along the way. Visit our website today to learn more about our member exclusive benefits suite and join our global community! [Visit our website here]( HOT TOPICS OF THE DAY SCIENCE > Researchers have discovered a new species of pacu, belonging to the family of piranha fish. Owing to its distinctive features, especially the fiery-looking eye, scientists have named it Mylopus sauron after the villain from J.R.R Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ series. ([More]() > A new study reveals a more practical alternative to nuclear fusion. It shows that one-neutron stripping can produce similar or more output than a fusion reaction, particularly in low-energy regions close to the minimum energy threshold required for a nuclear reaction. ([More]() > Australia has up to 250,000 species of fungus but only a fraction of them have been named and described. A group of citizen scientists is working to change that. ([More]() ENERGY > Toshiba Corporation, along with two other companies, unveiled a prototype electric bus that’s powered by next-generation SCiB batteries. The new energy storage device with extreme longevity can be charged 80% in just 10 minutes. ([More]() > Lithium-ion batteries are now part of almost every devices. However, they not only power our gadgets but also pose a risk of causing a fire. In Australia, waste management trucks witness more than 10,000 fires a year caused by lithium-ion batteries. ([More]() > A new world record has been set for converting sunlight to electricity on a residential-size solar panel. UK-based startup Oxford PV unveiled the next-generation tandem solar cell, which uses the so-called ‘miracle material’ perovskite. ([More]() INNOVATION > Chinese scientists have engineered a solution by which they could bypass natural plant gene inheritance. They aim to deploy a CRISPR-based gene editing system to help the transmission of preferred genes even when they aren’t suitable for a plant. ([More]() > Aiming to advance the field of telemedicine, a swallowable robotic pill developed by a startup has moved on to clinical trials. Developed by Endiatx, PillBot is a remote-controlled digestible mini-robotic camera device that can eliminate the need for invasive medical procedures. ([More]() > A startup has come out with an inflatable, collapsible micro helmet that inflates and deflates in around 30 seconds. Once deflated, it also folds into a size that’s smaller than a laptop and might be as thin as a typical notebook. ([More]() VIDEO > Gun violence in United States schools is still prevalent, with recent years witnessing a stark rise in school shootings. Now ZeroEyes, a US-based firm founded by military veterans, has developed a patented AI technology for surveillance camera systems. ([More]() > The UK and Denmark have constructed the world’s longest land-and-sea electricity cable. What’s the reasoning behind it? ([More]() IE QUIZ: THE RESULTS In yesterday’s quiz, we asked, A coffee pot is tilted. The level of coffee inside looks like which drawing? The answer is: D Ready for more brainy challenges? Gear up for future IE quizzes by following us on [Instagram]( and [Facebook!]( FROM THE WEB > The Na Oh restaurant fuses tradition, innovation, and sustainability at Hyundai’s smart farm in [Singapore]( > Scientists have linked one of the ways that cells respond to stressful conditions with restricted healthy hair [growth]( > Researchers have found that the ratio of specific microbial communities in the gut can help to predict who will respond to next-generation drugs for treating some kinds of [cancer]( > The threat of nuclear terrorism is something we should be increasingly keeping an eye on, according to a new [report]( > Mathematicians are excited about a newly discovered [shape]( > Can you blame heat wave on climate change? Eye-popping numbers [suggest so]( Additional Reads --------------------------------------------------------------- [⚙️ Mechanical:](Explore the wonders of mechanical engineering. [🛩️ Aerospace:]( The latest on propulsion, satellites, aeronautics, and more. 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