Weekend Edition: A burly baby penguin, a big berry farm and a bizarre ball-joint gear

[New Atlas logo]( Biology [Massive 50-lb king penguin chick Pesto becomes a surprise global star]( [September 22: Pesto manages to make an average-sized king penguin look small]( Move over, Moo Deng, there's a new superstar baby animal that's become an overnight viral sensation – a nine-month-old king penguin chick named Pesto whose species-defying growth spurt has made this big boy a worldwide celebrity. [Read more]( Manufacturing ['World-first' indoor vertical farm to produce 4M pounds of berries a year]( [Plenty's 30-ft vertical indoor towers of strawberries]( Major steps towards better, sustainable and affordable food production free of environmental challenges have been taken, with the with the opening of the "world's first farm to grow indoor, vertically farmed berries at scale". [Read more]( Technology [Watch: Incredibly versatile active ball-joint gear is mind-bending]( [ABENICS can roll, pitch, and yaw in every direction]( At its core, this system uses a "simple" cross-spherical gear paired with a monopole gear to control pitch, roll, and yaw. With clever gearing, coupling, and sliding motions, however, the ABENICS gear is extremely precise in its movements. [Read more]( Energy [eVinci nuclear microreactor moves towards commercialization]( [The eVinci microreactor]( Westinghouse Electric Company is advancing its revolutionary eVinci nuclear microreactor. Based on space nuclear technology, it boasts a tiny footprint, no moving parts, and can be swapped out for refueling, much like replacing a used gas bottle. [Read more]( Tiny Houses [Affordable tiny house fits two bedrooms into 204 sq ft]( [The Vista, by Dragon Tiny Homes, costs $60,000 and fits two bedrooms into its compact 204-sq-ft (18.95-sq-m) footprint]( Dragon Tiny Homes offers a good balance between size and features with its recent model, the Vista. Despite its compact footprint of just 204 sq ft, the tiny house includes a snug but livable interior that fits two bedrooms. [Read more]( Outdoors [Mini EDC knife shrinks hypnotizing kinetic theater to 5th pocket size]( [The entire knife gets into the action in flipping the blade]( Earlier this year, we took a look at a knife quite unlike any other in the Craighill Sidewinder. Craighill is now introducing a smaller version that folds the same split-handled, slide-and-flip design into a package small enough to hang on a keychain. [Read more]( Outdoors [Titanium multitool gets more useful, by sproutin' a saw]( [The Pichi X2S, pictured here both all folded down and "fully deployed"]( If a multitool already includes an adjustable wrench, surgical steel blade, bit driver and pry bar, how do you make it even more useful? Well, in the case of the new Pichi X2S, you give it a fold-out saw. [Read more]( Body & Mind [New defib placement increases chance of surviving heart attack by 264%]( [Changing the position of defibrillator pads could improve survival rates after a cardiac arrest]( Placing defibrillator pads on the chest and back, rather than the usual method of putting two on the chest, increases the odds of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest by more than two-and-a-half times, according to a new study. [Read more]( Automotive [500-mile camper bus looks to blow open electrified RVing in USA]( [The 500-mile PHEV Class A motorhome is just a prototype for now, but Thor plans to slide the hybridized chassis under production motorhomes in 2025]( The US market has been slowly catching up with Europe on all-electric RVs but still lacks plug-in hybrid options. Thor and Harbinger are looking to change all that with an all-new Class A motorhome that promises a robust 500-mile PHEV range. [Read more]( Motorcycles [Street-legal aluminum bullet motorcycle gives off alien vibes]( [The EVE Odyssey V2 gets a space-grade aluminum exterior]( Bandit9’s EVE Odyssey V2 looks like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. With a top speed of 68 mph and fuel efficiency of 156 mpg, it is compact, efficient, handcrafted, and... Probably about as comfy whichever way you sit on it. [Read more]( Space [Sightseeing capsule makes its first balloon flight to the edge of outer space]( [Spaceship Neptune-Excelsior lifts off from the deck of support vessel Marine Spaceport Voyager, heading for an altitude of 100,000 feet]( We're now one step closer to seeing tourists making balloon flights to the edge of outer space. Just last week, Florida company Space Perspective sent a balloon-lifted test capsule to the outer limits of our planet's atmosphere, followed by a successful splashdown landing. [Read more]( Energy [Three Mile Island to be restarted to power Microsoft data centers]( [The Three Mile Island nuclear power station (CC BY-SA 4.0)]( In a remarkable topical twofer, not only is Microsoft turning to nuclear power to run its data centers, it's commissioned the restarting of the infamous Three Mile Island station – the site of the worst commercial nuclear accident in US history. [Read more]( Automotive [Off-road Ford camper van hooks and loops its way into the deep wilds]( [Terracamper works with Seikel on the rock sliders, skid protection and lift]( Terracamper has long kept things in-country, building off-road campers on VWs and Mercedes. With recent shifts in the van landscape, it's now launched a Ford camper with off-road kit, suspended bed, and loads of tie-downs and Velcro accessory panels. [Read more]( Outdoors [Wrenching, ratcheting multitool builds on its older sibling]( [The PryMax 2.0 is presently on Kickstarter]( We've already seen multitools with features such as pry bars, adjustable wrenches, ratcheting drive sockets and "everlasting" pens. The PryMax 2.0 combines all of things and more in one compact titanium package. [Read more]( Materials ['Brain-breaking' glass bricks are 3D printed, reusable, and strong]( [The glass bricks are printed in a figure-eight design, which allows for curved structures]( Using a 3D printer that works with molten glass, researchers forged LEGO-like glass bricks with a strength comparable to concrete. The bricks could have a role in circular construction in which materials are used over and over again. [Read more]( Manufacturing [Watch: Soldering looks incredible in microscopic close-up]( [You've never seen soldering quite like this before]( Here's a feast for your eyes: mesmerizing footage of circuit boards being soldered, massively magnified under an ultra- powerful microscope. It's a fun watch, even if you've never picked up a soldering iron before. [Read more]( Bicycles [200-mile fat-tire cargo ebike aims for the long haul]( [The LE20 cargo ebike can haul you and your gear for more than 200 miles]( Cargo ebikes are often pitched as family car alternatives, but limited range can be tiresome. If you'd rather be riding than charging, Engwe has launched a fat-tire model that could provide motor assist for more than 200 miles before needing a top up. [Read more]( Cancer [Giving T cells extra batteries supercharges them against cancer]( [Giving immune cells extra "batteries" helps them fight cancer more effectively]( T cells are our first line of defense against cancer, but the battle tends to exhaust them. Now, scientists have found a way to give them extra “batteries” to keep them fighting longer, with promising early results in mice. [Read more]( Automotive [Porsche's 6-stroke engine doubles up on power and compression]( [The legendary Porsche 911 GTS flat 6 powerplant – a spectacular example of the modern four-stroke]( Intake, compression, power, then exhaust. Every 4-stroke engine ever made – about 80% of all engines currently in existence – function on this principle – even rotary engines. But now, Porsche has filed a patent to make a 6-stroke engine. [Read more]( Marine [Twisted smart propeller heads for the marine outboard masses]( [Sharrow. reaches out to a larger market with the aluminum MX-A propeller]( Sharrow Marine has been working to disrupt the marine industry with a reimagined propeller it calls the "future of propulsion." That future should come a little faster with the launch of the new MX-A, a more affordable, small outboard-friendly prop. [Read more]( You are receiving this email because you signed up for our daily newsletter at [newatlas.com]( (or [gizmag.com]( before August 2016). 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