China decided to create artificial rains to save crops from drought.

The Chinese authorities decided to spray the clouds with chemicals to cause artificial rains - because of the drought in the country, rice crops, which make up 75% of the annual crop, are dying. Plants will also be treated with humectants to limit water evaporation. If artificial rain does not save the Chinese crop, inflation in the US and Europe could rise.

An Israeli startup is going to create personal clones for people for a spare set of organs.

Renewal Bio has shared plans to create realistic synthetic embryos that will be grown in artificial wombs from stem cells (without the use of sperm and eggs). Scientists have already conducted studies on mice. They placed mouse embryos in a mechanical womb and managed to grow them to such an extent that the brain began to emerge and the heart began to beat. Analyzes show that the synthetic versions are about 95% similar to normal mouse embryos, based on the mix of cell types within each.

Scientists have figured out how and when the sun will die.

Experts from the European Space Agency have analyzed new data from the Gaia Optical Space Telescope. Thanks to them, scientists were able to determine how the Sun will develop in the future. According to calculations, our star is already 4.57 billion years old, and in general it is still stable. However, eventually the star will die - the process will begin when the core runs out of hydrogen. The merger process will begin, which will turn the Sun into a red giant star and lower the surface temperature by dozens of times. In this state, it will last another thousand billion years, until it turns into a dim white dwarf. But it is unlikely that a reasonable form of life on Earth will catch this - the brightness of the Sun increases by about 10% every billion years, which entails an increase in temperature. Such changes will make our planet uninhabitable long before the end of the solar system.

Drop has released a keyboard dedicated to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

Especially for fans of the writer's work, a keyboard appeared on sale in Sindarin - the Elvish language and Kirt - the Dwarf language. The cost of the keyboard is $170. The device is wired and mechanical, with backlight. It connects to a computer via a USB-C interface.

Scientists have presented a new contraceptive for men, tested on mice and 99% effective.

Hormonal, without any side effects, mice in the experiment, it remained sterile for 4-6 weeks. After a long search, scientists have found an experimental compound, GPHR-529, that blocks a protein responsible for binding to a form of vitamin A in cells. By selectively blocking this protein, sterility can be increased without causing any side effects. In mice (males) from the experiment, there was a sharp decrease in spermatozoa, in fact, they became infertile in 99% of cases. And only 4-6 weeks after stopping the drug, the males ceased to be infertile.

Residents of an Australian town are terrorized by gangs of kangaroos.

The local environment department said they counted between 60 and 80 kangaroos in the city and nearby forests. Over the past 12 months, seven cases of kangaroo attacks have been recorded in the state, while Maarum has an unusual situation: females, not males, are behind most of the attacks. According to one of the local residents, over the past few years, it has become more rainy in the area, which favors the growth of grass. The abundance of food attracted kangaroos.

The morning ritual of smokers has a scientific justification.

Scientists have found that chemicals found in coffee minimize the damage that smoking causes to the brain's nicotinic receptors. Thus, ironically, after coffee, you want to smoke less. But smokers do this subconsciously, feeling that the receptors will forgive the cigarette.

Startup Mobile Pixels took to Kickstarter with a dual foldable monitor project that became an instant hit.

There are two models - Geminos and Geminos X. Both screens are 24 inches, and the resolution depends on the version: 1080p in the younger and 1440p in the older one. The frequency is also different: 60 and 75 hertz, respectively. In addition to the screens themselves, the monitor has a webcam, speakers, and several ports, including USB-C. For successful financing, the developers requested 25 thousand dollars, at the moment 1.7 million dollars have been collected. The price of the junior and senior versions on Kickstarter is $500 and $650, respectively, and after the launch of production and regular sales, the cost will double.

Apple has created a NeuMan neural network that can create a realistic deepfake based on a 10-second video.

NeuMan recognizes the background and person in the video, and then the algorithm synthesizes a new video with the same background and person, but which is already performing other actions. According to the developers, this technology is necessary to improve the AR reality.

Dodge showed the concept of an electric muscle car.

It provides an acoustic system to simulate the roar of the motor. The company's press release provided few details on the vehicle's technical specifications. It is only known that the new muscle car was equipped with a proprietary 800-volt all-wheel drive power plant with a capacity of 700 horsepower. Inside, a curved dashboard, a multimedia screen and an additional projection display were installed.

The Mediterranean Sea has warmed to extreme temperatures - animals and plants are dying.

The Mediterranean Sea from Tel Aviv to the French Riviera or Barcelona has warmed 3-5°C above normal. Because of this, animals, plants and other organisms die. For example, in the region of Mallorca and Sardinia, corals, sponges and algae die in warm water. Also, high temperatures affect the cultivation of mussels on aqua farms. In 2015-2019, heat waves have already negatively affected 50 marine species, in many cases causing their mass death. According to oceanographers, about a third of the waters of the Mediterranean Sea need to be protected from people so that ecosystems can recover.

A greenhouse with hemp will appear on the ISS.

The American company Redwire has announced the creation of the first commercial greenhouse in space. It will be sent to the ISS no earlier than the spring of 2023. Industrial hemp will be grown there. "Redwire Greenhouse will expand the possibilities of crop production on Earth and enable research on growing crops in space, which will benefit future long-range missions as plants provide regeneration of food, oxygen and water," said project leader Dave Reed.

Schools in the US have begun to seriously check how much time students spend in the toilet.

About a thousand schools have implemented the e-HallPass system. Under it, students must register a trip to the toilet in order to be eligible. Then, the system saves all the data and helps the management find the cheaters of the system. Amazon uses similar technology to spy on its employees.

It was revealed that the song Rhythm Nation by Janet Jackson can disrupt the work of old PCs.

The thing is that the track contains sound at a rare frequency, which resonates with some models of 5400 rpm hard drives. Turning on a song can literally send your computer into a blue screen.

In Japan, a competition has been announced for ways to encourage young people to drink alcohol.

The Sake Viva contest will run until September 9th. Participants need to submit "new products and designs" as well as ways to encourage drinking at home. The reason for this initiative is the reduction in tax revenues from the alcohol industry due to demographic changes, the pandemic and people's changing attitudes towards their health. The Ministry of Health of Japan expressed the hope that the competition will be "reasonable" in terms of the amount of alcohol that can be consumed.

Buttons in cars are better than touchpads.

Auto resource Vi Bilägare from Sweden drove a bunch of cars from the old Volvo C70 of 2005 to modern models. Experienced drivers were put behind the wheel and asked to perform a certain set of tasks while driving - change the radio station, adjust the temperature in the cabin, reset the on-board computer and stuff like that. The important point is that the test drivers were given a long time to get used to the cars and develop muscle memory. And the unequivocal winner was just an old Volvo - using the buttons, the driver completed all the tasks at a speed of 110 kilometers per hour in less than 10 seconds. Whereas gentlemen with touch screens were managed in their 20s at best.

Scientists have solved the mystery of a prehistoric creature with a mouth and no anus.

S. coronarius had a large, round mouth with tiny holes around its perimeter. At first, scientists thought they were primitive gills. But it turned out that the pores were the bases of spikes that broke off during the formation of fossils. With these outgrowths, the creature held prey. The researchers explained the mysterious absence of the anus by the fact that the animal lost it in the course of evolution - one hole was enough for him to satisfy all his needs.

The rats drank soda for two months and became stupid.

For the experiment, the scientists divided the rats into three age groups, and each of them into two teams. In one, the rodents drank water daily, in the second - soda. After 57 days, the scientists placed the animals in the maze. The rats from teams No. 1 got out of it without any problems. Teams 2 had difficulties - the rodents coped with the task worse than usual, because their memory decreased. After that, the animals were euthanized and dissected. Most of the rats in the soda-drinking groups had brain damage of varying degrees. Areas responsible for attention, memory and learning were affected. Especially in young animals.

Unusual strong drinks.

In 2012, the German company G-Spirits launched a limited edition of rum, whiskey and vodka on the market. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that before bottling, these alcoholic drinks were poured onto the bare breasts of Playboy models.

A new molecule has been discovered that dramatically stimulates hair growth.

The SCUBE3 signaling molecule was synthesized at the University of California. According to scientists, it can prevent hair loss and also return already lost ones.