TLDR 2021-09-24

The Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack will let Nintendo Switch Online members play Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games. There is no info on pricing, but it will launch in late October. The company will be releasing Switch versions of the Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis controllers. A list of the games playable at launch is available in the article.

Impossible Foods' plant-based pork product will be available in the US, Hong Kong, and Singapore in the coming months. It is the company's third commercial launch. The pork alternative is made primarily from soy and provides the same amount of protein as real pork but with no cholesterol, one-third less saturated fat, and far fewer calories. 54 percent of Hong Kong consumers preferred the meatless pork product in a recent blind taste test.

BFree is a system that allows devices to smoothly operate any time power is available. It uses a power-failure resistant version of Python and energy-harvesting hardware. Anyone can use the system to make their own sustainable electronics. Last year, the researchers behind the technology unveiled a Game Boy powered by the kinetic energy of button presses. The project hopes to reduce the number of dead batteries that end up as e-waste.

A graduate student from New York University has found a gene that may be the reason humans and other great apes are missing tails. The gene is a short DNA insertion called an Alu element. Alu sequences can move around the genome and are sometimes called jumping genes or transposable elements. They can have complex effects on how proteins are expressed, making them a huge driver of evolutionary variation. Mice that had been genetically modified to have the gene had a mix of tail lengths, from none to nearly normal, suggesting that other genes must be working together to eliminate all tail development in apes.

btop++ is a resource monitor that shows processor, memory, disks, network, and process usage and stats. It features a game-inspired menu system, full mouse support, a function to send any signal to selected processes, themes, and much more. Screenshots are available.

StoreKit 2 is now available as part of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, tvOS 15, and watchOS 8. It improves the way in-app purchases and subscriptions work. Developers will receive up-to-date information about their apps and users will have more secure purchases, an easier refund process, and the ability to manage their individual app subscriptions. The App Store Server API has been updated to add real-time purchase notifications for developers. Developers will now be able to see users' in-app purchase history and get subscription expiration, offer redemption, and refund notifications.

China and Russia are aiming to build an international moon base. All interested countries and partners are invited to cooperate in the project. China has planned a series of missions to set up infrastructure beginning in the early 2030s. This article details the plans so far to build the International Lunar Research Station. It includes diagrams of the vehicles that will be used in each mission.

A team of scientists from Germany have developed tiny motors that can make sperm swim better, essentially acting as a taxi to an egg. The spermbots consist of a spiraling piece of metal that wraps around a sperm's tail. It is guided to the egg using a magnetic field. The motor slips off the sperm once it reaches its destination. No cells are harmed in the process, but researchers are unsure how the immune system would react to the micromotors. A video of the spermbots in action is available in the article.