DAILY INNOVATION BRIEF by Maryanne Kane, Journalist

 DAILY INNOVATION BRIEF 

By Journalists Edward Kane & Maryanne Kane

NEW SCIENCE: AT LAST, AN ANSWER TO HOW EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS WERE BUILT

                                                                Source: Stock Pyramids & Nile

• How an ancient society was capable of building colossal pyramids has long been a source of mystery and wonder.  Scientists seem to have found the answer.  Here's what we know:
• Built 4,700 years ago, the pyramids sit at the edge of the harsh Sahara Desert, far from the Nile River
• Attempting to build colossal pyramids, which would have taken 1000 years, has puzzled experts for years
• Experts from the University of North Carolina Wilmington seem to have solved the mystery
• Soil samples and satellite imagery show a long-lost branch of the Nile coursed through the area of the pyramids
• This would have stretched an area of greenery, making it more amenable for big construction
• The long-lost river branch would have been needed to transport key materials
• It seems the mysterious truth was hidden under the blowing sands.

ICELAND'S GIANT VACUUM TO SCOOP UP CO2

                                      Source:  Climateworks

• The world's largest plant designed to pull CO2 out of the air just started operating in Iceland.  Here are some key facts:
• Called Mammoth
• Operates like a giant vacuum pulling planet-warming pollution out of the air
• Run by Swiss-based Climeworks and is located in Hellishieldi, Iceland
• Largest commercial, direct air capture (DAC) and 2nd one built in the world
• Powered by Iceland's green thermal energy
• The carbon stripped out of the air is buried or transformed into solid objects
• Carbon capture technology is criticized by some as expensive and unproven at scale
• Climateworks hopes to remove 1 million tons of carbon from the air per year by 2030 and 1 billion tons by 2050.

"Daily Innovation Brief"© By Edward Kane