U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Arthurgwain L. Marquez US Navy P-8 Poseidon patrol planes have joined an international search for the Argentine Armada submarine San Juan , and the Navy has prepared submarine rescue vehicles and four uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) to assist in the search as well. The Argentine sub has been missing in the Argentine Sea, and the subsequent search is entering its fifth day. One Naval P-8 arrived in Argentina over the weekend, and another is arriving today. Additional rescue systems are now on their way, including a NATO submarine rescue system. Thus far, rough weather and high seas have been hindering the search, and hopes for the missing crew are fading. Read 10 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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US Navy sends underwater robots to assist in search for Argentine sub [Updated]
sciencehabit writes Researchers working in Argentina have discovered the most complete skeleton of a titanosaur, a group of gigantic plant-eating dinosaurs that dominated the Southern Hemisphere beginning about 90 million years ago. The new dino, named Dreadnoughtus schrani, was 26 meters long and weighed about 59 metric tons—that is, twice as long as Tyrannosaurus rex and as heavy as a herd of elephants. That puts it on a par with other well-known giants such as Argentinosaurus (but it’s four times as large as the perhaps better known Diplodocus). The researchers say that the beast was so big it would have had no fear of predators. And it was about to get bigger: A close examination of the fossils, especially its back and shoulder bones, indicates that the animal was still growing when it died. Read more of this story at Slashdot. 
Bismillah (993337) writes The Pawsey Supercomputing Centre in Australia has started unboxing and installing its new upgraded ‘Magnus’ supercomputer, which could become the largest such system in the southern hemisphere, with up to one petaFLOPS performance. Read more of this story at Slashdot. 
Yellowstone National Park is riddled with constantly changing geothermal hot spots —it’s part of the reason for the park’s famous geysers. But this past Thursday, the area around one section of road got so hot that asphalt literally started melting. Read more… 
MTorrice writes “Lithium-sulfur batteries promise to store four to five times as much energy as today’s best lithium-ion batteries. But their short lifetimes have stood in the way of their commercialization. Now researchers demonstrate that a sulfur-based polymer could be the solution for lightweight, inexpensive batteries that store large amounts of energy. Battery electrodes made from the material have one of the highest energy-storage capacities ever reported” Litihium Ion batteries should maintain capacity for about 1000 cycles, whereas Lithium-sulfur batteries traditionally went kaput after about 100. But it looks like they are getting pretty close to something feasible, from the article: “The best performing copolymer consisted of 90% sulfur by mass. Batteries using this copolymer had an initial storage capacity of 1, 225 mAh per gram of material. After 100 charge-discharge cycles, the capacity dropped to 1, 005 mAh/g, and after 500 cycles it fell to about 635 mAh/g. In comparison, a lithium-ion battery typically starts out with a storage capacity of 200 mAh/g but maintains it for the life of the battery, Pyun says.” Read more of this story at Slashdot. 
cagraham writes “A fire at Iron Mountain’s data warehouse in Buenos Aires left the facility ‘ruined’ and killed nine first-responders, according to the Washington Post. The origin of the fire is unknown. The facility was supposedly equipped with sprinkler systems, fire control systems, and had a private emergency team on standby. Among the records destroyed are Argentina’s bank archives, the loss of which could have some surprisingly far-reaching implications.” Read more of this story at Slashdot. 
While Budweiser’s new bowtie-shaped beer can is a couple of weeks away from launch, a series of smaller breweries have already launched another new type of can: One with a ” 360 Lid ” that peels completely away, allowing tipplers to drink brew through a circular, drinking-glass-like aperture. Here at the Core77 offices we rarely drink beer out of cans. (That’s not snobbery; unlike bottles, cans cannot be broken against desks and wielded as weapons during editorial squabbles that devolve into melees.) But the few times we have, we’ve never had a problem getting beer to pour from the tab-sized opening into our gulping mouths. So why the new can? Pennsylvania-based licenser Sly Fox Brewing Company insists a circular opening “allows the full flavor and aroma of the beer to hit the drinker’s senses.” And yes, the drinking rim is rounded over, so you don’t cut your lips with each swig. (more…)