Silicon Power brings stick-based storage up to speed with three-prong approach

Why it matters to you

Silicon Power now provides a portable, convenient way to move data from one device to another using three different USB connectors.

Although USB sticks typically aren’t newsworthy, Silicon Power’s latest invention deserves some recognition. The company set out to solve the problem of moving data between multiple devices that rely on varying physical connections while keeping the overall form factor compact. The answer is the company’s new Mobile C50 flash drive.

What makes this device clever is that it has three connectors. The standard rectangular Type-A connector with only one side up resides at one end, which actually lifts up to reveal a second Micro-B connector for older phones and tablets. The third connector resides on the other end: a narrow Type-C either-side-is-up connector for modern devices.

Adding to that, the Type-C connector is stored under a sturdy, elastic black cap matching the rest of the drive’s outer shell. This cap includes a hole so you can keep the USB drive hooked with car keys, dangling on a necklace, and so on.

Silicon Power’s three-pronged drive includes two free tools: an SP Widget for computers, and an SP File Explorer for devices with Type-C ports and Android. Silicon Power also offers Recuva File Recovery for retrieving deleted files that, along with SP Widget, can be downloaded from the company’s website here.

“Never lost for the right connection, it’s easier than ever to share data between new-generation USB Type-C devices, any ‘traditional’ USB PC or laptop, and Micro-B smartphones or tablets. The compact drive is also a reliable companion,” the company says.

Here are the specifications:

Capacity:
32GB
64GB
128GB
Dimensions:
1.64 (L) x 0.27 x 0.59 (H) inches
Casing:
Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)
Casing color:
Black
Weight:
0.18 ounces
Interface:
USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A
USB 2.0 Micro-B
USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C
Compatible with:
Windows XP to Windows 10
MacOS 10.3.x or later
Linux 2.6.x or later

As for other bells and whistles, Silicon Power’s Mobile C50 flash drive is designed to withstand water, dust, and vibrations while operating between zero and -70 degrees Celsius. It has an “ergonomic grip” for easy handling, and comes with a five-year warranty.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have any pricing at the time of publication, so keep checking back with your favorite online/offline vendor. Here are the part numbers for each capacity:

Capacity
Part Number
32GB
SP032GBUC3C50V1K
64GB
SP064GBUC3C50V1K
128GB
SP128GBUC3C50V1K

YouTube video maker MKBHD wins Tesla’s ‘Project Loveday’ ad contest

Tonight at 11:45 PM ET Elon Musk will deliver the first production Tesla Model 3s during a livestreamed event, and now the company has some new ads to play during any down time. Fans of its cars and technology submitted their own advertisements for the Project Loveday contest, which was inspired by a 10-year-old’s letter. Musk announced the three winners tonight on his Twitter account, with YouTuber and tech reviewer Marques Brownlee aka MKBHD nabbing the top spot.

The winner has been promised a trip to a Tesla product launch, and Tesla said it will play the most popular videos on the stream tonight. The winning isn’t just a slick look at the car, it also shows off some of the high tech features like Summon and its appropriately-named Ludicrous Mode acceleration. Tesla has eschewed traditional advertising for its vehicles so far, but now that it has so many high quality videos to pull from — and a car with a price closer to the mainstream — maybe that could change.

First! https://t.co/OXNEgDnhku

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2017

Source: Project Loveday, Elon Musk (Twitter)

WSJ: Sprint has proposed a merger with Charter

Another day, another rumor of a deal bridging the worlds of cable and mobile involving Sprint. Tonight a report from Wall Street Journal claims that Sprint has proposed a merger with Charter, to create a media/telecom giant controlled by the Japanese company Softbank. Of course, since this is Sprint then nothing is so simple, as Bloomberg reporter Alex Sherman tweeted that according to a source, Charter has “no interest” in the arrangement.

This news comes after the end of an exclusive negotiating period between Sprint and the combined forces of Charter/Comcast, however, Bloomberg reported those talks are continuing. Of course, Charter and even Comcast have been named in rumored arrangements with (Engadget parent company) Verizon, so while there’s certainly interest in teaming up, it’s unclear who might make a deal and when. The door is also open for merger talks to resume with T-Mobile, but so far we haven’t seen any new magenta-tinged rumors flying around.

Source: Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg

Not sure which leader to pick in ‘Civilization VI’? We’ve tallied up their strengths

Getting started in a Civilization game can be a tall task — especially if it’s your first time with the series. Each culture offers different advantages, and some require more caution or diplomacy than others. Civilization VI, the newest entry in the series, makes choosing a leader more complicated (and crucial) than ever: Civ VI features twenty-four different civilizations, each with different perks, unique combat units and infrastructure (a building or tile improvement), and a faction leader equipped with his or her own agenda and ability. If you’re a Civ rookie, or if you’re simply looking for a leg up on the digital competition, read on to find out more about each culture and its leader.

Note: Leader “agendas” are only in effect for civilizations that are not controlled by the player. Player-controlled leaders cannot operate independently, and therefore have no agenda.

American

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Leader: Teddy Roosevelt

Perk: Founding Fathers

Unit: P-51 Mustang

Infrastructure: Film Studio

The Founding Fathers perk allows the Americans to earn Government Legacy bonuses twice as quickly, allowing players to benefit more from sticking with a single government type over a large number of turns. America’s unique unit is the P-51 Mustang, a modern-era fighter jet with bonuses to flight range, experience, and attack vs. fighter aircraft. The Mustang is best suited for eliminating enemy fighter jets. America’s unique infrastructure, the Film Studio, provides a culture bonus, adds extra slots for Citizens and Great Works of Music, and earns Great Artist and Great Musician points each turn. It also creates +100% Tourism pressure toward other civilizations, encouraging tourists to visit the American city instead.

Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, leads the Americans. Because of his unique agenda, Big Stick Policy, Teddy dislikes warring civilizations and civilizations that bully city-states on his continent. His unique leader ability, the Roosevelt Corollary, grants Combat Strength bonuses to units on the American continent, and appeal bonuses to tiles in a city with a National Park. The Corollary also allows America to build the Rough Rider unit — as long as the Rifling Technology is researched — which generates Culture with each kill and boasts a Combat Strength bonus when fighting on hills. Teddy’s bonuses are especially advantageous in the early game, helping the player expand across his home continent with ease.

Arabian

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Leader: Saladin

Perk: The Last Prophet

Unit: Mamluk

Infrastructure: Madrasa

The Last Prophet perk automatically grants Arabia the final Great Prophet, which will automatically found a Religion in a holy site or Stonehenge wonder. It’s a powerful perk, but difficult to plan around, since it’s impossible to know when it will activate. Arabia’s unique unit, the Mamluk, is a Medieval era heavy cavalry unit that automatically restores full health at the end of each turn, allowing players to utilize it more aggressively. Arabia’s unique infrastructure, the Madrasa, provides bonuses to Science and Housing, adds an extra Citizen slot, and earns Great Scientist points each turn. The Madrasa also provides additional Faith based upon Campus adjacency bonuses.

Saladin, the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, acts as the Arabian leader. Saladin’s unique agenda, Ayyubid Dynasty, causes Saladin to like civilizations with his Worship building, while disliking civilizations following other Religions and civilizations waging war on followers of his Religion. His unique leader ability, Righteousness of the Faith, reduces cost for Worship buildings, and provides bonuses to Culture, Faith, and Science from those buildings. Many of Arabia’s bonuses and abilities are tied to Religion and Science, meaning that players may find it easier to achieve Religious or Scientific victory with Saladin.

Australian

Leader: John Curtin

Perk: Land Down Under

Unit: Digger

Infrastructure: Outback Station

Land Down Under offers a grab bag of bonuses to help Australia expand quickly, including +3 housing in coastal cities and bonuses to district production based on the tile’s appeal. Building pastures also causes a “culture bomb” effect, immediately claiming any surrounding tiles. Outback Stations will help milk further value out of those pastures, adding food and production plus bonus food for every adjacent pasture. The Digger replaces Infantry in the modern era and helps you secure that fertile land, with a slightly higher base strength and bonuses for fighting on coastal tiles (+10) and outside of Australia’s borders (+5).

John Curtin was Australia’s 14th Prime Minister, leading the country through World War II, and now the rest of world history in Civ. His Perpetually on Guard trait makes Curtin a friend of peace, seeking to form Defensive Pacts with allies and liking civs that liberate cities (while disliking those that occupy them). Curtin can play passive-aggressively and expand quickly, even if it provokes his neighbors into attacking, because of his unique ability, Citadel of Civilization. It grants him a 100% production bonus for ten turns after someone declares war on Australia or he liberates a city. Australia’s robust and flexible ability kit makes them suitable for nearly any victory type.

Aztec

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Leader: Montezuma

Perk: Legend of the Five Suns

Unit: Eagle Warrior

Infrastructure: Tlachtli

The Legend of the Five Suns perk allows the player to sacrifice builder units in order to speed up construction of Districts within cities. The Aztecs’ unique unit, the Eagle Warrior, features a bonus to anti-cavalry units, and may capture defeated enemy units and convert them into Builder units for the Aztecs. This synergizes with the Aztecs’ culture perk, allowing the culture to steadily sacrifice Builder units to speed progress. The Aztecs’ unique infrastructure is Tlachtli, which can be built into the Entertainment Complex, and provides Amenities, Faith, and Great General points each turn.

Montezuma, the fifth emperor of Tenochtitlan, leads the Aztecs. Montezuma’s unique agenda, Tlatoani, causes him to like civilizations with the same luxury resources as the Aztecs, while disliking civilizations with different luxury resources. His unique leader ability, Gifts for the Tlatoani, causes luxury resources in Aztec territory to give Amenities to two extra cities. In addition, military units receive bonuses to Combat Strength for each different luxury resource improved in Aztec territory. Most of the Aztecs’ bonuses and abilities are tied to military power, and expanding the Aztec empire early in the game.

Brazilian

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Leader: Pedro II

Perk: Amazon

Unit: Minas Geraes

Infrastructure: Carnival District

The Amazon perk provides bonuses to Districts and neighborhoods built adjacent to Rainforest tiles.  The Brazilians’ unique unit is the Minas Geraes, an Industrial era naval unit with improved ranged combat and defense values which requires players to first invest in the Nationalist Civic. The Brazilians’ unique infrastructure, the Carnival District, provides Amenities from Entertainment to the parent city, and can house the Zoo and Stadium buildings. The Carnival also provides extra Amenities while being built, and completion earns Great Engineer, Artist, Writer, and Musician points.

Pedro II, the final emperor of Brazil, acts as the Brazilian leader. Pedro’s unique agenda, Patron of the Arts, drives Pedro to pursue Great People while disliking civilizations that attempt to pursue Great People as well. His unique leader ability, Magnanimous, allows him to retain 20% of Great Person points used after recruiting or patronizing a Great Person. This synergizes well with the Carnival District, allowing Brazil to recruit several Great People across different disciplines and eras. Brazil’s focus on Great Leaders makes it a candidate for Cultural victory.

Chinese

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Leader: Qin Shi Huang

Perk: Dynastic Cycle

Unit: Crouching Tiger

Infrastructure: Great Wall

The Dynastic Cycle perk provides a bonus to Civic/Technology cost reductions earned through Inspirations and Eurekas. The unique Chinese unit, the Crouching Tiger (yes, really), is a Medieval era ranged machinery unit that does not require resources to be built. The Chinese unique infrastructure is the Great Wall, a tile improvement that provides a bonus to the defense rating of Chinese units, as well as bonuses to Gold, Culture, and Tourism when segments are built adjacent to one another.

Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China and the founder of the Qin dynasty, acts as the Chinese leader. Qin’s unique agenda, Wall of 10,000 Li, leads Qin to dislike cultures that have built more Wonders than him. His unique leader ability, The First Emperor, allows him to use Builder units an extra time, and spend a builder charge to hasten the construction of Ancient- or Classical-era Great Wonders. These abilities — along with the Great Wall — synergize to allow the Chinese to produce Great Wonders at a faster rate than any other faction, and earn Culture points without expanding their borders.

AI helps judges select top images for EyeEm contest from 590,000 entries

Why it matters to you

Find inspiration in the 100 finalists from the EyeEm photo contest, where judges were assisted by AI software.

How do you judge the world’s largest photography contest? With artificial intelligence, of course. On Thursday, EyeEm announced the top 100 finalists in its annual contest. The EyeEm Photography Awards brought in 590,000 submissions, making the event the largest of it’s kind this year.

Judges from National Geographic, the VII photo agency, Refinery29, and the BBC selected the top 20 images from each of the five categories. Those human judges were, however, assisted by EyeEm’s AI software. Inside EyeEm’s app, a feature called EyeEm Selects, uses AI software to recommend the best shots from the user’s camera roll. The company developed the feature by allowing a computer to “watch” actual photo editors sort through photos, marking which ones were good and which were bad. Along with helping out app users, the program also helped the judges sort through those 590,000 entries.

The contest received entries from more than 88,000 photographers representing more than 150 countries. All those images were submitted in just six weeks, between May 3 and June 15. The contest, which was free to enter, allowed photographers to submit through the app or via the EyeEm website.

The top image in each of the five categories, as well as the Photographer of the Year, will be selected from the 100 finalists during the EyeEm Photography Festival and Awards held September 15-17 in Berlin.

The Great Outdoors amassed the most entries out of all five categories, totaling over 229,000 submissions. That was followed closely by The Street Photographer, a category responsible for 136,000 entries. The categories also include The Architect, The Portraitist, and The Photojournalist.

The top photographer will receive a trip to the EyeEm Photography Festival along with mentorship from several senior photo editors throughout the next year. All category winners will also be published globally, EyeEm said.

The jury includes Anne Farrar, director of photography at National Geographic Traveler; Stephen Frailey, co-chair MPS Graduate Fashion Photography Department, School of Visual Arts; Clare Grafik, head of exhibitions, The Photographer’s Gallery; Clemens Poloczek, founder, iGNANT; Toby Kaufmann, photography director, Refinery29; Emma Lynch, picture editor, BBC; Pete Brook, independent curator and writer; Maciek Nabrdalik, photographer, VII photo agency; Elaine Li, art director, Ogilvy & Mather; Zacharie Rabehi, 2016 EyeEm Photographer of the Year.

EyeEm is an app that combines a social aspect with stock photography. A gallery of all 100 finalists is available online.

Huawei Honor 6A hands-on review

Research Center:
Huawei Honor 6A

When you have only a certain amount of money to spend on a new smartphone, you want to make sure the one you choose is going to last. The Honor 6A, which replaces the old Honor 5C, is a device worth investigating. It oddly isn’t as technically impressive, yet still costs the same 150 British pounds (about $195). For that price it won’t be taking on the Honor 9, and will instead be an object of desire for those looking at a Moto E4 Plus, a Samsung J series phone, or any other number of ideal budget smartphones. Why go with Honor? In our Honor 6A hands-on review, we find it’s all about longevity.

Metal body, big battery

Honor, a subsidiary of Huawei, made the Honor 6A with a metal body, which is unusual at such a low price. It feels great in the hand, with its gently-curved body fitting neatly in my palm. It’s light at under 150 grams, and not too thick at 8.2mm. Keeping a slim and light body hasn’t meant Honor’s put a laughably small battery inside the phone. Instead, it has a 3,020mAh cell, which Honor says will offer 10 hours of continuous web browsing over a 4G LTE network, or 12 hours of video playback.

This means the battery will easily last for a day without recharging under all but the most strenuous use. What’s more, the company has worked some magic to make sure the battery stays a strong performer over two years of ownership. Batteries degrade over time, but Honor’s tests on the 6A’s battery claim it will still have an 80 percent charge capacity after 800 cycles, which works out to about two years of average use.

Having a battery that lasts for years is no good if the software has ground to a halt, which can happen with some Android phones. Since Honor is a subsidiary of Huawei, it gets to use the EMUI 5.1 user interface over Android 7.0 Nougat on the Honor 6A, complete with Huawei’s special algorithms that keep the system running smoothly — at optimal speed levels, even after 18 months of use. This is a big bonus, and a feature more usually found on expensive devices like the Huawei P10 and Mate 9. We like EMUI 5.1 too. It’s considerably more pleasurable to use than older versions, and significantly faster.

Budget specs

The Honor 6A isn’t a rocket ship though. It uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor with 2GB of RAM, and performance in our brief hands-on was adequate. It can’t compare with the Honor 9, the P10, or other high-end phones, and the speed disadvantage was obvious. You only get 16GB of internal storage, but at least the Honor 6A comes with a MicroSD card slot, along with a dual-SIM option too.

You get what you see, and it’s not hiding anything terrible underneath the body.

Also helping the battery last a full day is the 5-inch screen. It has a 1,280 x 720 pixel resolution, which is low by today’s standards; but in-line with what we’d expect from a phone at this price. The glass cover was extremely reflective and made viewing in daylight, even on an overcast day in London, difficult. The problem was compounded by the screen’s low brightness. Again, this isn’t a flagship phone with a ridiculous price tag, and concessions have to be made. But this aspect is something that may require further investigation in a long term test to assess if it’s a serious red flag against the Honor 6A.

Finally, there’s a 13-megapixel camera on the back with fast autofocus, and a 5-megapixel camera on the front with Honor’s usual beauty mode. It doesn’t have NFC, so you won’t be able to use Android Pay.

The Honor 6A is what car dealers would call an “honest” model. You get what you see, and it’s not hiding anything terrible underneath the body. We particularly liked the in-hand comfort, and the smooth metal body. We’re less convinced by the screen; and recommend trying the 6A outside before deciding whether to buy it, to see if you can live with the performance.

If the Honor 6A is within your budget, then it’ll be up for pre-order through the online Vmall store on July 31 in the U.K., with a release to come in August. It will also be sold through the Three network from August 4. If you can stretch to 200 British pounds, or are looking for a bargain device at $250 in the U.S., where it’s uncertain the Honor 6A will be sold, then take a look at the Honor 6X, a phone we rate highly that’s only a little more expensive, and take a look at our list of best cheap phones for more recommendations.

Huawei Honor 6A Compared To

Motorola Moto E4

Google Pixel

Huawei Honor 6X

Lenovo Moto G4 Play

Oppo F1

HTC One A9

Huawei P8 lite

Mlais M9

ZTE Blade S6

HTC One M8 with Windows

Asus PadFone X

HTC One M8 Harman Kardon Edition

Sony Xperia Z1S

BlackBerry Z30

Sony Xperia ZL

U.S. Navy wants to track hurricanes, tornadoes with a fleet of glider drones

Why it matters to you

These sturdy CICADA drones could change the way we study meteorological phenomena like hurricanes and tornadoes.

We’ve reviewed plenty of drones over the years, and while they are predominantly used recreationally, the tiny buzzing gadgets have plenty of real world functionality. We reported earlier this year about a series of defibrillator drones undergoing testing in Sweden to reduce death and it looks like some drones in the U.S. may be gearing up for meteorological duty. The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is testing a fleet of hurricane research drones to better understand and predict the destructive forces of nature.

The Close-in Covert Autonomous Disposable Aircraft MK5, or CICADAs, are an inexpensive, autonomous, fleet of GPS-controlled drones. Unlike traditional aerial drones, the CICADAs have no motor or onboard propulsion system. Instead, the 1.2-ounce drones are released midair from an aircraft and then glide to their intended destination. Each CICADA has a “glide ratio” of about 3.5 to 1 — meaning the drone has the ability to glide forward 3.5 feet for every one foot it descends.

The latest CICADA prototype has flat wings and an overall flat build, enabling the “micro aircraft” to be easily stacked in canisters and deployed in large numbers. The Navy is currently using a delivery system that stacks 32 CICADAs into a single cylindrical container for deployment.

Once released from the aircraft, the drones glide to their “intended waypoint, enters an orbit, and then descends within that orbit until it reaches the ground,” according to Dr. Daniel J. Edwards, an aerospace engineer with NRL. The onboard GPS technology allows the CICADAs to navigate and land within roughly 15 feet of their intended target.

The NRL describes the CICADAs as “essentially a flying circuit board” and once deployed in the air, the drones will record chemical, biological, and meteorological information. The Navy hopes this data could be used to better understand the behavior of both hurricanes and tornadoes.

In the future, these research drones could be deployed from a host of aerial vehicles including traditional airplanes, balloons, precision guided munitions, and even other unmanned aircraft or drones. The Navy recently ran the drones through a series of tests in various locations and altitudes ranging up to 8,000 feet. You can watch the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Spectrum’s full video coverage of the event on YouTube.

Action Launcher is getting Google Now integration and a bunch of Android O features

Action Launcher’s had a lot of big changes recently, and they just keep coming.

Action Launcher went old school with their name, made their Pixel features free by default, a butter-smooth Clock widget, and a more standardized gesture system for App Shortcuts, Covers and Shutters. But as Chris Lacy said in a podcast with Android Central, there was more to come, and it’s coming tonight.

Get ready for some Google Now action.

Action Launcher is debuting a Google Now plugin to bring the pane to the popular launcher with Action Launcher v26 tonight. The Action Launcher Google now plugin you will have to download outside the Google Play store, because as you might remember, Google is making launchers jump through a bunch of ridiculous hoops to get Google Now on a third-party launcher. Action now joins Nova Launcher in the circle of launchers that have overcome the hoops in order to offer one of Google’s most iconic launcher features.

But that’s not all we’re getting in Action Launcher v26. Oh, no, that’s just one of the new toys Chris Lacy is giving us to play with. We’re also getting a bevy of Android O and notification tweaks, including full support for Notification Dots, Notification Previews, Unread counts and the granular control to decide which apps get which. Widgets have gotten some love here, too, with Action Launcher adopting an Android O style widget picker and the Google Pill widget finally getting that Pixel Launcher edge when you set it on the left side of your screen with Google Now enabled.

Here is the full changelog for Action Launcher’s massive update for you to read while you wait for the update, and it is quite the Christmas in July:

• NEW: Google Now integration for all! Requires installation of the Action Launcher Google Plugin application.
• NEW: Full Notification Dots support!
• NEW: Long-pressing a shortcut will display a preview of app’s notifications and allow notifications to be dismissed ala Android O. Available when using either Notification Dots or Unread Count.
• NEW: Unread Count support extended to all apps that have a current notification.
• NEW: Android O style App Shortcuts panel.
• NEW: Allow granular control as to which apps display Notification Dots/Unread Count.
• NEW: Android O style widget picker, which displays all relevant widgets for a given shortcut.
• NEW: Directly engage Action Launcher’s Quickedit panel via a shortcut’s long-press popup UI.
• NEW: Dedicated “Icons & App Shortcuts” settings page, which is home to all icon related settings.
• NEW: When Google Pill widget is on the left screen edge and Google Now integration is enabled, display a tinted edge background as per Pixel Launcher.
• NEW: Option to adjust the scale of icon indicators.
• NEW: Revamped interface for selecting the apps that are hidden from app drawers.

More information about the plugin and the download are available at the link below.

Action Launcher + Google Now

Sony XZ Premium review: MrMobile’s mirror-plated time machine

The Sony Xperia XZ Premium is the first Sony smartphone to hit MrMobile’s review roster, and it’s not playing around. It’s not every day you review a phone with a Snapdragon 835 and a 4K HDR display crammed into an ostentatious and water-resistant mirrored chassis, after all. But I’ve always found 4K screens on smartphones to be serious overkill, and the XZ Premium’s high price combined with Sony’s bizarre legal troubles that force it to disable fingerprint scanners on its US phones kept my expectations low when it came time to unbox this device.

That was two weeks ago, though, and my time with this phone since then has been nothing short of magical. Because the XZ Premium is more than just Sony’s latest block of shiny glass: it’s the only smartphone on the market that shoots video at 960 frames per second. And if you’re rolling your eyes and saying “big deal,” you need to put your eyes on just what kind of footage that frame rate makes possible. Fortunately, the above video gives you just that.

Join MrMobile for the Sony Xperia XZ Premium review, then be sure to check out Android Central’s full review of the device — and if you want to pick up one of your own, pay our friends at Clove Technology a visit. You’ll be thanking them for lending MrMobile this review device … and sparing yourself the inconvenience of a disabled fingerprint scanner in the process.

Featured Products

• Sony XZ Premium

Stay social, my friends

• YouTube 
• The Web
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Snapchat
• Instagram

A molecule found on Saturn’s moon Titan could foster life

In a new study published today in Science Advances, researchers report that they’ve found a complex molecule in the atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan that could lead to the formation of life. Cell membranes are the outer barrier of most cells found on Earth and they, or structures like them, are crucial for life to form. And while Titan is quite different from our planet, it’s thought that this molecule — vinyl cyanide — is one that could potentially form cell membranes in the Titan environment.

On Earth, cell membranes are made up of lipids, fatty molecules that require liquid water. Titan, however, is extremely cold, which means lipids can’t form. But while it doesn’t have liquid water, Titan does have lakes of liquid methane, which along with vinyl cyanide, could foster the development of those essential cell membranes.

NASA’s Cassini probe found evidence of vinyl cyanide on Titan, but wasn’t able to provide any conclusive measurements. In this study, however, researchers used data collected from the Atacama Large Millimeter Array in Chile and found quite a lot of the molecule in Titan’s atmosphere, and because methane on Titan likely circulates like water on Earth, periodically raining down from the Titan skies, there’s a good chance that there’s also vinyl cyanide hanging out in the moon’s methane lakes.

We don’t yet know if there actually are cell membrane-like structures forming on Titan and we certainly don’t have any evidence yet that there’s any sort of life on the moon. But it definitely means we should keep studying Titan. “This is a far cry from saying [life] definitely happens on Titan and these cells are involved in some kind of primitive life,” Martin Cordiner, an author of the study, told The Verge. “But it gives us a starting point in that discussion. If there was going to be life in Titan’s oceans, then it’s plausible vinyl cyanide could be a component of that.”

Via: The Verge

Source: Science Advances