Lifeboat Foundation

See AI describe in text and dozens of pictures the many ways it could wipe us out. See the power of Open AI’s ChatGPT and Stable Platform text to chat and text to art. Does this resemble some of the things already afoot by human characters today? What can we do about it?

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A device developed at the University of Florida for the U.S. military provides protection from mosquitos for an extended period and requires no heat, electricity or skin contact.

The controlled-release passive device was designed by Nagarajan Rajagopal, a Ph.D. candidate and Dr. Christopher Batich in UF’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. It recently was tested successfully in a four-week semi-field study at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Gainesville in a collaboration with Dr. Daniel Kline, Dr. Jerry Hogsette and Adam Bowman from the USDA’s Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology.

Results showed the controlled release of the repellent transfluthrin was effective in preventing multiple species of mosquitos from entering the testing site. Transfluthrin is an organic insecticide considered to be safe for humans and animals.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 40% of people living in the U.S. are obese; and 43% of American women over the age of 60—long past menopause—are considered obese. A recent Johns Hopkins study showed that a drug first developed to treat Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and sickle cell disease could treat obesity and fatty liver and improve heart function—without changes in food intake or daily activity.

The hypertension drug rilmenidine has been shown to slow down aging in worms, an effect that in humans could hypothetically help us live longer and keep us healthier in our latter years.

Rilmenidine was picked for this latest study because past research has shown it mimics the effects of caloric restriction on a cellular level. Reducing available energy while maintaining nutrition within the body has been shown to extend lifespans in several animal models.

Whether this translates to human biology, or is a potential risk to our health, is a topic of ongoing debate. Finding ways to achieve the same benefits without the costs of extreme calorie cutting could lead to new ways to improve health in old age.

Mistletoe may be a welcome holiday sight when hung over a doorway if a loved one is near. But it can be an unwelcome intruder when found in your trees, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horticulturist.

“Mistletoe is a hemiparasite—a semi-parasitic plant,” said Allison Watkins, AgriLife Extension horticulturist for Tom Green County. “It makes its food from photosynthesis, but the roots grow into the host tree, sucking water and minerals out from the sap.”

In other words, you likely do not want to see mistletoe growing on your favorite shade tree or prized ornamental. However, mistletoe can survive as long as the tree it inhabits. So, some mistletoe alive today may still be around in 100 years.

You’ve seen the headlines. The FDA approved its use in tackling the underlying genetic mutation for sickle cell disease. Some researchers edited immune cells to fight untreatable blood cancers in children. Others took pig-to-human organ transplants from dream to reality in an attempt to alleviate the shortage of donor organs. Recent work aims to help millions of people with high cholesterol—and potentially bring CRISPR-based gene therapy to the masses—by lowering their chances of heart disease with a single injection.

But to Dr. Jennifer Doudna, who won the Nobel Prize in 2020 for her role in developing CRISPR, we’re just scratching the surface of its potential. Together with graduate student Joy Wang, Doudna laid out a roadmap for the technology’s next decade in an article in Science.

If the 2010s were focused on establishing the CRISPR toolbox and proving its effectiveness, this decade is when the technology reaches its full potential. From CRISPR-based therapies and large-scale screens for disease diagnostics to engineering high-yield crops and nutritious foods, the technology “and its potential impact are still in their early stages,” the authors wrote.

A new ultra-low-power method of communication at first glance seems to violate the laws of physics. It is possible to wirelessly transmit information simply by opening and closing a switch that connects a resistor to an antenna. No need to send power to the antenna.

Our system, combined with techniques for harvesting energy from the environment, could lead to all manner of devices that transmit data, including tiny sensors and implanted medical devices, without needing batteries or other power sources. These include sensors for smart agriculture, electronics implanted in the body that never need battery changes, better contactless credit cards and maybe even new ways for satellites to communicate.

Continue reading “Device transmits radio waves with almost no power—without violating the laws of physics” »

It is powerful enough to maneuver over obstacles.

The University of Illinois researchers’ newly developed insect-sized jumping robots will do tasks in small and tight places. The creation of jumping robots is also a significant advance in mechanical, agricultural, and search-and-rescue environments, according to the university.

Continue reading “Newly developed beetle-inspired robot uses elastic energy” »

Chapter 1: 0:00 — 25:49
Chapter 2: 26:00 — 43:44
Chapter 3: 43:55 — 1:25:36
Chapter 4: 1:25:48 — 1:49:50
Chapter 5: 1:50:00 — 2:17:16
Chapter 6: 2:17:27 — 2:49:22
Chapter 7: 2:49:29 — 3:19:09
Chapter 8: 3:19:32 — 3:52:27
Chapter 9: 3:52:38 — 4:01:57
Chapter 10: 4:02:04 — 4:13:39
Chapter 11: 4:13:48 — 4:47:54
Chapter 12: 4:48:03 — 5:12:22
Chapter 13: 5:12:32 — 5:32:24
Chapter 14: 5:32:33 — 5:50:33
Chapter 15: 5:50:42 — 6:05:56
Chapter 16: 6:06:06 — 6:30:30
Chapter 17: 6:30:40 — 6:50:40
Chapter 18: 6:50:49 — 7:25:54

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Continue reading “Brave New World complete dramatised audiobook” »