Lifeboat Foundation

A ‘cage of cages’ is how scientists have described a new type of porous material, unique in its molecular structure, that could be used to trap carbon dioxide and another, more potent greenhouse gas.

Synthesized in the lab by researchers in the UK and China, the material is made in two steps, with reactions assembling triangular prism building blocks into larger, more symmetrical tetrahedral cages – producing the first molecular structure of its kind, the team claims.

The resulting material, with its abundance of polar molecules, attracts and holds greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) with strong affinity. It also showed excellent stability in water, which would be critical for its use in capturing carbon in industrial settings, from wet or humid gas streams.

Hysata raised $111 million from investors including BP to scale its technology, which could help lower the cost of the clean-burning fuel.

The Astribot S1 has shocked the tech world with its uncanny ability to move like a real person.

If you weren’t wary of robots before, you might soon find yourself reconsidering.

Continue reading “China’s Astribot S1 shocks the world with human-like moves” »

A 20-second video from inside a Chinese humanoid robot factory is causing some consternation today around social media. It shows a range of highly realistic-looking, partially skinned humanoids under construction.

The video, uploaded by user ‘meimei4515,’ is uncredited, but shows several moving androids with human-like hair and skin – in stark contrast to most of the general-purpose humanoids we’d normally cover, which are designed to look like robots, rather than trying to fool anyone.

Continue reading “Chinese humanoid factory video plunges back into the uncanny valley” »

New research reveals the potential link between memory formation and elemental interactions in the mind.

The archaeological landscape is rarely static. Discoveries continuously shift our understanding of the past, forcing us to redraw the boundaries of what we thought was possible or likely. A recent find on ancient woodworkings at Kalambo Falls, Zambia, is a prime example – it introduces us to early hominin builders with unexpected skills, operating long before the rise of Homo sapiens.

The unique conditions at Kalambo Falls were instrumental in the extraordinary preservation of ancient woodworking artifacts.

The site’s lush vegetation, sustained by a reliable water source, provided the necessities of life, making it a consistently appealing location for various hominin species across vast stretches of time. This long-term occupation increased the likelihood of artifacts being left behind.

Borophene is already thinner and more conductive than graphene, and scientists have altered it to make it even more special.

Ever since Charles Darwin published his landmark theory of how species evolve, biologists have been fascinated with the intricate mechanisms that make evolution possible.

Borophene is already thinner and more conductive than graphene, and scientists have altered it to make it even more special.