Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Get the latest international news and world events from around the world.

Log in for authorized contributors

Self-repairing, recyclable substrate developed for durable soft sensors

Soft sensors convert movement, temperature and moisture into electrical signals. Repeated bending and friction can cause their metal conductors to peel from the underlying polymer, while physical damage, such as cuts, can disable the device. Commonly used petroleum-derived substrates are also environmentally unfriendly because they are difficult to recycle.

Researchers at the College of Design and Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS CDE) have developed a soft, stretchable substrate that repairs itself, firmly grips metal conductors and can be remolded or broken down after use. It could make wearable patches and electronic skin used in applications such as health monitoring and virtual reality more durable while enabling the recovery of valuable components, thus reducing electronic waste.

The new material, called an intrinsically dynamic biosubstrate (IDBS), was developed by researchers led by assistant professor Zhai Wei from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at NUS CDE. Their findings were published in Nature Sustainability on June 19, 2026.

Sticky alpine flower confirms Darwin’s 150-year-old carnivorous plant prediction

A flowering plant has been confirmed as a new carnivorous lineage, according to research published in Nature Communications. The findings show that Saxifraga candelabrum can attract, trap, digest and absorb nitrogen from insects, supporting a prediction made by Charles Darwin more than 150 years ago.

While many plants exhibit carnivorous traits such as prey capture, to be formally classified as carnivorous, they must show adaptations for attracting and catching, digesting and absorbing nutrients from prey. In 1875, Charles Darwin posited that some species from the genus Saxifraga—a group of flowering plants typically found in alpine environments—may be carnivorous because of their sticky glandular hairs, which can trap insects. However, there has been a lack of conclusive evidence to support this hypothesis.

Hang Sun and colleagues studied S. candelabrum, which grows in alpine areas of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau–Hengduan Mountains in China. Field observations and surveys of existing plant samples showed that insect prey were present on the glandular hairs of 43 out of 45 surveyed specimens, with mature plants displaying an average of 71 trapped insects in total (predominantly found on these hairs). The authors then looked for evidence of digestion and nutrient absorption to support their hypothesis.

Implant design helps fight ovarian cancer from the inside

Researchers have developed an implant that could deliver next-generation therapies for ovarian cancer precisely where they are needed while simultaneously monitoring how the disease responds.

The project was carried out by a team at CÚRAM, the Research Ireland Centre for Medical Devices based at the University of Galway, along with collaborators from the University of Minnesota, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Wyss Institute.

The research was published in the journal Device. It showed how the team developed a flexible, porous implant designed to sit inside the peritoneal cavity—the space surrounding the abdominal organs in a woman’s body where ovarian cancer predominantly occurs. The device is designed to connect to an external port through the skin so it can be replenished with therapeutic agents as often as needed without requiring further surgery.

The End of High Cholesterol? The First Oral PCSK9 Drug Could Change Heart Medicine Forever

Dr. Norman Lepor, MD — Founder and Director of the National Heart Institute, Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA, and Attending Cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai.

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, and one of its most important modifiable risk factors is elevated LDL cholesterol — the so-called \.

Neuraspace raises $18 million to expand sovereign space awareness

TAMPA, Fla. — Neuraspace, the Portuguese space traffic management startup, announced 15.6 million euros ($18 million) in fresh funding Aug. 5 to expand European space domain awareness (SDA) and defense capabilities.

The financing comprises a six million euro Series B round from venture capitalists and 9.6 million euros from Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan, an EU-backed national program created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Neuraspace spokesperson said the public funding will directly support NeuraspaceDEF, an AI-powered, SDA platform for civil and defense users.

Cells share universal on switches but evolve unique strategy to silence genes

The signals that cells use to switch genes on have remained almost unchanged across two billion years of evolution, but the ones used to switch genes off vary dramatically from one branch of life to another, according to a new study from the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona.

Scientists just 3D printed one of the hardest metals on Earth

The results provide a foundation for further development, but several challenges remain. The researchers want to reduce cracking, improve durability, and determine how to manufacture more complicated shapes.

“The approach of forming metal materials by softening them rather than fully melting them is novel, and it has the potential to be applied not only to cemented carbides, which were the focus of this study, but also to other materials,” said Marumoto.

Voyager seeks relaxed requirements in NASA commercial space station RFP

WASHINGTON — Voyager Technologies remains upbeat about the prospects for its Starlab commercial space station but is hoping for some tweaks to NASA’s plans to support the station’s development.

During an Aug. 4 earnings call about the company’s second-quarter financial results, Voyager executives emphasized the strong commercial demand for Starlab, with more than $500 million in agreements in place to use the station.

“This demonstrates that Starlab has progressed well beyond a development concept and is already attracting meaningful government and commercial commitment,” said Phil de Sousa, Voyager’s chief financial officer.

/* */