Lifeboat Foundation

“We initially expected the carbon-to-oxygen ratio in the planet might be similar to the disk,” said Dr. Chih-Chun “Dino” Hsu. “But, instead, we found the carbon, relative to oxygen, in the planet was much lower than the ratio in the disk.”

What is the official process of planetary formation and evolution and is this process uniform for all planetary bodies throughout the universe? This is what a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated a young exoplanet still forming within its protoplanetary disk that could offer clues into the secrets behind planetary formation and evolution. Additionally, it holds the potential to provide greater complexity with longstanding planetary formation models, which have traditionally presented simple scenarios for planetary formation and evolution.

For the study, the researchers used the W. M. Keck Observatory to observe PDS 70b, which is a gas giant planet approximately three Jupiter masses and located 369 light-years from Earth. What makes PDS 70b interesting for astronomers is its age, as it’s estimated to be approximately 5 million years old, meaning it is still gathering material from the system’s disk, also known as accretion.

Continue reading “Exoplanet Study Challenges Simplified View of Planetary Growth” »

We work with a growing database of values-aligned specialists from across the world. These include scientific researchers, educators, thought-leaders, artists, companies, and nonprofits. Together, we co-create, accelerate, and amplify the impact of select projects. These projects are interdisciplinary in nature—often incorporating art, education, and research components to reach more diverse audiences, scale broader impacts, and deliver rapid change. These projects are frequently participatory, with the goal of democratizing the process of exploration and increasing the accessibility of findings, materials, and teachings. These projects are unique and may result in peer-reviewed research findings, open-source books, art exhibits, lesson plans, or innovative commercial products.

So, if all goes to plan, the Eco Rocket could become Japan’s first operational spaceplane. On its website, Space Walker explains that “we envision sustainable commercial space transportation for all, as familiar and accessible as commercial air travel today.”

The company says it has patented the technology behind a world-first lightweight-composite cryogenic propellant tank. It also emphasizes the value of reusability, which has been shown in practice by SpaceX’s incredibly successful Falcon 9 program. Space Walker will go the extra mile for sustainability, though, as the Eco Rocket will use a carbon-neutral liquefied biomethane propellant.

A team of math and AI researchers at Microsoft Asia has designed and developed a small language model (SLM) that can be used to solve math problems. The group has posted a paper on the arXiv preprint server outlining the technology and math behind the new tool and how well it has performed on standard benchmarks.

Over the past several years, multiple tech giants have been working hard to steadily improve their LLMs, resulting in AI products that have in a very short time become mainstream. Unfortunately, such tools require massive amounts of computer power, which means they consume a lot of electricity, making them expensive to maintain.

Because of that, some in the field have been turning to SLMs, which as their name implies, are smaller and thus far less resource intensive. Some are small enough to run on a local device. One of the main ways AI researchers make the best use of SLMs is by narrowing their focus—instead of trying to answer any question about anything, they are designed to answer questions about something much more specific—like math. In this new effort, Microsoft has focused its efforts on not just solving math problems, but also in teaching an SLM how to reason its way through a problem.

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Join aerospace engineer Mike DiVerde for the latest updates from NASA’s Mars rovers! Get an insider’s look at Curiosity’s challenging journey through Gale Crater’s rocky terrain and Perseverance’s exciting expedition toward Witch Hazel Hill in Jezero Crater. This episode features exclusive Mars photos, current Martian weather readings, and fascinating details about Mars surface conditions that space enthusiasts won’t want to miss. Learn about the latest Mars discoveries as we explore real-time rover updates and the cutting-edge space technology that makes robotic exploration possible. Whether you’re interested in planetary science or simply curious about what’s happening on the Red Planet, this comprehensive Mars exploration update delivers the most recent findings from our mechanical explorers on Mars.

The security of applications is not just a technical issue but a cornerstone of business integrity and continuity.

Tiny bubbles trapped in ancient Antarctic ice have revealed surges in global wildfire coinciding with signs of abrupt climate change.

Quantum mechanics has long classified particles into just two distinct types: fermions and bosons.

Now physicists from Rice University in the US have found a third type might be possible after all, at least mathematically speaking. Known as a paraparticles, their behavior could imply the existence of elementary particles nobody has ever considered.

“We determined that new types of particles we never knew of before are possible,” says Kaden Hazzard, who with co-author Zhiyuan Wang formulated a theory to demonstrate how objects that weren’t fermions or bosons could exist in physical reality without breaking any known laws.

Saber teeth – the long, sharp, blade-like canines found in extinct predators such as Smilodon – represent one of the most extreme dental adaptations in nature.

They evolved at least five times throughout mammalian history and are a classic example of convergence, which is when similar structures evolve independently in unrelated animal groups.

Continue reading “Study Reveals Why Saber Teeth Evolved Repeatedly in Prehistoric Predators” »