Futurism – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Jul 25
2023

Lab-grown meat just reached a major milestone. Here’s what comes next

Just last week, the US Department of Agriculture gave the green light to two companies to make and sell their cultivated chicken products in the US. This is a major moment for the field—even if a lot of milestones are left ahead. In a stroke of luck, this week I’m at a conference called Future Food Tech, where people are talking about the biggest news and challenges for alternative proteins of all types. So for the newsletter this week, let’s check in on the world of lab-grown meat.

Reaching commercial production won’t be easy.

Jul 25
2023

Asian Allies Have a Role to Play in NATO

China’s rising threat has splintered Europe while creating a need for global leadership.

Jul 25
2023

Solid Strategies for CAR T-Cell Immunotherapies

With new off-the-shelf allogeneic options and armoring approaches, developers hope to target solid tumors more safely and efficaciously.

Jul 24
2023

Does Sam Altman Know What He’s Creating?

The OpenAI CEO’s ambitious, ingenious, terrifying quest to create a new form of intelligence.

By Ross Andersen

Jul 24
2023

The Digital Future May Rely on Optical Switches a Million Times Faster Than Today’s Transistors

A study shows it’s possible to use laser-based systems with optical transistors to transfer information far more quickly than possible today.

Jul 24
2023

These Moths Are So Gorgeous They ‘Put Butterflies to Shame’

To celebrate National Moth Week, bask in the beautiful variety of these oft-overlooked insects.

Jul 24
2023

New theory better explains how the brain stores memories

How useful a memory is for future situations determines where it resides in the brain, according to a new theory proposed by researchers at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus and collaborators at UCL.

The theory, published in Nature Neuroscience, offers a new way of understanding systems consolidation, a process that transfers certain memories from the hippocampus —where they are initially stored—to the neocortex—where they reside long-term.

Under the classical view of systems consolidation, all memories move from the hippocampus to the neocortex over time. But this view doesn’t always hold up; research shows some memories permanently reside in the hippocampus and are never transferred to the neocortex.

Jul 24
2023

There is a ‘gravity hole’ in the Indian Ocean, and scientists now think they know why

An anomaly known as the geoid low has long puzzled geologists. One team has found what it believes is a credible explanation, and it’s coming from deep inside Earth.

Jul 24
2023

Humans ‘100% behind’ recent record-breaking weather events

Experts are worried about rising temperatures caused by human activity.

Scientists around the world are worried about recent weather events and say humans are “100 percent behind” the worrisome rise in temperatures and accompanying side effects, according to a report published by BBC News.

Among them was the hottest day ever recorded in July, breaking the global average temperature record set in 2016.

Jul 23
2023

Pigs open doors to free companions in a possible show of empathy

An experiment in which pigs showed an inclination to help other group members suggests they have an altruistic streak – but selfish motivations can’t be ruled out.

By Carissa Wong