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First Commercial SpaceShipTwo Flight Is Expected to Launch This Year
Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson aims to fly to space on the first-ever commercial SpaceShipTwo flight in mid-2019.
On Thursday, Branson spoke about SpaceShipTwo on the CBS This Morning TV show, and how Virgin Galactic is collaborating with Under Armour to equip future astronauts with proper space attire and footwear, SpaceNews.com reported. During the interview, Branson said Virgin Galactic is conducting additional tests for the first commercial SpaceShipTwo flight, which is expected to take place later this year.
How soon do you see people in space wearing an @UnderArmour outfit?
Scientists Figured Out How to Send Secret Messages to Your Ear With Lasers
Scientists have devised a way to communicate secretly by sending laser-transmitted messages directly into the area around a person’s ear.
Humans enjoy talking with one another, and often do so in ways that prevent eavesdroppers from listening in. This new research could have potential military applications—but who knows where else it might find use?
Hubble’s deepest space image ever was three years in the making
The Hubble space telescope has been in space for many years now. Of late it has had some challenges, including one that left its W ide Field Camera 3 non-functional for a while. Hubble is back at work, and scientists from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias have shared a new image that took three years to produce. The photo is the deepest image of the Universe ever taken from space.
On Transhumanist Manifestos and Dilemmas
It’s been almost 10 years since I wrote the first versions of Hamlet’s Transhumanist Dilemma and A Transhumanist Manifesto. And a lot has changed. Including my point of view.
I started with Hamlet. With asking a question: Will technology replace biology?
At the time I felt that this was the contemporary version of Shakespeare’s original human dilemma: to be or not to be.
New therapy turns cancer cells into fat to stop it from spreading
Metastasis is the leading cause of death from cancer, occurring when cancer cells separate from the original tumor to proliferate elsewhere. These new cancer cells travel through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. Since these bodily systems are thoroughly connected, cancer can spread to a variety of locations. Breast cancer, for example, “tends to spread to the bones, liver, lungs, chest wall, and brain.”
Cancer cell plasticity — an ability that allows cancer cells to shift physiological characteristics dramatically — fosters metastasis and is responsible for cancer’s resistance to treatments. To combat its resistance, researchers at the University of Basel in Switzerland decided to turn cancer’s cellular plasticity against itself. They used Rosiglitazone, an anti-diabetic drug, along with MEK inhibitors in mice implanted with breast cancer cells. Their aim was to alter the cancer cells.
The drug combination hijacked the breast cancer cells during epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process by which the cells undergo biochemical changes. EMT plays a role in many bodily functions, such as tissue repair. In unaltered cancer cells, EMT allows them to migrate away from the original tumor while maintaining their oncogenic properties.
Nanotechnology enables engineers to weld previously un-weldable aluminum alloy
An aluminum alloy developed in the 1940s has long held promise for use in automobile manufacturing, except for one key obstacle. Although it’s nearly as strong as steel and just one-third the weight, it is almost impossible to weld together using the technique commonly used to assemble body panels or engine parts.