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Quantum spin liquid, a very rare state of matter, has been observed in a new crystal especially designed with the hopes of using its unique quantum properties.

The crystal, an ytterbium compound with the formula YbMgGaO4, was first synthesized by Chinese scientists for the first time in 2015. Now, in a new study published in the journal Nature, researchers from the United States suggest that the new material can produce a quantum spin liquid when frozen to temperatures near absolute zero. At present, only a few materials are believed to possess these properties.

“Imagine a state of matter where this entanglement doesn’t involve two electrons but involves, three, five, 10 or 10 billion particles all in the same system,” Martin Mourigal, lead physicist of the study, said in a press release by Georgia Tech. “You can create a very, very exotic state of matter based on the fact that all these particles are entangled with each other. There are no individual particles anymore, but one huge electron ensemble acting collectively,” he added.

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A new way to destroy and replace the immune system without harsh chemo or radiation could be the path to fixing immunosenescence.

Destroying and replacing the aging immune system could help with a host of age-related problems as well as autoimmune diseases. Radiation or Chemo were previously the only options which carries significant risks. With this new technique and a few others currently being developed we may soon have a way to replace aging dysfunctional immune systems and treating diseases like MS to boot.

#aging #crowdfundthecure

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The #NATO exercise, located in Tartu, Estonia, featured a simulated #cyber-attack, where participants worked together to identify the threat and mitigate the impact before it could spread across national systems. The participants tested and trained how to share information about cyber incidents in a rapid and efficient way, and how to coordinate their cyber defences in case of an attack.

To know more check us at https://www.shape.nato.int/2016/cyber-coalition-16-ends-nato…e-exercise

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FightAging! interviews Mantas from CellAge about their campaign on Lifespan.io / Life Extension Advocacy Foundation and talks about senolytics and synthetic biology.

I mentioned CellAge some weeks ago; a new entry to the collection of companies and research groups interested in developing the means to safely identify and remove senescent cells from old tissues. A few days later one of those companies, UNITY Biotechnology, announced a sizable $116 million venture round, which certainly put the field on the map for anyone who wasn’t paying attention up until that point. In contrast, CellAge are determinedly taking the non-profit route, and intend to make the progress they create freely available to the field. Why are senescent cells important? Because they are a cause of aging, and removing them is a narrowly focused form of rejuvenation, shown to restore function and extend healthy life in animal studies. An increasing number of senescent cells linger in our bodies as we age, secreting signals that harm tissue structures, produce chronic inflammation, and alter the behavior of nearby cells for the worse. Senescent cells also participate more directly in some disease processes, such as the growth of fatty deposits, weakening and blocking blood vessels, that takes place in atherosclerosis. By the time that senescent cells come to make up 1% of the cell population in an organ, their presence causes noticeable dysfunction and contributes significantly to the progression of all of the common age-related diseases.

This coming Monday, the CellAge team will be hosting an /r/futurology AMA event — the post is up already if you want add your own questions for the scientists involved. Earlier this week, the CellAge principals launched a crowdfunding campaign with Lifespan.io: they are seeking $40,000 with stretch goals and rewards beyond that to get started on their vision for senescent cell therapies. If you’ve ever wanted the chance to have a DNA promoter sequence named after you … well, here it is. This has certainly been a busy year for community fundraising in rejuvenation research: I imagine that things will heat up even more in the years ahead. The CellAge view of the field of senescent cell clearance is that the markers currently used to identify senescent cells are too crude and lacking in specificity.

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In April, a team of scientists including Stephen Hawking announced a mind-boggling new project to explore interstellar space, using lasers to propel a nano-spacecraft the size of a postage stamp to our nearest star system, Alpha Centauri.

If they could get their little ‘StarChip’ spacecraft to travel at 20 percent the speed of light, it could arrive in just 20 years. But how would the electronics on such a tiny, vulnerable spacecraft survive for 20 years in the hostility of space?

The problem for Hawking’s Breakthrough Starshot project, say researchers at NASA and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, is radiation.

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