Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

The carcass was remarkably well preserved, but something was clearly wrong. A rounded hole through the interior jugal. Deep incisions along the ribs. Dents in the left scapula. A broken mandible.

This 45,000 year-old mammoth’s life ended violently at the hands of hunters. That wouldn’t be surprising—it’s well known that Pleistocene humans were expert mammoth killers—but for the location. It was excavated from a permafrost embankment at Yenisei bay, a remote spot in central Siberia where a massive river empties into the Arctic Ocean.

That makes this brutalized mammoth the oldest evidence for human expansion into the high Arctic by a wide margin. Its discovery, published today in Science, might push back the timeline for when humans entered the northernmost reaches of the world—including the first entries into North America.

Continue reading “A Mysterious Mammoth Carcass Could Change Human History” | >

An international team of astrophysicists has discovered the brightest supernova yet, briefly blazing fifty times brighter than the entire Milky Way galaxy. It’s a strange new way for stars to die.

As described in a new paper in Science, this spectacularly extravagant stellar explosion— part of a classification known as super luminous supernovae —may give us a peek into the death of stars from near the beginning of the Universe, helping unravel the secrets of early stellar evolution. It’s been named ASAS-SN-15lh.

Humans have been spotting the suddenly-bright pinpricks of stars violently exploding in the night sky for thousands of years, with some records even telling of the rapid appearance and disappearance of stars so bright they can be seen by the naked eye even during in the day. Superluminous supernova kick it up a notch, shining a hundred to a thousand times brighter than a normal nova.

Continue reading “Superluminous Supernova Are a New, Strange Way for Stars to Die” | >

Get ready; Robot fans and Geeks around world! Robot Wars is coming back for a new season on the BBC.

Robot Wars, the competitive TV show about battling bots, is returning to UK screens with a new series and new, improved remote-controlled metallic monsters of mayhem.

The BBC has confirmed that it has commissioned one of the original production companies to resurrect the show in the form of six 60 minute episodes, with a new structure in place and more science facts and behind-the-scenes footage than before.

One thing that definitely remains though is that amateur roboteers will still set their constructions against each other in the renewed Robot Wars arena. This time it will be based in a purpose-built zone in Glasgow.

Continue reading “Robot Wars returning to the BBC after 12-year absence” | >

Davos, US military branches, Time Magazine, etc. are all talking about the Robotic Battlefield.

Automated systems have already reshaped modern warfare, most notably with the widespread use of drones in conflict. Now, experts predict that advances in artificial intelligence could further change how we fight battles.

The new frontiers of warfare are not without ethical questions. Many have already challenged whether the United States should use unmanned drones to kill terrorists.

In this poll ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos, TIME asks key questions about how readers think artificial intelligence will change warfare. TIME Executive Editor Michael Duffy will present the results in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 21.

Continue reading “How Will Artificial Intelligence Change War?” | >

It’s about 12 millimeters in size, and embedded under your skin, most likely in the hand. The RFID chip is here. Swiping cards when we make purchase transactions will be a thing of the past. A ride on public transport, simple tasks such as accessing the photocopier at work or sending a business card to a client’s phone at a literal tap of the finger.

The RFID chip stands for Radio Frequency Identification, and a company in Sweden, Epicenter, is embracing the new technology for their employees. Co-Founder and CEO of the company Patrick Mesterton says their employees have a personal choice to be chipped or not, it’s a voluntary decision.

Continue reading “RFID Tagging Chip is Here for the Human” | >

Was hit by a car when I was younger and broke my leg. This would have been better then a metal rod. Fascinating.

A team of researchers from the University of Michigan has developed a new technique to aid bone repair, using polymer nano-shells to deliver microRNA molecules. The method could one day have a big impact on regenerative medicine, directing cells already present at injury sites to aid healing.

The new study builds on previous research conducted back in 2011, where nanofiber microspheres were used to carry cells to injury sites to help the wounding process. The new work uses the same idea, but rather than transporting foreign cells, focuses on making better use of the cells already at the wound site.

The team developed tiny polymer spheres that are able to easily breach cell walls, carrying microRNA molecules to cells at bone wound sites. The spheres are designed to protect the molecules during transit, degrading once in place in cells at the site of the wound.

Continue reading “Scientists use polymer nano-shell treatment to order bones to repair themselves” | >

edu_15_years_on_station

“NASA will make a major announcement today at 4 p.m. EST regarding the future of commercial resupply launches to the International Space Station (ISS). The announcement will be made during a news conference from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency’s website at: http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv.”

Read more

Ex-NSA boss says FBI director is wrong on encryption