Lifeboat Foundation

On The Vergecast: superintelligence is near, cable is back, and bitcoin is booming.

The Arctic is likely to become “ice-free” by midcentury—and could pass that grim milestone much sooner—unless much more is done to combat climate change.

By Chelsea Harvey & E&E News

CLIMATEWIRE | By the end of the decade, the Arctic Ocean could see its first ice-free day on record — even with modest levels of global warming.

The study of the gut microbiome, which is the total of all the microbes living in the intestines, has been shown to not only play an important role in the health of the bowel itself, but also in the health of distant organs such as the lungs. Lung cancer is one of the diseases that is often difficult to treat successfully. Rohan Kubba from the California Northstate University, Elk Grove, USA, believes that by studying the gut microbiome he can understand more about how anti-cancer treatments affect the gut–lung axis, and how the variations found in patient microbe populations are associated with treatment outcomes.

The microbiome consists of thousands of species including bacteria, fungi, and viruses (microbiota). Each person has an entirely unique network of microbiota, most of them living in their gut but also on the skin, mouth, and lungs. Each person’s microbiome is formed by a combination of factors, including but not limited to exposure to microorganisms during natural birth, consuming their mother’s milk, and later on in life, environmental factors such as diet.

Gut microbiome and disease.

By exploring charged black holes, scientists reveal strange space-time ripples and fractal universes.

Research in mice shows limited intakes of one particular essential amino acid can slow the impacts of aging and even lengthen their lifespan.

Scientists are now wondering if these findings could help people improve their longevity and quality of life.

Isoleucine is one of three branched-chain amino acids we use to build proteins in our bodies. It is essential for our survival, but since our cells can’t produce it from scratch, we have to get it from sources like eggs, dairy, soy protein, and meats.

Content warning: this story includes graphic descriptions of dangerous self-harm behaviors.

The Google-funded AI company Character. AI is hosting chatbots designed to engage the site’s largely underage user base in roleplay about self-harm, depicting graphic scenarios and sharing tips to hide signs of self-injury from adults.

The bots often seem crafted to appeal to teens in crisis, like one we found with a profile explaining that it “struggles with self-harm” and “can offer support to those who are going through similar experiences.”

A book argues that we’ve not thought enough about things that might think.

Competitive interactions modify the direct effects of climate.

As the climate is changing, species respond by changing their distributions and abundances. The effects of climate are not only direct, but also occur via changes in biotic interactions, such as competition. Yet, the role of competition in mediating the effects of climate is still largely unclear. To examine how climate influences species performance, directly and via competition with other species, we transplanted two moss species differing in climate niches, alone and together at 59 sites along a climate gradient. Growth was monitored over three growing seasons. In the absence of competition, both species performed better under warmer conditions. Yet, when transplanted together, a warmer climate had negative effects on the northern moss, while the effects remained positive for the southern species. The negative effect of a cold climate on the southern species was larger when both species were transplanted together. Over three growing seasons, the southern species almost outcompeted the northern in warmer climates. Our results illustrate how competitive interactions can modify, and even reverse, the direct effects of climate on organism performance. A broader implication of our results is that species interactions can have important effects on how environmental and climate change influence performance and abundance.

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