Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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It is well-established that chronic MSK pain is the key factor for physical disability in the adult population. 19 The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 20–33% (over 1.71 billion individuals) of the global population suffers from chronic MSK pain. 20 This type of disorder is characterized by acute or chronic pain in MSK structures, which involve muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, and nerves. 21 The most common conditions responsible for visits to a physician’s office are OA, rheumatoid arthritis, myofascial pain syndrome (MPS), and low back and neck pain. 22 Less common incidents are generally accompanying with injuries like of tendon sprains, ligament tears, muscle tears, fractures, and similar damage during sports. 20

If left untreated, these conditions progressively increase suffering, disability, and drug consumption, which subsequently diminish an individual’s quality of life. 23 This also translates to a main community health problem due to significant high expenses for health-care systems and insurance for disability. Advanced age may remain the top variable associated with the increased risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and MSK pain; however, these conditions may still unfold at any given age for various reasons. Therefore, every individual is at risk of experiencing MSK pain throughout an entire lifetime. 24 Acute pain can become chronic due to numerous factors. The level of intensity, site, and time of noxious stimuli are dictated by the interplay between mechanical, chemical, and thermal receptors and immune cells. 25 Under standard conditions, noxious stimuli and painful sensations gradually decrease with the progression of healing.

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In a major jump into the era of eVTOL air taxis and multicopter cargo drones, the US FAA has issued new regulations that introduce the first new aircraft category, called “power-lift” aircraft, since modern helicopters were introduced in the 1940s.

According to the FAA and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a power-lift aircraft is “a heavier-than-air aircraft capable of vertical take-off, vertical landing, and low-speed flight, which depends principally on engine-driven lift devices or engine thrust for the lift during these flight regimes and on non-rotating aerofoils for lift during horizontal flight.”

Essentially, this means aircraft that combine the characteristics of both fixed-wing planes and helicopters. In other words, they can take off, hover, and land like helicopters, yet act like fixed-winged craft in horizontal flight. As of now, these include convertiplanes, tilt-rotors, tilt-wings, rotor-wings, tail-sitters, and VSTOL aircraft like the Harrier and the F-35B Lighting II that use vector thrust, lift jets, or lift fans for vertical flight.

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Recent findings indicate that gamma-ray emissions from thunderstorms are far more complex and dynamic than previously understood, thanks to observations of new phenomena like Flickering Gamma-Ray Flashes (FGFs).

These flashes, alongside in-depth studies on tropical thundercloud emissions, suggest that our understanding of atmospheric electricity is evolving. This is supported by extensive fieldwork during the ALOFT campaign, which gathered unprecedented data over the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding areas.

Thunderstorm Gamma-Ray Emissions

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Researchers at Berkeley Lab have advanced the understanding of magnetic skyrmions by developing techniques to image their 3D structures.

These nanoscale objects show promise for revolutionizing microelectronics through enhanced data storage capabilities and reduced energy consumption.

A difficult-to-describe nanoscale structure called the magnetic skyrmion holds potential for creating advanced microelectronic devices, including those with vast data storage capacities and significantly lower power requirements.

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Deposits of ice in lunar dust and rock (regolith) are more extensive than previously thought, according to a new analysis of data from NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) mission. Ice would be a valuable resource for future lunar expeditions. Water could be used for radiation protection and supporting human explorers, or broken into its hydrogen and oxygen components to make rocket fuel, energy, and breathable air.

Prior studies found signs of ice in the larger permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) near the lunar South Pole, including areas within Cabeus, Haworth, Shoemaker and Faustini craters. In the new work, “We find that there is widespread evidence of water ice within PSRs outside the South Pole, towards at least 77 degrees south latitude,” said Dr. Timothy P. McClanahan of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and lead author of a paper on this research published October 2 in The Planetary Science Journal.

The study further aids lunar mission planners by providing maps and identifying the surface characteristics that show where ice is likely and less likely to be found, with evidence for why that should be. “Our model and analysis show that greatest ice concentrations are expected to occur near the PSRs’ coldest locations below 75 Kelvin (−198°C or −325°F) and near the base of the PSRs’ poleward-facing slopes,” said McClanahan.

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Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology by conducting leading-edge basic and applied research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science.

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