Lifeboat Foundation

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) continues to send back breathtaking images of the cosmos, to include planets in our solar system, exoplanets, and supernovae, using its powerful infrared instruments. However, the famous space agency is preparing to launch another powerful space telescope to explore the cosmos, but this time using ultraviolet light, and is appropriately called UVEX (UltraViolet Explorer), which was previously selected in 2022 for further evaluation as part of NASA’s Medium-Class Explorer program and is currently scheduled to launch no earlier than 2027.

Southern Ring Nebula taken in near-infrared light (left) and mid-infrared light (right) by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. (Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI)

“NASA’s UVEX will help us better understand the nature of both nearby and distant galaxies, as well as follow up on dynamic events in our changing universe,” said Dr. Nicola Fox, who is the associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. “This mission will bring key capabilities in near-and far-ultraviolet light to our fleet of space telescopes, delivering a wealth of survey data that will open new avenues in exploring the secrets of the cosmos.”

Summary: Researchers uncovered the mechanisms by which oxytocin (OXT) influences learning and memory in animals. Their study utilized pharmacogenetic techniques to activate specific OXT neurons within the brain, assessing the impact on cognitive functions through tasks like the Novel Object Recognition Task (NORT).

The findings reveal that activating OXTergic neurons significantly enhances long-term object recognition memory, with notable activity observed in the brain’s supramammillary nucleus (SuM) and dentate gyrus. This groundbreaking research not only deepens our understanding of oxytocin’s role beyond social bonding but also suggests its potential in developing treatments for dementia.

Researchers based at the Drexel University College of Engineering have devised a new method for performing structural safety inspections using autonomous robots aided by machine learning technology.

The article they published recently in the Elsevier journal Automation in Construction presented the potential for a new multi-scale monitoring system informed by deep-learning algorithms that work to find cracks and other damage to buildings before using LiDAR to produce three-dimensional images for inspectors to aid in their documentation.

The development could potentially work to benefit the enormous task of maintaining the health of structures that are increasingly being reused or restored in cities large and small across the country. Despite the relative age of America’s built environment, roughly two-thirds of today’s existing buildings will be in use in the year 2050, according to Gensler’s predictions.

Lee Smolin joins TOE to discuss his work in theoretical physics, the dynamic nature of the laws of physics and the concept of time.

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 — Intro.
00:04:13 — Doubly Special Relativity and Violation of Lorentz Invariance.
00:09:15 — The Concept of Thick Time.
00:19:11 — Duality Between String Theory and Loop Quantum Gravity.
00:23:50 — Condensed Matter Theory.
00:28:35 — Approximating by a Continuum and Discrete Sets.
00:34:11 — Misapprehensions about Loop Quantum Gravity.
00:38:43 — Defining Complexity and the View of the Universe by One Observer.
00:43:52 — Causal Energetic: The Relationship Between Varieties and Kinetic Energy.
00:48:38 — Varying Parameters in the Universe.
00:53:35 — The Bomes Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics.
00:58:30 — Causality and Relativity.
01:03:15 — Different Styles in Mathematics and Chess.
01:07:55 — The Fundamental Questions in Biology.
01:12:49 — Marrying Outside Your Field.
01:18:04 — Discussion on Authors and Novels.
01:23:35 — Conversations with Fire Robin.
01:28:39 — Being Sincere and Ambitious.
01:33:39 — A Visit from BJ
01:38:34 — Outro.

Continue reading “Time and Quantum Mechanics SOLVED? | Lee Smolin” »

Find out all about about RNA editing, as two candidates have just managed to reach the clinic for the first time.

Janus nanosheets bring unprecedented control to preparation of nanoscrolls.

Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have come up with a new way of rolling atomically thin sheets of atoms into “nanoscrolls.” Their unique approach uses transition metal dichalcogenide sheets with a different composition on either side, realizing a tight roll that gives scrolls down to five nanometers in diameter at the center and micrometers in length. Control over the nanostructure in these scrolls promises new developments in catalysis and photovoltaic devices.

Advancements in Nanotechnology.

Rhodopsin can kill cancer cells keeping the surrounding cells healthy 😤

Considerable time and funding are required in development of new medicines necessary for otherwise untreatable illnesses. Professor Yuki SUDO of Okayama University seeks an innovative form of treatment using rhodopsin, a protein with light-reactive qualities. By extracting it and artificially inserting it into affected cells, it could treat illness simply by exposure to a specific type of light. He has succeeded in using rhodopsin to eliminate cells from cancer, the first such accomplishment ever achieved in the world. In this episode, we introduce the research toward a “light switch” to cure disease.

Researchers have proposed a new strategy for the shape assembly of robot swarms based on the idea of mean-shift exploration: When a robot is surrounded by neighboring robots and unoccupied locations, it actively gives up its current location by exploring the highest density of nearby unoccupied locations in the desired shape.

The study, titled, “Mean-shift exploration in shape assembly of robot swarms,” has been published in Nature Communications.

This idea is realized by adapting the mean-shift algorithm, an optimization technique widely used in machine learning for locating the maxima of a density function.

SpaceX still needs a launch license from the FAA, though.