Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Blog – Page 1599

An international research team led by RMIT University has designed and manufactured a virus-killing surface that could help control disease spread in hospitals, labs, and other high-risk environments. The surface made of silicon is covered in tiny nanospikes that skewer viruses on contact.

Lab tests with the hPIV-3 virus – which causes bronchitis, pneumonia, and croup – showed 96% of the viruses were either ripped apart or damaged to the point where they could no longer replicate to cause infection. These impressive results, featured on the cover of top nanoscience journal ACS Nano, show the material’s promise for helping control the transmission of potentially dangerous biological material in laboratories and healthcare environments.

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A new analysis involving over 13,000 people has found changes to blood vessels in the brain that can increase the risk of stroke and dementia are common in people with a range of heart conditions, regardless of whether they have experienced a stroke.

The new research, published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, is the most comprehensive systematic review of ‘hidden’ brain changes in people with a range of heart conditions to date.

Lead author Dr Zien Zhou from The George Institute for Global Health said that identifying these changes could play an important role in choosing treatments for these patients.

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Tryptophan is an essential amino acid, which means that it cannot be produced by the body but must be included as part of our diet. People with chronic bowel inflammation consume significantly more tryptophan than healthy people, as shown by previous research that involved members of the Cluster of Excellence “Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation” (PMI) at Kiel University.

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Kia’s first three-row electric SUV is off to a good start. However, Kia will accelerate EV9 momentum with plans to begin US production by May. Kia expects the EV9 will qualify for the full $7,500 EV tax credit by early next year.

After launching the EV9 in the US late last year, Kia has handed over 3,839 models in the US. Starting under $55,000, Kia calls its electric family move an “industry wake-up call.”

Despite the strong start, Kia expects the momentum to pick up. Kia currently builds the EV9 in Korea but expects to move production to the US by the end of May.

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Researchers have developed a robot that can anticipate your smile and return it almost instantly. The new work, published as a study in the journal Science Robotics, is intended to help human-looking robots appear more natural. The actual expressions this one makes, however, look anything but.

Named “Emo,” the bot can predict your smile less than a second before it actually appears using cameras lodged into its pupils. Then just as the smile creeps up your face, as shown in an amusing video from New Scientist, Emo grimaces its horrific imitation of one in return, making sure to keep eye contact the entire time.

“I’m a jaded roboticist, but I smile back at this robot,” study coauthor Hod Lipson, at Columbia University, told New Scientist.

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