Lifeboat Foundation

“No one knows how the moon was formed,” said Dr. Darren Williams. “For the last four decades, we have had one possibility for how it got there. Now, we have two. This opens a treasure trove of new questions and opportunities for further study.”

How did the Moon form? Was it from a collision, as has been the longstanding theory, or could it have been captured by the Earth early in our planet’s formation? This is what a recent study published in The Planetary Science Journal hopes to address as two researchers from Penn State investigated a new model for how our Moon came to reside within its present orbit around the Earth. This study holds the potential to help researchers better understand the origin of our Moon, which could help explain how some moons throughout our solar system came to be orbiting their respective planets, as well.

For the study, the researchers performed a series of calculations aimed at ascertaining if a simulated binary object could end up in the Moon’s orbit. The argument the researchers make is that if the Moon was formed from a collision, then it would orbit above the Earth’s equator. In contrast, the Moon’s orbit follows a different orbit.

Continue reading “Revisiting the Moon’s Origin: A New Capture Theory” »

A new brain-mapping tool just dropped!

LA JOLLA—Scientists at the Salk Institute are unveiling a new brain-mapping neurotechnology called Single Transcriptome Assisted Rabies Tracing (START). The cutting-edge tool combines two advanced technologies—monosynaptic rabies virus tracing and single-cell transcriptomics—to map the brain’s intricate neuronal connections with unparalleled precision.

Using the technique, the researchers became the first to identify the patterns of connectivity made by transcriptomic subtypes of inhibitory neurons in the cerebral cortex. They say having this ability to map the connectivity of neuronal subtypes will drive the development of novel therapeutics that can target certain neurons and circuits with greater specificity. Such treatments could be more effective and produce fewer side effects than current pharmacological approaches.

Continue reading “New brain-mapping tool may be the ‘START’ of next-generation therapeutics” »

Research videos aren’t known for their narrative arcs. Occasionally, however, you see one that keeps getting better the longer you watch. “Beyond Manual Dexterity” is one such video. It wows you in the first few seconds with a highly dexterous robotic gripper, and then things start to go off the rails.

The video debuted along with a research paper of the same name at IEEE’s International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Rotterdam this week. The work, conducted by Switzerland’s EPFL, explores ways in which robotic hands can grow beyond existing confines to grasp an even wider range of objects.

Continue reading “Robot hand can detach from arm, crawl over to objects, and pick them up” »

Source: Allen Institute.

The BRAIN Initiative® Cell Atlas Network (BICAN) has launched its first major data release, marking a significant milestone in the ambitious effort to map the whole human brain.

The data, accessible through the BICAN Rapid Release Inventory, includes single-cell and single-nucleus transcriptomic and epigenomic profiles from humans, mice, and 10 other mammalian species.

The LEV Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the field of rejuvenation biotechnology with the goal of reversing biological aging. Under the leadership of renowned gerontologist Aubrey de Grey, the foundation focuses on conducting early-stage research on animals, specifically testing combination therapies that aim to dramatically extend lifespan. LEV Foundation stands out in the aging research community by targeting middle-aged mice, developing treatments that could one day be applied to humans, helping achieve longevity escape velocity — the point at which aging can be controlled through medical interventions.

Pathogen encounter can result in epigenetic remodeling that shapes disease caused by heterologous pathogens.

The therapeutic potential of antigen-independent innate immune memory (IIM) is of particular relevance in the context of respiratory viruses with pandemic potential. Lercher et al. find that antiviral IIM in alveolar macrophages following SARS-CoV-2 infection ameliorates disease caused by a secondary unrelated pathogen, influenza A virus.

This paper demonstrates how AI accelerates discoveries in archaeology, even in a region as well known as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site of Nazca.

It took nearly a century to discover a total of 430 figurative Nazca geoglyphs, which offer significant insights into the ancient cultures at the Nazca Pampa. Here, we report the deployment of an AI system to the entire Nazca region, a UNESCO World Heritage site, leading to the discovery of 303 new figurative geoglyphs within only 6 mo of field survey, nearly doubling the number of known figurative geoglyphs. Even with limited training examples, the developed AI approach is demonstrated to be effective in detecting the smaller relief-type geoglyphs, which unlike the giant line-type geoglyphs are very difficult to discern. The improved account of figurative geoglyphs enables us to analyze their motifs and distribution across the Nazca Pampa.

When it comes to searching for life beyond Earth, specifically on exoplanets or exomoons, are researchers searching for the correct biomarkers? This is what a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters hopes to address as an international team of researchers investigated how certain organic compounds that were long hypothesized to be created by life can be created in a laboratory setting without life present. This study holds the potential to challenge longstanding hypotheses regarding what biomarkers scientists should search for when trying to identify life on other worlds and how we should adapt our search methods accordingly.

For the study, the researchers successfully created dimethyl sulfide, which is an organic sulfur compound typically produced by marine algae, using a combination of light and gases that have been identified in the atmospheres of exoplanets. The caveat is no organisms were present to create the dimethyl sulfide, which left the researchers puzzled due to the longstanding hypothesis that marine organisms were the only way dimethyl sulfide was created.

“The sulfur molecules that we’re making are thought to be indicators of life because they’re produced by life on Earth,” said Dr. Eleanor Browne, who is an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder, and a co-author on the study. “But we made them in the lab without life — so it might not be a sign of life but could be a sign of something hospitable for life.”

Researchers have uncovered how hormones profoundly affect our immune systems, explaining why men and women are affected by diseases differently.

Scientists from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Imperial College London have shown for the first time which aspects of our immune systems are regulated by sex hormones, and the impacts this has on disease risk and health outcomes in males and females.

It is well established that diseases can affect men and women differently, due to subtle differences in our immune systems. For example, the immune condition systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is nine-times more likely to affect women, or with COVID-19, males are known to have a greater risk of acute first-time infections, while females have a greater risk of long-COVID.