Lifeboat Foundation

How plausible they are and what hurdles they face, with a focus on Isaac Asimov’s concept of Psychohistory, from the classic Foundation series.

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Continue reading “Psychohistory: A look at methods for predicting the future” »

Researchers from the University of Oxford have achieved a major advancement toward realizing miniature bio-integrated devices, capable of directly stimulating cells. Their findings were recently published in the journal Nature.

Small bio-integrated devices that can interact with and stimulate cells could have important therapeutic applications, such as targeted drug delivery and promoting faster wound recovery. A major obstacle, however, has been providing an efficient microscale power source for these devices, a challenge that has remained unsolved.

To address this, researchers from the University of Oxford.

A Chinese battery company wants to solve one of the biggest obstacles to wider EV adoption.

The long-sought finding challenges scientists’ understanding of the strong nuclear force, and the AI that can beat human champions at drone racing.

Zirconium, the metal extracted from the mineral, zircon, may not be well-known, but its remarkable properties make it indispensable in nuclear power, the chemical industry, medicine and more. Since ancient times, zircon — a word believed to have originated from the Persian zargun, meaning gold-like — has been used in jewellery and decorations.

The IAEA has released The Metallurgy of Zirconium, a three-volume publication offering a comprehensive overview of the metal, its extraction, properties and applications in nuclear energy. Here are five interesting facts about zirconium.

Italian robotics co…

The qb SoftHand2 Research is the stronger, smarter and more versatile evolution of qb SoftHand Research: an anthropomorphic robotic hand with 19 disclosable self-healing finger joints. It is always adaptable and robust, easy-to-use and flexible.

The qb SoftHand2 Research represents a compromise between complexity and dexterity. This new hand is capable of performing both precision and power grips, as well as manipulating objects while maintaining a stable grip.

Continue reading “Qb SoftHand2 Research” »

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch a humanoid robot into space as part of its Gaganyaan mission, its first human spaceflight mission.

The much-delayed mission is back on track after ISRO successfully landed its probe on the moon’s South Pole, a world first.

According to the ISRO, the Gaganyaan project was established to demonstrate human spaceflight capability by launching a three-person crew to an orbit of 248 miles for a three-day mission and then bring them back to Earth safely, landing in Indian sea waters.

A robot moves a toy package of butter around a table in the Intelligent Robotics and Vision Lab at The University of Texas at Dallas. With every push, the robot is learning to recognize the object through a new system developed by a team of UT Dallas computer scientists.

The new system allows the robot to push objects multiple times until a sequence of images are collected, which in turn enables the system to segment all the objects in the sequence until the robot recognizes the objects. Previous approaches have relied on a single push or grasp by the robot to “learn” the object.

Continue reading “New AI technology gives robot recognition skills a big lift” »

Scientists from the Babraham Institute suggest an alternative connection between diet and aging, based on studies in yeast. Dr. Jon Houseley and his team have published their experiments, demonstrating that healthy aging is achievable through dietary change without restriction by potentially optimizing diet and that ill health is not an inevitable part of the aging process.

Scientists have long known that caloric restriction – intentionally consuming far fewer calories than normal without becoming malnourished – improves health in later life and may even extend life. However, studies in mice show that caloric restriction really needs to be maintained throughout life to achieve this impact, and the health benefits disappear when a normal diet is resumed. Dr. Houseley’s new research conducted in yeast suggests an alternative to calorie restriction can lead to improved health throughout the lifecycle.