Lifeboat Foundation

In a groundbreaking study, researchers have unlocked a new frontier in the fight against aging and age-related diseases. The study, conducted by a team of scientists at Harvard Medical School, has published the first chemical approach to reprogram cells to a younger state. Previously, this was only achievable using a powerful gene therapy.

On July 12, 2023, researchers from Harvard Medical School, University of Maine and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) published a new research paper in Aging, titled, “Chemically induced reprogramming to reverse cellular aging.”

The team’s findings build upon the discovery that the expression of specific genes, called Yamanaka factors, could convert adult cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). This Nobel Prize-winning discovery raised the question of whether it might be possible to reverse cellular aging without causing cells to become too young and turn cancerous.

One of the most basic assumptions of fundamental physics is that the different properties of mass—weight, inertia and gravitation—always remain the same in relation to each other. Without this equivalence, Einstein’s theory of relativity would be contradicted and our current physics textbooks would have to be rewritten. Although all measurements to date confirm the equivalence principle, quantum theory postulates that there should be a violation.

This inconsistency between Einstein’s gravitational theory and modern quantum theory is the reason why ever more precise tests of the equivalence principle are particularly important. A team from the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) at University of Bremen, in collaboration with the Institute of Geodesy (IfE) at Leibniz University Hannover, has now succeeded in proving with 100 times greater accuracy that passive gravitational mass and active gravitational mass are always equivalent—regardless of the particular composition of the respective masses.

The research was conducted within the framework of the Cluster of Excellence “QuantumFrontiers.” Today, the team published their findings as a highlights article in Physical Review Letters.

Gay sex – some humans do it, some penguins do it, and as it turns out, many monkeys do it. It’s only natural, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.

By watching a group of rhesus macaques over a three-year period in Puerto Rico, scientists from the Imperial College of London found it was more common for the males to engage in sex with the same gender than with the opposite.

The researchers reported 72% of the 236 male monkeys either mounted, or were mounted, by other males, whereas only 46% participated in heterosexual sex.

Quantum computing holds the potential to tackle complex issues in fields like material science and cryptography, problems that will remain out of reach even for the most powerful conventional supercomputers in the future. However, accomplishing this feat will likely necessitate millions of high-quality qubits, given the error correction needed.

Progress in superconducting processors advances quickly with a current qubit count in the few hundreds. The appeal of this technology lies in its swift computational speed and compatibility with microchip fabrication. However, the requirement for extremely low temperatures places a limit on the processor’s size and prevents any physical access once it is cooled down.

A modular quantum computer with multiple separately cooled processor nodes could solve this. However, single microwave photons—the particles of light that are the native information carriers between superconducting qubits within the processors—are not suitable to be sent through a room temperature environment between the processors. The world at room temperature is bustling with heat, which easily disturbs the microwave photons and their fragile quantum properties like entanglement.

The US Space Force has published a call for a new constellation of hypersonic missiles detecting and tracking satellites dubbed “FOO Fighter.”

The United States Space Force’s Space Development Agency (SDA) has published a draft solicitation for a “FOO Fighter” satellite constellation. The Fire-control On Orbit-support-to-the-war Fighter program gives it its full name, F2; the constellation is intended to detect, track, and coordinate the interception of hypersonic missiles.

Continue reading “Space Force wants ‘FOO Fighters’ satellites to combat hypersonic missiles” »

Planetary nebulae are created by the gas “ghost” clouds expelled by the dying stars, finds study.

Back in 2013, Bryan Rees of the University of Manchester discovered the unusual alignment of stars at the galactic center of the Milky Way galaxy.

Rees discovered elongated planetary nebulae in the Milky Way’s center that appear to lay parallel to the plane of the galactic bulge — hinting at undiscovered underlying phenomena.

A team of robots would still be able to complete a mission if one or two of the machines malfunction.

Swiss researchers led by ETH Zurich are exploring the possibility of sending an interconnected team of walking and flying exploration robots to the Moon, a press statement reveals.

In recent tests, the researchers equipped three ANYmal robots with scientific instruments to test whether they would be suitable for lunar exploitation.

The metaverse is emerging as a new platform for fashion and retail, allowing brands to reach consumers through innovative online experiences and immersive digital spaces.

The possibilities are enormous for companies that want to raise brand awareness, improve customer experience, and deepen engagement with their followers. The global apparel market is expected to reach $2.25 trillion by 2025 — and smart brands are leveraging the latest technologies to gain a competitive edge.

Let’s explore some of the ways the future internet will transform how we shop online and engage with retail brands.

Continue reading “What Will Fashion Retail Look Like In The Future?” »

New research into the hormone somatostatin has the potential to change the general scientific consensus on how it influences Alzheimer’s and how the disease begins to develop in the brain.

Somatostatin plays a role in many parts of our body. In previous studies, the hormone was also thought to drive the production of the enzyme neprilysin, which can degrade amyloid beta, the protein that clumps together and damages neurons in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s.

The new study suggests that somatostatin actually influences amyloid-beta more directly, putting the brakes on the mechanisms by which the protein’s monomer (single molecule) form combines into an oligomer (multi-molecule) form.