Lifeboat Foundation

In the years following the launch of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have tallied over 1 trillion galaxies in the universe. But only one galaxy stands out as the most important nearby stellar island to our Milky Way—the magnificent Andromeda galaxy (Messier 31). It can be seen with the naked eye on a very clear autumn night as a faint cigar-shaped object roughly the apparent angular diameter of our moon.

A century ago, Edwin Hubble first established that this so-called “spiral nebula” was actually very far outside our own Milky Way galaxy —at a distance of approximately 2.5 million light-years, or roughly 25 Milky Way diameters. Prior to that, astronomers had long thought that the Milky Way encompassed the entire universe. Overnight, Hubble’s discovery turned cosmology upside down by unveiling an infinitely grander universe.

Continue reading “Panorama of Andromeda galaxy unveils hundreds of millions of stars” »

“Proteins are the molecular machinery that helps the body to function — and malfunction. Their role in disease is crucial, but rarely simple. Knowing which are associated with a particular disease can help doctors and scientists to spot it earlier and narrow down potential treatments,” writes Tom Whipple in The Times, as he describes the potential impact of a new study from UK Biobank that is the world’s largest exploration of all the proteins in the human body.

Thermo Fisher’s Olink Proteomics Explore HT platform, which enables precise analysis of proteins in the human body, will play a key role in the work. Researchers will use our technology to study the role proteins play in many types of diseases. Their findings will fuel the discovery of new protein biomarkers that could predict, diagnose and treat diseases. The study “has the potential to transform healthcare by the end of this decade,” says Dr. Chris Whelan, who is leading a group of pharmaceutical companies working on the project.

‘Treasure trove’ of samples provided by UK volunteers has the potential to transform healthcare by the end of this decade, say scientists.

Continue reading “‘Game-changing’ study of blood proteins will help fight disease” »

Microsoft research blog.

PromptWizard from Microsoft Research is now open source. It is designed to automate and simplify AI prompt optimization, combining iterative LLM feedback with efficient exploration and refinement techniques to create highly effective prompts in minutes.

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Harnessing molecular connections: unlocking long-lasting quantum entanglement.

Quantum entanglement—the mysterious connection that links particles no matter the distance between them—is a cornerstone for developing advanced technologies like quantum computing and precision measurement tools. While significant strides have been made in controlling simpler particles such as atoms, extending this control to more complex systems like molecules has remained challenging due to their intricate structures and sensitivity to their surroundings.

In a groundbreaking study, researchers have achieved long-lived quantum entanglement between pairs of ultracold polar molecules using a highly controlled environment known as “magic-wavelength optical tweezers.” These tweezers manipulate molecules with extraordinary precision, stabilizing their complex internal states, such as vibrations and rotations, while enabling detectable, fine-scale interactions.

Continue reading “‘Magic-wavelength optical tweezers’ achieve quantum entanglement of molecules” »

Speech Recognition With LLMs Adapted to Disordered Speech Using Reinforcement Learning w/ Dr. Subhashini Venugopalan of University of Texas.

Speakers: Cecile Tamura, Subhashini Venugopalan

Scientists and engineers from the University of Bristol and the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and have successfully created the world’s first carbon-14 diamond battery.

This new type of battery has the potential to power devices for thousands of years, making it an incredibly long-lasting energy source.

The battery leverages the radioactive isotope, carbon-14, known for its use in radiocarbon dating, to produce a diamond battery.

Moving from HOT to HAT, a dazzling new acoustic technology.

International research team unveils the first electrically pumped continuous-wave semiconductor laser designed for seamless integration with silicon.

Scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ), the University of Stuttgart, the Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics (IHP), and their French partner CEA-Leti have successfully developed the first electrically pumped continuous-wave semiconductor laser made entirely from group IV elements, commonly referred to as the “silicon group” in the periodic table.

This innovative laser is constructed from stacked ultrathin layers of silicon-germanium-tin and germanium-tin. Remarkably, it is the first laser of its type to be directly grown on a silicon wafer, paving the way for advancements in on-chip integrated photonics. The research findings have been published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications.