Lifeboat Foundation

Sandia’s 20 year experience in building and testing ion traps has culminated in its latest offering: the Enchilada Trap.

Sandia National Laboratories revealed the Enchilada Trap, a groundbreaking ion trap central to some quantum computers, in a press release.

This innovative device promises to reshape the landscape of quantum computing, providing researchers with a potent tool to explore the experimental and transformative field of quantum computation.

The image, released by ESA shows the twin protostars Herbig-Haro 46/47, which are located about 1,470 light years away from Earth.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has shared a stunning image of two young stars in the process of formation, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). But what has caught the attention of astronomers and netizens alike is a mysterious object that resembles a giant question mark in the sky.

Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, J. DePasquale (STScI)

Continue reading “James Webb snaps a stunning question mark in space” »

The Longevity Summit Dublin is dedicated to the recognition of emerging research developments aimed at extending the human healthspan. This much-anticipated event brings together leading scientists from around the world, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange in pursuit of this critical objective.

The summit serves as a premier platform for showcasing the latest research and innovations within the longevity industry. Notably, keynote presentations by esteemed experts in the aging field provide valuable insights into the advancements being made towards enhancing overall well-being and extending lifespans.

Longevity. Technology: Scheduled to take place from the 17th to the 20th of August 2023, the Longevity Summit Dublin boasts a remarkable lineup of over 40 pioneering scientists, researchers and executives, as well as high net-worth investors – all of the attendees share a common focus on addressing the challenges posed by chronic diseases.

Cold weather affects EV batteries’ life and charging. Heating the car’s cabin is the main issue, and batteries work slower in cool temperatures.

A study published in Nature last fall suggests that breast cancer is slightly more common on the left side of the body than it is on the right. That same study also indicates that left-sided breast cancer is more aggressive and associated with poorer treatment outcomes.

But what does that mean for people with breast cancer? And, is there anything you can do about it if you have left-sided breast cancer? We went to medical oncologist Giancarlo Moscol, M.D., who specializes in the treatment of breast cancers. Here’s what he shared.

So, is breast cancer more common on the left side than on the right?

In October 2020, Argentina approved the world’s first genetically engineered wheat for cultivation and consumption. Production expanded dramatically in 2021, and will continue to expand in 2022, after Argentina received regulatory approval in late 2021 for exports to Brazil, a major consumer of Argentina’s wheat.

The lessons from Argentina’s experience are important as other countries decide whether they want to follow suit. Argentina’s genetically engineered, drought-tolerant wheat — named HB4 — could have large environmental benefits, but other countries’ choices will determine their scale.

Argentina is increasingly struggling with drought and saw an opportunity for HB4 wheat to help stabilize production and revenue. Yields have been steadily decreasing since 2017, partially due to drought, with the 2020/21 season yields the second-lowest in ten years. Yields in the 2021/22 season bounced back thanks to sufficient rainfall at critical times. HB4 wheat, genetically engineered to be drought resistant, can help protect against such variability by maintaining high yields even under drought conditions. HB4’s drought resistance gene comes from sunflowers, so it qualifies as transgenic — containing genes from a different species — and therefore as bioengineered, genetically modified, or a GMO.

This research topic consists of 148 articles on various aspects of brain augmentation contributed by more than 600 authors. At the time of writing, the articles have been viewed online more than 1.3 million times and received plentiful citations in the scientific literature. The topic won the 2017 Frontiers Spotlight Award.

The topic theme, “Augmentation of brain function,” is an umbrella term for the approaches from different disciplines, aimed at the improvement of brain performance in both healthy people and patients suffering from neurological disabilities. Functions of the brain that scientists hope to augment belong to sensory, motor and cognitive domains. Brain enhancements could be achieved pharmacologically or using neurostimulation. Functional improvements can be also achieved with brain training techniques that employ modern technologies like computer games and virtual reality. Furthermore, brain performance can be augmented using brain-machine interfaces (BMIs), the pathways that connect neuronal circuits to external assistive devices, such as limb prostheses, exoskeletons, and communication aids. In addition to sending commands to external devices, BMIs can enable bidirectional communications, where artificial sensory signals are delivered to the brain while information is being decoded from neural recordings.

Even though many of the brain-augmenting ideas sound like science fiction, the topic authors feel optimistic about most of them. The overall consensus is that brain performance can be improved with artificial components, and this approach will lead to practical applications in the not-too-distant future. Many of the techniques covered in the topic, for example BMIs and noninvasive stimulation, have already experienced an explosive development. While expectations are high for the augmentation approaches, philosophers are warning about the ethical issues related to technologies that interfere with the mind, possibly in unpredictable ways. Although some of these concerns seem far-fetched, it is important that ethical standards are kept high as these revolutionary brain-augmenting methods are being developed.

It’s revolutionising building – but could AI kill off an entire profession? Perhaps not, finds our writer, as he enters a world where Corbusier-style marvels and 500-room hotels are just a click away.

Elon Musk claims that Tesla may have “figured out some aspects of AGI” as he believes that Tesla vehicles now have “a mind.”

The CEO has said several times that he believes most of Tesla’s value is attached to self-driving, ad he says Tesla could achieve it by the end of the year.

The Tesla community is divided between believers who think the automaker is indeed about to deliver on its long-stated promise, and people who have been burned too many times by missed timelines and think a robotaxi service from Tesla is still years away.