Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog – Page 191

Get the latest international news and world events from around the world.

Log in for authorized contributors

Carbon nanotube ‘smart windows’ offer energy savings

Half of the sun’s radiant energy falls outside of the visible spectrum. On a cold day, this extra infrared light provides additional warmth to residential and commercial buildings. On a warm day, it leads to unwanted heating that must be dealt with through energy-intensive climate control methods such as air-conditioning. Visibly transparent “smart windows” that can modulate the transmission of near infrared light offer one potential cost- and energy-saving measure for modern infrastructure. To work towards solving this technological challenge, a multidisciplinary team of researchers at

Using nature to fight liver cancer

You may not be aware that most of the medicines that have been approved for treatment are rooted in nature.

For example, the bark of willow trees has been called nature’s aspirin because it contains a chemical called salicin. The human body converts salicin into salicylic acid, which relieves pain and fights fevers.

New research by William Chain, associate professor in the University of Delaware’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and his lab, uses a molecule found in a tropical fruit to offer hope in the fight against liver-related cancers, one of the world’s top causes of cancer deaths.

Chemistry breakthrough provides pathway to low cost treatments.

What Are the Interferences to Radio Waves?

Radio interference refers to the phenomenon that occurs during radio communication, where some electromagnetic energy enters the receiving system or channel through direct or indirect coupling, resulting in a decrease in the quality of useful received signals, information errors or loss, or even blocking communication.

Radio interference signals are mainly electromagnetic energy that enters the receiving device channel or system through direct or indirect coupling. It can affect the reception of received signals required for radio communication, resulting in performance degradation, quality deterioration, information errors or loss, and even blocking the communication. Therefore, it is generally said that the fact that useless radio signals cause the quality of useful radio signals to decrease or damage is called radio interference.

Previously we have an article about t he analysis and solutions of antenna interference in satellite communication, including polarization interference, adjacent frequency interference, forwarding interference, etc. Please click here to read the full article. Today we will focus on analyzing how to interfere with radio from several aspects, such as physical obstacles, weather conditions, electromagnetic interference (EMI), solar activity, atmosphere, and frequency bands. For example, heavy rain can reduce the signal strength of 12 GHz by 20 dB per kilometer. Solutions include using higher frequencies to obtain clearer paths or placing antennas to avoid reflective surfaces and interference sources. Please go ahead for further details.

LHCb collaboration observes ultra-rare baryon decay

Baryons, composite particles made up of three quarks bound together via the so-called strong force, make up the most visible matter and have thus been the focus of numerous physics studies. Studying the rare processes via which unstable baryons decay into other particles could potentially contribute to the discovery of new physics that is not explained by the Standard Model of particle physics.

Maize plants use a volatile gas to fight off pests in densely crowded fields

When maize fields become too crowded, the plants signal each other to boost their defenses. A research team led by Dongsheng Guo of Zhejiang University found that in crowded conditions, maize plants release a volatile gas called linalool into the air. When it reaches neighboring plants, the gas triggers a defensive response in their roots.

Mathematical model reveals how collapsing matter and expanding voids shape universe’s evolution

A University of Queensland researcher has developed a new mathematical model to explain the evolution of the universe which, for the first time, includes collapsing regions of matter and expanding voids.

Eye movement patterns reveal subtle signs of cognitive and memory decline

A multi-institution team across Canada and the West Indies reports that gaze patterns can serve as a sensitive marker of cognitive decline, with associated reductions in explorative, adaptive, and differentiated visual sampling of the environment.

Eye movements are closely linked to encoding and retrieval processes, with changes in viewing behavior often reflecting age and pathology-related memory declines. Previous work has noted that groups differing in memory status diverge across multiple gaze features, suggesting that univariate gaze metrics may not fully capture the complexity of memory-related viewing behaviors.

In the study, “Decoding through naturalistic gaze patterns,” published in PNAS, researchers investigated changes in naturalistic viewing behavior across five participant groups to explore possible gaze-based indicators of memory function.

Gut microbiota linked to autism spectrum disorder progression in mice

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects an estimated 1 in 31 children in the United States by 2025, and prevalence in East Asian countries, such as South Korea, Singapore, and Japan, may be even higher than those in the United States. Despite its increasing prevalence, the underlying causes of ASD remain poorly understood, and there are currently no curative, preventive, or treatment options available.

A research team from POSTECH and ImmunoBiome in Korea, led by Professor Sin-Hyeog Im, who also serves as the CEO of ImmunoBiome, has made a discovery that reveals a multi-faceted mechanism behind ASD. This study, published in the July issue of Nature Communications, in collaboration with Dr. John C. Park and Prof. Tae-Kyung Kim, demonstrates that the and host immune system together can influence the progression of ASD in a .

ASD has long been regarded as a genetically driven disorder. However, growing evidence suggests that environmental and microbial factors also play a role. The human gut harbors more than ten times as many microbial cells as human cells, and these microbes play vital roles in metabolism and the development of the immune system.

Brain scans reveal action-based organization in people born without hands

Conventional wisdom among neuroscientists suggests that the brain’s motor functions are organized around the body, meaning certain brain areas control the hand; others the foot. An emerging alternative theory is that parts of the brain may be organized by the types of action, like reaching or using tools, no matter which body part is used to complete the task.

Researchers at Georgetown University recently set out to understand these theories, because knowing how the brain is organized around function versus body part has profound implications for rehabilitation and a person’s return to function following a .

The findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The work is titled “Action-type mapping principles extend beyond evolutionarily-conserved actions, even in people born without hands.”

/* */