Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Ever think you’d see a single atom without staring down the barrel of a powerful microscope? Oxford University physicist David Nadlinger has won the top prize in the fifth annual Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s (EPSRC) national science photography competition for his image ‘Single Atom in an Ion Trap’, which does something incredible: makes a single atom visible to the human eye.

Click image to zoom. Photo: David Nadlinger/EPSRC

Captured on an ordinary digital camera, the image shows an atom of strontium suspended by electric fields emanating from the metal electrodes of an ion trap—those electrodes are about 2mm apart. Nadlinger shot the photo through the window of the ultra-high vacuum chamber that houses the ion trap, which is used to explore the potential of laser-cooled atomic ions in new applications such as highly accurate atomic clocks and sensors, and quantum computing.

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Several techniques currently are used to determine the pace of aging in animals and, to a lesser degree, in humans. However, the techniques used in humans lack accuracy, don’t assess aging in specific organs, are not widely available, and are expensive.

A multi-institutional research team measured the levels of nearly 5,000 human proteins in 5,676 people of all ages who were followed for as long as 15 years in five prospective longitudinal cohorts. Each measured protein was associated with specific organs, based on previous studies: adipose tissue, artery, brain, heart, immune tissue, intestine, kidney, liver, lung, muscle, or pancreas. Combinations of proteins indicated the pace of aging in each organ. Accelerated aging of one organ was found in nearly 20% of people, and accelerated aging of multiple organs was noted in ≈2%. Accelerated aging in a specific organ correlated with risk for developing disease in that organ. For example, people with accelerated heart aging (vs. those without it) had 250% higher risk for developing heart failure, and people with accelerated brain and vascular aging had nearly 60% higher risk for developing Alzheimer disease.

Various tools — from sequencing a person’s genome to measuring gene expression (e.g., the “methylome”) — are becoming available to predict a person’s risk for developing particular diseases. Will these predictions lead to interventions that lower risk? The jury is still out on that question.

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A kidney stone is a solid piece of material that can form in one or both of your kidneys when high levels of certain minerals are in your urine. There are several different types of kidney stones with different causes and symptoms.

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One of the greatest challenges of modern physics is to find a coherent method for describing phenomena, on the cosmic and microscale. For over a hundred years, to describe reality on a cosmic scale we have been using general relativity theory, which has successfully undergone repeated attempts at falsification.

Albert Einstein curved space-time to describe gravity, and despite still-open questions about or , it seems, today, to be the best method of analyzing the past and future of the universe.

To describe phenomena on the scale of atoms, we use the second great theory: , which differs from general relativity in basically everything. It uses flat space-time and a completely different mathematical apparatus, and most importantly, perceives reality radically differently.

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Unless it is augmented with graphene, watching concrete dry might not be the most thrilling activity. Graphene was initially isolated in 2004 by scientists at The University of Manchester and has become iconic in materials research, with applications ranging from energy storage and water filtering to transportation and construction, including concrete.

A new future for cement is being facilitated by graphene. Soon, everyone will have the option to select the color, texture, and features that they want very soon. More significantly, though, and even more so than its practicality and beauty, the increasing global sustainability movement is rekindling interest in the possibilities of concrete enriched with graphene.

The building sector is confronted with a plethora of obstacles in light of Net Zero aims, and a viable path toward progress could be through the extensive integration of cutting-edge materials. Cement production accounts for 8–10% of worldwide CO2 emissions, making it one of the industries with the largest carbon footprints.

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In a small group of veterans diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury, treatment with a psychedelic drug, ibogaine was associated with improvements in daily function and mental health symptoms, a new study out of Stanford found.

“This could be one of the first treatments for traumatic brain injury,” said Dr. Nolan Williams, associate professor of psychiatry at Stanford, and principal study investigator. “I think it’s a moment of hope for veterans and folks with permanent neurological injury.”

The Federal Drug Administration classifies ibogaine as a Schedule I drug, citing “high abuse potential” and “no accepted medical use.” To receive the one-time dose, 30 Special Ops veterans traveled to a treatment site in Mexico where ibogaine use is unregulated.

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Using a new technology developed at MIT, diagnosing lung cancer could become as easy as inhaling nanoparticle sensors and then taking a urine test that reveals whether a tumor is present.

  • This non-invasive approach may serve as an alternative or supplement to traditional CT scans, particularly beneficial in areas with limited access to advanced medical equipment.
  • The technology focuses on detecting cancer-linked proteins in the lungs, with results obtainable through a simple paper test strip.
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    V-Space (official site) is a startup that built Korea’s first UAM (Urban Air Transportation) destined to transport people or payloads of up to 120 Kg with their eVTOL all-electric vehicle. As its name indicates, it is a Vertical Take Off and Landing vehicle using a quad-copter design. It has a seat for one person and looks like a drone-like small helicopter.

    EVTOL can fly over a 40-mile distance at a maximum speed of 60 Mph, a little bit below most U.S highway’s speed limits. Of course, the main advantage here is the lack of traffic jams, especially in an emergency.

    However, the company has a hot new design called V Speeder-X, which looks a lot more modern and aerodynamic. The payload capacity is 230 Kg, but the speed has increased to 50 Mph as one of the use cases is to use the drone as an ambulance. Note that the flight time is relatively short, with about ~20 minutes.

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