Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Blog – Page 22

In recent years, many engineers have been trying to develop hardware components that could emulate the functions of various biological systems, including synapses, the human skin and nerves. These bio-inspired systems include what are referred to as artificial nerves, systems designed to emulate the role of nerves in the body of humans and other animals.

Artificial nerves could be useful for a wide range of applications, ranging from systems for repairing damaged nerves to brain-computer interfaces, highly precise sensors and other advanced electronics. So far, however, the engineering of nerve-inspired systems that operate at biologically compatible frequencies and realistically replicate the function of nerves has proved challenging.

Researchers at Xi’an Jiaotong University in China and Technical University of Munich recently developed a new high-frequency artificial nerve with a unique design that optimizes the transport of ions and electrons, while also rapidly responding to signals and retaining charge-related information. This nerve-inspired system, introduced in a paper published in Nature Electronics, is based on homogenously integrated organic electrochemical transistors.

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New method to detect life makes Mars sample return protocols rock solidWithin the next decade, space agencies plan to bring samples of rock from Mars to Earth for study. Of concern is the possibility these samples contain life, which could have unforeseen consequences. Therefore, researchers in this field strive to create methods to detect life. For the first time, researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo and NASA, successfully demonstrated a method to detect life in ancient rocks analogous to those found on Mars.

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Scientists have uncovered the mechanism behind how aspirin could reduce the metastasis of some cancers by stimulating the immune system, in a new study primarily funded by the Medical Research Council.

In the study, published in Nature, the scientists say that discovering the mechanism will support ongoing clinical trials, and could lead to the targeted use of aspirin to prevent the spread of susceptible types of cancer, and to the development of more effective drugs to prevent cancer metastasis.

The scientists caution that, in some people, aspirin can have serious side-effects and clinical trials are underway to determine how to use it safely and effectively to prevent cancer spread, so people should consult their doctor before starting to take it.

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The Möbius strip, also called the twisted cylinder (Henle 1994, p. 110), is a one-sided nonorientable surface obtained by cutting a closed band into a single strip, giving one of the two ends thus produced a half twist, and then reattaching the two ends (right figure; Gray 1997, pp. 322–323). The strip bearing his name was invented by Möbius in 1858, although it was independently discovered by Listing, who published it, while Möbius did not (Derbyshire 2004, p. 381). Like the cylinder, it is not a true surface, but rather a surface with boundary (Henle 1994, p. 110).

The Möbius strip has Euler characteristic (Dodson and Parker 1997, p. 125).

According to Madachy (1979), the B. F. Goodrich Company patented a conveyor belt in the form of a Möbius strip which lasts twice as long as conventional belts. M. C. Escher was fond of portraying Möbius strips, and they appear in his woodcuts “Möbius Strip I” and “Möbius Strip II (Red Ants)” (Bool et al. 1982, p. 324; Forty 2003, Plate 70).

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The Los Alamos National Laboratory has introduced the “Spacecraft Speedometer,” a novel technology for tracking satellites in low Earth orbit. This compact, resource-efficient device can precisely measure a satellite’s speed as it orbits the planet. Researchers believe it could also serve as a tracking solution for deep-space missions.

Designed to provide onboard, real-time velocity measurements, the Spacecraft Speedometer enables space agencies and commercial operators to predict satellite positions and execute orbital maneuvers to avoid collisions with other satellites or space debris.

Los Alamos developed the system in response to increasing congestion in LEO, where the number of active satellites surged from 2,287 in 2019 to over 10,000 in 2024. With the rise of mega-constellations, traffic management challenges are expected to grow even more severe.

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