Lifeboat Foundation

Can we objectively tell how fast we are aging? With a good measure, scientists might be able to change our rate of aging to live longer and healthier lives. Researchers know that some people age faster than others and have been trying to concisely measure the internal physiological changes that lead to deteriorating health with age.

For years, researchers have been using clinical factors normally collected at physicals, like hypertension, cholesterol and weight, as indicators to predict aging. The idea was that these measures could determine whether someone is a fast or slow ager at any point in their life cycle. But more recently, researchers have theorized that there are other biological markers that reflect aging at the molecular and cellular level. This includes modifications to a person’s genetic material itself, or epigenetics.

Continue reading “Epigenetic and social factors both predict aging and health, but new research suggests one might be stronger” »

Explore how pneumonia attacks the tiny air sacs in your lungs and how your immune system works to fight off the infection.

Every time you breathe, air travels down the trachea, through a series of channels, and then reaches little clusters of air sacs in the lungs. These tiny sacs facilitate a crucial exchange: allowing oxygen from the air we breathe into the bloodstream and clearing out carbon dioxide. Pneumonia wreaks havoc on this exchange system. Eve Gaus and Vanessa Ruiz detail how pneumonia attacks the lungs.

Continue reading “Why is pneumonia so dangerous? — Eve Gaus and Vanessa Ruiz” »

Based on analysis of preliminary information from several sources, NASA experts believe the object was a meteoroid about two feet in diameter weighing about 1,000 pounds. The angle and speed of entry, along with signatures in weather radar imagery, are consistent with other naturally occurring meteorite falls. Radar and other data indicate that meteorites did reach the ground from this event.

Although meteorites tend to hit Earth’s atmosphere at high speeds, they slow as they travel through the atmosphere, breaking into small fragments before hitting the ground. Meteorites cool rapidly and generally are not a risk to the public.

The New Murabba, which will house hundreds of thousands of residents, is one of the many mega projects part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan.

If you thought NEOM was the most precious brainchild of Saudi Arabia, then you’re wrong. On Thursday, Saudi’s Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, unveiled plans to supposedly build the world’s largest downtown development in Riyadh called New Murabba, covering over seven square miles.

Continue reading “Saudia Arabia’s new cubed skyscraper can fit 20 Empire State buildings” »

An Australian firm has finished its electric VTOL aircraft’s first tethered test flight. AMSL Aero’s offering, christened Vertiia, aims to provide a safe aircraft that will ease the burden of traffic congestion on people’s lives.

Vertiia is one of the newest VTOL industry entrants that has seen recent activity from players like Jetoptera and ARC Aerosystems.

The man beat the machine by using a flaw uncovered by another computer system.

A human beat a top-ranked AI system in the board game Go, proving that the rise of machines may not be as imminent as previously believed.

This is according to a report by the Financial Times published on Sunday.

Continue reading “AI loses to human being at Go after seven years of victories” »

An AI system called “xView2” is helping ground rescue efforts in regions of Turkey devastated by this month’s earthquakes.

The U.S. Department of Defense is using a visual computing artificial intelligence system to aid ongoing disaster response efforts in Turkey and Syria following the devastating earthquake on February 6 that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

AI system helps disaster response teams in Turkey.

Continue reading “New AI system to help save lives of earthquake survivors in Turkey” »

The NEOMIR mission aims to provide advanced warning for asteroids capable of devastating cities.

The European Space Agency (ESA) aims to make the world safer with a spacecraft that can detect asteroids that the sun’s glare would otherwise hide.

The NEOMIR space observatory is designed to give an advanced warning about asteroids in a blindspot caused by intense sunlight.

It’s mini yet mighty.

An autonomous ground robot was developed by researchers at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. It could help firefighters deal with situations in enclosed spaces.

Continue reading “This autonomous ground robot helps firefighters in enclosed spaces” »