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Jul 4, 2023

NASA’s InSight lander discovers possible evidence of Mars’ liquid core

Posted by in category: space

What lies underneath Mars’ surface? Space scientists have long been curious about whether Mars’ core is solid or liquid.

What lies underneath Mars’ surface? Space scientists have long been curious whether Mars’ core is solid or liquid.

A team of experts led by the Royal Observatory of Belgium has discovered that Mars most likely has a liquid core.

Jul 4, 2023

China builds a ‘ground space station’ to simulate diverse conditions in space

Posted by in category: space

The ground-based space station comprises multiple chambers that simulate different environments, ranging from the lunar surface to microgravity.

China has developed first-of-its-kind space station simulators to conduct various experiments and test instruments on Earth, as per the South China Morning Post (SCMP)

Reportedly, the researchers have already begun the first experimental operations of this project, known as the ground space station.

Jul 4, 2023

One Shot of a Kidney Protein Gave Monkeys a Brain Boost

Posted by in category: neuroscience

An early experiment in older rhesus macaques suggests that an injection of klotho improves working memory. Could it one day help people?

Jul 4, 2023

Artificial intelligence fueling a rise of sextortion cases

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, education, finance, robotics/AI

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – Artificial intelligence is already revolutionizing society – from healthcare and education to cybersecurity and even our courts. Despite all of its benefits, it has also given criminals an edge when it comes to deceiving us.

Financial sextortion is a crime in which a bad actor attempts to leverage personal material (think: naked pictures or videos) to force a victim into giving into their demands — usually money or other compromising material.

Jul 4, 2023

Study suggests resistance training can prevent or delay Alzheimer’s disease

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health, neuroscience

Regular physical exercise, such as resistance training, can prevent Alzheimer’s disease, or at least delay the appearance of symptoms, and serves as a simple and affordable therapy for Alzheimer’s patients. This is the conclusion of an article published in Frontiers in Neuroscience by Brazilian researchers affiliated with the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) and the University of São Paulo (USP).

Although and dementia patients are unlikely to be able to do long daily runs or perform other high-intensity , these activities are the focus for most scientific studies on Alzheimer’s. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends as the best option to train balance, improve posture and prevent falls. Resistance exercise entails contraction of specific muscles against an external resistance and is considered an essential strategy to increase muscle mass, strength and bone density, and to improve overall body composition, functional capacity and balance. It also helps prevent or mitigate sarcopenia (muscle atrophy), making everyday tasks easier to perform.

To observe the neuroprotective effects of this practice, researchers in UNIFESP’s Departments of Physiology and Psychobiology, and the Department of Biochemistry at USP’s Institute of Chemistry (IQ-USP), conducted experiments involving with a mutation responsible for a buildup of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain. The protein accumulates in the central nervous system, impairs synaptic connections and damages neurons, all of which are features of Alzheimer’s disease.

Jul 4, 2023

Tesla extends blistering rally after quarterly deliveries beat

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, sustainability, transportation

July 3 (Reuters) — Tesla (TSLA.O) shares jumped about 7% on Monday after better-than-expected quarterly deliveries showed that Chief Executive Elon Musk’s plan of boosting volumes through discounts was working.

The day’s gains lifted the top U.S. electric-vehicle manufacturer’s market capitalization by around $57 billion to $887 billion.

At $277, the stock has already more than doubled in value this year and risen far above price targets set by analysts, prompting caution from some brokerages that margins will suffer because of the aggressive discounting spree.

Jul 4, 2023

Blue Origin is planning to open new launch sites outside the US

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, robotics/AI, space travel

The billionaire space race is continuing to expand across the globe. Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin has announced plans to expand its operations to “Europe and beyond,” the Financial Times reports. Part of this growth hinges on finding a site for an international launch facility — the company has already put down roots in Texas, Washington, Florida and Alabama — but the new location hasn’t been chosen yet. It’s also actively looking for fresh acquisitions and partnerships outside of the US in areas such as manufacturing and software.

“We’re looking for anything we can do to acquire, to scale up to better serve our customers,” Bob Smith, Blue Origin CEO, said. “It’s not a function of size — rather how much it accelerates our road map of what we’re trying to get done.” Last year, Blue Origins bought New York-based Honeybee Robotics, a move that appears successful: The space-based robotics company was part of the Blue Origin team that recently received $3.4 billion to build the lunar lander for NASA’s third Artemis mission. Blue Origin’s biggest competitor, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is handling the first and second Artemis moon landings.

Though Blue Origin was the first to launch, land and reuse a rocket successfully, it has fallen behind its rival due to hold-ups with building its launchers. Blue Origin’s plans for a more global footprint might help them catch up with SpaceX’s progress. Amazon’s Project Kuiper also plans to use Blue Origin’s rocket New Glenn for at least 12 launches between 2024 and 2029 after a few years of delays.

Jul 4, 2023

Robotic ‘Light Bender’ on the moon could help Artemis astronauts keep the lights on

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, solar power, space, sustainability

“Part of what we’re doing is conceptually simple, reflecting sunlight to a solar panel located in the dark,” said Maxar Chief Robotics Architect and lead for Light Bender Sean Dougherty in a Maxar statement. “Where it gets complex is doing that without humans involved. We’re leveraging investments in autonomy to study how NASA can use robots to assemble and deploy a set of reflectors that keep sunlight focused on a solar panel operating in the shadows. It’s never been done before.”

Light Bender works by hoisting two 33-foot (10-meter) reflectors up a 65-foot (20-meter) telescoping mast. One mirror autonomously tracks the sun and reflects that light to the second mirror, which then reflects those rays towards the intended solar panels.

The Light Bender project is a collaboration between Maxar and NASA’s Langley Research Center, and is scheduled for its first terrestrial demonstration in 2025. The company was awarded the contract in May 2023, under NASA’s Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity Program. For their part, NASA’s team is responsible for Light Bender’s structural design, and Maxar is taking the lead on the robotics — an aptitude for which the company has demonstrated in the past.

Jul 4, 2023

FAA clears California company’s flying car for takeoff

Posted by in category: transportation

July 3 (UPI) — A California startup announced its prototype flying car has been cleared for takeoff by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Alef Aeronautics said its “Model A” is the first flying vehicle that can drive on public roads and park like an average car to receive clearance for flight by the FAA.

The FAA confirmed the vehicle was given a special airworthiness certificate for purposes including research, development and exhibition.

Jul 4, 2023

Swiss Firm RigiTech Enables Drone Delivery—Without a Landing or Takeoff

Posted by in categories: drones, robotics/AI, sustainability

Wind turbine maintenance is an important yet unheralded task. But drones have arrived to spice things up.

RigiTech is a Swiss drone manufacturer and operator boasting some of the most extensive beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight authorizations in the industry. And it just completed a landmark test of its Eiger delivery system, flying spare parts to the Anholt Offshore Wind Farm, located 20 sm (17 nm) off the coast of Denmark. But there’s a catch—the drones didn’t need to land.

The tests marked the rollout of RigiTech’s prototype precision dropping system, which autonomously releases cargo from a few feet in the air when it detects the drone has reached its destination. That’s a game-changer in the case of offshore wind turbines, which typically do not have landing pads.