Lifeboat Foundation

Scientists have developed a wireless, battery-free implant capable of monitoring dopamine signals in the brain in real-time in small animal models, an advance that could aid in understanding the role neurochemicals play in neurological disorders.

The device, detailed in a study published in ACS Nano, activates or inhibits specific neurons in the brain using light, a technique known as optogenetic stimulation. It also records dopamine activity in freely behaving subjects without the need for bulky or prohibitive sensing equipment, said John Rogers, Ph.D., the Louis Simpson and Kimberly Querrey Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Neurological Surgery, and a co-author of the study.

“This device allows neuroscientists to monitor and modulate brain activity in real-time and in a programmable fashion, in mice—a very important class of animal model for neuroscience studies,” Rogers said.

There are many ways to initiate chemical reactions in liquids, but placing free electrons directly into water, ammonia and other liquid solutions is especially attractive for green chemistry because solvated electrons are inherently clean, leaving behind no side products after they react.

In theory, solvated electrons could be used to safely and sustainably break down carbon dioxide or chemical pollutants in contaminated water, but it has been impractical to find out because they’ve been difficult and expensive to make in pure form.

That could change thanks to new research from chemists at Rice University, Stanford University and the University of Texas at Austin. In a published study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the Center for Adapting Flaws into Features (CAFF) uncovered the long-sought mechanism of a well-known but poorly understood process that produces solvated electrons via interactions between light and metal.

New tools and methods have been described by WEHI researchers to study an unusual protein modification and gain fresh insights into its roles in human health and disease.

The study—about how certain sugars modify proteins—was published today in Nature Chemical Biology. Led by WEHI researcher Associate Professor Ethan Goddard-Borger, this work lays a foundation for better understanding diseases like muscular dystrophy and cancer.

What will humanity become, millions of years in the future?
This video is an abridged retelling of All Tomorrows, a story written and illustrated by C. M. Kosemen. Here’s an interview with Kosemen on the Alt Shift X Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1DUeMbesM8

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Original All Tomorrows story: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByV5-S712cg8Tk1vQWVFZVM5S28/view.

Continue reading “All Tomorrows: the future of humanity?” »

In this video I showcase a program that I have been working on for simulating evolution by natural selection. I dive into various mechanisms of the simulation and go over some interesting real-life biology in the process. The key aim of this project is to evolve multicellular organisms, starting from single-celled protozoa-like creatures that must collect mass and energy from their surroundings in order to survive, grow and reproduce.

Chapters:
00:00 — Introduction.
00:56 — Life of a protozoan.
02:46 — The start of the simulation.
05:57 — How the cells work.
06:53 — Introducing multicellular colonies.
08:33 — Understanding evolution.
11:38 — Looking at data from the simulation.
13:27 — Evolving epigenetics introduction.
14:14 — Waddington’s Landscape and cell specialisation.
15:22 — The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology.
16:05 — Gene Regulatory Networks.
16:54 — Outro.
17:30 — Watching the simulation.

Continue reading “Simulating Cellular Evolution: The Path To Multicellularity” »

In this interview with Avi Loeb, the Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science and astrophysicist at Harvard University, he explains why in his new book, Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth, he has put forth the theory that our first interstellar visitor to be spotted in our solar system, Oumuamua, might just be the first sign of intelligent life beyond earth.

Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth https://amzn.to/2LiIxoo affiliate link.

Continue reading “Why Oumuamua May Have Been The First Sign of Intelligent Life with Dr. Avi Loeb” »

Roman concrete has mostly stood the test of time. The Pantheon for example was dedicated in 128 CE and has the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome. Today, it’s still intact.

Even some ancient Roman aqueducts still deliver water to Rome.

On the other hand – In your town or city you probably have at least one piece of brutalist architecture. Big in the 50s and 60s, these now controversial concrete structures were considered utilitarian and long lasting. Yet today, without restoration, some of these reinforced concrete buildings have begun to crumble.

As workers were constructing a highway in Romania, a Hun warrior’s treasure-filled tomb was unearthed. According to Live Science, the tomb dates all the way to the fifth century AD, when the region was proliferated by the Huns.

Prince-Like Tomb of a Hun Warrior

Continue reading “Wealthy Hun Warrior’s Tomb Uncovered During Highway Construction in Romania” »

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When we look up into the night skies, all we see is absence and silence, but could our galaxy be a dark forest full of hidden predators waiting to consume us?

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