Lifeboat Foundation

In 2019, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology made headlines when they created the “blackest black” material made from carbon nanotubes —ten times blacker than any material that had been manufactured at that time—a material so black that it had the ability to absorb 99.995% of incident light. Such research in light absorption is not a trivial pursuit or mere aesthetics, there are many technologies that can benefit from maximizing light absorption—for instance, in photovoltaics because of the need to absorb and convert as much light as possible into electricity, or on the interior surface of a light sensor because of the need to minimize unwanted stray light. The physics of light absorption can get quite complex when you get into the details, as what we non-technically consider as “black” is usually not a perfect absorber. Indeed, there are many ways to create something that can absorb some light, but the endeavor gets increasingly more difficult the closer one attempts to achieve 100% absorption.

That takes some serious physics.

Now, physicists in Austria and Israel report in the journal Science that they have engineered a light trap that utilizes the quantum properties of electromagnetic waves— in which waveforms undergo constructive or destructive interference when combined in just the right manner—to generate an anti-laser that has near-perfect light absorption [1]. Because the light trap functions essentially as a time-reversed laser, where instead of multiple passes of single-wavelength light for maximum stimulated emission of photons the multiple passes are engineered for maximum absorption, the device is a veritable anti-laser.

But when something out of the ordinary happens, the situation can quickly get scary, because most updates are only delivered by audio announcements. A Deaf traveller may miss their train because it was moved to a different platform, or watch as their station whizzes by because the train isn’t stopping there today. They may also remain on a train carriage in an emergency after everyone else has evacuated, and have to be rescued by station staff.

Every single one of these examples has been drawn from the real life experiences of Deaf people in Sydney. But my colleagues and I are working with Sydney Trains and members of the Australian Deaf community to develop an advanced, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered signing avatar which can automatically translate audio announcements into Auslan.

Our universe might be growing by absorbing smaller “baby” universes, not just dark energy.

So Everyone is offering free AI because they have to. From X to more it is a spreading trend. Here’s one:

Aria helps with everything you do in Opera Browser: from shopping research to learning and creativity. Generate text, images and get answers with real-time access to the web on mobile and desktop.

Chat and create with Aria, Opera’s free AI, across devices. Aria answers questions and generates content with up-to-date information from the web.

Decomposing the dark matter of sparse autoencoders.

Joshua Engels, Logan Riggs, Max Tegmark MIT 2024 https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.

On mapping concepts in artificial neural networks with sparse autoencoders: we find that map errors exhibit…

Continue reading “JoshEngels/SAE-Dark-Matter: Code for our paper ‘Decomposing The Dark Matter of Sparse Autoencoders’” »

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Researchers discovered that PLK1 triggers a process ensuring centromere preservation during cell division by activating the Mis18 complex and controlling CENP-A loading. This finding is key to understanding how cells correctly divide their genetic material, preventing diseases like cancer.

Scientists have resolved a decade-long mystery about the mechanism that maintains the centromere, the crucial region responsible for ensuring accurate DNA division during cell division.

Continue reading “Scientists Unravel Key to the Centromere’s Eternal Life, Solving Decades-Old Mystery” »

Physicists finally know whether black holes destroy the information contained in infalling matter. The problem is that the answer hasn’t lit the way to a new understanding of space-time.

The gut-brain axis has long been a subject of interest in lifespan research, and GLP-1 agonists, already used in the treatment of obesity and diabetes, are showing promise in the field of healthspan therapeutics.

New research on gut-to-brain signaling uncovers potential links between gut hormones like GLP-1 and longevity.

Intestinal stem cells play an important role in maintaining intestinal homeostasis and repairing damaged epithelial tissue. These cells function in a regenerative manner to generate new tissue throughout the growth phase and repair damaged tissue during the aging process.¹⁰¹ The interactions between the gut microbiome and intestinal stem cells are crucial because, if this interaction is comprehended, it may be possible to address various disorders that require stem cell therapy, heal wounds, and improve the durability of organ transplants.¹⁰¹ A recent study showed a connection between hematopoietic stem cells and the microbiome through altering metabolic stress.⁶⁶ Therefore, the microbiota is crucial for maintaining microbial homeostasis, regulating metabolism, and the innate and adaptive immune systems.¹⁰¹ Furthermore, the study reveals that compositional alterations in the gut microbiome driven by dysbiosis are related to stem cell aging, metabolic dysregulations, stem cells’ epigenetic instability, and abnormal immune system activation.⁶⁶

In the field of anti-aging, stem cells are regarded to have great potential. In numerous organs, it has been demonstrated that as we age, stem cells lose their capacity for self-renewal and differentiation and run out of resources.⁸⁹ The emergence of anti-aging medications should address the dysregulation caused by aging that affects stem cells’ capacity for differentiation and self-renewal by re-regulating intrinsic and extrinsic variables. The host microbiome, hormones, local immune system, systemic inflammation, and niche structure are just a few examples of microenvironmental and systemic factors that influence stem cell aging.⁶⁶

Endogenous ethanol is a class of microbiological metabolites. Proteobacteria, including E. coli and other Enterobacteriaceae, produce ethanol with bacterial origins. High endogenous ethanol levels in the human hippocampus inhibit proliferating stem cells and reduce progenitor and stem cells.¹⁰² Additionally, when more ethanol accumulates in the gut, it enhances the permeability of the gut by disrupting epithelial tight junctions, particularly zonula occludens. This enables the movement of pathogenic microbes, their endotoxins, and ethanol across the epithelial layer, causing more immediate and adverse effects on tissues. As a result, the stem cell reserve depletes, hastening the aging process and compensating for damaged tissues.¹⁰³