Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Blog – Page 2836

Antipsychotic drugs treat incredibly vulnerable patients. Maintaining a treatment regimen is difficult for many patients, but not taking the medication is associated with a higher risk of poor health outcomes. These drugs are also very powerful with strong side effects, and blood tests are often used to calibrate a patient’s dosage and confirm that they are taking the recommended dose.

However, blood tests are invasive and potentially uncomfortable. Scientists have now discovered a way to test the levels of common in the sweat from patients’ fingerprints, offering a quicker, more comfortable, and more convenient alternative to blood draws for patient monitoring.

“Our test offers patients a quick and dignified way of showing commitment to antipsychotic treatment,” said Katherine Longman of the University of Surrey, first author of the study in Frontiers in Chemistry. “This non-invasive approach can also be adapted to fit other therapeutic regimes.”

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The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument onboard Chandrayaan-3 Rover has made the first-ever in-situ measurements on the elemental composition of the lunar surface near the south pole. These in-situ measurements confirm the presence of Sulphur (S) in the region unambiguously, something that was not feasible by the instruments onboard the orbiters.

LIBS is a scientific technique that analyzes the composition of materials by exposing them to intense laser pulses. A high-energy laser pulse is focused onto the surface of a material, such as a rock or soil. The laser pulse generates an extremely hot and localized plasma. The collected plasma light is spectrally resolved and detected by detectors such as Charge Coupled Devices. Since each element emits a characteristic set of wavelengths of light when it’s in a plasma state, the elemental composition of the material is determined.

Preliminary analyses, graphically represented, have unveiled the presence of Aluminum (Al), Sulphur (S), Calcium (Ca), Iron (Fe), Chromium (Cr), and Titanium (Ti) on the lunar surface. Further measurements have revealed the presence of manganese (Mn), silicon (Si), and oxygen (O). Thorough investigation regarding the presence of Hydrogen is underway.

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Coming to a tight spot near you: CLARI, the little, squishable robot that can passively change its shape to squeeze through narrow gaps—with a bit of inspiration from the world of bugs.

CLARI, which stands for Compliant Legged Articulated Robotic Insect, comes from a team of engineers at the University of Colorado Boulder. It also has the potential to aid after major disasters in an entirely new way.

Several of these robots can easily fit in the palm of your hand, and each weighs less than a Ping Pong ball. CLARI can transform its from square to long and slender when its surroundings become cramped, said Heiko Kabutz, a doctoral student in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering.

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The Apogee+ exoskeleton aims to help support caregivers in healthcare settings. | Source: German Bionic.

German Bionic has unveiled the Apogee+, a powered exoskeleton for the North American healthcare market. Apogee+ aims to merge cutting-edge robots with research-backed, data-driven insights to better support caregivers.

Apogee+ is designed to provide personal lift assistance to caregivers, and it specifically addresses concerns with care worker safety and job satisfaction. This is German Bionic’s first foray into the healthcare space, and the mover underscores its success in industrial settings.

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While Apple continues (or doesn’t continue) to develop its plans for a self-driving automobile, the company is proposing an advanced high-end technology for an augmented reality (AR) display system that would generate a bunch of information onto a vehicle’s windshield.

In a U.S. Patent Office filing last week, Apple described a graphical overlay on the glass in front of the driver that would provide information about the real-time environment as well as data about objects in the distance — humans included — along with the vehicle’s speed, suspension and other factors.

The system, which may borrow on Apple’s science being employed in its soon-to-be-released Vision Pro headsets, would rely on a variety of sensors to collect information about the surrounding environment. This could include visible light cameras, various types of infrared cameras, as well as ultrasonic and light-based scanning devices for building up a three-dimensional picture of the car’s surroundings. The patent also mentions the use of geographical positioning devices and radar devices.

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Digital sociology explores the interplay between digital technology, social behaviors, and societal structures. As an emerging discipline, it delves into how online interactions, social media platforms, and digital tools shape and reflect cultural dynamics, personal identities, and group norms. Digital sociologists analyze trends in cyber communities, the implications of digital data collection, and the broader impact of the internet on social evolution.

In this age of rapid technological advancement — where we find ourselves in the midst of a Digital Revolution and most recently, in an AI Revolution, the fast-spinning changes in society require analysis and understanding. Digital sociology provides critical insights into the multifaceted relationship between technology and the fabric of society.

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Electronic music artist, generative AI enthusiast and on-off Elon Musk partner Claire “Grimes” Boucher seems to want to build bridges between the tech billionaire and the trans community he’s alienated so relentlesslly.

In a wide-ranging new interview with Wired, Boucher mentioned that she’d had a “big, long conversation” with her kids’ dad about “the trans thing,” and came to a similar conclusion as she made when publicly replying to one of his transphobic tweets: that bigotry isn’t in his “heart.”

“I was like, ‘I want to dissect why you’re so stressed about this,’” the artist, who also goes by the letter c, told the magazine. “Getting to the heart of what Elon says helps me get to the heart of what other people’s issues are, because it’s this über guy situation.”

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Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have transformed stem cells into insulin-producing cells. They used the CRISPR gene-editing tool to correct a defect that caused a form of diabetes, and implanted the cells into mice to reverse diabetes in the animals. Shown is a microscopic image of insulin-secreting beta cells (insulin is green) that were made from stem cells produced from the skin of a patient with Wolfram syndrome.

CRISPR corrects genetic defect so cells can normalize blood sugar.

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