Lifeboat Foundation

Solar cells could be printed out like newspapers after Australia’s leading science organisation opened a $6.8 million facility dedicated to flexible solar technology.

The CSIRO launched its state-of-the-art Printed Photovoltaic Facility in south-east Melbourne on Wednesday, following more than 15 years of research into the renewable energy technology.

Researchers said printed, flexible photovoltaic cells could not only lower the cost of solar energy but could be used to deliver power in challenging areas such as space exploration, defence and disaster recovery.

This level of precision could be a game-changer for therapies that require gene expression in one specific tissue, without impacting others.

By providing more control over where and when genes are activated, these AI-designed CREs could potentially be used in a variety of therapeutic applications, from treating genetic diseases to optimizing tissue regeneration.

As this AI-powered approach to designing CREs matures, the possibilities are vast. Beyond basic research, these synthetic DNA switches could be employed in biomanufacturing or to develop advanced treatments for a range of conditions, offering more effective ways to manipulate genes with unprecedented precision.

Caltech scientists have introduced a revolutionary machine-learning-driven technique for accurately measuring the mass of individual particles using advanced nanoscale devices.

This method could dramatically enhance our understanding of proteomes by allowing for the mass measurement of proteins in their native forms, thus offering new insights into biological processes and disease mechanisms.

Caltech scientists have developed a machine-learning-powered method that enables precise measurement of individual particles and molecules using advanced nanoscale devices. This breakthrough could lead to the use of various devices for mass measurement, which is key to identifying proteins. It also holds the potential to map the complete proteome—the full set of proteins in an organism.

Dr. Sanjeev Namjoshi, a machine learning engineer who recently submitted a book on Active Inference to MIT Press, discusses the theoretical foundations and practical applications of Active Inference, the Free Energy Principle (FEP), and Bayesian mechanics. He explains how these frameworks describe how biological and artificial systems maintain stability by minimizing uncertainty about their environment.

Namjoshi traces the evolution of these fields from early 2000s neuroscience research to current developments, highlighting how Active Inference provides a unified framework for perception and action through variational free energy minimization. He contrasts this with traditional machine learning approaches, emphasizing Active Inference’s natural capacity for exploration and curiosity through epistemic value.

Continue reading “The Hidden Math Behind All Living Systems” »

The acetate would then be used to feed plants that are grown hydroponically. The method could also be used to grow other food-producing organisms, since acetate is naturally used by mushrooms, yeast, and algae.

“The whole point of this new process to try to boost the efficiency of photosynthesis,” says senior author Feng Jiao, an electrochemist at Washington University in St. Louis. “Right now, we are at about 4% efficiency, which is already four times higher than for photosynthesis, and because everything is more efficient with this method, the CO₂ footprint associated with the production of food becomes much smaller.”

To genetically engineer acetate-eating plants, the researchers are taking advantage of a metabolic pathway that germinating plants use to break down food stored in their seeds. This pathway is switched off once plants become capable of photosynthesis, but switching it back on would enable them to use acetate as a source of energy and carbon.

“Scheduled for delivery in 2026, these new ferries will be powered with a hybrid mix of 85% hydrogen fuel cells and 15% biofuel from Bergen’s C25:33 engines.”

Norwegian power solutions supplier Bergen Engines has been selected to provide four generating sets to support the world’s largest hydrogen ferries, operating on Norway’s longest ferry connection from Bodø to Lofoten.

The C25:33L8A generating sets will be fueled by low carbon Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and will serve as support power to the hydrogen fuel cells onboard, which act as the vessel’s main propulsion power.

A new investigation with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope into K2-18 b, an exoplanet 8.6 times as massive as Earth, has revealed the presence of carbon-bearing molecules including methane and carbon dioxide.

New research from the University of Göttingen reveals that amethyst geodes in Uruguay formed at low temperatures from groundwater-like fluids, proposing a new model for their formation based on extensive geological surveys and innovative analytical methods.

Amethyst, the violet variety of quartz, has been used as a gemstone for centuries and is a key economic resource in northern Uruguay. Geodes are hollow rock formations often with quartz crystals, such as amethyst, inside.

In Uruguay, amethyst geodes have been found in cooled lava flows dating back to the original breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana approximately 134 million years ago. However, their formation has remained a mystery.

Most of the current atom interferometers are large instruments, occupying buildings and requiring towers that can reach tens of meters in height. Now, University of Michigan physicists have developed a design for a quantum rotation sensor with a core size that is barely visible to the human eye.

The proof-of-concept design could help bring atom interferometer-based quantum sensors out of the laboratory and into the world, according to lead author and U-M doctoral student Bineet Dash.

Scientists could use atom interferometers in quests ranging from the continual hunt for the tiny ripples in the fabric of our universe caused by gravitational waves to understanding minute, localized changes in Earth’s gravity caused by melting ice sheets in Antarctica, Dash says. But because of their size, atom interferometers are typically bound to laboratory settings. Currently, the most sensitive atom interferometers use tall towers inside buildings to shoot beams of atoms across tens of meters to gather information.