Lifeboat News: The Blog – Safeguarding Humanity

Get the latest international news and world events from around the world.

Dec 8
2025

Abstract: Introducing a new player in GLP-1-regulated insulin secretion…

Jeffrey R. Schelling & team find inhibition of the fatty acid transport protein FATP2 exerts glucose-lowering effects through GLP-1 secretion by alpha cells:

The figure shows FATP2 expression localizes to pancreatic alpha cells in mouse islets.

¹Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

²Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System; Department of Ophthalmic Research, Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

³Department of Medicine and Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.

Dec 8
2025

Human challenge trials have never been more popular

The ethics of clinical trials that deliberately infect people with a disease aren’t clear-cut – but there’s a strong case for doing more of them

Dec 8
2025

Expanding the search for quantum-ready 2D materials

Quantum technologies from ultrasensitive sensors to next-generation information processors depend on the ability of quantum bits, or qubits, to maintain their delicate quantum states for a sufficiently long time to be useful.

One of the most important measures of this stability is the spin coherence time. Unfortunately, qubits may lose coherence because their environment is “noisy,” for example, due to the presence of nuclear isotopes or other interference that disturbs the qubit.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials—or atomically thin sheets—can offer quiet environments for qubits, as their reduced thickness naturally lowers the number of isotopes that interact with the qubit.

Dec 8
2025

Taiwanese electronics manufacturer could create 900 jobs in Taylor, 100 in Georgetown

Another tech giant is coming to the suburbs.

Dec 8
2025

Johns Hopkins Study Challenges Billion-Dollar AI Models

Choosing the right blueprint can accelerate learning in visual AI systems. Artificial intelligence systems built with biologically inspired structures can produce activity patterns similar to those seen in the human brain even before they undergo any training, according to new research from Johns H

Dec 8
2025

How scientists are growing computers from human brain cells — and why they want to keep doing it

‘Organoid intelligence’ is still in its early stages, but it’s already raising tough questions.

Dec 8
2025

New Paper-Thin Brain Implant Could Transform How Humans Connect With AI

A radically miniaturized brain implant called BISC is redefining what’s possible in human–computer interaction, offering a paper-thin, wireless, high-bandwidth link directly to the brain.

With over 65,000 electrodes and unprecedented data throughput, it enables advanced AI decoding of thoughts, intentions, and sensory experiences while remaining minimally invasive.

Dec 8
2025

Researchers Use Virus To Trace Psilocybin’s Effects Across the Entire Brain

An international collaboration led by Cornell researchers used a combination of psilocybin and the rabies virus to map how – and where – the psychedelic compound rewires the connections in the brain.

Specifically, they showed psilocybin weakens the cortico-cortical feedback loops that can lock people into negative thinking. Psilocybin also strengthens pathways to subcortical regions that turn sensory perceptions into action, essentially enhancing sensory-motor responses.

The findings published Dec. 5 in Cell. The lead author is postdoctoral researcher Quan Jiang.

Dec 8
2025

Brain Uses AI-Like Computations for Language

The human brain processes spoken language in a step-by-step sequence that closely matches how large language models transform text.

Dec 8
2025

Tiny “Ghost” Particles Could Explain Why the Universe Exists

A joint effort between two of the world’s largest neutrino experiments has brought scientists closer to understanding how the universe survived its violent beginnings.

The findings could reveal why matter exists at all — and why everything didn’t vanish long ago.

Scientists unite to explore why the universe exists.