Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog – Page 32

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

Log in for authorized contributors

Magnetic ‘switchback’ detected near Earth for the first time

In recent years, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has given us a close-up look at the sun. Among the probe’s revelations was the presence of numerous kinks, or “switchbacks,” in magnetic field lines in the sun’s outer atmosphere. These switchbacks are thought to form when solar magnetic field lines that point in opposite directions break and then snap together, or “reconnect,” in a new arrangement, leaving telltale zigzag kinks in the reconfigured lines.

In their article published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, E. O. McDougall and M. R. Argall now report observations of a switchback-shaped structure in Earth’s magnetic field, suggesting that switchbacks can also form near planets.

The researchers discovered the switchback while analyzing data from NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, which uses four Earth-orbiting satellites to study Earth’s magnetic field. They detected a twisting disturbance in the outer part of Earth’s magnetosphere—the bubble of space surrounding our planet where a cocktail of charged particles known as is pushed and pulled along Earth’s .

Unlocking the skin’s natural healing power for regenerative medicine

Our skin protects us from everyday mechanical stresses, like friction, cuts, and impacts. A key part of this function—standing as a bulwark against the outside world—is the skin’s amazing ability to regenerate and heal. But where does this healing ability begin?

In a new study published in Nature Communications, an interdisciplinary team led by the laboratories of Kaelyn Sumigray, Ph.D., and Stefania Nicoli, Ph.D., discovered that, during the earliest stages of embryonic development, contribute to forming a protective skin layer that accelerates healing as the embryo grows.

Their findings reveal one of the earliest steps in how skin stem cells learn to repair tissue—knowledge that could help engineer improved for transplantation.

Novel antibiotic targets IBD—and AI predicted how it would work before scientists could prove it

Researchers at McMaster University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have made two scientific breakthroughs at once: they not only discovered a brand-new antibiotic that targets inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), but also successfully used a new type of AI to predict exactly how the drug works. To their knowledge, this is a global first for the AI.

Detailed in the journal Nature Microbiology, the discovery unveils a promising new treatment option for millions of people affected by Crohn’s disease and other related conditions, while also showcasing important new applications for AI in drug discovery research.

“This work shows that we’re still just scratching the surface as far as AI-guided drug discovery goes,” says Jon Stokes, an assistant professor in McMaster’s Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and principal investigator on the new study.

Solar energy is now the world’s cheapest source of power, study finds

Solar energy is now so cost-effective that, in the sunniest countries, it costs as little as £0.02 to produce one unit of power, making it cheaper than electricity generated from coal, gas or wind, according to a new study from the University of Surrey.

In a study accepted for publication in Energy and Environment Materials, researchers from Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) argue that solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is now the key driver of the world’s transition to clean, renewable power.

Professor Ravi Silva, co-author of the study and Director of the ATI at the University of Surrey, said, Even here in the U.K., a country that sits 50 degrees north of the equator, solar is the cheapest option for large-scale energy generation.

‘Chemo brain’ cognitive issues linked to poor lymphatic-system drainage

Cancer is a challenging enough diagnosis, but many patients are dealt a second blow, even as they heal: “chemo brain.”

Also called “brain fog,” this mix of cognitive issues— , struggling to find words, an inability to concentrate—affects up to three-in-four cancer patients, according to multiple studies. For many, the effects last years beyond .

A new study offers new models for studying causes of and points to the effects of chemotherapy drugs on the brain’s lymphatic system, which is a network of tiny vessels in the brain’s protective membranes that help remove waste and transport immune cells. The study was published Oct. 13 in Communications Biology.

China achieves important breakthrough in creating ‘shield’ for fusion reactor

Prototype component of the divertor of China’s Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology (CRAFT) Photo: Xinhua.

China has achieved an important breakthrough in the development of its next-generation “artificial sun” with the prototype component of the divertor of China’s Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology (CRAFT), passing expert evaluation and acceptance procedures on Monday, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The CRAFT is a platform on which engineers develop and test key components of fusion energy reactors.

AI Breakthrough Finally Cracks Century-Old Physics Problem

An AI framework now computes once-impossible physics equations within seconds. The breakthrough redefines how scientists study the behavior of materials. Researchers at the University of New Mexico and Los Alamos National Laboratory have created an advanced computational framework that solves a m

/* */