Lifeboat Foundation

Circa 2016 memory transfer between two organisms.

Schrödinger’s thought experiment to prepare a cat in a superposition of both alive and dead states reveals profound consequences of quantum mechanics and has attracted enormous interests. Here we propose a straightforward method to create quantum superposition states of a living microorganism by putting a small cryopreserved bacterium on top of an electromechanical oscillator. Our proposal is based on recent developments that the center-of-mass oscillation of a 15-μm-diameter aluminum membrane has been cooled to its quantum ground state (Teufel et al. in Nature 475:359, 2011), and entangled with a microwave field (Palomaki et al. in Science 342:710, 2013). A microorganism with a mass much smaller than the mass of the electromechanical membrane will not significantly affect the quality factor of the membrane and can be cooled to the quantum ground state together with the membrane.

Circa 2005 Bacteria that is resistant to radiation could lead to better radiation resistance in humans.

Relatively little is known about the biochemical basis of the capacity of Deinococcus radiodurans to endure the genetic insult that results from exposure to ionizing radiation and can include hundreds of DNA double-strand breaks. However, recent reports indicate that this species compensates for extensive DNA damage through adaptations that allow cells to avoid the potentially detrimental effects of DNA strand breaks. It seems that D. radiodurans uses mechanisms that limit DNA degradation and that restrict the diffusion of DNA fragments that are produced following irradiation, to preserve genetic integrity. These mechanisms also increase the efficiency of the DNA-repair proteins.

Psilocybin, the psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms, may help people with alcohol dependencies abstain from drinking. Nearly half of those who took the drug as part of a 12-week therapy programme no longer drank more than eight months later, according to results from the largest trial to date on psilocybin and addiction.

Michael Bogenschutz at NYU Langone Health in New York and his colleagues recruited 95 adults who were diagnosed with alcohol dependence. None of the participants had any major psychiatric conditions or had used psychedelics in the past year.

Everyone in the group went through a 12-week therapy programme. Most weeks, they had a roughly 1-hour long session with a therapist and a psychiatrist where they received cognitive behavioural therapy for alcohol use disorder.

New studies quantify the duration and magnitude of immunotherapy benefits for advanced lung cancer patients.

Axolotls Can Regenerate Their Own Brains: New research maps out the different cell types hoping to pave the way to regenerative medicine!

Half a century after the last person walked on the moon, original footage has been digitally overhauled to show NASA’s lunar missions in a new light.

Several antiviral drugs kill viruses by inducing lots of mutations, but a computer model suggests this could have unpredictable consequences.

The almost unnoticed hack of MiMi points to a growing trend of software supply chain attacks, including by the Chinese government.

Iran’s recent seizure of unmanned US Navy boats shined a light on a pioneering Pentagon program to develop networks of air, surface and underwater drones for patrolling large regions, meshing their surveillance with artificial intelligence.

The year-old program operates numerous unmanned surface vessels, or USVs, in the waters around the Arabian peninsula, gathering data and images to be beamed back to collection centers in the Gulf.

The program operated without incident until Iranian forces tried to grab three seven-meter Saildrone Explorer USVs in two incidents, on August 29–30 and September 1.