Lifeboat Foundation

Earth.com

The Covid omicron XBB.1.5 variant is rapidly becoming dominant in the U.S. because it is highly immune evasive and appears more effective at binding to cells than related subvariants, scientists say.

XBB.1.5 now represents about 41% of new cases nationwide in the U.S., nearly doubling in prevalence over the past week, according to the data published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The subvariant more than doubled as a share of cases every week through Dec. 24. In the past week, it nearly doubled from 21.7% prevalence.

Scientists and public health officials have been closely monitoring the XBB subvariant family for months because the strains have many mutations that could render the Covid-19 vaccines, including the omicron boosters, less effective and cause even more breakthrough infections.

A Peninsula biotech startup cofounded by pioneering geneticist George Church — who already is working to engineer the woolly mammoth out of extinction — is trying to raise as much as $5 million in a crowdfunding effort to design healthier, longer-living pets.

AdoraPet Biosciences Inc. of San Mateo plans to apply the genome-engineering CRISPR technology at the egg stage of dogs and cats or insert CRISPR-modified DNA into eggs, to make nonallergenic pets that don’t shed and ultimately live longer, are free of genetic diseases caused by inbreeding and are resistant to cancer and other serious diseases.

Read more about Big gulp! 2 black holes swallow neutron stars.

Year 2019 face_with_colon_three

Translatotron could perform speech-to-speech translation in your own voice, with no intermediate steps.

Evidence shows strong outflowing winds responsible for the “Fermi bubbles”.

Summary: Researchers say hedonic value isn’t simply a biological and psychological mechanism, it’s also vital for our survival.

Source: The Conversation.

We humans, like other cognitive systems, are sensitive to our environment. We use sensory information to guide our behavior. To be in the world.

From the forthcoming album “Metropolis: Live at the Roxy Theatre.” Recorded live at the Roxy Theatre, Owen Sound, on December 15th 2012 in front of a theatrical audience.

Music composed and performed by the Silent Film Ensemble.

Creating a map of the most complicated terrain in the universe requires a host of special technologies.