Lifeboat Foundation

We live in very interesting times, especially if you happen to be a tinkerer, hobbyist, or what is commonly called a “maker” these days. From affordable palm-sized computer boards like the Raspberry Pi to the almost magical 3D printers, it has never been easier to bring ideas to life or, at the very least, prototype designs quickly before they hit final production. Not everyone might have access to these parts and tools, though, but those same things have also made it easier to create and sell products that bigger companies would never dare make. Those include niche yet popular designs, like this quirky pocket computer kit that you can assemble on your own to become not just a portable game emulator but a real computer you could use for more serious business, like even developing your own retro-style game on the go.

Designer: Clockwork.

Pipeline corrosion resulting in leaks is very common. There are only a few current methods to detect defects before they cause leaks. Often, the pipe is repaired and re-inspected after a leak occurs.

Now, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has created the next generation of transducers that use ultrasonic-guided wave technology to detect anomalies in pipes, enabling users to prevent leaks before they start.

Originally developed by SwRI in 2002, the technology is known as a Magnetostrictive Transducer (MsT) Collar. The updated version has a flat, thin design, which allows it to be used on pipes in tight spaces. The new MsT design also features eight sensors that give the transducer the ability to consistently monitor the pipe’s condition and accurately identify where the pipe corrosion is occurring, hopefully preventing leaks from happening in the first place.

In the style of Sleeping Beauty, Tardigrades, the adorable, tiny animals that can withstand extreme environments and are also known as “water bears,” can withstand freezing without losing their vitality. Despite harsh environmental conditions, tardigrades are very adaptable. According to Ralph Schill, a professor at the University of Stuttgart, anhydrobiotic (dry) tardigrades can survive for many years without absorbing water. In a frozen state, there was no clear indication of whether aging increased or decreased. It turns out that frozen tardigrades don’t age.

Water bears, also known as tardigrades, are nematodes. They have the same gait as bears, but that’s about the only thing that connects them to bears. As a result of their adaptability to rapidly changing environmental conditions, tardigrades, which are barely one millimeter in size, can freeze in extreme cold and dry out in extreme heat. Rather than dying, Schill explains that they fall into a deep sleep. A cell organism experiences different types of stress when it freezes or dries out. Despite this, tardigrades are equally capable of surviving both extremes of heat and cold. No obvious signs of life can be seen on them. In this state of rest, the animal’s internal clock might be slowed down, which raises the question of whether it ages.

Schill and his team investigated the aging process of dried tardigrades several years ago, which waited in their habitat for rain for many years. Grimm brothers’ fairytales depict a princess who is deeply asleep. A young prince kisses her 100 years later, and she awakes looking as beautiful and young as ever. In a dried state, tardigrades are the same, and therefore this hypothesis is called the “Sleeping Beauty” hypothesis. Schill explains that the internal clock stops during inactivity and resumes once the organism has been reactivated. Accordingly, the researcher explained that tardigrades, whose lifespan usually lasts only a few months without rest, can survive for decades.

Motherboard is live, talking with journalist Kelsey Atherton about the use of AI and robotic weapons.

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Commonly assumed to be silent, 53 animals have had their ‘voices’ added to a family tree of vocalizations in an effort to determine when acoustic communication emerged in evolutionary history.

The species that are finally being heard come from four different animal clades, including 50 turtle species, the South American lungfish (Lepidosiren paradoxa), a limbless amphibian called Cayenne caecilian (Typhlonectes compressicauda), and a reptile from New Zealand known as a tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus).

“All recorded species were found to possess a varied acoustic repertoire comprising a number of different sounds,” the authors conclude.

Turning back the clock on aging may be attainable via a controversial method known as “reprogramming.” But other experts in the field are skeptical.

Cryo-electron microscopy structures of skeletal F-actin show solvent-driven rearrangements governing actin filament assembly and aging with potential application in design of drugs and small molecules for imaging and therapy.

From a Transhumanist Perspective.

The overexpression of a gene tied to cell division and the structure and function of neurons may prevent and protect against cognitive decline in both mice and humans with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to a new study by scientists at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

The gene, Kinesin-5 or KIF11, does this despite the presence of amyloid beta (Abeta), the main component of plaques in the brains of those with AD. Scientists have traditionally targeted the plaques when looking for treatments for the fatal disease. In this case, they went around them.

The study was published online last week in the journal iScience.