Symbiont could enable microfactories to produce biochemicals for food, farming and drugs.
Footage of unknown snailfish captured by researchers from Western Australia and Tokyo in Izu-Ogasawara trench.
A “grand unifying theory” of brain ageing suggests malfunctioning mitochondria might be to blame for Alzheimer’s and other brain conditions. And this new avenue of exploration already has some potential therapies at the ready.
A paper in Nature reports the discovery of a superconductor that operates at room temperatures and near-room pressures. The claim has divided the research community.
An open letter signed by more than 1,100 technology and business industry leaders calls for a six-month moratorium on the race to develop artificial intelligence (AI), and in particular large language models like ChatGPT-4.
ChatGPT-4 is an example of AI exhibiting human-competitive intelligence and poses a risk to humanity without managed care.
Putting two forms of semiconductor material called gallium oxide together seems to make it completely resistant to radiation.
By Alex Wilkins
The molecules in our bodies are in constant communication. Some of these molecules provide a biochemical fingerprint that could indicate how a wound is healing, whether or not a cancer treatment is working or that a virus has invaded the body. If we could sense these signals in real time with high sensitivity, then we might be able to recognize health problems faster and even monitor disease as it progresses.
Now Northwestern University researchers have developed a new technology that makes it easier to eavesdrop on our body’s inner conversations.
While the body’s chemical signals are incredibly faint—making them difficult to detect and analyze—the researchers have developed a new method that boosts signals by more than 1,000 times. Transistors, the building block of electronics, can boost weak signals to provide an amplified output. The new approach makes signals easier to detect without complex and bulky electronics.
Presented by Madhumita Murgia and John Thornhill, produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon and Edwin Lane. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Special thanks to The Hospital for Sick Children.
We’re keen to hear more from our listeners about this show and want to know what you’d like to hear more of, so we’re running a survey which you can find at ft.com/techtonicsurvey. It takes about 10 minutes to complete and you will be in with a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort earbuds.
Classic Drama Movie: A Boy and His Dog — A young man and his telepathic dog wander through a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
A Boy and His Dog (1975)
Director: L.Q. Jones.
Writers: L.Q. Jones(screenplay), Harlan Ellison(novella), Wayne Cruseturner(uncredited)
Stars: Don Johnson, Jason Robards, Susanne Benton.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller.
Country: United States.
Language: English.
Release Date: March 1975 (USA)
Duration: 86 min.
Filming locations: Coyote Dry Lake, California, USA
Storyline:
A post-apocalyptic tale based on a novella by Harlan Ellison. A boy communicates telepathically with his dog as they scavenge for food and sex, and they stumble into an underground society where the old society is preserved. The daughter of one of the leaders of the community seduces and lures him below, where the citizens have become unable to reproduce because of being underground so long. They use him for impregnation purposes, and then plan to be rid of him.
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