Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog – Page 4126

A research team led by Prof. Li Di from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) has revealed circular polarization in active repeating fast radio bursts based on precise observations of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST).

Their findings were published in Science Bulletin.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are the most luminous radio flashes in the universe. The estimated equivalent energy of one FRB event can rival the energy output the sun over a whole day or even a month to a year.

Read more | >

While significant parts of the globe are already facing significant freshwater scarcity, the need for more freshwater is projected to increase in order to sustain the increasing global population and economic growth and adapt to climate change.

An almost limitless supply of fresh water exists in the form of water vapor above Earth’s oceans, yet remains untapped. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) have proposed a new infrastructure capable of harvesting oceanic water vapor as a solution to limited supplies of fresh water in various locations around the world.

The study evaluated 14 water-stressed locations across the globe for the feasibility of a hypothetical structure capable of capturing water vapor from above the ocean and condensing it into fresh water – and doing so in a manner that will remain feasible in the face of continued climate change.

Read more | >

Researchers have found a new way to kill cancer cells by using artificial DNA which could pave the way for a cure for the disease in the future. The existing methods of treating cancer have their limitations, however, scientists believe that RNA and DNA-based drugs could potentially help beat the deadly disease.

The findings published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, last week, show that the researchers at the University of Tokyo have used the chemically synthesised, hairpin-shaped, cancer-killing DNA to target and kill human cervical cancer and breast cancer-derived cells. The DNA pairs were also used against malignant melanoma cells in mice.

The team of researchers at the University of Tokyo, led by Assistant Professor Kunihiko Morihiro and Professor Akimitsu Okamoto from the Graduate School of Engineering, indicated that they were inspired to move away from conventional anti-cancer drug treatments by using artificial DNA.

Read more | >

Check out all the on-demand sessions from the Intelligent Security Summit here.

Tomorrow morning, I head south. Straight down I-95, from central New Jersey to northeast Florida, where I will be setting up my laptop in St. Augustine for the next two months. It’s about as far from Silicon Valley as I can be in the continental U.S., but that’s where you’ll find me gearing up for the first artificial intelligence (AI) news of 2023.

These are the 5 biggest AI stories I’m waiting for:

Read more | >

Hibernation is a state adopted by certain mammals as an adaptation to adverse winter conditions. Typical features of hibernation include greatly reduced metabolic activity and lowered body temperature.

As warm-blooded animals, primates (except lemurs) do not naturally hibernate or even experience torpor. But can we manipulate the body temperature of primates and make them fall into a hypometabolic state or even artificial hibernation?

A research team led by Dr. Wang Hong and Dr. Dai Ji from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has recently reported the first reliable hypothermia in caused by activating a group of hypothalamic neurons.

Read more | >

What image does the name ‘woolly mammoth’ bring to your mind? Huge, majestic creatures with giant tusks walking an Earth yet untouched by modern humans.

They last walked that walk a million years back and since then the majestic animals have lain silent and mostly undisturbed in their permafrost graves. But, now curious scientists have decided to disturb their slumber and attempt to ‘reawaken’ ancient, Stone Age viruses.

Read more | >

Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and… breakthroughs in wireless power transfer? Yep, scientists at a branch of the Walt Disney Company called Disney Research have found a way to charge devices on a room-scale without using any wires.

Wireless power is an idea that goes back to the 19th century, with Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla perhaps being its most famous proponent. But getting it to work has been a bit of a problem, with the extent of modern wireless power coming mostly in the form of electric toothbrushes or flat charging pads for phones.

A team at Disney Research, though, showed how they were able to transmit power in an entire room, powering a variety of devices while remaining relatively safe for humans. They published their findings in the journal PLOS ONE.

Read more | >