Lifeboat Foundation

“Here’s How Humans Might Beat Other Intelligent Life in a Science Fictional Space Race | Tor.com”

Suppose for the moment that one is a science fiction writer. Suppose further that one desires a universe in which intelligence is fairly common and interstellar travel is possible. Suppose that, for compelling plot reasons, one wants humans to be the first species to develop interstellar flight. What, then, could keep all those other beings confined to their home worlds?

Here are options, presented in order of internal to external.

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Elon Musk’s brain chip company Neuralink appears to be gearing up to launch its first-ever human trials, with the firm now looking to recruit a director to run the tests.

According to The Guardian, the entrepreneur, who owns a variety of science-based start-ups, is preparing to take Neuralink’s brain chip research to the next stage by hiring a mission-driven Clinical Trial Director to begin human testing. The company is moving toward potentially finding a way to use the technology to treat people with brain and spinal injuries.

The Bowlin family knew they had a history of malformations in the brain. But they had no idea how far back it went.

This week, startup exiting stealth a year ago, previously announced that it was commercializing waveguides composed of silicon nanostructures as an alternative to traditional optics for use in mobile devices.

Metalenz recently began a partnership with ST Microelectronics to move its technology into mass production and expects to be shipping imaging packages sometime in the second quarter of this year, according to CEO Robert Devlin.

The second phase of the CBDC pilot would test real-world functionalities such as cross-border remittance, retail payments and offline payments. The bank stated:

“We will confirm the possibility of operating various functions, such as offline settlements, and the application of new technologies, such as one intended to strengthen privacy protection during the second phase of the test.”

Bank of Korea (BOK) is also looking to onboard financial institutions for the second phase, quite similar to what China is currently doing with its digital yuan. However, unlike China, BOK-issued digital currency would also focus on user privacy.

The world’s richest men have lost billions of dollars in the past week, as cryptocurrency markets and tech stocks plummet. #9News

The richest men in the world have lost billions of dollars in the past week as cryptocurrency markets and technology stocks plummet.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, in the last 24 hours Elon Musk lost US$12.5 billion ($17.41 billion), Jeff Bezos lost US$9.17 billion ($12.78 billion) and Facebook – now Meta – CEO Mark Zuckerberg lost US$4.86 billion ($6.77 billion).

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Stroke is the world’s second-leading cause of death. Survivors may suffer brain damage that causes severe impairments in motor, language or other abilities. Japanese doctors have spent years developing a treatment that regenerates the brain using the patient’s own cells. Clinical trials are underway. A participant who had complete paralysis on one side of her body can now walk. The treatment takes stem cells from the patient’s bone marrow and injects it directly into the brain.

Will your next camper van be an EV? Thor industries think so and their latest all-electric camper van could show us the very future of EV travel. Welcome to the Thor Vision Vehicle, an electric camper van ready to take your entire family on a camping adventure without the use of any fossil fuels. Does this EV concept have what it takes to beat out its gas-powered competition?

Much like the car and truck market, the camper van space is seeing a large shift towards electric power. Last week Winnebago unveiled their electric RV concept, and Airstream recently revealed their eStream electric trailer at the Tampa RV Show. Thor Industries is the parent company of Airstream further showing the brand’s commitment to the electric vehicle space. Based on what we know so far, the new Thor Vision Vehicle may be the best of the breed.

Circa 2019

The race to engineer the next-generation banana is on. The Colombian government confirmed last month that a banana-killing fungus has invaded the Americas — the source of much of the world’s banana supply. The invasion has given new urgency to efforts to create fruit that can withstand the scourge.

Scientists are using a mix of approaches to save the banana. A team in Australia has inserted a gene from wild bananas into the top commercial variety — known as the Cavendish — and are currently testing these modified bananas in field trials. Researchers are also turning to the powerful, precise gene-editing tool CRISPR to boost the Cavendish’s resilience against the fungus, known as Fusarium wilt tropical race 4 (TR4).

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