Lifeboat Foundation

Kiwi scientists have helped discover a new gene described as a potential game-changer for cloning in global agriculture.

The gene allows natural reproduction by cloning in plants, enabling highly desirable traits to be carried through to the next generation rather than lost when the plants reproduce through pollination.

Named PAR, the new gene has been found to control parthenogenesis, a process whereby plant egg cells spontaneously grow into embryos without fertilisation.

Continue reading “NZ scientists in ‘game-changing’ plant cloning discovery” »

The findings by rover scientists highlight the diversity of samples geologists and future scientists associated with the agency’s Mars Sample Return program will have to study.

Scientists with NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover mission have discovered that the bedrock their six-wheeled explorer has been driving on since landing in February likely formed from red-hot magma. The discovery has implications for understanding and accurately dating critical events in the history of Jezero Crater – as well as the rest of the planet.

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“The potential to deliver ‘one shot cures’ is one of the most attractive aspects of gene therapy, genetically-engineered cell therapy and gene editing. However, such treatments offer a very different outlook with regard to recurring revenue versus chronic therapies,” analyst Salveen Richter wrote in the note to clients Tuesday. “While this proposition carries tremendous value for patients and society, it could represent a challenge for genome medicine developers looking for sustained cash flow.”

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Goldman Sachs warns sales from the most successful disease treatments are difficult to maintain.

Continue reading “Goldman Sachs asks in biotech research report: ‘Is curing patients a sustainable business model?’” »

About a decade ago, MIT researchers discovered a technique that speeds physics modeling by 1000X. They spun this out into a new company, called Akselos, which has been helping enterprises to weave the tech into various kinds of digital twins used to improve shipping, refining, and wind power generation.

A digital twin is a virtual representation of an object or system that spans its lifecycle, is updated from real-time data, and uses simulation, machine learning, and reasoning to help decision-making. Connected sensors on the physical asset collect data that can be mapped onto the virtual model.

The specific innovation improves the performance of finite element analysis (FEA) algorithms which underpin most types of physics simulations. Akselos experience over the last decade can help executives explore the implications of the million-fold improvements in physics simulation that Nvidia is now demonstrating thanks to improvement in hardware, scalability, and new algorithms.

Jan. 6 (UPI) — South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor said the company would use robotics in the “metaverse,” or the virtual world.

The conglomerate disclosed the plan during its Tuesday presentation at the Consumer Electronics Show 2022 in Las Vegas.

Hyundai dubbed the vision as “meta-mobility,” which it said is designed to make robots act as a medium between the real world and virtual spaces so that changes in the metaverse are reflected in reality.

iSun has won a massive solar canopy order. But who’s buying?

There are not many things I love more than a solar power canopy that charges an EV charging station. It’s all right there — transferring sunlight into electricity and then using that electricity to power a modern electric car; driving on sunshine.

So, it’s quite exciting to see that iSun (NASDAQ: ISUN) has been awarded a contract to provide 1,780 solar power canopies for EV charging stations. The problem is: we don’t have much more detail than that. We don’t know where these charging stations are and don’t know who is procuring the solar canopies.

Nreal is a China-based startup behind the Nreal Light AR glasses, which aim for a sunglasses-like design. By hooking it up to your (Android) phone, it’s able to project virtual objects in your real environment and even allow you to walk around with position tracking. While we’re not quite there yet, I think the Nreal Light is definitely getting us closer to fully fledged AR glasses.

Continue reading “Hands-on with Nreal Light, One of the First Consumer-available AR Glasses” »

Jan 7 (Reuters) — Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk tweeted on Friday that the electric carmaker will raise the U.S. price of its advanced driver assistant software dubbed “Full Self Driving” to $12,000 on Jan. 17.

The 20% price rise comes less than two years since Tesla raised Full Self-Driving (FSD) prices to $10,000 from $8,000 in 2020.

“Tesla FSD price rising to $12k on Jan 17. Just in the US.” Musk tweeted.

Smart factories will be very useful in metaverse.workers can operated machines in factories using Internet.

As the idea of interconnected and intelligent manufacturing is gaining ground, competing in the world of Industry 4.0 can be challenging if you’re not on the very cusp of innovation.

Seeing the growing economic impact of IIoT around the globe, many professionals and investors have been asking themselves if the industry is on the verge of a technological revolution. But judging from the numbers and predictions, there is tangible and concrete evidence that the idea of smart manufacturing has already burst into corporate consciousness. According to IDC, global spending on the Internet of Things in 2020 is projected to top $840 billion if it maintains the 12.6% year-over-year compound annual growth rate. There is no doubt that a huge part of this expenditure will be devoted to the introduction of IoT into all types of industry, especially including manufacturing.

Continue reading “What is the smart factory? The impact of factory 4.0 on manufacturing” »