Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Blog – Page 4710

Circa 2005 Bacteria that is resistant to radiation could lead to better radiation resistance in humans.

Relatively little is known about the biochemical basis of the capacity of Deinococcus radiodurans to endure the genetic insult that results from exposure to ionizing radiation and can include hundreds of DNA double-strand breaks. However, recent reports indicate that this species compensates for extensive DNA damage through adaptations that allow cells to avoid the potentially detrimental effects of DNA strand breaks. It seems that D. radiodurans uses mechanisms that limit DNA degradation and that restrict the diffusion of DNA fragments that are produced following irradiation, to preserve genetic integrity. These mechanisms also increase the efficiency of the DNA-repair proteins.

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Psilocybin, the psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms, may help people with alcohol dependencies abstain from drinking. Nearly half of those who took the drug as part of a 12-week therapy programme no longer drank more than eight months later, according to results from the largest trial to date on psilocybin and addiction.

Michael Bogenschutz at NYU Langone Health in New York and his colleagues recruited 95 adults who were diagnosed with alcohol dependence. None of the participants had any major psychiatric conditions or had used psychedelics in the past year.

Everyone in the group went through a 12-week therapy programme. Most weeks, they had a roughly 1-hour long session with a therapist and a psychiatrist where they received cognitive behavioural therapy for alcohol use disorder.

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Iran’s recent seizure of unmanned US Navy boats shined a light on a pioneering Pentagon program to develop networks of air, surface and underwater drones for patrolling large regions, meshing their surveillance with artificial intelligence.

The year-old program operates numerous unmanned surface vessels, or USVs, in the waters around the Arabian peninsula, gathering data and images to be beamed back to collection centers in the Gulf.

The program operated without incident until Iranian forces tried to grab three seven-meter Saildrone Explorer USVs in two incidents, on August 29–30 and September 1.

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