Lifeboat Foundation

How many black holes are out there in the Universe? This is one of the most relevant and pressing questions in modern astrophysics and cosmology. The intriguing issue has recently been addressed by the SISSA Ph.D. student Alex Sicilia, supervised by Prof. Andrea Lapi and Dr. Lumen Boco, together with other collaborators from SISSA and from other national and international institutions. In a first paper of a series just published in The Astrophysical Journal, the authors have investigated the demographics of stellar mass black holes, which are black holes with masses between a few to some hundred solar masses, that originated at the end of the life of massive stars. According to the new research, a remarkable amount around 1% of the overall ordinary (baryonic) matter of the Universe is locked up in stellar mass black holes. Astonishingly, the researchers have found that the number of black holes within the observable Universe (a sphere of diameter around 90 billions light years) at present time is about 40 trillions, 40 billion billions (i.e., about 40 × 10¹⁸, i.e. 4 followed by 19 zeros!).

A new method to calculate the number of black holes

As the authors of the research explain: This important result has been obtained thanks to an original approach which combines the state-of-the-art stellar and binary evolution code SEVN developed by SISSA researcher Dr. Mario Spera to empirical prescriptions for relevant physical properties of galaxies, especially the rate of star formation, the amount of stellar mass and the metallicity of the interstellar medium (which are all important elements to define the number and the masses of stellar black holes). Exploiting these crucial ingredients in a self-consistent approach, thanks to their new computation approach, the researchers have then derived the number of stellar black holes and their mass distribution across the whole history of the Universe.

The flexible electronic skin is packed with sensors, wireless transmitters, and tiny vibrating magnets that provide haptic feedback to users.

Hoffmann La Roche.

Ms. Fanny Sie is the One Roche Head of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Health, at F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. (https://www.roche.com/), a multinational healthcare company that operates in both the Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics segments, and in 2021 was the world’s largest pharma company by revenue.

Continue reading “Innovating Meaningful & Impactful Health System Transformation — Fanny Sie — One Roche Head of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Health, F” »

Mile-long, slow-moving diesel trains loaded with cargo chugging slowly across the U.S. could be a thing of the past one day if stealth startup Parallel Systems has its way. The Los Angeles company thinks the future of freight lies in autonomous battery-powered trains that squeeze far more capacity out of existing rail lines.

Founded by a trio of former SpaceX engineers, including CEO Matt Soule, Parallel’s idea for smaller, flexible zero-emission trains pulling no more than 50 cars and operating with greater frequency than traditional behemoths that haul over 150 boxcars at a time caught the attention of tech-oriented venture firms, including Anthos Capital, Congruent Ventures, Riot Ventures and Embark Ventures. With their backing and from other investors, Parallel just raised $49.6 million to refine prototypes and software for its futuristic trains and, eventually, shift more freight hauling from trucks.

Full Story:

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After 22 weeks of data gathering.

The demonstration test of the world’s first fully autonomous ship navigation system was successfully carried out in Japan on January 17, according to a press release.

The large ferry has autonomously navigated over a 149 mile (240 km) stretch of Japan’s Iyonda Sea at the speed of 26 knots (30 mph or 48 kph) and also performed the docking procedures at the end of its voyage.… See more.

Continue reading “The World’s First Autonomous Ship Just Finished Its First Run in Japan” »

Estimated to be equivalent to 10 megatons of TNT.

Last weekend the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano, located just over 18 miles off the coast of Tonga’s Fonuafo’ou Island, erupted. The resulting blast was so big, it sent many nations across the world scrambling over tsunami warnings. The same volcano also made headlines with a previous eruption in 2015 that resulted in the creation of small land formations. The new eruption in 2021 has added 50 percent more landmass to the volcano-made islets. However, the recent blast was so massive it destroyed most of the land formations nearby.

Even though it has been four days since the eruption, the island nation of Tonga still remains cut off from the world with undersea communication cables cut and its airport covered in ash.

Continue reading “Tonga Volcano Eruption Was 500 Times More Powerful Than Hiroshima” »

Neutrino detectors are about to get a lot bigger.

One of the most mysterious particles in the universe are neutrinos, with only dark matter out-baffling scientists as a more puzzling phenomenon.

Continue reading “Astronomers Want to Build a Neutrino Telescope. Using the Pacific Ocean?” »

It’s time to make peace with one of the largest-known stars.

Everything is relative. By that, I mean: Jupiter, when compared to Earth, is large. Yet Jupiter, when compared to the Sun, is small. By virtue, the Sun in comparison with hypergiants is basically microscopic. Our local star actually sits right in the middle, between big and small, by star classification. There are many stars in our galaxy alone that fall on one end of the spectrum or the other. Yet, none has quite captured the imagination exactly like the “nearby” star known as VY Canis Majoris (otherwise known as HD 58,061 or HIP 35793) can.

Located approximately between 3,800 and 5,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Canis Major, VY Canis Majoris is technically classified as a red hypergiant, which means it is among the largest of stars known to exist in our galaxy. How large is it, you might ask? Well, VY Canis Major is estimated to be larger than between 1,800 and 2100 Suns, with between 15 to 25 times more mass. At its peak, it may be even weighed as much as 40 solar masses (one solar mass is equivalent to one of our suns, or 1.989 × 1,030 kg), but astronomers believe the star has moved beyond “main sequence” and is reaching the end of its stellar life span. Therefore, a significant amount of its mass has already been blown away by solar winds.

Continue reading “A Hypergiant Star Is ‘Breathing’ in Space. Has It Reached Its Death Throes?” »

What if plants could tell us when pests are attacking them, or they’re too dry, or they need more fertilizer. One startup is gene engineering farm plants so they can communicate in in fluorescent colors. The result: a farmer’s phone, drone, or even satellite imagery can reveal what is happening in hundreds of acres of fields …

That leads to better food, fewer crop failures, and more revenue for farmers.

Continue reading “Engineering plants to talk via bioluminescence” »