Lifeboat Foundation

Scientists begin the countdown to July 12 date with Webb images. Launched in December 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope, the observatory, is all set to ensure it is ready for science.

Webb’s Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) recently captured a view of stars and galaxies that provides a tantalizing glimpse at what the telescope’s science instruments will reveal in the coming weeks, months, and years.

The resulting engineering test image is among the deepest images of the universe ever taken, representing highly faint objects, and is now the deepest image of the infrared sky. Bright stars stand out with their six long, sharply defined diffraction spikes. This was the effect of Webb’s six-sided mirror segments. Beyond the stars – galaxies fill nearly the entire background.

Don SpantonUmmm so what?

Worms experience pain. Pigs, chickens also experience pain. … See more.

Nicholi AveryAuthor.

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Krishna Shenoy helps to restore lost function for disabled patients by designing prosthetic devices that can translate neural brain activity.

Krishna Shenoy directs the Neural Prosthetic Systems Lab, where his group conducts neuroscience and neuro-engineering research to better understand how the brain controls movement and to design medical systems to assist those with movement disabilities. Shenoy also co-directs the Neural Prosthetics Translational Lab, which uses these advances to help people with severe motor disabilities. Shenoy received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from UC-Irvine and his master’s and doctoral degrees in the same field from MIT. He was a neurobiology postdoctoral fellow at Caltech in Pasadena and then joined Stanford University, where he is a professor of electrical engineering, bioengineering and neurobiology.

These incredible objects will dazzle like never before in new images.

The Webb team will release a stunning nebula, a scorching hot planet, a “glowing pool of light,” a group of five galaxies, and a patch of deep sky galaxies.

The first tandem perovskite-silicon solar cells to exceed 30% efficiency have been independently certified.

A predecessor to Tyrannosaurus rex, Meraxes gigas had a giant head and puny but muscular arms, suggesting the limbs served some purpose.

We have developed a new method to look for carbon compounds in space, akin to prospecting for oil on Earth. Our method is published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Between the stars lie vast amounts of interstellar gas and dust, spread thinly throughout our galaxy. The dust can contain compounds of carbon. When it does we call it carbonaceous interstellar dust. This is an important reservoir for the organic material in space. The continual cycle of material between the stars and the gas in the interstellar medium in our galaxy leads to the delivery of organic molecules to newly forming planetary systems.

A special sub-class of organic molecules called prebiotic molecules are thought to play a major role in the formation of life on Earth. Such prebiotic molecules are likely preserved in carbonaceous interstellar dust that are gathered together in planetesimals, in an early stage of planetary formation. The chemical composition in such environments may determine the planet’s hospitality to the formation of life there. Therefore, it is important to understand the life cycle of carbonaceous interstellar dust to study this possibility further.

The basic design of the toothbrush hasn’t changed in a thousand years — sure, there are motors, different materials, and funky shapes, but they’re all still sticks with bristles attached. A team from the University of Pennsylvania believes it’s time to shake things up. In a new study, the researchers have shown that shapeshifting nanoparticles can successfully clean teeth, replacing all the manual labor with a nano-scale robotic dance. Not only can these particles be transformed into tooth-cleaning shapes, but their action can have antimicrobial effects that destroy plaque-causing bacteria.

This project came together quite by accident. A group from the Penn School of Dental Medicine under professor Hyun (Michel) Koo was interested in leveraging the catalytic activity of nanoparticles to release free radicals that could kill microbes on the teeth. Meanwhile, senior engineering researcher Edward Steagar was spearheading work at the Penn School of Engineering and Applied Sciences on assembling nanoparticles into robots. Bringing these projects together gave us the sci-fi gray goo toothbrush.

The combined team used magnetic fields to manipulate iron oxide nanoparticles, testing them first on a slab of tooth-like material. Next, the team moved to 3D-printed copies of teeth. Finally, they tested the nanoparticle brushes on real teeth that were mounted in a realistic way to simulate a human mouth. The tests show these nanoparticles can form brush-like shapes capable of scrubbing off the biofilms that lead to tooth decay. They can also flow between teeth like floss. All the while, the nanoparticles promote the production of free radicals that further eliminate bacteria.

New photos shared by SpaceX show that the company has nearly finished installing a total of 39 upgraded Raptor engines on a new Starship and its Super Heavy booster.

Those prototypes – known as Ship 24 and Booster 7 – could be tasked with supporting Starship’s first orbital launch attempt sometime later this year if both make it through upcoming test campaigns without major issues. Whether that’s a probable outcome is still uncertain but recent progress suggests that it won’t take long for the prospects of both prototypes to shift into clearer focus.

After several rounds of proof testing and two trips to and from SpaceX’s Starbase, Texas orbital launch site (OLS) in March, April, and May, Super Heavy Booster 7 (B7) made its third trip to the pad on June 23rd.