Lifeboat Foundation

Summary: Young people who experienced complex early life trauma as a result of interpersonal violence or child abuse had more severe mental health problems and cognitive impairments than their peers with no exposure to trauma.

Source: King’s College London.

New research from King’s has explored whether different types of trauma confer the same risk of future mental illness, in the first study of its kind.

What do you do at different times in the day? What do you eat? How do you interact with your neighbors? These are some of the questions that biologists would love to ask communities of microbes, from those that live in extreme environments deep in the ocean to those that cause chronic infections in humans. Now, a new technique developed at Caltech can answer these questions by surveying gene expression across a population of millions of bacterial cells while still preserving the cells’ positions relative to one another.

The technique can be used to understand the wide variety of microbial communities on our planet, including the microbes that live within our gut and influence our health as well as those that colonize the roots of plants and contribute to soil health, to name a few.

The technique was developed at Caltech by Daniel Dar, a former postdoctoral scholar in the laboratory of Dianne Newman, Gordon M. Binder/Amgen Professor of Biology and Geobiology and executive officer for biology and biological engineering, and by Dr. Nina Dar, a former senior research technician in the laboratory of Long Cai, professor of biology and biological engineering. Daniel Dar is now an assistant professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. A paper describing the research appears on August 12 in the journal Science.

Jackson continues by saying that blue hydrogen is “at best an expensive distraction, and at worst a lock-in for continued fossil fuel use” which would derail goals that the country and the world have set for decarbonizing the economy. He takes particular issue with the fact that oil and gas companies have asked the UK government for decades of subsidies while also claiming that blue hydrogen will be inexpensive to produce. “If the false claims made by oil companies about the cost of blue hydrogen were true, their projects would make a profit by 2030,” he told The Guardian.

Recent studies have questioned blue hydrogen’s low-carbon bona fides.

Val Kilmer lost his voice due to throat cancer. Now, through AI technology, he has it back.

He can now use technology to replicate his voice. Video in the article below.

Continue reading “Val Kilmer Gets His Voice Back After Throat Cancer Battle Using AI Technology: Hear the Results” »

The US Army is seeking to develop a high-altitude warfare sensor that can fly over enemy territories, transmit data, and potentially even work as a jammer to disrupt an adversary’s communications system.

The project is called High-Altitude Extended-Range Long Endurance Intelligence Observation System, or HELEIOS.

Army capability manager for electronic warfare, Col. Daniel Holland, provided some key details about the device during a military forum on August 17 Army Times reported. HELEIOS will see a sensor attached to a solar glide device or an observation balloon, Holland explained.

DARPA today announced the research teams selected for the Quantum Apertures (QA) program, which seeks to develop a fundamentally new way of receiving radio frequency (RF) waveforms to improve both sensitivity and frequency agility for defense applications. The selected teams will be led by Honeywell, Northrop Grumman, ColdQuanta, and SRI International.

The QA program aims to develop RF antennas, or apertures, that use quantum techniques to alter the way the RF spectrum is accessed. The goal is to develop portable and directional RF receivers with significantly greater sensitivity, bandwidth, and dynamic range than any classical receiver available today.

“Today, commercial wireless infrastructure, the construct of spectrum use, and beyond have been dictated by a hundred years’ worth of antenna theory, originally developed by German physicist Heinrich Hertz,” said John Burke, the program manager leading the QA program. “With the introduction of quantum, we have the ability to replace the existing fundamental limits placed on antenna technology with a whole new set of rules. Quantum Apertures seeks to create a paradigm shift in the way we access and use the spectrum.”

Learn More.

Reuters.

Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robot, Atlas, has been showing off its new skill: parkour.

Continue reading “Boston Dynamics’ backflipping robot shows off new ‘parkour’ routine” »

A Hong Kong start-up company has launched an eco-friendly plastic bag dubbed “Invisible Bag” which can easily dissolve in hot water (above 80 degrees Celsius). More importantly, its ingredients are non-toxic and will not cause harm to the environment.

It started by Devana Ng and her French husband Flavien Chaussegros, who are passionate about trail running. Last year, they saw the mountains full of plastic waste and decided to do their part for the planet by reducing the amount of waste. They founded Distinctive Action to promote sustainable and environmentally friendly products. The Invisible Bag is made of Polyvinyl Alcohol (known as PVA) together with plant-based starch, glycerin and water.

After soaking in water for a few minutes, the Invisible Bag will dissolve in hot water, which will turn milky white. However, it is environmentally safe, non-toxic, biodegradable, and leaves no microplastics behind, according to the Distinctive Action’s official website.

Economists have learned that new technological breakthroughs usually don’t cause a jump in productivity right away. The technology needs time to marinate so companies can test how best to deploy it in their industry. Brynjolfsson argues artificial intelligence and machine learning have now simmered long enough to make a dramatic difference. Others are not as convinced.

Rapid adoption of robots and artificial intelligence during the pandemic combined with a rebound in government investment is making some economists optimistic about a return of a 1990s economy with widespread benefits.