Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog – Page 5,104

Get the latest international news and world events from around the world.

Log in for authorized contributors

Breakthrough Material Separates Heavy Water From Normal Water at Room Temperature

A flipping action in a porous material facilitates the passage of normal water to separate it out from heavy water.

A research group led by Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University’s Institute for Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), Japan and Cheng Gu of South China University of Technology, China have made a material that can effectively separate heavy water from normal water at room temperature. Until now, this process has been very difficult and energy intensive. The findings have implications for industrial – and even biological – processes that involve using different forms of the same molecule. The scientists reported their results in the journal Nature.

Isotopologues are molecules that have the same chemical formula and whose atoms bond in similar arrangements, but at least one of their atoms has a different number of neutrons than the parent molecule. For example, a water molecule (H2O) is formed of one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms. The nucleus of each of the hydrogen atoms contains one proton and no neutrons. In heavy water (D2O), on the other hand, the deuterium (D) atoms are hydrogen isotopes with nuclei containing one proton and one neutron. Heavy water has applications in nuclear reactors, medical imaging, and in biological investigations.

Hubble spots a peculiar galaxy with long, twisting space tentacles

At some point in its history, ESO 415–19 had a close encounter with another galaxy, and it’s never been the same since. The gravity from that passing galaxy drew parts of ESO 415–19 outward into long, curving streams of stars and dust — and then the other galaxy moved on, leaving ESO 415–19 with its arms still stretching out into space.

Astronomers call these bizarrely long arms tidal streams, and they’re what earned ESO 415–19 its coveted place in the Arp Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, a catalog of 338 of the weirdest galaxies in the known universe.

Physician, heal thyself?

Following established guidelines about prescription drugs would seem to be an obvious course of action, especially for the professionals that do the prescribing. Yet doctors and their family members are less likely than other people to comply with those guidelines, according to a large-scale study co-authored by an MIT economist.

Depending on your perspective, that result might seem surprising or it might produce a knowing nod. Either way, the result is contrary to past scholarly hypotheses. Many experts have surmised that knowing more, and having easier communication with medical providers, leads patients to follow instructions more closely.

MIT’s zero-electricity cooling system could tackle the hottest regions of the world

Claiming 3rd place, we look at how a zero-electricity cooling system could meet the world’s growing AC needs.

The fact that as the Earth warms, the technology needed by humans to stay cool will only make the environment hotter is one of the great ironies of climate change.

Here’s where a novel device unveiled by MIT researchers in October comes in.

Ibrahim Can/Interesting Engineering.

The number of energy-intensive air conditioning systems is projected to quadruple to 14 billion by 2050, putting a strain on existing power grids. Better yet, the increase in cooling alone will account for a 0.5-degree Celsius rise in global temperatures, according to the World Economic Forum.

ChatGPT: The AI-powered Chatbot that is equal parts brilliant and terrifying

At number 4 on IE’s list of 22 best innovations is ChatGPT, an AI-powered Chatbot that gained over 1 million registered users in just 5 days after release.

The year 2022 saw a host of brilliant inventions, ranging from the James Webb Space Telescope, the HIV vaccine, and DALL-E, to transparent solar windows. But just when we thought the year had seen its fair share of excellence and innovation, ChatGPT caught us by surprise.

Developed by the OpenAI foundation, an independent research body founded by Elon Musk, the Artificial Intelligence-powered chatbot released on November 30, is everything mind-blowing, bizarre, and daunting. The San Francisco-based company is also responsible for the breakthrough image generator DALL-E 2.

Researchers could observe the middle corona of the sun in a world first

Thanks to a novel technique, scientists are now a step closer to solving a key mystery about the origins of solar wind.

Researchers have discovered web-like plasma structures in the Sun’s middle corona, according to a recent study published in Nature Astronomy.

The results bring us closer to solving a fundamental mystery about solar wind’s origins and its connections with other solar system bodies.

NASA engineer teaches AI to be ‘GPS-like’ to guide astronauts over the lunar surface

An AI system is being developed to lead explorers around the lunar surface.

Without instruments like the GPS we have on Earth, scientists have been attempting for years to figure out how to travel over the lunar surface.

Landmarks like trees or buildings on Earth can serve as fuzzy but useful distance measures-features that are non-existent on the Moon.

NASA/Reese Patillo.

Since the Moon’s atmosphere is significantly thinner than Earth’s, it is challenging to determine the size and distance of distant landmarks when looking at the horizon.

Continue reading “NASA engineer teaches AI to be ‘GPS-like’ to guide astronauts over the lunar surface” | >