Lifeboat Foundation

A new way to probe exotic matter aids the study of atomic and particle physics.

Physicists have created a new way to observe details about the structure and composition of materials that improves upon previous methods. Conventional spectroscopy changes the frequency of light shining on a sample over time to reveal details about them. The new technique, Rabi-oscillation spectroscopy, does not need to explore a wide frequency range so can operate much more quickly. This method could be used to interrogate our best theories of matter in order to form a better understanding of the material universe.

Though we cannot see them with the naked eye, we are all familiar with the atoms that make up everything we see around us. Collections of positive protons, neutral neutrons and negative electrons give rise to all the matter we interact with. However, there are some more exotic forms of matter, including exotic atoms, which are not made from these three basic components. Muonium, for example, is like hydrogen, which typically has one electron in orbit around one proton, but has a positively charged muon particle in place of the proton.

Researchers at CU Boulder have developed a platform which can quickly identify common mutations on the SARS-CoV-2 virus that allow it to escape antibodies and infect cells.

Published today in Cell Reports, the research marks a major step toward successfully developing a universal vaccine for not only COVID-19, but also potentially for influenza, HIV and other deadly global viruses.

“We’ve developed a predictive tool that can tell you ahead of time which antibodies are going to be effective against circulating strains of virus,” said lead author Timothy Whitehead, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering. “But the implications for this technology are more profound: If you can predict what the variants will be in a given season, you could get vaccinated to match the sequence that will occur and short-circuit this seasonal variation.”

Continue reading “Mutation-mapping tool could yield stronger COVID boosters, universal vaccines” »

Public transportation just got way cooler. Premium Swedish electric boat maker Candela has just unveiled the new Candela P-12, an electric hydrofoil water taxi.

Designed to replace traditional diesel-powered ferries, the Candela P-12 uses an electric powertrain combined with a carbon fiber hull and hydrofoils to create a super-efficient drive system.

The 8.5 meter (28 foot) water taxi can fit up to 12 passengers in its panoramic-view cabin.

For drone racing enthusiasts. 😃

If you follow autonomous drone racing, you likely remember the crashes as much as the wins. In drone racing, teams compete to see which vehicle is better trained to fly fastest through an obstacle course. But the faster drones fly, the more unstable they become, and at high speeds their aerodynamics can be too complicated to predict. Crashes, therefore, are a common and often spectacular occurrence.

Continue reading “System trains drones to fly around obstacles at high speeds” »

These amazing aerial shots provide a unique perspective of our planet.

Learn More.

World Economic Forum.

Continue reading “Here’s what astronauts can teach us about coping with isolation” »

😀

You know, for science.

About 2,000 light-years away from Earth, there is a star catapulting toward the edge of the Milky Way. This particular star, known as LP 40–365, is one of a unique breed of fast-moving stars—remnant pieces of massive white dwarf stars—that have survived in chunks after a gigantic stellar explosion.

“This star is moving so fast that it’s almost certainly leaving the galaxy…[it’s] moving almost two million miles an hour,” says JJ Hermes, Boston University College of Arts & Sciences assistant professor of astronomy. But why is this flying object speeding out of the Milky Way? Because it’s a piece of shrapnel from a past explosion—a cosmic event known as a supernova—that’s still being propelled forward.

Researchers demonstrate in a mouse model that when older mice have the gut microbiota of younger mice, they display behavioral qualities of younger mice too.