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Jun 23, 2021

A mega comet has entered our Solar System: Observations place it closer than Neptune

Posted by in category: space

O„ o!!!


Estimated to be between 100 to 370 kilometres in width, the object is bigger than the normal specification of a comet and is likely to be a dwarf planet.

A 6, 00000 year orbit

Continue reading “A mega comet has entered our Solar System: Observations place it closer than Neptune” »

Jun 23, 2021

Anti-aging Protein in Blood Cells Helps Slow Cognitive Decline

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension, neuroscience

An aging/longevity link, (not sure how novel)


As life expectancies around the world increase, so are the number of people who will experience age-related cognitive decline. The amount of oxygen in the blood declines with age. Aging in the brain might be naturally held at bay by adenosine receptor A2B (ADORA2B), a protein on the membrane of red blood cells which is known to help release oxygen from the blood cells so it can be used by the body.

Aging in the brain is naturally reduced by ADORA2B, which helps get oxygen to the brain when needed. Further testing will be needed to determine whether ADORA2B levels naturally decline with age and whether treatment with drugs that activate ADORA2B can reduce cognitive decline in normal mice.

Continue reading “Anti-aging Protein in Blood Cells Helps Slow Cognitive Decline” »

Jun 23, 2021

Aliens May Already Have Discovered Us

Posted by in category: alien life

An interesting new paper about alien civilizations on our level of technology which may be able to observe us. For more info, see:


Our planet’s shadow against the Sun could have been seen from thousands of nearby solar systems.

Jun 23, 2021

DeepMind wants to use its AI to cure neglected diseases

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI

In 2020, DeepMind solved one of biology’s biggest challenges. Now it’s working on using its AI to find drugs to target neglected diseases.

Jun 23, 2021

Best practices for IT teams to prevent ransomware attacks

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, finance

Putting IT security practices in place will enable organizations to prevent ransomware attacks and help IT teams combat security challenges.


According to Check Point research, the number of organizations affected by ransomware has been growing at 9% monthly since the start of the year. From WannaCry, Petya, and SamSam to Ryuk, these ransomware attacks have caused huge financial and reputation losses for both public and private sector organizations – the recent attacks on Colonial Pipeline are just the latest example.

Organizations are in a tight spot to prevent these cyberattacks and safeguard what they have built over the years. While IT teams are already battling the challenges of securing remote endpoints in the changing work sphere, the rise in cyberattacks has added additional responsibilities on their shoulders.

Jun 23, 2021

Synthetic tree enhances solar steam generation for harvesting drinking water

Posted by in categories: climatology, solar power, sustainability

About 2.2 billion people globally lack reliable access to clean drinking water, according to the United Nations, and the growing impacts of climate change are likely to worsen this reality.

Solar steam generation (SSG) has emerged as a promising for water harvesting, desalination, and purification that could benefit people who need it most in remote communities, disaster-relief areas, and developing nations. In Applied Physics Letters, Virginia Tech researchers developed a synthetic tree to enhance SSG.

SSG turns into heat. Water from a storage tank continuously wicks up small, floating porous columns. Once water reaches the layer of photothermal material, it evaporates, and the steam is condensed into drinking water.

Jun 23, 2021

Cosmic filaments may be the biggest spinning objects in space

Posted by in category: cosmology

Filaments of dark matter and galaxies, which can stretch millions of light-years, might help astronomers figure out the origins of cosmic spin.

Jun 23, 2021

Starliner capsule fueled for unpiloted test flight to International Space Station

Posted by in category: space

Boeing finished loading hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide maneuvering propellants over the weekend into the company’s second space-rated Starliner capsule at the Kennedy Space Center, days after stacking of its Atlas 5 launcher began a few miles away at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The capsule is scheduled to launch July 30 at 2:53 p.m. EDT (1853 GMT) on a test flight to the space station. If all goes according to plan, it will clear the way for Boeing to carry astronauts to the station, possibly before the end of this year.

That will be welcome news to NASA, which has funded the Starliner spacecraft’s development through its a commercial crew program in a cost-sharing arrangement with Boeing. NASA’s commercial crew contracts with Boeing since 2010 are valued at more than $5 billion.

Jun 23, 2021

Deep reinforcement learning will transform manufacturing as we know it

Posted by in categories: economics, information science, robotics/AI, transportation

If you walk down the street shouting out the names of every object you see — garbage truck! bicyclist! sycamore tree! — most people would not conclude you are smart. But if you go through an obstacle course, and you show them how to navigate a series of challenges to get to the end unscathed, they would.

Most machine learning algorithms are shouting names in the street. They perform perceptive tasks that a person can do in under a second. But another kind of AI — deep reinforcement learning — is strategic. It learns how to take a series of actions in order to reach a goal. That’s powerful and smart — and it’s going to change a lot of industries.

Two industries on the cusp of AI transformations are manufacturing and supply chain. The ways we make and ship stuff are heavily dependent on groups of machines working together, and the efficiency and resiliency of those machines are the foundation of our economy and society. Without them, we can’t buy the basics we need to live and work.

Jun 23, 2021

EPA to review part of cancer-linked chemical regulation after industry request

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will reconsider decisions underlying a rule governing emissions of a chemical that it has deemed carcinogenic following a request from an industry group.

The agency told stakeholders in letters dated last week that it would reconsider its risk information for ethylene oxide, a chemical the EPA currently says is carcinogenic if it is inhaled.

The EPA also said it would reconsider its prior decision not to use a much lower risk finding from the state of Texas as an alternative risk value.