Lifeboat Foundation

We — educators, scientists, psychologists — started an educational non-profit Earthlings Hub, to help out the kids, affected by the war. We talk to them about STEM, but also about the complexity of the world, philosophy of science, future, and existential risks. We also offer psychological help to their parents. Our advisory board includes NASA astronaut Greg Chamitoff, lead AI researcher Joscha Bach, Professor of Learning and Cognition, author of Netlogo language Uri Wilensky, lead early math educator Maria Droujkova and others. Please share, participate, donate! https://www.earthlingshub.org/

Elon Musk discussed a humanoid robot Tesla is making called Optimus, saying, “We could download the things that we believe make ourselves so unique.”

The longest drone corridor in the world could be built in the U.K., linking multiple cities across the country and representing the most ambitious British transport project since the railway network in the 18th century.

The longest drone corridor in the world could be built in the U.K., linking multiple cities across the country and representing the most ambitious British transport project since the railway network in the 18th century.

The first galaxies in the universe are a mystery to us — but that could soon change.

The cosmos has come a long way (pun intended). But the most fantastic story of all time isn’t fully understood — especially the early chapters, ‘written’ in history during the first two to three hundred million years of the universe’s 13.8 billion-year existence.

The James Webb Space Telescope could be the key. The observatory can look about three times as far back in time than the iconic Hubble. The Webb will detect infrared wavelengths long enough to pierce through the dense smog of all the light and dust that sits between Earth and the furthest galactic posts, revealing information about the ancient universe where these wavelengths began their journey through space billions of years ago.

Continue reading “Engage! Webb Telescope prepares to unlock the secrets of galactic evolution” »

Researchers in Japan have developed a new machine learning system for a two-armed robot – enabling it to identify, pick up, and peel a banana.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a new machine learning system for a two-armed robot – enabling it to identify, pick up, and peel a banana.

The manipulation of deformable objects, like soft fruits, is problematic for robots, because of difficulties in object modelling and a lack of knowledge about the type of force and dexterity needed.

Continue reading “Robot peels banana with deep learning” »

Dust that accumulates on solar panels is a major problem, but washing the panels uses huge amounts of water. MIT engineers have now developed a waterless cleaning method to remove dust on solar installations in water-limited regions, improving overall efficiency.

The software takes a protein’s structure and designs proteins that stick to it.

Scientists have confirmed the speed of sound on Mars, using equipment on the Perseverance rover to study the red planet’s atmosphere, which is very different to Earth’s.

What they discovered could have some strange consequences for communication between future Martians.

The findings suggest that trying to talk in Mars’ atmosphere might produce a weird effect, since higher-pitched sound seems to travel faster than bass notes. Not that we’d try, since Mars’ atmosphere is unbreathable, but it’s certainly fun to think about!

The research has been snapped up by pharmaceutical giant Teva, and according to the lead author could mean an ‘arsenal of new drugs’.