Lifeboat Foundation

Uber and OpenAI researchers say an advance in Go-Explore AI in beating Atari games could have applications for robotics and drug design.

A new laser thruster could be a step towards new technology to push satellites rapidly between planets.

The demonstration model of the Photonic Laser Thruster (PLT) moved a 750-gram mock satellite along a track in the laboratory using only the power of light.

Volunteer students at Beihang University have reportedly lived in the Lunar Palace 1 biosphere environment for 370 days. Media outlets have reported that two groups of students took turns living in the biosphere over the course of 370 days, and required minimal supplies from the outside.

Many groups have tried building and living in biospheres over the years. The goal has always been to find out if it is possible to build a self-sustaining ecosystem that could be used on another planet. The most well-known was Biosphere 2—it was built in the Arizona desert and hosted people for two years, but ultimately failed in its goal to remain self-supporting. However, such efforts have led to a better understanding of how a real biosphere might work and how plants might be grown beyond Earth.

Over the past several years, the Chinese government has made it clear that they plan to send people to the moon in the coming years. They also plan to build a permanent colony there, to be shared with other countries, as soon as it is feasible. As part of that effort, they have been planning, building and testing biospheres since 2014. In 2017, they finished construction of the Lunar Palace 1 biosphere. Once set up and tested, four volunteers entered the facility and stayed for 110 days. Shortly thereafter, another group moved into the biosphere and stayed for 65 days—they were replaced immediately by another team who spent 200 days in the test environment. That team was then replaced by the first team, which spent an additional 105 days in the facility. Altogether, the two groups spent 370 consecutive days in the biosphere.

A former graduate student reflects on how Isadore Singer, who died on February 11, brought together mathematicians, physicists and anyone else interested in the deeper connections between diverse fields.

Astronomers using data from the eROSITA X-ray telescope aboard the Spektrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) observatory have detected the largest supernova remnant ever discovered with X-rays.

Have you ever heard of “Allostatic Load” and “Operator Syndrome?”

I stumbled across the work of Christopher Frueh while doing some research on physiological, psychological and hormonal stress mitigation. Frueh, along with his team of researchers, psychologists and former SOF operators, has been exploring the human mind, defining PTSD and outlining Special Operator’s Syndrome. This is one of the only programs in the country specifically designed to help those suffering from this condition.

“Allostatic load” is the cost on your body of chronic stress and physical demands of a career with the military special forces, according to Science Direct. The military recipe for “burning the candle at both ends” includes high intensity physical fitness training, the high stress of operations and being away from home, the trauma of witnessing death, war or injury. Add in the inability to sleep or eat well, and the operator limits the two main recovery responses, which leads to chronic stress. This adds up to Allostatic Overload.

This enables scientists to determine an organism’s biological age with high precision. Get the details here.

A study of a guaranteed income program in Stockton, California, found that after receiving an extra $500 in cash each month for a year, recipients had better job prospects and improved mental health.

As part of the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) pilot program, 125 people in the California city received $500 per month for 24 months starting in February 2019. The program, initiated by former Mayor Michael Tubbs, chose recipients in neighborhoods at or below the city’s median household income of $46033. The money, in prepaid debit cards, was unconditional, meaning people could spend it as they chose.

A study released Wednesday based on the first year of the project, from February 2019 to February 2020, found that beneficiaries got full-time jobs at over twice the rate of non-recipients, were less anxious and depressed over time, and reported improvements in emotional health, well-being and fatigue.

Researchers at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) have developed a wearable health monitor that may bring us one step closer to the dream of Star Trek’s famous tricorder.

The monitor, a stretchy skin patch, can do it all: measuring blood pressure and heart rate, your glucose levels, as well as one of alcohol, caffeine, or lactate levels.

According to UCSD’s press release, the patch is the first device to demonstrate measuring multiple biochemical and cardiovascular signals at the same time.