Lifeboat Foundation

Did life ever exist on Mars, and if so, how did it get there? This is the goal of NASA’s Curiosity rover, which has traversed Gale Crater on Mars since 2012. But a recent finding by the car-sized robotic explorer could help bring scientists one step closer to answering these questions as Curiosity sent back images of yellow crystals revealed to be deposits of elemental sulfur, along with an entire field of them. This finding was accidentally “un-earthed” as Curiosity drove over them during its excursions. While scientists didn’t anticipate finding elemental sulfur in this region, this finding could hold the potential to help piece together the geologic history of Gale Crater and whether life once existed there.

Recent image of elemental sulfur crystals obtained by NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems)

“Finding a field of stones made of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert,” said Dr. Ashwin Vasavada, who is a project scientist on Curiosity at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “It shouldn’t be there, so now we have to explain it. Discovering strange and unexpected things is what makes planetary exploration so exciting.”

The fighter’s new engines can power laser weapons and enable a “pilot optional” mode.

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How many Earth-like planets exist throughout the universe? This is what recent talk given at the National Astronomy Meeting 2024 hopes to address as Dr. David Brown, who is a scientist on the European Space Agency’s (ESA) PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) mission, provided an update on the mission and the goals it hopes to achieve. This comes as PLATO is currently scheduled to launch in December 2026 with the goal of finding Earth-like planets throughout the universe, which could greatly expand our knowledge of exoplanets, as well.

“PLATO’s goal is to search for exoplanets around stars similar to the Sun and at orbital periods long enough for them to be in the habitable zone,” said Dr. Brown. “One of the main mission objectives is to find another Earth-Sun equivalent pair, but it is also designed to carefully and precisely characterize the exoplanets that it finds (i.e. work out their masses, radii, and bulk density).”

Some of the questions touch on x-risks and EA. Enjoy. http://faroutinitoative.com

Vayu is already witnessing significant traction, with as many as 20 enterprises piloting it’s novel technology and over 100 on a waitlist.

Nanotransfection is very useful and could be used as a way to heal oneself on a smartphone in one touch with cell reprogramming and much more like gene transfer.

Tissue nanotransfection (TNT), a cutting-edge technique of in vivo gene therapy, has gained substantial attention in various applications ranging from in vivo tissue reprogramming in regenerative medicine, and wound healing to cancer treatment. This technique harnesses the advancements in the semiconductor processes, facilitating the integration of conventional transdermal gene delivery methods—nanoelectroporation and microneedle technologies. TNT silicon chips have demonstrated considerable promise in reprogramming fibroblast cells of skin in vivo into vascular or neural cells in preclinical studies to assist in the recovery of injured limbs and damaged brain tissue. More recently, the application of TNT chips has been extended to the area of exosomes, which are vital for intracellular communication to track their functionality during the wound healing process.

Fusion vessels have a Goldilocks problem: The plasma within needs to be hot enough to generate net power, but if it’s too hot, it can damage the vessel’s interior. Researchers at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) are exploring ways to draw away excess heat, including several methods that use liquid metal.

One possibility, say researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy Lab, involves flowing liquid lithium up and down a series of slats in tiles lining the bottom of the vessel. The liquid metal could also help to protect the components that face the plasma against a bombardment of particles known as neutrons.

“The prevailing option for an economical commercial fusion reactor is a compact design,” said PPPL’s Egemen Kolemen, co-author of a 2022 paper on the research and an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. However, compactness makes handling the heat flux and neutron bombardment a bigger challenge.

The challenges posed by solar and wind generators are real. They are inherently variable, producing electricity only when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing. To ensure reliable energy supplies, grids dominated by renewables need “firming” capacity: back-up technology that can supply electricity on demand.

Some, including the Albanese government, argue gas-fired generators are needed to fill the gap. Others, such as the Coalition, say renewables can’t “keep the lights on” at all and Australia should pursue nuclear energy instead.

But a new way to firm up the world’s electricity grids is fast developing: sodium-ion batteries. This emerging energy storage technology could be a game-changer – enabling our grids to run on 100% renewables.

“Significant effort has been invested over the years to pinpoint the physical cause of the radiation drive-deficit problem,” Chen said. “We are excited about this discovery as it helps resolve a decade-long puzzle in ICF research. Our findings point the way to an improvement in the predictive capabilities of simulations, which is crucial for the success of future fusion experiments.”

In NIF experiments, scientists use a device called a hohlraum—approximately the size of a pencil eraser—to convert laser energy into X-rays, which then compress a fuel capsule to achieve fusion.

For years, there has been a problem where the predicted X-ray energy (drive) was higher than what was measured in experiments. This results in the time of peak neutron production, or “bangtime,” occurring roughly 400 picoseconds too early in simulations. This discrepancy is known as the “drive-deficit” because modelers had to artificially reduce the laser drive in the simulations to match observed bangtime.