Lifeboat Foundation

Songs exhibit universal patterns across cultures.

The Lockheed Martin and U.S. Air Force conducted a planned flight test of the unarmed, developmental Mk21A reentry vehicle in the Pacific Ocean on June 17. Mk21A is the U.S. Air Force’s integrated reentry vehicle and the critical front-end of the service’s future intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) weapon system. This flight test from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, tested Lockheed Martin’s Mk21A design components and technologies for the vehicle. It also continues Lockheed Martin’s leadership and expertise in developing effective and reliable reentry vehicle technology.

This testing is done through Lockheed Martin’s Engineering and Manufacturing Development contract with the Air Force Nuclear Systems Center. Data collected during the event will further inform Mk21A design and future flight test activities. The company’s Mk21A program is on-schedule. Lockheed Martin is maturing its Mk21A design, which includes the arming and fuzing subsystem and support equipment, using advanced digital engineering tools, including advanced modeling and simulation. This allows for efficiency in schedule, reduced cost and risk, and increased confidence in system performance.

“This progress is built on a strong foundation—Lockheed Martin’s 65-plus years of demonstrated exceptional performance in reentry technologies and a pioneering digital engineering approach on this program from its beginning,” said Jay Watson, vice president of Strategic Reentry at Lockheed Martin. “We remain focused on delivering this capability for the warfighter as a trusted partner to the U.S. Air Force for ICBM reentry systems and modernization of the deterrent triad.”

Hausjärvi, FINLAND— A Chinese launch of the joint Sino-French SVOM mission to study Gamma-ray bursts early Saturday saw toxic rocket debris fall over a populated area.

A Long March 2C rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 3:00 a.m. Eastern (0700 UTC) June 22, sending the Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) mission satellite into orbit.

The launch was declared successful by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) a short time after liftoff.

A study shows music evokes consistent emotional and physical responses globally, driven by inherent biological mechanisms, not culture. Music influences feelings in different body parts based on the emotion it conveys, supporting its role in social bonding.

New research shows that music evokes similar emotions and bodily sensations around the world. The study, by the Turku PET Centre in Finland, was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Music can be felt directly in the body. When we hear our favorite catchy song, we are overcome with the urge to move to the music. Music can activate our autonomic nervous system and even cause shivers down the spine. A new study from the Turku PET Centre in Finland shows how emotional music evokes similar bodily sensations across cultures.

Geospatial data has undergone significant transformations due to the internet and smartphones, revolutionizing accessibility and real-time updates.

A collaborative international team reviewed this evolution, highlighting growth opportunities and challenges.

‘Seismic Shift’ to Crowdsourced Scientific Data Presents Promising Opportunities.

A research team is studying how light moves through special circuits called optical waveguides, using a concept called topology. They’ve made an important discovery that combines stable light paths with light particle interactions, which could make quantum computers more reliable and lead to new technological advancements.

Scientific innovation often arises as synthesis from seemingly unrelated concepts. For instance, the reciprocity of electricity and magnetism paved the way for Maxwell’s theory of light, which, up until now, is continually being refined and extended with ideas from quantum mechanics.

Similarly, the research group of Professor Alexander Szameit at the Institute of Physics at the University of Rostock explores light evolution in optical waveguide circuits in the presence of topology. This abstract mathematical concept was initially developed to classify solid geometries according to their global properties. Szameit explains: “In topological systems, light only follows the global characteristics of the waveguide system. Local perturbations to the waveguides such as defects, vacancies, and disorder cannot divert its path.”

Researchers have successfully manipulated the structural properties of magnetite using light-induced phase transitions.

This technique uncovered hidden phases of magnetite, paving the way for new approaches to material manipulation in electronics.

Breakthrough in magnetite phase transition research.

Researchers at the University of Utah Health have discovered that “time cells” in mice are crucial for learning tasks where timing is critical. These cells change their firing patterns as mice learn to distinguish between timed events, suggesting a role beyond just measuring time. This finding could help in the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s by highlighting the importance of the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC), which is among the first brain regions affected by such diseases.

Researchers at the University of Utah Health found that “time cells” in mice adapt to learning timed tasks, a discovery that could aid early Alzheimer’s detection by monitoring changes in a key brain region.

Our perception of time is crucial to our interaction with and understanding of the world around us. Whether we’re engaging in a conversation or driving a car, we need to remember and gauge the duration of events—a complex but largely unconscious calculation running constantly beneath the surface of our thoughts.

As space travel becomes more common, it is important to consider the impacts of space flight and altered gravity on the human body. Led by Dr. Ana Diaz Artiles, researchers at Texas A&M University are studying some of those impacts, specifically effects on the eye. The findings are published in the journal npj Microgravity.