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May 9, 2020

China launches new rocket into space as it steps up Moon landing plans

Posted by in category: space

China plans to send an astronaut to the Moon in about a decade and then build a base there. Its lunar rover on the far side has driven about 450 metres so far.

The next big mission for Beijing is to land a probe on Mars, with liftoff expected this year.


Space agency tests new design that is billed to replace current Shenzhou module, a copy of Russia’s Soyuz.

Continue reading “China launches new rocket into space as it steps up Moon landing plans” »

May 9, 2020

NASA, partners launch virtual hackathon to develop COVID-19 solutions

Posted by in categories: astronomy, computing, cosmology, engineering, events, hacking, health, information science, innovation, open source, satellites, science, software, space

The U.S. space agency National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are inviting coders, entrepreneurs, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, artists, and technologists to participate in a virtual hackathon May 30–31 dedicated to putting open data to work in developing solutions to issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the global Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge, participants from around the world will create virtual teams that – during a 48-hour period – will use Earth observation data to propose solutions to COVID-19-related challenges ranging from studying the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and its spread to the impact the disease is having on the Earth system. Registration for this challenge opens in mid-May.

“There’s a tremendous need for our collective ingenuity right now,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “I can’t imagine a more worthy focus than COVID-19 on which to direct the energy and enthusiasm from around the world with the Space Apps Challenge that always generates such amazing solutions.”

The unique capabilities of NASA and its partner space agencies in the areas of science and technology enable them to lend a hand during this global crisis. Since the start of the global outbreak, Earth science specialists from each agency have been exploring ways to use unique Earth observation data to aid understanding of the interplay of the Earth system – on global to local scales – with aspects of the COVID-19 outbreak, including, potentially, our ability to combat it. The hackathon will also examine the human and economic response to the virus.

Continue reading “NASA, partners launch virtual hackathon to develop COVID-19 solutions” »

May 8, 2020

Space technology: trees at the root of living spaceships

Posted by in category: space travel

Circa 2016


Engineers are investigating whether living cells could be used to grow individual components of a ’bioship’

May 8, 2020

Watch Upload Season 1

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation, virtual reality

In 2033, people can be “uploaded” into virtual reality hotels run by 6 tech firms. Cash-strapped Nora lives in Brooklyn and works customer service for the luxurious “Lakeview” digital afterlife. When L.A. party-boy/coder Nathan’s self-driving car crashes, his high-maintenance girlfriend uploads him permanently into Nora’s VR world. Upload is created by Greg Daniels (The Office).

May 8, 2020

Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells : Clinical Significance and Applications in Neurologic Diseases

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


face_with_colon_three could heal body parts in humans.


The generation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from somatic cells using gene transfer opens new areas for precision medicine with personalized cell therapy and encourages the discovery of essential platforms for targeted drug development. iPSCs retain the genome of the donor, may regenerate indefinitely, and undergo differentiation into virtually any cell type of interest using a range of published protocols. There has been enormous interest among researchers regarding the application of iPSC technology to regenerative medicine and human disease modeling, in particular, modeling of neurologic diseases using patient-specific iPSCs. For instance, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and spinal cord injuries may be treated with iPSC therapy or replacement tissues obtained from iPSCs. In this review, we discuss the work so far on generation and characterization of iPSCs and focus on recent advances in the use of human iPSCs in clinical setting.

Stem cells exhibit the capacity of self-renewal and may undergo differentiation into various tissue types. These are divided into pluripotent stem cells (PSCs; embryonic stem cells [ESCs] and induced pluripotent stem cells [iPSCs]) and multipotent stem cells (adult stem cells [ASCs]) based on their differentiation capacity [45]. PSCs, including ESCs derived from embryos and iPSCs derived by gene transfer, may undergo indefinite proliferation and differentiate into different types of tissues depending on the treatment conditions [86]. Multipotent stem cells, however, may be obtained from tissue-derived precursors (umbilical cord blood, bone marrow, adipose tissue, placenta, or blood), which are already grown tissues.

May 8, 2020

Tesla patents a new battery cell that Elon Musk hypes as ‘way more important than it sounds’

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, sustainability, transportation

Tesla has patented a new battery cell with a tabless electrode that Elon Musk hypes as “way more important than it sounds.”

In the new patent application published today, Tesla explains constraints with current battery cells:

Continue reading “Tesla patents a new battery cell that Elon Musk hypes as ‘way more important than it sounds’” »

May 8, 2020

China’s first 100MW molten salt solar plant hits maximum power

Posted by in category: energy

The facility, which serves as a solar thermal power generation demonstration project, has exceeded the amount of power it was originally planned to produce.

May 8, 2020

FDA authorizes CRISPR-based test for COVID-19

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

CRISPR technology can quickly find and lock onto genetic sequences, like the one in the coronavirus. The test from Sherlock Biosciences uses that system to identify the virus in a patient sample.

May 8, 2020

Immortal avatars: Back up your brain, never die

Posted by in categories: life extension, neuroscience

Circa 2010 o.o


Futurists have long dreamed of making copies of themselves that will live forever – now researchers are working out how to do it for real.

May 8, 2020

Advance of Stem Cell Treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an important cause of human mortality and morbidity, which can induce serious neurological damage. At present, clinical treatments for neurological dysfunction after TBI include hyperbaric oxygen, brain stimulation and behavioral therapy, but the therapeutic effect is not satisfactory. Recent studies have found that exogenous stem cells can migrate to damaged brain tissue, then participate in the repair of damaged brain tissue by further differentiation to replace damaged cells, while releasing anti-inflammatory factors and growth factors, thereby significantly improving neurological function. This article will mainly review the effects, deficiencies and related mechanisms of different types of stem cells in TBI.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common and frequently occurring disease. According to the World Health Organization, TBI will become the main cause of human mortality and morbidity after 2020, which brings a heavy economic burden to patients and families (Maas et al., 2017). TBI is a disease which causes the destruction of normal brain function, and leads to serious physical, cognitive and emotional disorders. The pathophysiology of TBI mainly includes the break of the blood brain barrier (BBB), extensive neuroinflammation, diffuse axonal injury, and neurodegenerative lesions (Xiong et al., 2008). The pathological changes of brain injury are mainly the loss of normal tissue structure, destruction of neuronal cells and internal environment disturbance, among which neuronal cells injury is the key point. There is no effective drug treatment so far.