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May 25, 2021

Even If It’s A Lightsail, Oumuamua Isn’t Practical, Say Researchers

Posted by in category: space travel

Even if the interstellar object known as Oumuamua were an interstellar lightsail, it could never travel fast enough to be practical, says a new paper.

May 25, 2021

How fast we age may hinge on one unexpected mineral

Posted by in category: life extension

Your genes may have more influence than anything you put into your body when it comes to how iron relates to longevity. Here’s what you need to know.

May 24, 2021

Science Gets Closer To Making Human-Animal Chimeras

Posted by in categories: futurism, science

The recent announcement that scientists have made human-monkey embryos and cultured them in the lab for two weeks made international headlines.

The technology to make animals that contain cells from other species has been available for decades and used extensively in research. These organisms are called “chimeras”.

But this latest advance highlights the need to broaden the discussion around the possible benefits of such research and, specifically, how inter-species chimeric research should be conducted in future.

May 24, 2021

Meet The Patriots-4th of July Special

Posted by in category: futurism

It’s that time of year where the federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence of the United States, (on July 4, 1776) is celebrated. To all my American fans I hope you have an awesome day! To celebrate I’m listing my favorite superheroes to rock the “Red, White and Blue”.

Happy Independence Day (Fourth of July)!

May 24, 2021

Antibiofilm and antivirulence potential of silver nanoparticles against multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, nanotechnology

The adhesion and colonization or biofilm formation include primary stage in bacterial infections. Major adhesion virulence factors in this step include type I fimbriae (FimH) and pilli structures for attachment to the host cells7,8. Furthermore, numerous bacteria secrete toxins and extracellular enzymes which play a crucial role in the apoptosis or necrosis of epithelial cells or immunocytes. Various virulence factors of A. baumannii such as adhesins genes like kpsMII (group 2 capsule synthesis) and fimH, tratT (serum resistance associated), fyuA (yersiniabactin receptor) and iutA (aerobactin receptor) have been investigated previously9,10. An important polysaccharide for biofilm formation is encoded by pgaABCD locus11. Biofilm production is a strategy to escape from harsh conditions and immune responses, hence play as reservoirs for drug-resistant systemic infections. Biofilm-producing A. baumannii has been isolated from several infectious origins such as pneumonia and devise-associated infections. Bacterial within biofilm can resist significantly more against antibiotics compared to planktonic mode of growth12. Hence, biofilm-mediated infections are in relapse more frequently13.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to enhance the effects of antimicrobials against pathogenic bacteria. In recent years, interest has enhanced towards application of nanoparticles as therapeutic regimens14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), which have low toxicity in ecosystems and have high rate of surface capacity, can inhibit accumulation of biofilm materials responsible for evasion and protection22,23,24.

The aim of this study was to isolate A. baumannii from wound infections, determine their resistance and virulence profile, and assess the impact of AgNPs on the bacterial growth, virulence and biofilm-related gene expressions in the isolated strains.

May 24, 2021

All those electric vehicles pose a problem for building roads

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

Gas taxes are the largest source of funding for highway construction, maintenance.

May 24, 2021

Spermageddon: are humans going extinct?

Posted by in categories: biological, chemistry, economics, existential risks

A new topic a new challenge for future civilizations.

I won’t write an introduction I will ask couple of questions to make you think about it.

Continue reading “Spermageddon: are humans going extinct?” »

May 24, 2021

Take action now – FluBot malware may be on its way

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, robotics/AI

Android malware known as FluBot is continuing to cause mayhem across some European countries, and there is speculation that the threat actors behind it may decide to target other geographies, including the United States. Here’s why you should be vigilant, how FluBot operates, and how you can remove this Android nasty from your device.

It’s also worth noting that this advice will help you stay safe from other Android malware strains. In recent days, cybercriminals have begun to target Europeans with TeaBot (also known as Anatsa or Toddler), an Android malware family that uses exactly the same technique as FluBot to spread and to lure users into giving up their sensitive data. FluBot and TeaBot are detected by ESET products as variants of the Android/TrojanDropper. Agent family.

May 24, 2021

Starlink: A Review And Some Hacks

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, internet, satellites

I could probably be described as a SpaceX enthusiast. I catch their launches when I can, and I’ve watched the development of Starship with great interest. But the side-effect of SpaceX’s reusable launch system is that getting to space has become a lot cheaper. Having excess launch capacity means that space projects that were previously infeasible become suddenly at least plausible. One of those is Starlink.

Starlink is SpaceX’s satellite Internet service. Wireless and cellular internet have helped in some places, but if you really live out in the sticks, satellite internet is your only option. And while satellite Internet isn’t exactly new, Starlink is a bit different. Hughesnet, another provider, has a handful of satellites in geostationary orbit, which is about 22000 miles above the earth. To quote Grace Hopper, holding a nearly foot-long length of wire representing a nanosecond, “Between here and the satellite, there are a very large number nanoseconds.”

Continue reading “Starlink: A Review And Some Hacks” »

May 24, 2021

AI Helps Explain How Single-Celled Organisms Move in the Desired Direction Without a Brain

Posted by in categories: chemistry, food, robotics/AI

How do simple creatures manage to move to a specific place? Artificial intelligence and a physical model from TU Wien can now explain this.

How is it possible to move in the desired direction without a brain or nervous system? Single-celled organisms apparently manage this feat without any problems: for example, they can swim towards food with the help of small flagellar tails.

How these extremely simply built creatures manage to do this was not entirely clear until now. However, a research team at TU Wien (Vienna) has now been able to simulate this process on the computer: They calculated the physical interaction between a very simple model organism and its environment. This environment is a liquid with a non-uniform chemical composition, it contains food sources that are unevenly distributed.