Lifeboat Foundation

Long gone are the days where all our data could fit on a two-megabyte floppy disk. In today’s information-based society, the increasing volume of information being handled demands that we switch to memory options with the lowest power consumption and highest capacity possible.

Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM) is part of the next generation of storage devices expected to meet these needs. Researchers at the Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR) investigated a cobalt-manganese-iron alloy thin film that demonstrates a high perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA)—key aspects for fabricating MRAM devices using spintronics.

The findings were published in Science and Technology of Advanced Materials on November 13, 2024.

Researchers from Kyushu University have developed an innovative technique to non-invasively measure two key signals, membrane voltage and intracellular calcium levels, at the same time, in neurons of awake animals. This new method offers a more complete understanding of how neurons function, revealing that these two signals encode different information for sensory stimuli. The research was published in Communications Biology on September 16, 2024.

Neurons are cells that act as the brain’s fundamental building blocks, transmitting information through electrical signals. When a neuron receives a stimulus, changes in membrane voltage (the electrical charge across the neuron cell membrane) trigger the neuron to activate, causing rapid changes in membrane voltage to propagate along the neuron as an electrical signal. These changes in membrane voltage then lead to changes in intracellular calcium (calcium levels inside neurons).

Historically, measuring membrane voltage has involved invasive techniques using electrodes. As a non-invasive alternative, scientists have developed techniques to measure calcium activity using fluorescent proteins that are sensitive to calcium ions as sensors, providing an indirect proxy for neuron activity. However, these different methods mean that the two signals have almost always been studied separately, making it challenging to understand how they interact in real-time and to identify their distinct functions in living animals.

The two professions associated with the lowest levels of death due to Alzheimer’s disease may be surprising.

Taxi and ambulance drivers were found to have the lowest proportion of deaths of more than 440 occupations that were considered in a new observation-based study from Massachusetts physicians.

Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking, and behavior. It impacts millions of Americans and is one of the top 10 causes of death in the US.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) presents myriad opportunities for integrity actors—anti-corruption agencies, supreme audit institutions, internal audit bodies and others—to enhance the impact of their work, particularly through the use of large language models (LLMS). As this type of AI becomes increasingly mainstream, it is critical for integrity actors to understand both where generative AI and LLMs can add the most value and the risks they pose. To advance this understanding, this paper draws on input from the OECD integrity and anti-corruption communities and provides a snapshot of the ways these bodies are using generative AI and LLMs, the challenges they face, and the insights these experiences offer to similar bodies in other countries. The paper also explores key considerations for integrity actors to ensure trustworthy AI systems and responsible use of AI as their capacities in this area develop.

Although this might look like a sci-fi film prop, the Segway Apex H2 is nothing of the sort. It’s a prototype version of the render-only H2 concept first shown earlier this year, and it’s now been given a remarkably affordable price tag — 69,999 Chinese Yuan, which is about £8,000. So, it’s a little less than the recently launched Yamaha R7.

The H2 isn’t powered by anything as ordinary as a parallel twin combustion engine, however. It has two power sources — a hydrogen fuel cell and a battery pack. Technical details are still thin on the ground, but we do at least know it produces 60kW (just under 80bhp) and will crack 62mph in around four seconds, topping out at 93mph. It’ll consume a gram of hydrogen for every kilometre it covers.

Segway has revealed the prototype version of its Apex H2, and it appears to have changed little from the concept.

Continue reading “The Segway Apex H2 Is A Hydrogen Sports Bike That’ll Cost Only £8k” »

1 million plus cases of influenza in Japan this year. This needs to be investigated as it could cause another major pandemic.

Influenza is on the rise across Japan, with weekly case counts increasing in all 47 prefectures.

The National Institute of Infectious Diseases and other organizations say about 5,000 hospitals and clinics across the country reported seeing 211,049 flu patients in the seven-day period up to December 22.

Continue reading “Influenza cases on rise across Japan” »

A mysterious aircraft bearing a triangular tailless design was seen flying over Chengdu in southwestern Sichuan province in broad daylight, flanked by a fifth-generation J-20 fighter jet, according to videos shared on Chinese social media.

While the jet – speculated by observers to feature cutting-edge stealth and endurance capabilities – has yet to be officially identified or named, a provincial newspaper made reference to the aircraft.

Heat management at the nanoscale has long been a cornerstone of advanced technological applications, ranging from high-performance electronics to quantum computing. Addressing this critical challenge, we have been deeply intrigued by the emerging field of thermotronics, which focuses on manipulating heat flux in ways analogous to how electronics control electric energy. Among its most promising advancements are quantum thermal diodes, which enable directional heat control, and quantum thermal transistors, which regulate heat flow with precision.

Thermal diodes, much like their electrical counterparts, provide unidirectional heat transfer, allowing heat to flow in one direction while blocking it in the reverse. We find this capability revolutionary for heat management, as it has the potential to transform numerous fields.

For instance, thermal diodes can significantly improve the cooling of high-performance electronics, where heat dissipation is a major bottleneck. They could also enable more efficient energy harvesting by converting waste heat into usable energy, contributing to sustainability efforts.

Indian astronomers have performed a multiwavelength study of a gamma-ray emitting compact symmetric object known as DA 362. Results of the study, presented in a research paper published December 17 on the pre-print server arXiv, yield more insights into the nature of this enigmatic object.

Compact symmetric objects (CSOs) are young jetted active galactic nuclei (AGN) with an overall projected size below 3,300 light years. Although CSOs are still not well investigated, observations found that they showcase symmetric radio morphologies and are likely to be in the early stages of their evolution with kinematic ages smaller than a few thousand years. To date, only four CSOs have been found to emit gamma-rays.

The newest gamma-ray emitting CSO is DA 362, also known as B2 1413+34. It was initially classified as a blazar candidate of uncertain type, associated with a gamma-ray source designated 4FGL J1416.0+3443.