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May 2, 2021

A milestone in muscular dystrophy therapy

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, health

Muscle stem cells enable our muscle to build up and regenerate over a lifetime through exercise. But if certain muscle genes are mutated, the opposite occurs. In patients suffering from muscular dystrophy, the skeletal muscle already starts to weaken in childhood. Suddenly, these children are no longer able to run, play the piano or climb the stairs, and often they are dependent on a wheelchair by the age of 15. Currently, no therapy for this condition exists.

“Now, we are able to access these patients’ gene mutations using CRISPR-Cas9 technology,” explains Professor Simone Spuler, head of the Myology Lab at the Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), a joint institution of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association and Charité — Universitätsmedizin Berlin. “We care for more than 2000 patients at the Charité outpatient clinic for muscle disorders, and quickly recognized the potential of the new technology.” The researchers immediately started working with some of the affected families, and have now presented their results in the journal JCI Insight. In the families studied, the parents were healthy and had no idea they possessed a mutated gene. The children all inherited a copy of the disease mutation from both parents.

May 2, 2021

NASA’s Gigantic SLS Rocket Arrives in Florida on Equally Gigantic Barge

Posted by in category: space travel

NASA’s long-delayed Space Launch System (SLS) is finally beginning to take shape. Following a number of impressive engine tests, the various components of the first full spacecraft have all arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, including the newly arrived core stage. That part of the mega-rocked floated up to the spaceport on a 310-foot barge earlier this week.

The Space Launch System was envisioned as a replacement for the aging Space Shuttle, and one that could help humanity move beyond low-Earth orbit once again. Since the end of the Apollo program, we’ve been limited to hovering over our little blue marble, but the SLS has enough power to send crewed spacecraft back to the moon. That’s why it’s at the heart of the Artemis program. In the coming years, Artemis will deliver the first human explorers to the moon’s surface in half a century, and among them will be the first woman and person of color to walk on the lunar surface.

Before arriving at KSC on the agency’s Pegasus barge, the 212-foot core stage was at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. That’s where NASA ran the recent Green Run tests. The first static fire test in January ended early, after approximately one minute. NASA later confirmed this was the result of a failsafe system being triggered. In the subsequent March test, the rocket’s RS-25 engines ran for more than eight minutes, matching what they’ll have to do when the rocket launches for real.

May 2, 2021

Watch the self healing fabric that could save your favourite clothes

Posted by in categories: chemistry, materials

Circa 2016


Clothing of the future could have the ability to repair itself after a tear – all you need to do is add water.

Continue reading “Watch the self healing fabric that could save your favourite clothes” »

May 2, 2021

Goldman Sachs predicts quantum computing 5 years away from use in markets

Posted by in categories: business, computing, quantum physics

US bank and QC Ware looked into use of technology to price complex derivatives.


News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication.

May 2, 2021

DALI Experiment: An Astro-Particle Telescope for Dark Matter

Posted by in categories: cosmology, particle physics

The detection of the axion would mark a key episode in the history of science. This hypothetical particle could resolve two fundamental problems of Modern Physics at the same time: the problem of Charge and Parity in the strong interaction, and the mystery of dark matter. However, in spite of the high scientific interest in finding it, the search at high radio frequency-above 6 GHz-has been almost left aside for the lack of the high sensitivity technology which could be built at reasonable cost. Until now.

The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) will participate in an international collaboration to develop the DALI (Dark-photons & Axion-Like particles Interferometer) experiment, an astro-particle telescope for dark matter whose scientific objective is the search for axions and paraphotons in the 6 to 60 GHz band. The prototype, proof of concept, is currently in the design and fabrication phase at the IAC. The white-paper describing the experiment has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (JCAP).

Predicted by theory in the 1970’s, the axion is a hypothetical low mass particle that interacts weakly with standard particles such as nucleons and electrons, as well as with photons. These proposed interactions are studied to try to detect the axion with different types of instruments. One promising technique is to study the interaction of axions with standard photons.

May 2, 2021

Molecules brought in a single quantum state

Posted by in categories: chemistry, particle physics, quantum physics

Breakthrough in quantum chemistry has implications for quantum technology.


Quantum technology has a lot of promise, but several research barriers need to be overcome before it can be widely used. A team of US researchers has advanced the field another step, by bringing multiple molecules into a single quantum state at the same time.

A Bose-Einstein condensate is a state of matter that only occurs at very low temperatures – close to absolute zero. At this temperature, multiple particles can clump together and behave as though they were a single atom – something that could be useful in quantum technology. But while scientists have been able to get single atoms into this state for decades, they hadn’t yet achieved it with molecules.

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May 2, 2021

New Laser to Help Clear the Sky of Space Debris

Posted by in category: space

Researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) have harnessed a technique that helps telescopes see objects in the night sky more clearly to fight against dangerous and costly space debris.

“Adaptive optics is like removing the twinkle from the stars.”

The researchers’ work on adaptive optics — which removes the haziness caused by turbulence in the atmosphere — has been applied to a new ‘guide star’ laser for better identifying, tracking and safely moving space debris.

May 2, 2021

Exyn Brings Level 4 Autonomy to Drones

Posted by in categories: drones, mapping, privacy, robotics/AI

Fully autonomous exploration and mapping of the unknown is a cutting-edge capability for commercial drones.


Drone autonomy is getting more and more impressive, but we’re starting to get to the point where it’s getting significantly more difficult to improve on existing capabilities. Companies like Skydio are selling (for cheap!) commercial drones that have no problem dynamically path planning around obstacles at high speeds while tracking you, which is pretty amazing, and it can also autonomously create 3D maps of structures. In both of these cases, there’s a human indirectly in the loop, either saying “follow me” or “map this specific thing.” In other words, the level of autonomous flight is very high, but there’s still some reliance on a human for high-level planning. Which, for what Skydio is doing, is totally fine and the right way to do it.

Continue reading “Exyn Brings Level 4 Autonomy to Drones” »

May 2, 2021

Surely We Can Do Better Than Elon Musk

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, sustainability, transportation

Thoughts?


Getting past the cult of Genius and the bleakness of capitalist futurism.

May 2, 2021

The Cozy Mysteries of the Pacific Northwest

Posted by in category: futurism

The Pacific Northwest is known for its spectacular views and dark and rainy beaches. There are deep green rainforests filled with redwoods and tall trees. With its miles and miles of hiking trails, it’s known for its mountains, the Columbia River Gorge, and Lewis and Clark’s expedition.

I think it’s also the perfect area for writers and mysteries—and that’s the reason why I set my latest cozy series along the Oregon Coast. I had the privilege of living in Oregon for two years and took multiple trips to the coast to enjoy the water, wildlife, and hiking.

In Death Bee Comes Her, the first installment in my new Oregon Honeycomb mysteries, Wren Johnson lives in a fictional coastal town that combines the charms of several of my favorite places to visit. The people there are quirky, smart, and from sturdy pioneer stock, from Wren’s Aunt Eloise, to loggers, surfers, and crab and whale boat operators.