Lifeboat Foundation

Titan, the already pretty weird moon of Saturn, just got a little bit weirder. Astronomers have detected cyclopropenylidene (C3H2) in its atmosphere — an extremely rare carbon-based molecule that’s so reactive, it can only exist on Earth in laboratory conditions.

In fact, it’s so rare that it has never before been detected in an atmosphere, in the Solar System or elsewhere. The only other place it can remain stable is the cold void of interstellar space. But it may be a building block for more complex organic molecules that could one day lead to life.

“We think of Titan as a real-life laboratory where we can see similar chemistry to that of ancient Earth when life was taking hold here,” said astrobiologist Melissa Trainer of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, one of the chief scientists set to investigate the moon in the upcoming Dragonfly mission launching in 2027.

The Dominican Republic was home to the first black people in the Americas. So why has Europe’s oldest permanent settlement in the Americas turned its back on its African past?

Elon Musk wants to connect all corners of the planet via space, but his thousands of orbiting routers may pose a risk to satellites and to science.

Extreme quantum states.

A new mathematical framework helps physicists define the degree of quantumness of a system.

Despite expert advice against paying up, most victims of ransomware attacks in the region, including 88% in Australia and 78% in Singapore, have paid the ransom in full or in part, and the number of such attacks is only going to keep climbing amidst accelerated digital transformation efforts and remote work.

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest” — Benjamin Franklin

On November 24th, IBM is running a free, online Data & AI Conference for India and the Asia Pacific region, covering four tracks:

AI designed to be aware of it’s own competence.

Ira Pastor, ideaXme life sciences ambassador interviews Dr. Jiangying Zhou, DARPA program manager in the Defense Sciences Office, USA.

Continue reading “Expect the Unexpected: Frontiers of Mathematics, Computation, Systems and Design” »

Fido, meet F1d0.

Newly developed robotic K9s will soon be prowling Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Florida, to enhance security and surveillance patrolling, WMBB-TV reported Monday.

The 325th Security Forces Squadron, which handles security for the base, said the robo-dogs are weatherproof, four-legged, unmanned patrolling drones that have two-way communication abilities and high-tech sensors that cost about $100,000 a pop, the outlet reported.

Boston Dynamics getting dumped again. The dog robot was ideal as a replacement for guard dogs, someone else is already filling that void. The Atlas robot no where near ready for market. Probably down hill from here.

A sale to Hyundai could hasten the company’s shift from research to commercialization.

Continue reading “Iconic Boston Dynamics Robots Seek Stable Employment” »