Lifeboat Foundation

Scientists are using new tech to decode how our brains remember.

This post is about some fairly recent improvements in the field of AI-based voice cloning. If we have hours and hours of footage of a particular voice at our disposal then that voice can be cloned using existing methods. But this recent breakthrough enables us to do the same using…

While people usually put a lot of effort into finding a partner, recent research suggests that our bodies are choosy in their own ways. Chemical signals that are released by human eggs can attract sperm, and new work has shown that eggs also use these molecules to ‘select’ the sperm they want. The findings, reported in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, showed that eggs also don’t always pick the same sperm; eggs from different women can opt for sperm from different men.

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In other words, practicing the arts can be used to build capacity for managing one’s mental and emotional well-being.

Neuroesthetics — With recent advances in biological, cognitive, and neurological science, there are new forms of evidence on the arts and the brain. For example, researchers have used biofeedback to study the effects of visual art on neural circuits and neuroendocrine markers to find biological evidence that visual art promotes health, wellness, and fosters adaptive responses to stress.

A new study is the first to quantify the proportion of differences in sensitivity that can be explained by genetic factors.

Warrior: The Army must have some major efforts looking at what war may look like in 20 to 30 years?

Murray: “We have something called ‘Team Ignite.’ It is not a standing organization but a cross-functional team between my technologists and my scientists. One part is responsible for the technology at Combat Capabilities Development Command, another is a ‘future concepts’ unit at Fort Eustis, Va. and my concept writers at our Futures and Concepts Center. This forces the people who are thinking about future concepts to take technology into account because they technologists are right there with them. This forces them to think about how technology will change the concept… also it directly feeds what we should be investing in our science and technology areas.”

Gen. John Murray, commander of Army Futures Command, explains what future wars will look like.

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It’s no surprise that Tesla’s next-gen Roadster is going to be lightning-quick, with a claimed 0–60 mph time of 1.9 seconds for the base model. However, the addition of SpaceX cold-gas thrusters that will be hidden behind the car’s license plate could drop Roadster’s 0–60 mph time to a dizzying 1.1 seconds.

YouTube channel Engineering Explained used some of Isaac Newton’s basic physics principles to determine that the Roadster could become one of the quickest cars in the world. By plugging in existing information that CEO Elon Musk has revealed about Tesla’s next-gen Roadster, host Jason Fenske determined that the vehicle will weigh roughly 2000 kg (4,400 lbs), which backs into acceleration g-forces of approximately 1.44 G’s.

Circa 2015

Move over, graphene — you’re not the only miracle material in town. Australian researchers have discovered that diamond nanothreads (one-dimensional diamond crystals capped with hydrogen) could be extremely strong. While scientists thought they were brittle when announced just a month ago, it turns out that they become supremely flexible (and thus durable) when you introduce the right kinds of defects. You could create nanoscopic structures that are just as strong as you need them to be, with a ‘perfect’ mix of bendy and rigid shapes.

The immersive qualities of virtual-reality gaming are making effective biofeedback treatment of anxiety and other conditions more affordable and accessible.