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Mar 6, 2020

Elon Musk Wants to Build a New Starship Every 72 Hours So He Can Colonize Mars

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

Elon Musk is bulking up his rocket-building workforce—big time. Ars Technica visited the Texas home of SpaceX, where Musk was calling a meeting on a Sunday “morning” at 1 a.m. There’s a lot to unpack here.

To start, Musk is worried that our window of opportunity to make it to Mars is closing—so we better hurry up. After the 1 a.m. meeting, SpaceX added over 250 new employees in two days, representing a full doubling of the workforce.

Ars Technica visited the day after the major Starship prototype implosion that made news earlier this week. The SN1 prototype blew up as a direct result of weak welds. It sounds like everyone involved knew this prototype was faulty and told Musk so when he asked, and he insists it was never designed to fly for real anyway.

Mar 6, 2020

Short Wave Celebrates Black Excellence In Science

Posted by in category: science

Advocates for diversity in STEM have a saying: You can’t be what you can’t see. We need to do a better job of celebrating the accomplishments of underrepresented scientists, so that the next generation can more easily imagine themselves joining the ranks of the scientific community.

To close out Black History Month, we wanted to take a moment to highlight just a few of the many incredible black scientists we’ve featured so far on the show. Their bios are below, along with links to the episodes they appear in.

On Short Wave we strive to make the diversity of our guests reflect the diversity of our audience. If there’s a scientist from an underrepresented group that you know of who’s doing awesome science and you think we should feature them in an episode, drop us a line at [email protected].

Mar 6, 2020

How Neural Nets Will Personalize Medicine: Meet The Startup That’s Changing How We Find New Drugs

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Finding new medicines is like finding a needle in a haystack. By linking a powerful computational approach to advances in chemical manufacturing, this company is making piles of needles.

Mar 6, 2020

AI and Machine Learning: Streamlining and Focusing Clinical Trial Recruitment

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are increasingly becoming a part of drug discovery and development beginning with identifying new compounds to structuring and designing clinical trials and targeting clinical trial populations.

A recent example came out of Linköping University in Sweden. The investigators utilized an artificial neural network to create maps of biological networks based on how different genes or proteins interact with each other. They leveraged a large database with information about the expression patterns of 20,000 genes in a large group of people. The AI was then taught to find patterns of gene expression.

And in mid-February, a drug developed using AI began testing in human clinical trials. The molecule, DSP-1181, is currently in Phase I clinical trials for obsessive-compulsive disorder. The compound is a long-acting potent serotonin 5-HT1A receptor agonist developed using AI that was part of a collaboration between Japan’s Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma and the UK’s Escientia. The AI developed the compound in about 12 months, compared to a more typical five-year process.

Mar 6, 2020

The Networks That Ruled Earth’s Ancient Seas

Posted by in category: futurism

Fossils of rangeomorphs, which dominated the oceans more than a half-billion years ago, show the thin threads that connected them.

Mar 6, 2020

Israeli startup says its nanotech masks and robes may block coronavirus

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, nanotechnology

Sonovia’s textiles are resistant to bacteria and fungus; firm hopes its tech will also work against viruses; has sent samples for testing to China.

Mar 6, 2020

Unbelievably epic volcanic lightning captured during eruption in Chile

Posted by in category: climatology

The incredible shot of the rare phenomenon, captured above Calbuco volcano in southern Chile, won first prize in “The Perfect Moment” photo competition.

Mar 6, 2020

Genome Sequencing for Healthy People: Is it Time?

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

Would you want to know if you’re at risk of Alzheimer’s disease, for example?


The integration of sequencing into health care doesn’t fit very well in the model of how medicine is practiced today, but is well aligned with the future vision of health care that so many of us have — a vision that focuses upon prediction and prevention.

Continue reading “Genome Sequencing for Healthy People: Is it Time?” »

Mar 6, 2020

Stem Cell Therapy as a Substitute to Knee Replacement

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

Stem cells are possibly Nature’s best-stored secret. These cells, which might be discovered in multicellular organisms, including humans, no longer handiest have the capability to divide (mitosis) but additionally to form various structures such as cartilage, bone and lots of more. The procedure is called as differentiation.

Stem cell knee surgery can be used to successfully treat a wide range of acute and chronic knee situations and injuries. Thanks to advancements in regenerative medicine, we are capable of use stem cell therapy as a possible alternative to many invasive techniques consisting of, total knee joint replacement surgical treatment and arthroscopic knee surgical procedure, to treat knee pain. Additionally, stem cell therapy may additionally be ideally suited for people who do not qualify for surgical processes.

Mar 6, 2020

Gene Therapy: Is Still In Its Infancy But The Future Looks Promising

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

Gene therapy is the introduction of DNA into a patient to treat a genetic disease or a disorder. The newly inserted DNA contains a correcting gene to correct the effects of a disease, causing mutations. Gene therapy is a promising treatment for genetic diseases and also includes cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy. Gene therapy is a suitable treatment for infectious diseases, inherited disease and cancer.

Over the last few centuries, infectious diseases have been understood and tackled, through advances in sanitation, anti-microbial medications and vaccination. One day we may also be able to tackle genetic diseases – lifelong conditions arising from mutations that we inherit from our ancestors or that occur during our development.