Lifeboat Foundation

As the number of electronics devices increases around the world, finding effective methods of recycling electronic waste (e-waste) is a growing concern. About 50 million tons of e-waste is generated each year and only 20% of that is recycled. Most of the remaining 80% ends up in a landfill where it can become an environmental problem. Currently, e-waste recycling involves mechanical crushers and chemical baths, which are expensive, and manual labor, which can cause significant health and environmental problems when not performed properly. Thus, researchers from Kumamoto University, Japan have been using pulsed power (pulsed electric discharges) to develop a cleaner and more efficient recycling method.

Pulsed power has been shown to be successful in processing various waste materials, from concrete to waste water. To test its ability to be used in e-waste recycling, researchers examined its effectiveness in separating components found in one of the most prolific types of e-waste, CD ROMs. In previous work, they showed that complete separation of metal from plastic occurred using 30 pulses at about 35 J/pulse (At the current price of electricity in Tokyo, this amount of energy costs about 0.4 Yen for recycling 100 CD ROMs). To examine the mechanism of material separation using this method, researchers performed further analyses by observing the plasma discharge with a high-speed camera, by taking schlieren visualizations to assess the shock wave, and using shadowgraph images to measure fragment motion.

Images at the early stage of electrical discharge showed two distinct light emissions: blue-white and orange. These indicated excitation of aluminum and upper protective plastic materials respectively. After the plasma dissipated, fragments of metal and plastic could be seen flying away from the CD ROM sample.

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“Minecraft Earth,” announced today, will allow users to collect items, blocks, and creatures while roaming around in the real world with other real-world friends — think of it as a “Minecraft”-themed “Pokémon Go” experience, but with more fishing, building and resource management.

While the extremely popular smartphone game “Pokémon Go” relied on augmented reality only minimally, the new “Minecraft” title will double down on the technology. A new feature called Azure Spatial Anchors will allow users to plop down objects in augmented reality — and persist indefinitely. Other users will also be able to interact with those same objects.

The goal is to eventually have players build their own “Minecraft” worlds for others to experience in augmented reality through their phones.

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The contraceptive burden has been on women for forever.

Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have definitively linked mast cells, a class of cells belonging to the immune system, to the development of osteoarthritis, one of the world’s most common causes of pain and immobility.

In a study published online May 14 in eLife, the scientists demonstrated for the first time that banishing mast cells—or blocking signals from the most common stimulus activating them in real life, or disabling a cartilage-degrading enzyme they release when activated—all protected mice from developing osteoarthritis typically induced by a classic experimental procedure. The results were supported by findings in human cells and tissues.

Osteoarthritis, by far the most frequently occurring variety of arthritis, is characterized by cartilage breakdown and inflammation in joints, which can be further aggravated by excess bone growths called osteophytes.

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Physicist plans to karate-chop them with super-fast blasts of light.

Rock samples from the island suggest it’s a strange hybrid that represents a whole new way for the planet to make volcanoes.

Compared to the other preproduction electric aircraft we’ve seen so far, the Lilium Jet certainly stands out: it has an egg-shaped cabin perched on landing gear with a pair of parallel tilt-rotor wings. The wings are fitted with a total of 36 electric jet engines that tilt up for vertical takeoff and then shift forward for horizontal flight. There is no tail, rudder, propellers, or gearbox. When it’s complete, the Lilium Jet will have a range of 300 kilometers (186 miles) and a top speed of 300 km / hour (186 mph), the company says.

That’s much farther than many of its competitors are predicting of their electric aircraft. Remo Gerber, Lilium’s chief commercial officer, said this was due to the Jet’s fixed-wing design, which requires less than 10 percent of its maximum 2,000 horsepower during cruise flight.

Continue reading “Electric air taxi startup Lilium completes first test of its new five-seater aircraft” »

A sensational new study conducted at the University of Copenhagen disproves traditional knowledge of stem cell development. The study reveals that the destiny of intestinal cells is not predetermined, but instead determined by the cells’ surroundings. The new knowledge may make it easier to manipulate stem cells for stem cell therapy. The results have been published in Nature.

All cells in the foetal gut have the potential to develop into stem cells, a new study conducted at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen concludes. The researchers behind the study have discovered that the development of immature intestinal cells—contrary to previous assumptions—is not predetermined, but affected by the cells’ immediate surroundings in the intestines. This discovery may ease the path to effective stem cell therapy, says Associate Professor Kim Jensen from the Biotech Research & Innovation Centre (BRIC) and the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Biology (DanStem).

“We used to believe that a cell’s potential for becoming a stem cell was predetermined, but our new results show that all immature cells have the same probability for becoming stem cells in the fully developed organ. In principle, it is simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Here signals from the cells’ surroundings determine their fate. If we are able to identify the signals that are necessary for the immature cell to develop into a stem cell, it will be easier for us to manipulate cells in the wanted direction.”

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