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Dec 30, 2019

China Launches Its Largest Rocket Ever, the Long March-5

Posted by in category: satellites

China launched its largest-ever rocket this week: The Long March-5 Y3 rocket took off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in south China’s Hainan Province, carrying a Shijian-20 satellite. The launch took place at 8:45 p.m. Beijing time on Friday night, as reported by China’s state news agency Xinhua. Just over half an hour later, the satellite achieved its planned orbit and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) declared the mission a success.

The rocket stands at 57 meters (187 feet) tall, and is 5 meters in diameter around its core stage, with four boosters each of which is 3.35 meters in diameter. This makes the Long March-5 the largest Chinese carrier rocket to date, with a total weight of 870 tonnes and producing thrust of over 1000 tonnes at takeoff.

The two-stage rocket can carry a payload of up to 25 tonnes into low Earth orbit. Alternatively, for more distant launches it can carry 14 tonnes into geostationary transfer orbit, which is an elliptical orbit that is used to reach the geosynchronous orbit which holds most satellites. Looking ahead to potential missions to the Moon and Mars, the rocket is also designed to carry up to eight tonnes into Earth-Moon transfer orbit, or up to five tones into Earth-Mars transfer orbit.

Dec 30, 2019

Physicist Proposes Radical New ‘Stellar Engine’ That Could Move Our Entire Solar System

Posted by in category: space travel

The stellar engine – a gigantic contraption built with the purpose of transporting our Solar System somewhere else, if we ever need to move to a different cosmic neighbourhood. Now, new research has put forward another idea for what such a radical stellar engine might look like. Via this beautiful video from Kurzgesagt, Caplan Thruster, would use the Sun’s own energy to propel it across the galaxy and beyond.


As far as hypothetical space megastructures go, the stellar engine is one of our favourites – a gigantic contraption built with the purpose of transporting our Solar System somewhere else, if we ever need to move to a different cosmic neighbourhood.

Continue reading “Physicist Proposes Radical New ‘Stellar Engine’ That Could Move Our Entire Solar System” »

Dec 30, 2019

Apocalypse Then: When Y2K Didn’t Lead To The End Of Civilization

Posted by in categories: computing, existential risks, government, internet

For a time 20 years ago, millions of people, including corporate chiefs and government leaders, feared that the internet was going to crash and shatter on New Year’s Eve and bring much of civilization crumbling down with it. This was all because computers around the world weren’t equipped to deal with the fact of the year 2000. Their software thought of years as two digits. When the year 99 gave way to the year 00, data would behave as if it were about the year 1900, a century before, and system upon system in an almost infinite chain of dominoes would fail. Billions were spent trying to prepare for what seemed almost inevitable.


Twenty years ago, the world feared that a technological doomsday was nigh. It wasn’t, but Y2K had a lot of prescient things to say about how we interact with tech.

Dec 30, 2019

The Race To Find A Cure For Aging

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

We want to look & feel young again, and every year we spend hundreds of billions of dollars on beauty serums, cosmetic surgery, and exotic supplements in the hopes of appearing more vibrant, healthy, and desirable.

Dec 30, 2019

Mysterious swarms of giant drones have started to appear in the Colorado and Nebraska night sky, and nobody knows where they’re coming from

Posted by in categories: drones, government, law enforcement

Swarms of giant drones have been flying above Colorado and Nebraska at night, perplexing both local law enforcement and the federal government.

Dec 30, 2019

New Solid Polymer-Based Electrolyte Helps Batteries Become Self-Healing, Recyclable

Posted by in category: materials

Lithium-ion batteries are notorious for developing internal electrical shorts that can ignite a battery’s liquid electrolytes, leading to explosions and fires. Engineers at the University of Illinois have developed a solid polymer-based electrolyte that can self-heal after damage – and the material can also be recycled without the use of harsh chemicals or high temperatures.

The new study, which could help manufacturers produce recyclable, self-healing commercial batteries, is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

As lithium-ion batteries go through multiple cycles of charge and discharge, they develop tiny, branchlike structures of solid lithium called dendrites, the researchers said. These structures reduce battery life, cause hotspots, and electrical shorts, and sometimes grow large enough to puncture the internal parts of the battery, causing explosive chemical reactions between the electrodes and electrolyte liquids.

Dec 29, 2019

Cancer Cells Switch Sugar for Fatty Acids to Spread Around the Body

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, food

Scientists have uncovered a crucial change in cancer cells that allows them to spread around the body – by switching from sugar to fatty acids to fuel their growth.

Changing their ‘diet’ in this way allows tumour cells to set up shop at new sites where resources such as glucose – their preferred food source – are limited.

Researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, found that a protein called AKR1B10 helps cells adapt the ways in which they get their energy.

Dec 29, 2019

Bone marrow stem cells Work in the Elderly!! Another stem cell myth busted

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

There is a common myth that bone marrow stem cells do not work in the elderly.

However, we are seeing elderly patients respond very well to bone marrow stem cells.

Continue reading “Bone marrow stem cells Work in the Elderly!! Another stem cell myth busted” »

Dec 29, 2019

Lifespan — The Book

Posted by in category: life extension

In his new book, David Sinclair proposes a radical new theory of aging that suggests we can slow, stop, or even reverse the aging clock. Pre-order today.

Dec 29, 2019

Scientists recommend building a Martian settlement using bacteria

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, space travel

Researchers from the Dutch Delft University of Technology and NASA/ESA recommend that we build a Mars base with the use of bacteria. In short, the idea is to send a spacecraft containing bacteria to Mars several years ahead of sending human settlers. Those bacteria can then start mining for iron that will later be used by human pioneers when building settlements.

Benjamin Lehner, a Ph.D. student from the Delft University of Technology, mapped out a complete plan to adequately prepare for human settlers. He proposes to send an initial capsule containing a bioreactor, an uncomplicated rover that is capable of digging, and a 3D printer. The reactor will be filled with a type of bacteria called ‘Shewanella oneidensis’ that can convert the non-usable naturally occurring iron in the Martian soil to usable magnetite that is easy to extract. This magnetite can then be converted to components like iron plates with the 3D printer.