Lifeboat Foundation

Scientists believe they’ve made a concrete example of an unusual, theoretical form of ferromagnetism first described by a researcher more than 50 years ago.

Nagaoka ferromagnetism, named for the scientist who discovered it, Yosuke Nagaoka, is a special case of the same magnetic forces that make regular, refrigerator-type magnets work—ferro meaning iron, plus a few other metals that are naturally receptive to magnetism. Identifying it in real life—in this case using a quantum system of electrons—can help scientists understand how spontaneous ferromagnetism works.

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor describes a ringside seat to her own stroke and how you can use her experience to sustain hard knocks in the workplace and in life.

To date, teaching a robot to perform a task has usually involved either direct coding, trial-and-error tests or handholding the machine. Soon, though, you might just have to perform that task like you would any other day. MIT scientists have developed a system, Planning with Uncertain Specifications (PUnS), that helps bots learn complicated tasks when they’d otherwise stumble, such as setting the dinner table. Instead of the usual method where the robot receives rewards for performing the right actions, PUnS has the bot hold “beliefs” over a variety of specifications and use a language (linear temporal logic) that lets it reason about what it has to do right now and in the future.

Researchers say brain pathways begin to erode in late 40s, but can be repaired through dietary changes.

Avigan was developed as a flu medicine and also has been used for Ebola virus disease (EVD) treatment. EVD, which causes fatal hemorrhagic fever, resulted in more than 11,300 deaths in the West Africa region between 2014 and 2016. There is currently another outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has seen more than 2,000 fatalities to date.

HONG KONG – Fujifilm Holdings Corp. stock (TYO:4901) jumped 8.8% to ¥5,890 (US$53.48) on Feb. 25, as Japan considers using Avigan (favipiravir), an anti-influenza medication developed by the company’s Toyama Chemical Co. Ltd., to treat COVID-19. The share price ended the day at ¥5,567, for a gain of 2.83%.

The medication attracted market attention when Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Katsunobu Kato said on Feb. 22 that the country is planning to test Avigan against COVID-19. “We hear from foreign countries that some drugs among those that have been used against influenza may be useful,” Kato said.

Continue reading “Fujifilm stock rises as Japan considers Avigan for COVID-19 treatment” »

According to the first author of the study George Thomas, “It’s really promising to see measures like this, which can potentially track the varying progression of Parkinson’s disease, as it could help clinicians devise better treatment plans for people based on how their condition manifests.”

The co-author of the study, Dr. Julio Acosta-Cabronero from Tenoke Ltd. and the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL, also comments on the findings:

Taking aim on the International Space Station, nine kerosene-burning rocket engines powered a SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher into a clear sky over Florida’s Space Coast on Friday night to begin the final flight of the first version of the company’s Dragon cargo ship.

Minutes later, the Falcon 9’s first stage booster returned to a site a few miles from its starting point and landed at Cape Canaveral, marking the 50th time SpaceX has recovered a Falcon booster intact since the California rocket maker’s first successful recovery in 2015.

Liftoff of the 213-foot-tall (65-meter) Falcon 9 rocket — using a first stage booster that previously launched and landed in December — occurred at 11:50:31 p.m. EST Friday (0450:31 GMT Saturday) from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

In two new studies, scientists search for axions within new mass ranges but the particles remain elusive.

Don’t like needles?