Lifeboat Foundation

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft undocked from the space-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 9:20 a.m. EST over the Pacific Ocean, west of Ecuador, to complete the third all-private astronaut mission to the orbiting laboratory, Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3).

Dragon is slowly maneuvering away from the orbital laboratory into an orbital track that will return the astronaut crew and its cargo safely to Earth, targeting a splashdown off the coast of Daytona, Florida, at approximately 8:30 a.m. EST Friday, Feb. 9.

Ax-3 astronauts Michael López-Alegría, Walter Villadei, Marcus Wandt, and Alper Gezeravci will complete 18 days aboard the orbiting laboratory at the conclusion of their mission. The SpaceX Dragon will return to Earth with more than 550 pounds of science and supplies, including NASA experiments and hardware.

Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio (FA8684-24D-B018); The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri (FA8684-24D-B019); The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts (FA8684-24D-B014); Chip Scan Inc., Rockaway Beach, New York (FA8684-24D-B004); General Dynamics Mission Systems Inc., Dedham, Massachusetts (FA8684-24D-B006); GE Aviation Systems LLC Grand Rapids, Michigan (FA8684-24D-B008); Honeywell International, Clearwater, Florida (FA8684-24D-B010); Idaho Scientific LLC, Boise, Idaho (FA8684-24D-B012); Kratos SRE Inc., San Diego, California (FA8684-24D-B005); L3Harris Technologies Inc., Palm Bay, Florida (FA8684-24D-B007); Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando, Florida (FA8684-24D-B009); Mercury Systems Inc., Andover, Massachusetts (FA8684-24D-B016); Microsemi SOC Corp., San Jose, California (FA8684-24D-B011); Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum Heights, Maryland (FA8684-24D-B003); Radiance Technologies Inc., Huntsville, Alabama (FA8684-24D-B013); Raytheon Co., McKinney, Texas (FA8684-24D-B015); and Sabre Systems Inc., Warminster, Pennsylvania (FA8684-24D-B017), were awarded a $499,000,000 multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the design, build, test, and delivery of functioning anti-tamper solutions that will be ready for follow-on production to be integrated into a broad range of Department of Defense programs. The development of these solutions enables the necessary protection of critical program information from adversarial tamper efforts. Work will be performed in the continental United States and is expected to be completed Feb. 28, 2030. This contract was a competitive acquisition, and 20 offers were received. Fiscal 2024 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,000 per awardee are being obligated at time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.

Roundhouse PBN LLC, Colorado Springs, Colorado, was awarded a $13,619,953 commercial, fixed-firm-price contract for a temporary and relocatable Program Integration Office/Program Management Office facility for the Sentinel Program at F. E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. This contract provides for a one-time procurement for a secure, prefabricated, nominal 26,000-square-foot temporary facility, that will satisfy immediate requirements for additional office space for up to 200 Sentinel project personnel. This will be a commercial supply contract to procure a facility and furnishings, with a limited construction service component to conduct site preparation. Work will be performed at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming, and is expected to be completed by Feb. 7, 2025. This contract was a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $1,923,839; and fiscal 2024 procurement funds in the amount of $11,696,114, are being obligated at time of award.

The ability to distinguish between left-and right-handed molecules using mass spectrometry could streamline a laborious part of drug discovery.

A fledgling startup founded by one of OpenAI’s first engineering hires is looking to “redefine manufacturing,” with AI-powered factories for creating bespoke precision parts.

Daedalus, as the company is called, is based in the southwestern German city of Karlsruhe, where its solo factory is currently housed. Here, Daedalus takes orders from industries such as medical devices, aerospace, defense, and semiconductors, each requiring unique components for their products. For example, a pharmaceutical company might require a customized metal casing for a valve used in the production of a particular medicine.

As it looks to ramp up operations with a view toward opening additional factories in its domestic market, Daedalus today announced it has raised $21 million in a Series A round of funding led by Nokia-funded NGP Capital, with participation from existing investors Khosla Ventures and Addition.

Summary: A new study illuminated how fruit flies navigate by revealing the communication between their internal compass and steering brain regions. This study shows that three distinct neuron groups translate directional signals into corrective actions, allowing fruit flies to adjust their course effectively.

These findings not only deepen our understanding of navigation in simpler organisms but also lay the groundwork for future research into the neural basis of behavior in more complex species, including humans.

By exploring the intricacies of fruit fly brains, scientists have uncovered fundamental principles of cognitive processing and behavior adjustment, offering insights into how internal cognitive states like direction sense are converted into tangible actions.

A new batch of startups are using tech and data to help supermarkets reduce waste of fresh produce, to the benefit of business and planet.

The gut microbiota influences sports performance and resilience after physical exercise. Also, practicing moderate exercise on a regular basis results in a healthier bacterial composition and, therefore, better physical and mental health.

Scientists have been pretty sure that our universe is expanding at a rapid rate, but no one exactly knew how. Now, a new theory suggests that our universe might be expanding by colliding and eventually absorbing “baby” parallel universes.

This theory was published in a science paper called the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics in December 2023. In the study, scientists proposed the idea that the expansion of the universe may be a result of it constantly merging with other universes.

Urokinase therapy improves diabetic foot ulcer healing and decreases CV events in diabetes patients suggests a new study published in the BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care.

Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a disabling complication of diabetes mellitus. Here, we attempted to assess whether long-term intrafemoral artery infusion of low-dose urokinase therapy improved Diabetic foot ulcers and decreased cardiovascular events in patients with Diabetic foot ulcers were randomized to continuous intrafemoral thrombolysis or conventional therapy groups. The continuous intrafemoral thrombolysis group received continuous intrafemoral urokinase injection for 7 days, and conventional therapy just received wound debridement and dressing change. Then, a follow-up of average 6.5 years was performed. Results: Compared with conventional therapy, at the first 1 month of intervention stage, the ulcers achieved a significant improvement in continuous intrafemoral thrombolysis group including a complete closure (72.4% vs 17.5%), an improved ulcer (27.6% vs 25.8%), unchanged or impaired ulcer (0% vs 56.7%). During the 6.