Lifeboat Foundation

Quantum field theory doesn’t get much coverage in popular science and if you open any textbook on the subject you’ll see why. It looks like an unholy crossbreed between quantum physics in a bad mood and every button you never push on a calculator. The idea of summarising it in 1,500 words or less for this article sounded daunting at first (it took a whole chapter to cover it in my recent book) but then again if I really did have to present it to a jury of aliens I wouldn’t have a choice.

Therefore, your honour, I request that you give me five minutes of your intergalactic attention. My presentation may not feature Jason Statham roundhouse kicking a shark in the eyeball, but I am going to try and justify the continued existence of the human race. Here goes…

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The numbers are in, and Woodstock’s September cyber attack is set to cost the city more than $667,000, even though the city didn’t pay, and never reached out, to the hackers behind the ransomware.

It seems like a big number – roughly nine times what nearby Stratford paid as a ransom after a spring cyber attack – but experts say it’s a short-term hit for a long-term gain in cyber security.

While difficult to compare the Woodstock and Stratford attacks – no two cities conduct cyber security the same way – Woodstock’s costs are in line with what residents should expect, one cyber-sector expert said.

One of the nice things about a road trip is you often get to see something that really surprises you. A recent trip through Texas may have resulted in my second most surprising sighting. There’s a strange tower that looks oddly like a Tesla tower in the middle of rural Texas, right off the main interstate. What is it? Although Google did answer the question — sort of — I’m still not sure how legitimate its stated purpose is.

First Sighting

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Read a National Geographic magazine article about neuroscience and get information, facts, and more about cognitive function.

A team of scientists in Hungary recently published a paper that hints at the existence of a previously unknown subatomic particle. The team first reported finding traces of the particle in 2016, and they now report more traces in a different experiment.

If the results are confirmed, the so-called X17 particle could help to explain dark matter, the mysterious substance scientists believe accounts for more than 80% of the mass in the universe. It may be the carrier of a “fifth force” beyond the four accounted for in the standard model of physics (gravity, electromagnetism, the weak nuclear force and the strong nuclear force).

Artificial flesh is growing ever closer to the real thing. Scientists in Australia have now created a new jelly-like material which they claim has the strength and durability of actual skin, ligaments, or even bone.

“With the special chemistry we’ve engineered in the hydrogel, it can repair itself after it has been broken like human skin can,” explains chemist Luke Connal from the Australian National University.

“Hydrogels are usually weak, but our material is so strong it could easily lift very heavy objects and can change its shape like human muscles do.”

Scientists at Wake Forest School of Medicine have identified a dead probiotic that reduces age-related leaky gut in older mice. The study is published in the journal GeroScience.

The hot Big Bang occurred 13.8 billion years ago, and there’s no other possible answer consistent with what we know today.

Delirium can be more serious than people realize, but there are ways to help prevent it.