Lifeboat Foundation

Almost 35 years after Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to walk in space, history will once again be made.

Since 1998, there have been 213 spacewalks at the International Space Station. In March, an all-female spacewalk is happening aboard the ISS.

We believe that when we are faced with the choice between two or more options of what to think about, non-conscious traces of the thoughts are there already, a bit like unconscious hallucinations,” Professor Pearson says. “As the decision of what to think about is made, executive areas of the brain choose the thought-trace which is stronger. In, other words, if any pre-existing brain activity matches one of your choices, then your brain will be more likely to pick that option as it gets boosted by the pre-existing brain activity.

A new UNSW study suggests we have less control over our personal choices than we think, and that unconscious brain activity determines our choices well before we are aware of them.

Published in Scientific Reports today, an experiment carried out in the Future Minds Lab at UNSW School of Psychology showed that free choices about what to think can be predicted from patterns of brain activity 11 seconds before people consciously chose what to think about.

Continue reading “Our brains reveal our choices before we’re even aware of them, study finds” »

When you were a kid, did you ever sign a classmate’s cast after they broke an arm or a leg? Your name would be on display there for the rest of the semester. Broken bones are one of the worst trade-offs in childhood—a few seconds of calamity followed by months of boring rest and recovery. But children in the future may have a different story to tell as emerging tech overhauls how we fix broken bones.

Carbon nanomaterials may have the power to heal bones faster than a Harry Potter fan can say ‘Brackium Emendo!’ Researchers from Stefanie A. Sydlik’s team at Carnegie Mellon University have tested a new formulation of graphene that is biodegradable, mimics bone, attracts stem cells, and ultimately improves how animals can repair damage to their skeletons.

As reported in PNAS, this phosphate graphene serves as a scaffold, allowing the body’s own cells to more rapidly reform the missing or damaged bone. The technique has already shown success in mice. As this technology matures it could become a vital part of orthopedic medicine, helping us recover faster with stronger, healthier bones.

Continue reading “Graphene Shows Promise for Repairing Broken Bones” »

Despite being the very first candidate planet discovered by our Kepler Mission, Kepler-1658b had a rocky road to confirmation. Ten years later, scientists have now confirmed that it is, in fact, a planet. It whips around its star every 3.85 days. Details: https://go.nasa.gov/2TDlaIl

D-Wave’s architecture becomes more complex while machine gets faster, more capable.

Late last year, archaeologists in China found some very interesting items in an ancient tomb dating back as far as 202 BC, including a bronze vessel that somehow still held liquid. The liquid, which at the time was thought to be some type of wine, has since undergone closer examination that reveals its true purpose.

China’s Xinhua news agency is now reporting that the beverage was actually an “elixir of immortality” that matches descriptions from ancient documents. The substance has been tested and, if scientists are right about it, there’s probably little chance it would do anything to extend someone’s life, and may even usher death in even quicker.

Taken by Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, the first high-resolution photos of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft have begun to trickle in, offering the best views yet of the advanced human-rated spacecraft in its natural habit: Earth orbit.

Filling in for a distinct and uncharacteristic lack of official photos from NASA, the spacecraft’s inaugural spaceflight had thus far only been documented through NASA’s own live coverage of its International Space Station (ISS) rendezvous, limited to a relatively low-quality stream. With Oleg’s extremely high-resolution captures, we can begin to see SpaceX’s Crew Dragon with a level of detail previously only seen (if ever) on the ground.

Stunning photos of Dragon 2 docking from Oleg Kononenko! https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/03/crew-dragon-first-docking-iss-dm1/

Continue reading “SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spaceship shown off in first high-res orbital portraits” »

The little-known “Significant Locations” list tracks every location you’ve been and how often you go there. But there’s a way to delete your history.

An antibody against the “don’t eat me” signal on cancer cells appears safe and well-tolerated by patients with advanced cancers. A phase 2 trial is planned.

Author Krista Conger Published on March 5, 2019 March 5, 2019.