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Giant elliptical galaxies are not likely to be havens for technological life, argues new paper.

I recognized that the model used in the 2015 paper —- along with the known distributions and numbers of spiral and elliptical galaxies —- violated the Principle of Mediocrity, says Whitmire. That means if a technological species was selected at random anywhere in the local universe, the probability that it would reside in an elliptical galaxy would be 99 percent. Since we earthlings don’t find ourselves in an elliptical galaxy, Whitmire says this creates what he calls a statistical paradox.

My solution was to look for physical processes that would mitigate this inconsistency, says Whitmire. Current observations show that the ancestors of today’s large elliptical galaxies were once more compact, he says. This was the key, says Whitmire. This means that when these galaxies went through their early high-energy quasar and starburst phases, the radiation doses to young planets within these galaxies would have been lethal and permanent, he says.

But giant elliptical galaxies are prone to higher metallicities which means that they are also likely to form more gaseous planets, says Whitmire. Gaseous planets are not conducive to forming habitable planets around solar type stars, he says. That’s because they tend to migrate inward and gravitationally destabilize terrestrial type planets orbiting closer to their parent stars.

Continue reading “Giant Elliptical Galaxies Are Not Likely To Be ‘Cradles Of Life’” | >

Shared by Michael Michalchik

Ivermectin is an inhibitor of the COVID-19 causative virus (SARS-CoV-2) in vitro.

• A single treatment able to effect ∼5000-fold reduction in virus at 48h in cell culture.

• Ivermectin is FDA-approved for parasitic infections, and therefore has a potential for repurposing.

• Ivermectin is widely available, due to its inclusion on the WHO model list of essential medicines.

Continue reading “The FDA-approved Drug Ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro” | >

Studies of hibernating animals suggest that the molecular and synaptic integrity of neurons in the cerebral cortex that underlie self and consciousness is maintained in many cases when from the outside the brain appears dead.

A striking feature of medicine over the past few centuries has been our growing ability to bring people back from the “dead.” For most of human history, patients who were unconscious and not breathing were treated as though they had died. But the concept of resuscitation emerged as doctors grew to understand the basic function of the lungs and airways. That led to new techniques and tools capable of restoring both breathing and heartbeat — and the realization that cardiac arrest was not always a death sentence. That, in turn, gave rise to a distinction between what’s now called clinical death versus brain death.

Today that brain focus continues, but with a growing glimmer of hope that even brain death might be reversible in some instances. These dreams are fueled by research showing that the disappearance of brain function is not the same as deletion of computer files. Rather, it represents a deterioration of the pathways that normally enable different parts of the brain to communicate. This idea was bolstered recently with the 2017 success in France, where a patient was partially revived from a 15-year vegetative state. It also dovetails with insights from the study of hibernating animals.

Continue reading “‘Rebooting the brain’: Our fight to bring people back from the dead” | >

An AI that translates brainwaves into sentences.

Scientists have developed a new artificial intelligence-based system that converts brain activity into text which could result in transforming communication for people who can’t speak or type.

The electrodes on the brain have been used to translate brainwaves into words spoken by a computer which is helpful for people who have lost the ability to speak. When you speak, your brain sends signals from the motor cortex to the muscles in your jaw, lips, and larynx to coordinate their movement and produce a sound.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first blood test that looks for the antibodies against the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. This is different than assays that test for presence of the virus—those test to determine if a patient has COVID-19. These new antibody tests determine if the person was exposed to the virus, had COVID-19 and recovered. And it suggests, if positive, that the person is now immune to COVID-19 and can’t get it again.

Research Triangle Park, North Carolina-based Cellex was granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) on its test yesterday.

The test is performed on a blood sample taken from a patient’s vein and can be performed by laboratories certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA), the Health and Human Services division that oversees clinical diagnostic testing in the United States.

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HOUSTON — A University of Houston professor is waiting for FDA approval of a waterproofing solution that he says can shield personal protective equipment such as N95 masks from the droplets that spread COVID-19.

Professor Seamus Curran said he developed the hydrophobic coating in 2011 while testing it on fabrics. He continued creating similar solutions to be used on wood and masonry with his company, Integricote.

When COVID-19 broke out, he felt the coating could help, especially as health care workers warned of a nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as N95 masks that health care workers wear.

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Coronavirus is sending in the drones. In what’s being billed as a “world first,” startup Manna Aero has begun a drone delivery service in Moneygall, Ireland. Delivering medicine to vulnerable people locked in their homes, it provides yet another strong example of how technology is helping the world adjust to life in the shadow of the coronavirus.

Having received authorisation from the Irish Aviation Authority, Manna Aero’s service began last Friday as a pilot in Moneygall, which was previously best known as Barack Obama’s ancestral village. However, if the trial is successful, the service will be rolled out throughout Ireland, and could also be used to deliver food.

The drones will deliver prescription orders for medicine to around a dozen households. As Manna Zero’s founder Bobby Healy told the Irish Independent, the drones ensure “zero human-contact” and can execute deliveries “in ways normal delivery can’t.”

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Shortly after the failure, SpaceX’s founder and chief engineer, Elon Musk, said on Twitter, “We will see what data review says in the morning, but this may have been a test configuration mistake.” A testing issue would be good in the sense that it means the vehicle itself performed well, and the problem can be more easily addressed.

This is the third time a Starship has failed during these proof tests that precede engine tests and, potentially flight tests. Multiple sources indicated that had these preliminary tests succeeded, SN3 would have attempted a 150-meter flight test as early as next Tuesday.

Here’s a recap of SpaceX’s efforts to test full-size Starships to date:

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