Lifeboat Foundation

Steve Mann invented a precursor to Google Glass in the 1990s—which he now uses almost 24/7. But “the father of wearable computing” has an ominous warning about where technology is taking us next.

Cadmium nuclei take on multiple shapes at low excitation energies, a discovery that overturns a long-accepted tenet of nuclear structure.

Atomic nuclei take on excited states when they vibrate, rotate, or when their constituent nucleons exchange one nuclear shell for another. In nuclei with nearly filled nuclear shells, it has long been thought that low-energy excitations were due exclusively to different patterns of vibration around a spherical shape: only in rare, high-energy excitations were these nuclei expected to assume more exotic shapes. Now, Paul Garrett, of the University of Guelph in Canada, and colleagues have found that the lowest-energy excited states of cadmium-110 and cadmium-112—once considered textbook examples of spherical vibration—are instead due to the rotation of various nonspherical shapes. The result is also the best evidence to date that a stable nucleus like cadmium can assume multiple shapes—all previously studied nuclei with coexisting shapes have been radioactive.

Following Elon Musk’s presentation about SpaceX’s Starship rocket, the company posted a 2-minute video showing how it’d refill the system in orbit.

NASA’s InSight lander has picked up on some interesting rumblings on Mars, and the space agency shared them Tuesday in a blog post.

The spacecraft is equipped with an incredibly sensitive seismometer called the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS), which is designed to listen for marsquakes. By examining how seismic waves move through the planet’s interior, scientists hope to learn more about Mars’ deep inner structure.

Continue reading “NASA just shared a fascinating soundtrack of a Mars quake” »

A SCIENTIST revealed how NASA has a last-ditch system in place in the event a huge space rock is “due to impact Earth in one to three weeks” during a planet-saving warning.

A new study found that certain fungi can settle in the pancreas, where they spur the growth of tumors.

SpaceX’s facility at Cape Canaveral just received a crucial new delivery: a Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule that it will be using for an upcoming in-flight abort test. This test, which will demonstrate the spacecraft and launch system’s ability to abort the launch mid-flight in case of any emergencies, is an important and necessary step before SpaceX can fly Crew Dragon with any actual people on board.

This test will replicate a “worst-case scenario” of sorts, by staging a crew capsule separation at the point of “Max Q,” which is the part of the launch where the rocket is exposed to the most severe atmospheric forces prior to making it to space. At this point during the abort test, the Crew Dragon will show that it can detach from the Falcon 9 rocket and propel itself away to a safe distance in order to protect the astronauts on board.

A groundbreaking new image provides direct evidence of a ‘cosmic web’ of gas that links every galaxy in the universe.

If you thought Cambridge Analytica had scary tech, wait until you see this. A new form of AI modelling promises accurate simulation of the behaviour of entire cities, countries and one day perhaps, the world.