Lifeboat Foundation

Zombie Bacteria that sounds like a Netflix Series…not really, but a bacteria that devours roundworms has been found. #karma A new species of bacterium Chryseobacterium nematophagum, has been found to digest its hosts—roundworm parasites—from the inside out. The findings, which are presented in the open access journal BMC Biology, suggest that the bacteria may potentially be used in future, to control roundworm infections in animals, plants, and, potentially, humans.

A new species of bacterium, Chryseobacterium nematophagum, has been found to digest its hosts—roundworm parasites—from the inside out. The findings, which are presented in the open access journal BMC Biology, suggest that the bacteria may potentially be used in future, to control roundworm infections in animals, plants, and, potentially, humans.

Accumulation of fat in the liver, known as fatty liver disease, is experienced by over 5.5 million Australians, including more than 40% of all adults over the age of 50.

Fatty liver develops from a combination of both genetic and environmental causes, which influence the age of onset and severity of the disease. Experts are now describing the condition as a hidden epidemic, which is driving up rates of liver transplant, contributing to a range of illnesses and ultimately death.

Fatty liver disease usually has no early symptoms and diagnoses with current technologies mostly comes when it’s too late to prevent major illness. But now, for the first time in a study published in the prestigious scientific journal, Nature, a team of researchers from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, University of California, and University of Sydney, have discovered biomarkers in the blood that can predict the accumulation of toxic fats in the liver, which are a sign of early fatty liver disease. These predictions can be made based on the lipid (fats) profile in the blood.

Continue reading “Scientists discover predictors that determine toxic fats in the liver” »

In the fight against cancer, there is a surprising tool in the arsenal: the food we eat. That’s because some nutrients in food have been found to play a role in preventing cancer, and it’s relevant because the World Cancer Research Fund reports that 30 to 50 percent of cancer cases are preventable, putting a focus on stopping cancer from developing in the first place.

Xiang-Dong Wang, a senior scientist and associate director of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Research Center on Aging at Tufts, studies how food can help prevent cancer development, particularly lung, liver, and colon cancer.

Although the rate of most cancers is dropping, there is increasing concern about the rise in both incidence and death rate of liver cancer in the United States, partially due to the parallel rise in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, obesity, and diabetes.

Continue reading “Study finds that in mice, lycopene in tomatoes reduced fatty liver disease, inflammation and liver cancer” »

Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 for Demo-1, the first flight test of the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, is targeted for Saturday, March 2, at 2:49 a.m. EST from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Join us at 2 a.m. EST for countdown coverage. Watch:

Are we alone in the universe?

Using data on the UV levels required to make the molecular structures needed within a functioning cell, scientists may have just found a pair of planets capable of supporting life — both exo-planets receive similar UV levels from stars needed to promote cell function, one of which is Kepler-452b.

As it travels through space, Pioneer 10 carries a unique payload: a 6.0 × 9.0 in gold-anodized aluminum plaque with images of two nude human figures (one male and one female) and information on the probe’s origin. It was designed by astronomers Carl Sagan and Frank Drake, just in case intelligent life finds the spacecraft. #FlipFacts

“Without all these cords, you feel like, this is my little human that I can pick up and snuggle,” one mom says.

Fans like Ben Pearson use NASA data to project the car’s location through space. For now, the convertible will continue its long drive around our inner solar system. And perhaps if humans make it to Mars like Musk hopes, we might even see the Roadster on our way there.

The human eye is an exquisite photodetection system with the ability to detect single photons. The process of vision is initiated by single-photon absorption in the molecule retinal, triggering a cascade of complex chemical processes that eventually lead to the generation of an electrical impulse. Here, we analyze the single-photon detection prospects for an architecture inspired by the human eye: field-effect transistors employing carbon nanotubes functionalized with chromophores. We employ non-equilibrium quantum transport simulations of realistic devices to reveal device response upon absorption of a single photon. We establish the parameters that determine the strength of the response such as the magnitude and orientation of molecular dipole(s), as well as the arrangements of chromophores on carbon nanotubes. Moreover, we show that functionalization of a single nanotube with multiple chromophores allows for number resolution, whereby the number of photons in an incoming light packet can be determined. Finally, we assess the performance prospects by calculating the dark count rate, and we identify the most promising architectures and regimes of operation.