Lifeboat Foundation

Thousands of Americans need heart transplants each year.

UK scientists have taken the first steps towards creating new vaccine treatments in pill form.

The Cardiff team has made a prototype oral flu vaccine, which unlike standard inoculations does not need to be stored in a fridge or freezer.

They hope it could pave the way for needle-free inoculations for lots of different diseases that would be easier to use in developing countries.

A new greener, stronger and more durable concrete that is made using the wonder-material graphene could revolutionise the construction industry.

Experts from the University of Exeter have developed a pioneering new technique that uses nanoengineering technology to incorporate graphene into traditional concrete production.

The new composite material, which is more than twice as strong and four times more water resistant than existing concretes, can be used directly by the construction industry on building sites. All of the concrete samples tested are according to British and European standards for construction.

Many of them must wait for years to get a kidney transplant and live normally, with seemingly no other solution on the horizon. However, there’s finally a light in the dark tunnel – scientists from the University of California at San Francisco, USA, have developed the world’s first bionic kidney which can replace damaged kidneys easily and effectively.

In July last year, the American Red Cross declared an emergency blood shortage — it simply wasn’t receiving enough donations to help all the patients that needed blood.

This was first presented at the June 2017 TechVancouver.

In this presentation, Geordie discusses the transition that will soon take place with regards to advancements in artificial intelligence.

Continue reading “Geordie Rose of Kindred AI presents Super-intelligent Aliens Are Coming to Earth” »

It will soon be as easy to produce convincing fake video as it is to lie. We need to be prepared.

A team of researchers at the University of British Columbia has found two types of enzymes that together, can transform type A blood to type O blood in the human gut biome. In their paper published in the journal Nature Microbiology, the group describes their metagenomic study of bacteria in human feces and what they found.

There are four blood types: A, B, AB and O. These types are not compatible for blood transfusions, except for type O, which can be transfused into recipient, making it highly valued. The difference between the blood types is due to sugar molecules known as blood antigens that reside on the surfaces of red blood cells. Those with A-type antigens have A-type blood, those with B-type antigens have B-type blood and those with both antigens have AB-type blood. Type O is different because it does not have any antigens on its surface. An immune response is initiated if blood is found with the wrong type of antigen—since type O red blood cells have none, no immune response is initiated.

Prior research by the team at UBC showed that certain enzymes could be used to convert A, B, or AB to O by removing the antigens. In this new effort, the researchers found that two enzymes working together convert type A blood to O, and that they exist in the human gut biome.

In March, a team of Chinese scientists published a study detailing how they made monkeys smarter by splicing a human gene into their DNA.

The news was met by a wave of backlash. But now, one of the scientists behind the study is defending the team’s work — and pledging to push forward on the controversial research.