Lifeboat Foundation

A recently released study from Maria Blasco and her team of researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) shows that the rate of telomere shortening is strongly correlated with the maximum lifespan of animal species.

Telomeres

Telomeres, which are simply repeating segments of DNA on the ends of our chromosomes, serve two critical functions: They protect the ends of our chromosomes, preventing genetic damage, and they serve as a clock, limiting the number of times that our cells can divide. This limit, known as the Hayflick limit, serves as a basic defense against cancer. However, telomere attrition is a primary hallmark of aging and leads to cellular senescence and other age-related disorders.

“We cannot directly image what’s going on near objects like black holes and neutron stars, but studying the polarization of X-rays emitted from their surrounding environments reveals the physics of these enigmatic objects,” Paul Hertz, director of NASA’s astrophysics division, said in a statement at the time. The project, he said, “will open a new window on the universe for astronomers to peer through.”

A preliminary launch date is set for April 2021 on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A in Florida. It’s unlikely it will take up the full payload of the rocket, as SpaceNews.com points out.

READ MORE: SpaceX contracted by NASA to launch black hole and neutron star research craft [TechCrunch].

A team of researchers led by scientists in Vienna, Dresden and Heidelberg has decoded the entire genetic information of the Mexican salamander axolotl. The axolotl genome, which is the largest genome ever to be sequenced, will be a powerful tool to study the molecular basis for regrowing limbs and other forms of regeneration.

Salamanders have long served as valuable biological models for developmental, regeneration and evolutionary studies. In particular, the Mexican axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum has received special attention due to its astounding ability to regenerate body-parts. If the cannibalistically inclined animal loses a limb, it will regrow a perfect substitute within weeks, complete with bones, muscles and nerves in the right places. Even more fascinating, the axolotl can repair severed spinal cord and retinal tissue. These qualities and the relative ease in breeding have made it a favourite biological model, cultivated in the lab for more than 150 years.

This update is an adaptation of my recent answer to a Quora reader who was in a panic. She asked:

“What can I do after a hard drive crash?
How can I recover my cryptocurrency?”

In the past, I would address the immediate problem of course. (My answer is below). But to prepare for the next unfortunate event, I recommended a wallet type based on a user’s unique experience, expertise and comfort zone. I guided the reader to weigh trade-offs of important criteria: Security, portability, convenience, and quick access to assets).

I had believed that some types of wallets were better for some individuals, but that they required a background in cryptography—or at least a discipline for meticulous practices. As CEO of the Cryptocurrency Standards Association, I had also believed that simple, unified, and popular standards would emerge very soon. I figured that this would enable users to practice safe-wallet maintenance in their own homes.

Continue reading “Lack of standards leads to new Bitcoin wallet advice” »

Move aside, electrons; it’s time to make way for the trion.

A research team led by physicists at the University of California, Riverside, has observed, characterized, and controlled dark trions in a semiconductor—ultraclean single-layer tungsten diselenide (WSe₂)—a feat that could increase the capacity and alter the form of information transmission.

In a semiconductor, such as WSe₂, a trion is a quantum bound state of three charged particles. A negative trion contains two electrons and one hole; a positive trion contains two holes and one electron. A hole is the vacancy of an electron in a semiconductor, which behaves like a positively charged particle. Because a trion contains three interacting particles, it can carry much more information than a single electron.

Physicists at the University of Innsbruck are proposing a new model that could demonstrate the supremacy of quantum computers over classical supercomputers in solving optimization problems. In a recent paper, they demonstrate that just a few quantum particles would be sufficient to solve the mathematically difficult N-queens problem in chess even for large chess boards.

A process called nucleation plays a critical role in many physical and biological phenomena that range from crystallization, melting and evaporation to the formation of clouds and the initiation of neurodegenerative diseases. However, nucleation is a challenging process to study experimentally, especially in its early stages, when several atoms or molecules start to form a new phase from a parent phase. Now, a team of physicists led by the University of California, Los Angeles has used a method called atomic electron tomography to study early-stage nucleation in four dimensions (that is, in three dimensions of space and across time) at atomic resolution.

As evidence grows that gut bacteria play roles in the development and persistence of food allergies, researchers begin to explore microbe-based interventions.

Malware researchers discovered a new malicious campaign for Android devices that replaces legitimate apps with tainted copies built to push advertisements or hijack valid ad events.

Around 25 million devices have already been infected with what researchers have dubbed “Agent Smith,” after users installed an app from an unofficial Android store.