Lifeboat Foundation

Blue supergiants are the rock-and-roll stars of the universe. They are massive stars that live fast and die young which makes them rare and difficult to study, even with modern telescopes.

Before space telescopes, few blue supergiants had been observed, so our knowledge of these stars was limited.

Leading astrophysicist Dr. Tamara Rogers, from Newcastle University, UK, and her team have been working for the past five years to create simulations of stars like these to try to predict what it is that makes the surface appear the way it does.

Continue reading “Secrets of the ‘blue supergiant’ revealed” »

Something strange is happening off the coast of Portugal, and scientists have now proposed a groundbreaking explanation.

Groupe PSA, responsible for some 25 percent of all light commercial vehicle sales in the UK, has affirmed a commitment to electrification at the Birmingham Commercial Vehicle Show, showing a new Peugeot Boxer and Citroen Relay based on an electric platform.

NASA is sending fan-propelled robotic “bees” into space to do chores for astronauts 🚀 🐝.

To kill bacteria in the blood, our immune system relies on nanomachines that can open deadly holes in their targets. UCL scientists have now filmed these nanomachines in action, discovering a key bottleneck in the process which helps to protect our own cells.

The research, published in Nature Communications, provides us with a better understanding of how the immune system kills bacteria and why our own cells remain intact. This may guide the development of new therapies that harness the immune system against bacterial infections, and strategies that repurpose the immune system to act against other rogue cells in the body.

In earlier research, the scientists imaged the hallmarks of attack in live bacteria, showing that the immune system response results in ‘bullet holes’ spread across the cell envelopes of bacteria. The holes are incredibly small with a diameter of just 10 nanometres.

Continue reading “Filming how our immune system kill bacteria” »

Like other previous claims, this one may not hold up.

Under a draft proposal, patients would be able to buy some therapies without regulatory approval.

Razer is building a toaster. Mattel is probably building an exascale supercomputer. I hear Raytheon just got into baby toys. Dogs and cats, living together! Chaos reigns.

The most powerful laser ever made has one-tenth the power of the sun and is being used in cancer therapy research. P.S. It works.