Lifeboat News: The Blog – Safeguarding Humanity

Manuka Honey Is Killing Every Kind Of Bacteria Scientists Throw At It, Even The Super-Bugs

Posted by Quinn Sena in biotech/medical, health

Apr 20
2019

The health benefits of raw, unprocessed honey are well known, but in Australia, scientists recently made a startling discovery – that one particular, obscure type of honey is capable of killing just about everything scientists throw at it, including some of the worst bacteria known to man.

The findings were published in the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (June 2009 edition), and could hold special significance at a time when many of the world’s top antibiotics are failing, especially against resistant “superbugs”.

The honey in question is known as manuka honey, which is produced in New Zealand and also goes by the name of jelly bush honey.

This Quantum Computer Can See the Future — All 16 of Them

Posted by Genevieve Klien in computing, quantum physics

Apr 20
2019

Researchers have built a quantum computer prototype that can show 16 possible futures at the same time.

Researchers report high performance solid-state sodium-ion battery

Posted by Quinn Sena in energy

Apr 20
2019

Solid-state sodium-ion batteries are far safer than conventional lithium-ion batteries, which pose a risk of fire and explosions, but their performance has been too weak to offset the safety advantages. Researchers Friday reported developing an organic cathode that dramatically improves both stability and energy density.

The improved performance, reported in the journal Joule, is related to two key findings:

A Heavy-Metal Planet Orbiting a Dead Star May Foretell Our World’s End

Posted by Quinn Sena in space

Apr 20
2019

The iron core of what was once a world has been found around a white dwarf star, shedding light on the final days of planetary systems—including our own.

By Jonathan O’Callaghan on April 4, 2019

MicroSD Cards Packing 1TB of Storage Arrive This Spring

Posted by Shailesh Prasad in computing

Apr 20
2019

They’re in the works at Micron and Western Digital, but they won’t be cheap. WD’s card arrives in April for $449.99; Micron has not yet announced pricing.

Thermodynamic magic enables cooling without energy consumption

Posted by Shailesh Prasad in energy, physics

Apr 20
2019

Physicists at the University of Zurich have developed an amazingly simple device that allows heat to flow temporarily from a cold to a warm object without an external power supply. Intriguingly, the process initially appears to contradict the fundamental laws of physics.

If you put a teapot of boiling water on the kitchen table, it will gradually cool down. However, its temperature is not expected to fall below that of the table. It is precisely this everyday experience that illustrates one of the fundamental laws of physics—the second law of thermodynamics—which states that the entropy of a closed natural system must increase over time. Or, more simply put: Heat can flow by itself only from a warmer to a colder object, and not the other way round.