Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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For a child, recovering from a broken bone is typically a short-lived, albeit painful, convalescence. But for older adults, it can be a protracted and potentially life-threatening process.

Finding ways to speed is a public health priority that could save both lives and health care expense. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 800,000 patients a year are hospitalized because of fall injuries, including broken hips, and these hospitalizations cost an average of $30,000.

“Delayed is a major health issue in aging, and strategies to improve the pace of repair and prevent the need for additional surgeries to achieve healing substantially improve patient outcomes,” said senior author Benjamin Alman, M.D., chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Duke.

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The spacecraft that have peered through the yellowish haze surrounding Saturn’s moon Titan discovered a strange, yet strangely familiar world where life could theoretically take root. Now, scientists want to return — this time buoyed by Earth’s fascination with drone technology.

That’s precisely what a team of scientists working on a proposed mission called Dragonfly want to do: combine terrestrial drone technology and instruments honed by Mars exploration to investigate the complex chemical reactions taking place on Saturn’s largest moon. Later this year, NASA will need to decide between that mission and another finalist proposal, which would collect a sample from a comet.

“At first blush, I think a lot of people think [Dragonfly] sounds like the literal meaning of incredible,” Melissa Trainer, a deputy principal investigator with the mission, told Space.com. “Not only is this an incredibly exciting concept with amazing, compelling science, but also, it is doable — it’s feasible from an engineering standpoint.” [Landing on Titan: Pictures from Huygens Probe on Saturn Moon].

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As I look back on the year, I am also thinking about the specific areas I work on. Some of this is done through our foundation but a lot of it (such as my work on energy and Alzheimer’s work) is not. What connects it all is my belief that innovation can save lives and improve everyone’s well-being. A lot of people underestimate just how much innovation will make life better.

Here are a few updates on what’s going well and what isn’t with innovation in some areas where I work.

Bill Gates looks back on 2018, and shares a few thoughts on what’s going well and what isn’t with innovation in some specific areas that he works on.

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A machine which triples the time livers can survive outside the body promises to halve the transplant waiting list, experts have said as officials approved its use in the NHS.

Hundreds more patients with advanced liver disease — Britain’s fifth biggest killer — have hope of a successful transplant after the “game-changing” technique was given the green light by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice).

Currently livers intended for transplant typically survive for only about eight to ten hours on ice.

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Researchers with the University of Michigan have developed a new 3D printing technology that is capable of printing 100 times faster than normal 3D printers. Unlike traditional 3D printers, which work by applying plastic down as layers, the new technology involves resin that is solidified upward at rapid speeds. The new method is capable of producing complex objects at speeds that traditional printers can’t compete with.

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New research published in the journal Nature Medicine has described the results of a five-year study into the association between a breakdown of the blood-brain barrier and the onset of cognitive impairment. The study suggests leaky capillaries in the brain can act as an early biomarker of cognitive decline, and a new drug being developed for stroke patients may be an effective treatment.

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