Lifeboat Foundation

Two of the earliest Earth-ish exoplanet finds are now more exciting targets in the search for habitable worlds beyond this rock.

Tokamak Energy of the UK has built the ST40 prototype fusion reactor and they aim to reach 100 million degrees celsius by the end of 2018. They have already reached 15 million degrees.

This Dragon has a Maya in it! 🇵🇭️👊.

We come in peace.

You can generate electricity from oil, you can produce it from natural gas, you can make it from nuclear energy, and you can channel it from the sun, via solar energy conversion systems. You can even generate electricity from photosynthetic bacteria, also known as cyanobacteria, based on a new innovation developed at the Technion. As published in a study in the journal, Nature Communications, the Technion researchers have developed an energy-producing system that exploits both the photosynthesis and respiratory processes that cyanobacteria undergo, with the harvested energy leveraged to generate electricity based on hydrogen.

The study was conducted by three Technion faculty members: Professor Noam Adir from the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, Professor Gadi Schuster from the Faculty of Biology, and Professor Avner Rothschild, from the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering. The work involved collaboration between Dr. Gadiel Saper and Dr. Dan Kallmann, as well as colleagues from Bochum, Germany and the Weizmann Institute of Science. It was supported by various bodies, including the Nancy and Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP), the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute (RBNI), the Technion Hydrogen Technologies Research Lab (HTRL), the Adelis Foundation, the Planning and Budgeting Committee’s I-CORE program, the Israel Science Foundation, the USA-Israel Binational Science Fund (BSF) and the German research fund (DFG-DIP).

Scientists have long considered cyanobacteria a possible energy source. Cyanobacteria belong to a family of bacteria common to lakes, seas, and many other habitats. The bacteria use photosynthetic mechanisms that enable them to generate energy from sunlight. They also generate energy in the dark, via respiratory mechanisms based on digestion and degradation of sugar.

Continue reading “Electricity from germs could be the next big thing, say Israeli researchers” »

Astrocyte activation in the hippocampus is sufficient to generate synaptic potentiation, enhance memory allocation, and improve cognitive performance beyond what can be achieved by elevating neuronal activity alone.

Wind power on Mars makes it possible for any rover or other craft to collect power at the poles or other areas on the planet that don’t get constant sunlight.

NASA — National Aeronautics and Space Administration literally saved us from a planet-wide apocalypse.

Incredible true story of a NASA arctic expedition designed to be the first Martian road trip on Earth becomes an epic two-year odyssey of survival. Voiceover from Buzz Aldrin.br /