Lifeboat Foundation

A team of scientists from Montana State University has provided the first experimental evidence that two new groups of microbes thriving in thermal features in Yellowstone National Park produce methane—a discovery that could one day contribute to the development of methods to mitigate climate change and provide insight into potential life elsewhere in our solar system.

In an era where the internet connects virtually every aspect of our lives, the security of information systems has become paramount. Safeguarding critical databases containing private and commercial information presents a formidable challenge, driving researchers to explore advanced encryption techniques for enhanced protection.

Data encryption, a cornerstone of modern security practices, transforms readable plaintext into encoded ciphertext, ensuring that only authorized recipients can decipher the data using a decryption key or password. Optical techniques have emerged as promising tools for encryption due to their capabilities for parallel, high-speed transmission, and low-power consumption. However, traditional optical encryption systems often suffer from vulnerabilities where plaintext-ciphertext forms remain identical, potentially compromising security.

Reporting in Advanced Photonics Nexus, scientists have unveiled an approach inspired by bio-inspired neuromorphic imaging and speckle correlography. Their innovative technique leverages computational neuromorphic imaging (CNI) to encrypt images into event-stream ciphertexts, marking a significant departure from conventional methods. This method introduces a new paradigm in optical encryption by converting data into event-driven formats, thereby significantly enhancing security and complexity.

In Arizona, cases of valley fever — a disease spread by a fungus that lives in the dirt — have more than doubled in the past year, 12News reported. The spike in cases may be related to conditions brought about by the ongoing overheating of our planet, officials said.

Valley fever is a lung infection that causes symptoms similar to those that come with pneumonia. These symptoms include fatigue, cough, fever, headache, shortness of breath, night sweats, muscle aches, and rash, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Continue reading “Mom raises critical warning to parents after son contracts serious disease spreading across state: ‘It ravaged his body’” »

Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered one of the oldest and coldest-known exoplanets by directly imaging its host star (see image, below).

It’s the first time JWST has imaged an exoplanet that had not already been imaged using a ground-based telescope.

Exoplanets are planets that orbit a star other than our sun. Almost all of the 5,000 known exoplanets have been discovered indirectly using the transit method, detecting changes in the light of a star as a planet crosses in front of its disk.

Do note a ‘continuing eruption’ does not necessarily imply continuous daily activity, but indicates that there have been intermittent eruptions without a hiatus of three months or more.

On this day in 1,897, Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas. Today has been designated National Amelia Earhart Day in her honor. More about this pioneering pilot:

Amelia Earhart is one of the most famous American pilots. A record setting aviator, she was the second person to fly solo and nonstop across the Atlantic, the first person to fly solo and nonstop across the United States, and much more. She tragically went missing while attempting to fly around the world.

Earhart’s life, while tragically cut short, was many layered. In addition to the feats accomplished while in a plane, Earhart made an impact in areas from ranging from fashion to flying an autogiro. Here are five things you may not know about the famous American pilot.

Continue reading “Five Things You May Not Know About Amelia Earhart” »

“This discovery is exciting because the planet is quite similar to Jupiter — it is a little warmer and is more massive but is more similar to Jupiter than any other planet that has been imaged so far,” said Dr. Elisabeth Matthews.

How cold are exoplanets? This is what a recent study published in Nature hopes to address as a team of international scientists investigated Epsilon Indi Ab, which is located approximately 12 light-years from Earth and whose radius is slightly larger than Jupiter and just over three times as massive. What makes this study unique is this it was observed using the direct imaging method, which has only been conducted on approximately 25 exoplanets to date, and could help astronomers better understand the formation and evolution of not only Epsilon Indi Ab, but countless other exoplanets, as well.

Discovered in 2019, astronomers previously hypothesized the planetary properties of Epsilon Indi Ab based on data at the time. For this recent study, astronomers used JWST’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and its coronagraph to directly image Epsilon Indi Ab, revealing much different properties while also identifying the planetary temperature of approximately 35 degrees Fahrenheit, making Epsilon Indi Ab the coldest exoplanet to date. Additionally, Epsilon Indi Ab was also found to have high metal contents within its atmosphere, specifically a high carbon-to-oxygen ratio.

Continue reading “Discovery of Epsilon Indi Ab: One of the Coldest Imaged Exoplanets” »

When a large star runs out of fuel, its core collapses into a dense object, ejecting the remaining gas outward in an event known as a supernova. What’s left are largely neutron stars and black holes. And now Hubble appears to have observed a supernova blink out, implying that it captured the instant a black hole took over.

What makes this occurrence unique is that the formation of a black hole was not foreseen. Normally, when a star of this size reaches the end of its life, it explodes in a massive event called a supernova. Instead, it appears that this star chose to go out quietly.