Lifeboat Foundation

According to Einstein’s General Relativity, gravity travels at the speed of light. Proving it is far from simple, though: unlike light, gravity can’t simply be switched on and off, and is also extremely weak.

Over the years, various attempts have been made to measure the speed using studies of astronomical phenomena, such as the time delay of light as it passes through the huge gravitational field of Jupiter. While the results have been broadly in line with Einstein’s prediction, they’ve lacked the precision needed for compelling evidence. That’s now been provided by the celebrated detection of gravitational waves. Analysis of the signals picked up by the two giant LIGO instruments in the US has confirmed that gravity does indeed travel through space at the speed of light.

But can any company afford to manufacture one-off medical care?

Findings from mouse study suggest organs affected by autoimmune disease suppress immune cells using methods similar to those used by cancer cells to evade detection.

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Developers testing an earthquake early warning system for the West Coast say its automated alerts are ready to be used more broadly, but not for mass public notification.

U.S. Geological Survey official Doug Given told reporters Wednesday at California Institute of Technology that the ShakeAlert system has transitioned from a production prototype to operational mode.

The system built for California, Oregon and Washington detects an earthquake is occurring and send out alerts that may give warnings of few seconds to perhaps a minute before shaking arrives at locations away from the epicenter.

Continue reading “West Coast earthquake warning system becomes operational” »

Backed by startup incubator Y Combinator, Acre Designs is poised to transform the house building industry with prefabricated, net zero energy homes that are affordable and sustainable.

Give me my data and no one gets hurt (I’ll lease it back to you, no problem:-)

At the Gartner Symposium/ITExpo, Rometty laid out three principles for companies working ethically with AI.

Maybe they’re not alien doppelgangers — mirror images of us.

But extraterrestrial life—should it exist—might look “eerily similar to the life we see on Earth,” says Charles Cockell, professor of astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Indeed, Cockell’s new book (The Equations of Life: How Physics Shapes Evolution, Basic Books, 352 pages) suggests a “universal biology.” Alien adaptations, significantly resembling terrestrial life—from humanoids to hummingbirds—may have emerged on billions of worlds.

Continue reading “Extraterrestrials Might Look Like Us, Says Astrobiologist” »

“An extraordinary eighty-year study has led to some unexpected discoveries about long life.”

-O, The Oprah Magazine

For years we have been told to obsessively monitor when we’re angry, what we eat, how much we worry, and how often we go to the gym. So why isn’t everyone healthy? Drawing from the most extensive study of long life ever conducted, The Longevity Project busts many long- held myths, revealing how:

At this year’s AIAA Space and Astronautics Forum and Exposition, engineer Marco Peroni presented his proposal for a modular Martian base that would provide its own radiation shielding.