Lifeboat Foundation

Organizations are building resilient supply chains with a “phygital” approach, a blend of digital and physical tools. In recent years, the global supply chain has been disrupted due to the covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical volatility, overwhelmed legacy systems, and labor shortages. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), an industrial advocacy group, warns the disruption isn’t over— NAM’s spring 2023 survey found 90% of respondents saw significant (52.5%) or partial (39%) supply chain disruption during the past two years. Just 0.5% of respondents reported no disruption at all. Digitization presents an opportunity to overcome supply chain disruption by making data flow more efficiently, using technology and data standards to break barriers between disparate systems.

“Phygital merges two worlds together, where standards provide an interoperable system of defined data structures,” says Melanie Nuce-Hilton, senior vice president of innovation and partnerships at GS1 US, a member of GS1, a global not-for-profit supply chain standards organization. “The approach is intended to deliver multiple benefits—improved supply chain visibility for traceability and inventory management, better customer experiences across online and offline interactions, and the potential for better circularity and waste reduction by maintaining linkages between products and their data throughout their lifecycle,” she says.

An innovative microscopy technique bridges the gap between field of view and resolution.

The innovative tweak will allow scientists to directly observe molecular behavior over a much longer period, opening a window onto pivotal biological processes like cell division.

“The living cell is a busy place with proteins bustling here and there,” explains University of Michigan biomedical engineer Guangjie Cui. “Our superresolution is very attractive for viewing these dynamic activities.”

Meet the kitchen robot that can prepare a chicken Caesar salad, spaghetti Bolognese, teriyaki steak, chicken penne alfredo, all at the same time.

And then it does the washing up.

Continue reading “Kitchen Robot Gives Chef Four Extra Pairs Of Hands” »

Scientists have developed a way to recycle plastic waste by transforming it into soap.

For the first time, researchers have used plastics to create soap. To achieve this goal, a team led by Virginia Tech scientists devised a novel approach.

As per the official release, this innovative method allowed them to upcycle plastics into chemicals known as surfactants, which are widely used in making soap and detergent.

Continue reading “Soap made from discarded plastics? This is upcycling at its best” »

The Board of Trustees of the National Aviation Hall of Fame, or NAHF, named Tyson Weihs, co-founder and former CEO of ForeFlight, winner of its 2023 Armstrong Award.

The award recognizes Weihs for his “innovative spirit, commitment to safety, and service to the aviation community,” the NAHF said. Many pilots are using ForeFlight every day who would agree that the platform represents a game-changer in general aviation.

Doc Ock’s dream of holding the power of the sun in the palm of our hands may be coming true.

Take a look at the ingredients in any jar of moisturizer and it’ll almost certainly contain hyaluronic acid.

The gel-like substance helps your skin stretch and flex, and reduces lines and wrinkles. It also helps wounds to heal faster and can reduce scarring.

But hyaluronic acid, also known as hyaluron, is costly to produce and raises ethical concerns because it’s largely derived from animal tissue.

A lesson from ChatGPT: people get excited by progress when they understand what it means.