Lifeboat Foundation

Draper combines navigation and neuromodulation to guide insects

CAMBRIDGE, MA – The smallest aerial drones mimic insects in many ways, but none can match the efficiency and maneuverability of the dragonfly. Now, engineers at Draper are creating a new kind of hybrid drone by combining miniaturized navigation, synthetic biology and neurotechnology to guide dragonfly insects. The system looks like a backpack for a dragonfly.

DragonflEye, an internal research and development project at Draper, is already showing promise as a way to guide the flightpath of dragonflies. Potential applications of the technologies underpinning DragonflEye include guided pollination, payload delivery, reconnaissance and even precision medicine and diagnostics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPN0wzzWNUU&feature=youtu.be

Enlarge Image Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University has successfully launched a satellite from the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time. It’s a nanosatellite that deserves special attention for its new thruster technology. These new micro-thrusters allow the satellite to remain in for space twice as long as other similar satellites, according to the university. The improved thrusters could go a long way towards fighting the problem of space debris: Man-made trash such as the old satellites and spent rocket stages that create a field of debris around the earth.
https://www.cnet.com/news/singapore-launches-first-ever-sate…CAD590a51e
http://www.wochit.com

This video was produced by YT Wochit Tech using http://wochit.com

Research by scientists at Swansea University is helping to meet the challenge of incorporating nanoscale structures into future semiconductor devices that will create new technologies and impact on all aspects of everyday life.

Dr Alex Lord and Professor Steve Wilks from the Centre for Nanohealth led the collaborative research published in Nano Letters. The research team looked at ways to engineer electrical contact technology on minute scales with simple and effective modifications to nanowires that can be used to develop enhanced devices based on the nanomaterials. Well-defined electrical contacts are essential for any electrical circuit and electronic device because they control the flow of electricity that is fundamental to the operational capability.

Everyday materials that are being scaled down to the size of nanometres (one million times smaller than a millimetre on a standard ruler) by scientists on a global scale are seen as the future of electronic devices. The scientific and engineering advances are leading to new technologies such as energy producing clothing to power our personal gadgets and sensors to monitor our health and the surrounding environment.

Continue reading “New research helps to make the most of nanoscale catalytic effects for nanotechnology” »

Australia getting their QC production lines ready with this advancement. BTW — get ready as the printers are coming soon.

The Australian National University (ANU) has led an international team to create a nano-sized diamond that’s harder than the natural gem and which will be useful for cutting through super-hard mining materials.

ANU Associate Professor Jodie Bradby said her team, including ANU PhD student Thomas Shiell and experts from RMIT, the University of Sydney and the United States, fabricated nano-sized Lonsdaleite, which is a hexagonal diamond only found in nature at meteorite impact sites, such as in Arizona’s Canyon Diablo.

Continue reading “Engineers Australia : New lab-made diamond at mining’s cutting-edge” »

Behold the power of the protein Lin28a.

“His body, along with the others, will remain frozen indefinitely, with enough ongoing financial support to sustain its current state, news.com.au reported.

Last year, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate successfully froze and reanimated a rabbit brain”.

Since his death, James Bedford’s body has been cryogenically frozen and awaiting reanimation on the edge of the Sonaran Desert in Arizona. This week marks the 50th year of Bedford’s deep freeze, making him the oldest “de-animated” human being on earth.

Continue reading “After 50 years, frozen WWI veteran’s body awaits reanimation” »

A quick look at synthetic biology and its potential for health and treating age-related diseases.

All living organisms contain an instruction set that determines what they look like and what they do. These instructions are encoded in the organism’s DNA within every cell, this is an organism’s genetic code (or “genome”).

Mankind has been altering the genetic code of plants and animals for thousands of years, by selectively breeding individuals with desired features. Over time we have become experts at viewing and manipulating this code, and we can now take genetic information associated with the desired features from one organism, and add it into another one. This is the basis of genetic engineering, which has allowed us to speed up the process of developing new breeds of plants and animals.

Continue reading “Will synthetic biology help us to eliminate age-related diseases?” »

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Some exciting news from Lifespan.io about their current senescent cell therapy campaign.

While the CellAge campaign has done a great job thus far, with over 200 backers raising $11,000+ to better target dysfunctional “senescent” cells in the body, many supporters have let us know that the holidays, along with other concurrent fundraisers, have made it challenging to contribute.

In response we have decided to announce a 1-month extension for the CellAge campaign, and give the generous members of our community greater opportunity to support this important research.

Continue reading “CellAge 1-month campaign extension announced” »