Lifeboat Foundation

A review of senescent cell removal therapies.

Aging at the cellular level is called “cell senescence”, and it contributes profoundly to whole-body aging. The most promising near-term prospects for a leap in human life expectancy come from drugs that eliminate senescent cells. Programs in universities and pharmaceutical labs around the world are racing to develop “senolytic” drugs, defined as agents that can kill senescent cells with minimal harm to normal cells.

Apoptosis is cell suicide, and (from the perspective of the full organism) it’s the best thing that can happen to senescent cells. The authors of this newest Dutch study ask how it is that senescent cells escape apoptosis.

Continue reading “Senolytics against Aging: Snapshot of a Fast-Moving Field” »

A future bar fad?

Science has pulled through with the goods once again. Nope, no word yet on an unlimited clean energy source or a phone battery that lasts more than a day. But hold tight, they have created an indoor cloud that produces raindrops of real tequila.

The tequila cloud is part of an installation at Urban Spree art gallery in Berlin, created by the ad agency LAPIZ on behalf of the Mexico Tourism Board. The idea is that the weather sucks in Germany during March, so why not head over to Mexico for a holiday? Sounds good to us.

Continue reading “This Cloud Actually Rains Drops Of Tequila” »

The House of Representatives approved a measure rolling back Obama-era FCC regulations about internet privacy. Here are five things you now need to know.

The a Single Stage to Orbit (SSTO) rocket named after Austrian-Romanian medieval rocket pioneer Conrad Haas (1509−1579), can launch 100 kg (220lbs) of payload to low earth orbit. The rocket has one stage that is fueled by hydrogen peroxide and kerosene. ARCA Space Corporation secured preliminary partnerships with NASA’s Kennedy, Ames, Wallops, Marshall, Stennis and Johnson Space Centers aiming to increase the flight readiness of the vehicle that is scheduled for the first flight in 2018 from Wallops Flight Facility. ARCA has also started the FAA licensing process and is currently seeking to secure a partnership with an US defense agency. The SSTO launcher configuration, using the Executor Aerospike engine, is designed to deliver the following results:

Scientists have discovered a new mechanism involved in the creation of paired light particles, which could have significant impact on the study of quantum physics.

Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have shown that when photons — the fundamental particles of light — are created in pairs, they can emerge from different, rather than the same, location.

The ground-breaking research could have significant implications for quantum physics, the theoretical basis of modern physics. Until now, the general assumption was that such photon pairs necessarily originate from single points in space.

Fighting Cancer, Boosting Fertility: The Promise of the First Female Reproductive System on a Chip | Draper, Northwestern University and University of Illinois create miniature, personalized reproductive system that reinvents drug testing and discovery for women.

http://bit.ly/2odbQZ9

Transplanted umbilical cord blood can be used to treat or cure more than 80 conditions, from leukaemia to sickle-cell disease. Chris, diagnosed with leukaemia, used blood from three babies he’ll never meet, to keep him alive.

“With the VR Ad Service, advertisers only pay for an ad after a user has seen it.”

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Algorithms with learning abilities collect personal data that are then used without users’ consent and even without their knowledge; autonomous weapons are under discussion in the United Nations; robots stimulating emotions are deployed with vulnerable people; research projects are funded to develop humanoid robots; and artificial intelligence-based systems are used to evaluate people. One can consider these examples of AI and autonomous systems (AS) as great achievements or claim that they are endangering human freedom and dignity.

We need to make sure that these technologies are aligned to humans in terms of our moral values and ethical principles to fully benefit from the potential of them. AI and AS have to behave in a way that is beneficial to people beyond reaching functional goals and addressing technical problems. This will allow for an elevated level of trust for technology that is needed for a fruitful pervasive use of AI/AS in our daily lives.