Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Food trends change all the time, and not just dependent on where you live, but also when. For example, 100 years ago they were not eating most of the stuff we have today. Pop Tarts, Cheetos, and Gatorade would certainly not have existed, and if you were to go back in time now and try and introduce these things, they would probably get thrown at you. But, the point is that sometimes you just can’t help what food is introduced around you and accepted as the norm, and over the next 30 years, we will see odder but edible manifestations are coming our way. Below are eight future foods that are not a million miles away from being introduced into society and are being worked on now:

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By Kelsey Tollefson | Executive Editor John Lenker

The notion of harvesting resources from extraterrestrial sources is not a new one. The lure of untold bounties—orbiting just out of reach—has prompted generations of poets and presidents alike to expound upon the potential applications of space mining. These days, “space mining” is no longer a mere pipe dream.

Continue reading “Asteroid Prospects: Facts & Future of Space Mining” | >

The quest for the fountain of youth is as ancient as humanity itself. Now, it appears scientists may have found the source.

Using a process designed to “reprogram” normal adult cells into pluripotent stem cells—cells that can transform into many different kinds of cells—researchers have managed to boost the life spans of mice by up to 30% and rejuvenate some of their tissues.

Continue reading “Cellular Reprogramming Rejuvenates Old Mice and Boosts Lifespans 30%” | >

In Brief A multicomponent virus is divided into a number of different pieces. In this respect, each one is packaged separately into a viral particle. One particle of each type is needed for cell infection. And there’s a new one impacting animals.

A new type of virus has been identified, and it’s so weird, it’s challenging long-held notions of what it takes for a virus to infect and proliferate in an animal host.

Conventional wisdom states that if a single virus manages to insert its genes into a cell, the host becomes infected. But what if you chopped up that virus, and tried stuffing the pieces into an animal cell separately? It wouldn’t work, right?

Continue reading “A Newly Discovered “Bizarre” Virus is Breaking the Rules of Infection” | >

Concerned that scientific views are not being properly represented in Washington, a new nonprofit group wants to get more scientists elected. 314 Action, named after the first three digits of pi, wants scientists to embrace the political process, running for all levels of government. The group’s aim is to get as many scientists elected as possible in the 2018 elections.

314 Action sees particular urgency for its work due to the rise of anti-science rhetoric on the Hill, especially from the right. The current Republican standard bearer President Trump has questioned the idea that climate change is caused by humans and seemingly encouraged debunked anti-vaccination opinions. With the appointments Trump made so far, it’s hard to believe his administration will advance scientific causes.

The 314 Action group describes its members as people who come from the STEM community whose goals are to increase communication between STEM community and elected officials, to actually elect STEM-trained candidates to public office, to increase presence of STEM ideas through the media, and to prevent the U.S. from falling further and further behind the rest of the world in math and science education.

Continue reading “Why a New Group Aims to Elect More Scientists to the Government” | >