Lifeboat Foundation

An Israeli startup has developed a way to make lead acid batteries last four times longer, disrupting a multi-billion-dollar industry and potentially making them the rechargeable – and recyclable – energy storage method of choice around the world.

Lead acid is the second most common battery technology worldwide and the power cells are currently used as the starter batteries in cars, trucks and motorcycles.

The batteries have a positive plate made of lead dioxide on one end, and a spongy lead negative plate on the other end, with sulfuric acid flowing between them both to conduct the electricity.

For decades, the study of genetic disease was focused on genes that code for protein. But scientists have now identified a novel neurodevelopmental disorder that is caused by mutations in a gene that does not code for protein, called RNU4-2. These mutations lead to neurological symptoms that cause cognitive dysfunction, but have not previously been linked together as one disease. These findings have been reported in Nature Medicine.

In this work, the investigators analyzed whole-genome sequencing data from over 5,000 cases of intellectual disability and over 46,000 unaffected individuals. The research focused on unusual variations in the sequences of 41,132 genes that do not code for protein. The research revealed a gene that is apparently a common cause of neurodevleopmental problems. The scientists also determined that these mutations often arise spontaneously, and are not usually inherited from a parent.

Researchers at NCI and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that uses routine clinical data to predict whether someone’s cancer will respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors, a type of immunotherapy drug that helps immune cells kill cancer cells.

AI tool uses routine clinical data to predict whether someone’s cancer will respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors.

What makes PSR J1748–2446 famous for its weirdness? Easy. It is the celestial object that spins the fastest in the universe. It’s also a star whose surface is not just solid, but harder than a diamond. Compared to lead, its density is 50 trillion times higher. Compared to our Sun, its magnetic field sizzles a trillion times more intensely. It is, in essence, the most extreme form of neutron star.

When a heavy sun explodes in a supernova, the core of the sun, which has the mass of several million Earths, collapses into a tiny sphere and the rest of the sun shoots outward. This is how neutron stars are created. When this occurs, the inverse-square law of gravity goes into its demo-mode with a vengeance.

Explore the fascinating world of quantum teleportation. Discover its principles, applications, and the profound impact it could have on our future.

Introduction to Quantum Teleportation

Quantum teleportation, a term that sounds like it’s straight out of science fiction, is a very real and advancing field in quantum physics. This groundbreaking technology is not about transporting matter from one place to another but rather involves the transfer of information between quantum particles. This article delves into the science behind quantum teleportation, its potential applications, and the impact it could have on various aspects of our lives.

There’s a hot new BEC in town that has nothing to do with bacon, egg, and cheese. You won’t find it at your local bodega, but in the coldest place in New York: the lab of Columbia physicist Sebastian Will, whose experimental group specializes in pushing atoms and molecules to temperatures just fractions of a degree above absolute zero.

Converting CO₂ into fuel and chemicals using electricity, also known as electrochemical conversion of CO₂, is a promising way to reduce emissions. This process allows us to use carbon captured from industries and the atmosphere and turn it into resources that we usually get from fossil fuels.

Scientists at the Cavendish Laboratory have discovered spin coherence in Hexagonal Boron Nitride (hBN) under normal conditions, offering new prospects for quantum technology applications.

Cavendish Laboratory researchers have discovered that a single ‘atomic defect’ in a material known as Hexagonal Boron Nitride (hBN) maintains spin coherence at room temperature and can be manipulated using light.

Spin coherence refers to an electronic spin being capable of retaining quantum information over time. The discovery is significant because materials that can host quantum properties under ambient conditions are quite rare.

In May 2022, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University (MSU), launched its precision measurement program. Staff from FRIB’s Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap (LEBIT) facility take high-energy, rare-isotope beams generated at FRIB and cool them to a lower energy state. Afterward, the researchers measure specific particles’ masses at high precision.