Lifeboat Foundation

Scientists have caught a once-in-a-billion-years evolutionary event in progress, as two lifeforms have merged into one organism that boasts abilities its peers would envy. Last time this happened, Earth got plants.

The phenomenon is called primary endosymbiosis, and it occurs when one microbial organism engulfs another, and starts using it like an internal organ. In exchange, the host cell provides nutrients, energy, protection and other benefits to the symbiote, until eventually it can no longer survive on its own and essentially ends up becoming an organ for the host – or what’s known as an organelle in microbial cells.

Imagine if kidneys were actually little animals running around, and humans had to manually filter their blood through a dialysis machine. Then one day some guy somehow gets one of these kidney critters stuck… Internally (who are we to judge how?) – and realizes he no longer needs his dialysis machine. Neither do his kids, until eventually we’re all born with these helpful little fellas inside us. That’s kind of what’s happening here.

The researchers found that the ability to tolerate pain played a role in this apparent protective effect.

That explains why being active could lower the risk of having severe chronic pain, whether or not it was widespread throughout the body.

“This suggests that physical activity increases our ability to tolerate pain and may be one of the ways in which activity helps to reduce the risk of severe chronic pain,” says Årnes.

An international team of astronomers and astrophysicists has confirmed the first known observance of a tidally locked super-Earth exoplanet. In their paper published in The Astrophysical Journal, the group describes the unique approach they took to confirm that the exoplanet LHS3844b is tidally locked and what the finding suggests about other planets in the galaxy.

Prior research has led astronomers to believe that some exoplanets are tidally locked, with one side that always faces the star they revolve around, but they have been unable until now to prove it. In this new effort, the research team picked a likely candidate and used a unique approach to study its attributes to ascertain its motion.

Prior research has shown that several moons in our solar system, including the one circling Earth, are tidally locked, always facing the planet they orbit. In this situation, their rotation period matches their orbital period—the result is a moon that always shows the same side to its planet. For this reason, the Earth’s moon has what has commonly been described as a “dark side”—the side we never see. Tidal locking is due to gravitational forces between a moon and its planet—or a planet and its star.

Marshal Brain’s 2003 book Manna was quite ahead of its time in foreseeing that eventually, one way or another, we will have to confront and address the phenomenon of technological unemployment. In addition, Marshall is a passionate brainiac with a jovial personality, impressive background and a unique perspective. And so I was very happy to meet him in person for an exclusive interview. [Special thanks to David Wood without whose introduction this interview may not have happened!]

During our 82 min conversation with Marshall Brain we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: his books The Second Intelligent Species and Manna; AI as the end game for humanity; using cockroaches as a metaphor; logic and ethics; simulating the human brain; the importance of language and visual processing for the creating of AI; marrying off Siri to Watson; technological unemployment, social welfare and perpetual vacation; capitalism, socialism and the need for systemic change …

As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation or become a patron on Patreon.

SpaceX is striving to create the most powerful and reliable rocket engine with the Raptor engine, which will revolutionize the aerospace industry Questions to inspire discussion What is the goal of the Raptor engine? —The goal of the Raptor engine is to exceed 700,000 lb of thrust and become the most powerful and reliable rocket engine.

Researchers at Stanford University and Biogen faced skeptics head on, challenging the notion that monoclonal antibodies would never serve as therapeutic agents.

Read more about the journey of resilience and innovation:

The road to developing monoclonal antibodies for effectively targeting cancer was paved with tenacity, passion, and strokes of luck.

Continue reading “The Resilience of Monoclonal Antibodies and their Makers” »

This regimented approach to dieting has helped many people achieve the discipline they need to lose weight, and some research has shown that it can provide a myriad of health benefits, including improved blood pressure.

But a new yet-to-be-published study, presented this week at a meeting of the American Heart Association, suggests that intermittent fasting could have serious consequences for your cardiovascular health.

In an analysis of over 20,000 US adults, the study found that those who eat in just an eight hour window or less per day — thereby fasting for at least 16 hours — had a 91 percent higher chance of dying from heart disease.

Transistor shrinking intensifies.

Noreen and Antonia were born back in February, but the organisation announced the news on Thursday, local time.

Both are healthy and continue to reach expected development and behavioural milestones.

Noreen was born at the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in Colorado, while Antonia resides at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia.