Lifeboat Foundation

Join me for a quick review of the spikes & dips in the Bitcoin exchange rate. This time, it’s all about one very simple chart…

The chart below shows a history of BTC price spikes, dips and recovery. Click to enlarge, then start at the top—and move down.

• Consider the percent-pullback after each spike (red label)
• Think about the stellar rebound after each drop (green label)

This is why I do not get too worked up over the plunge in the BTC exchange rate. There are no fundamental flaws in Bitcoin math or mechanisms. The market need for the benefits conveyed by Bitcoin is terrific, and the most popular arguments against Bitcoin are severely flawed. Skeptics and Critics typically say something like this:

“Even if blockchain currencies are beneficial and inevitable, Bitcoin can be displaced by another, better cryptocurrency.”

Continue reading “BTC Plunge: Why I don't worry” »

New spray can protect public transport facilitates from deadly germs.

The bacteria in your gut may offer an accurate way to measure your biological age, according to a new study.

The microbiome

In recent years, it has become increasingly apparent that the communities of bacteria, fungi, and other microbes living in our gut, known as the microbiome, are likely involved in aging, particularly the chronic age-related inflammation that accompanies it.

To be approved, government figures have shown.

More than 17,000 people have died in the past seven years while waiting for their disability benefit claim to be approved, according to figures obtained by The Independent.

The claimants, who were in the process of claiming a type of benefit named the Personal Independence Payment (PIP), were reportedly suffering from a mixture of terminal illnesses and disabilities, including anxiety and depression while they waited for their benefits to be paid.

Continue reading “Nine disability claimants die every day while waiting for their benefits” »

For a nation that spends more on healthcare per citizen than almost any other, America isn’t exactly reaping the rewards. Life expectancy has been steadily climbing for decades now, but in the last few years it’s taken a troubling turn in the other direction.

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control shows that a small decrease in life expectancy, from 78.7 to 78.6 years, is part of a continuing trend. Even as we make progress treating cancer, heart disease, and stroke—three of the biggest killers—we’re losing ground on other fronts and have been since 2014. That makes this continuous decline unlike anything we’ve seen since World War I and the Spanish influenza, which both happened between 1915 and 1918.

In its report, the CDC highlighted three things that have contributed to American’s shrinking life expectancy in recent years: drug overdoses, chronic liver disease, and suicide. “Increased death rates for unintentional drug overdoses in particular—a subset of unintentional injuries—contributed to the negative change in life expectancy observed in recent years,” the report reads.

This is incredible!

Researchers have been able to coax human breast cancer cells to turn into fat cells in a new proof-of-concept study in mice.

To achieve this feat, the team exploited a weird pathway that metastasising cancer cells have; their results are just a first step, but it’s a truly promising approach.

Continue reading “Researchers Successfully Turn Breast Cancer Cells Into Fat to Stop Them From Spreading” »

Amidst these complex security challenges and the sea of unknowns coming our way, what remains fundamental for the safety and security of the human race is the role of programmers and programming along with the integrity of semiconductor chips. The reason behind this is programmers can define and determine the nature of AWS (at least in the beginning) until AI begins to program itself.

Weaponized artificial intelligence is almost here. As algorithms begin to change warfare, the rise of autonomous weapons systems is becoming a terrifying reality.

Life finds a way. 🌱🌕.

Contraceptives are rarely convenient – implanted devices are invasive, and you have to remember to take the pill every day. Now a team led by researchers at Georgia Tech are developing a painless, contraceptive microneedle patch that women can apply themselves in five seconds, and only needs to be done once a month.