Lifeboat Foundation

THREE giant asteroids will barrel past the planet this weekend on a so-called Close Earth Approach, NASA has warned.

Polish astronomers just discovered two new planets in our galaxy. That’s cool news on its own, but these planets are different from most. Unlike almost all known planets, New Scientist reports, these two planets don’t orbit a star.

Instead, they drift aimlessly through the cold, dead void of space — and presumably spend their time writing angsty poetry.

Astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor planted ‘Red Russian’ kale and ‘Dragoon’ lettuce in a special garden last month and if all goes well, they will be ready to enjoy for Thanksgiving! Dig in: https://go.nasa.gov/2F45vvj

A technological tango between 2 telescopes in the Australian outback has added an important piece to the puzzle of fast radio bursts.

An extraordinary new film about identical triplets throws doubt on the dominance of DNA.

Samsung TVs are already some of the most popular options for high-end home theater systems, and the company is now using its television-making prowess to help people with disabilities live more normal lives. A new project by a Samsung team in Switzerland could yield the first smart TV that can be controlled with thoughts.

As CNET reports, Samsung has partnered with Swiss scientists to bring the system to life. Called ‘Project Pontis,’ the ultimate goal is to build a brain/software interface that will allow individuals with movement disabilities to control television features like channel switching and volume control with their brains rather than their bodies.

The technology could reduce the damage done by GPS satellite failures or jamming efforts.

Motivation is such an intangible aspect of the human spirit that we often forget it has very real, neurochemical origins. We admire it in others and strive for it in ourselves (see: every Nike ad ever made), and now we are getting closer to potentially inducing that motivational feeling with drugs.

John Salamone, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Connecticut with a background in neural and behavioral pharmacology, has been working with the drug company Chronos Therapeutics to develop a drug that can restore motivation in people who have lost it — whether that’s due to the symptoms of depression, struggle with disease, or otherwise. He unveiled his early results on rats this week in a presentation at the Society For Neuroscience’s conference in San Diego, where he tells Inverse his board was bustling with activity:

“Basically we stood there for four hours and were busy the entire time,” says Salamone. The reception was overwhelmingly positive, he adds. “We didn’t have anyone say ‘This is crazy! This will never work!’”.

Continue reading “Potent, Cocaine-Like Motivational Drug Unveiled at Neuroscience Conference” »

The UK’s first quantum accelerometer for navigation has been demonstrated by a team from Imperial College London and M Squared.

Most navigation today relies on a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as GPS, which sends and receives signals from satellites orbiting the Earth. The quantum accelerometer is a self-contained system that does not rely on any external signals.

Continue reading “Quantum ‘compass’ could allow navigation without relying on satellites” »