Lifeboat Foundation

Microplastics are an environmental hazard found nearly everywhere on Earth, released by the breakdown of tires, clothing, and plastic packaging. Another significant source of microplastics is tiny beads that are added to some cleansers, cosmetics, and other beauty products.

In an effort to cut off some of these microplastics at their source, MIT researchers have developed a class of biodegradable materials that could replace the plastic beads now used in beauty products. These polymers break down into harmless sugars and amino acids.

MIT researchers developed biodegradable materials that could replace the plastic microbeads now used in beauty products. The materials could also be used to encapsulate nutrients for food fortification.

Continue reading “A new biodegradable material to replace certain microplastics” »

This innovative sterilizer is ideal for remote areas, promoting sanitation and eco-friendly farming.

Seoul, South Korea, December 9: A South Korean company, Palsoo, has unveiled a portable sterilization system that utilizes regular tap water to eliminate 99.8% of airborne bacteria and viruses effectively.

This technology, which combines plasma activation with solar charging, offers a sustainable solution for sanitation in areas lacking electricity or facing harsh conditions.

Continue reading “Portable plasma slays 99.8% germs, turns water into bacteria-killer” »

An international team of scientists using observations from NASA-German satellites found evidence that Earth’s total amount of freshwater dropped abruptly starting in May 2014 and has remained low ever since. Reporting in Surveys in Geophysics, the researchers suggested the shift could indicate Earth’s continents have entered a persistently drier phase.

From 2015 through 2023, satellite measurements showed that the average amount of freshwater stored on land—that includes liquid surface water like lakes and rivers, plus water in aquifers underground—was 290 cubic miles (1,200 cubic km) lower than the average levels from 2002 through 2014, said Matthew Rodell, one of the study authors and a hydrologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “That’s two and a half times the volume of Lake Erie lost.”

During times of drought, along with the modern expansion of irrigated agriculture, farms and cities must rely more heavily on groundwater, which can lead to a cycle of declining underground water supplies: freshwater supplies become depleted, rain and snow fail to replenish them, and more groundwater is pumped.

Its a problem, but im sure ASI by 2035 will solve for a way to use a Crispr type tool with zero unintended alterations. Look for a way to use w/ out alterations in meantime, but worst case ASI will solve it.

Genome editing with various CRISPR-Cas molecule complexes has progressed rapidly in recent years. Hundreds of labs around the world are now working to put these tools to clinical use and are continuously advancing them.

CRISPR-Cas tools allow researchers to modify individual building blocks of genetic material in a precise and targeted manner. Gene therapies based on such gene editing are already being used to treat inherited diseases, fight cancer and create drought-and heat-tolerant crops.

Continue reading “Serious side effect of using CRISPR-Cas gene scissors uncovered: AZD7648 molecule can destroy parts of genome” »

Migraine is often misunderstood, with many people facing stigma due to the invisible nature of the illness. Effective treatment is essential for managing migraine attacks, but education and support from the public and medical community are also crucial for validating the experiences of those affected.

Proteins are so much more than nutrients in food. Virtually every reaction in the body that makes life possible involves this large group of molecules. And when things go wrong in our health, proteins are usually part of the problem.

In certain types of heart disease, for instance, the proteins in cardiac tissue, seen with high-resolution microscopy, are visibly disordered. Alex Dunn, professor of chemical engineering, describes proteins like the beams of a house: “We can see that in unhealthy heart muscle cells, all of those beams are out of place.”

Proteins are the workhorses of the cell, making the biochemical processes of life possible. These workhorses include enzymes, which bind to other molecules to speed up reactions, and antibodies that attach to viruses and prevent them from infecting cells.

These scenarios pose several new challenges, since the environmental and operational conditions of the mission will strongly differ than those on the International Space Station (ISS). One critical parameter will be the increased mission duration and further distance from Earth, requiring a Life Support System (LSS) as independent as possible from Earth’s resources. Current LSS physico-chemical technologies at the ISS can recycle 90% of water and regain 42% of O₂ from the astronaut’s exhaled CO₂, but they are not able to produce food, which can currently only be achieved using biology. A future LSS will most likely include some of these technologies currently in use, but will also need to include biological components. A potential biological candidate are microalgae, which compared to higher plants, offer a higher harvest index, higher biomass productivity and require less water. Several algal species have already been investigated for space applications in the last decades, being Chlorella vulgaris a promising and widely researched species. C. vulgaris is a spherical single cell organism, with a mean diameter of 6 µm. It can grow in a wide range of pH and temperature levels and CO₂ concentrations and it shows a high resistance to cross contamination and to mechanical shear stress, making it an ideal organism for long-term LSS. In order to continuously and efficiently produce the oxygen and food required for the LSS, the microalgae need to grow in a well-controlled and stable environment. Therefore, besides the biological aspects, the design of the cultivation system, the Photobioreactor (PBR), is also crucial. Even if research both on C. vulgaris and in general about PBRs has been carried out for decades, several challenges both in the biological and technological aspects need to be solved, before a PBR can be used as part of the LSS in a Moon base. Those include: radiation effects on algae, operation under partial gravity, selection of the required hardware for cultivation and food processing, system automation and long-term performance and stability.

The International Space Station (ISS) has been continuously inhabited for over twenty years. The Life Support System (LSS) on board the station is in charge of providing the astronauts with oxygen, water and food. For that, Physico-Chemical (PC) technologies are used, recycling 90% of the water and recovering 42% of the oxygen (O₂) from the carbon dioxide (CO₂) that astronauts produce (Crusan and Gatens, 2017), while food is supplied from Earth.

Space agencies currently plan missions beyond Low Earth Orbit, with a Moon base or a mission to Mars as potential future scenarios (ESA Blog 2016; ISEGC 2018; NASA 2020). The higher distance from Earth of a lunar base, compared to the ISS, might require the production of food in-situ, to reduce the amount of resources required from Earth. PC technologies are not able to produce food, which can only be achieved using biological organisms. Several candidates are currently being investigated, with a main focus on higher plants (Kittang et al., 2014; Hamilton et al., 2020) and microalgae (Detrell et al., 2020b; Poughon et al., 2020).

The Adaptive Immunity and Immunoregulation Section (AIIS) in the Laboratory of Allergic Diseases at #NIAID is seeking an exceptional candidate for a postdoctoral fellowship position.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the largest institutes in the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), conducts and supports basic and applied research to better understand, treat, and ultimately prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases.

A postdoctoral fellowship position is available immediately in the Adaptive Immunity and Immunoregulation Section (AIIS) within the Laboratory of Allergic Diseases, NIAID. AIIS seeks highly motivated and collaborative candidates with a strong publication record who are capable of independent reasoning and excited about learning new technologies.

AIIS aims to define the cellular and molecular mechanisms controlling the balance between protective and pathogenic adaptive immune responses to allergens and pathogens. With a particular focus on memory T and B cells and T follicular helper (Tfh) cells, the lab utilizes state-of-the-art cellular and molecular approaches, including in vivo models of infection and allergy, multi-color flow cytometry, adoptive transfer experiments, cell fate tracking experiments, bone marrow chimeras, parabiosis surgery, imaging, conditional knockout and transgenic models, RNA-Seq, and single-cell technologies to characterize memory B-and T-cell responses in different models of food and respiratory allergens and infections.

Summary: Researchers identified specific plant compounds that provide antioxidant and neuroprotective effects, contributing to brain health beyond basic nutrition. By analyzing plant-based foods like lemon balm, sage, and elderberry, scientists linked compounds such as phenolics and terpenes to benefits like reducing oxidative stress and scavenging harmful reactive species.

Quercetin-rich foods, such as Queen Garnet plum and clove, showed strong potential to prevent neuron-like cell damage. This study sheds light on how plant-based diets and supplements could support brain health and manage neuroinflammation-related conditions.