Lifeboat Foundation

A huge solar power station in China is generating clean energy, producing salt from sunlight, and serving as a shrimp-breeding site.

State-owned China Huadian Corporation said the 1-gigawatt (GW) Huadian Tianjin Haijing power station will generate 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year – enough to power around 1.5 million households in China.

Continue reading “This 1 GW solar + salt + shrimp farm is a 3-in-1 power station” »

The Emerald Ash Borer Network says that once the beetles reach their adult stage, the metallic green bugs will eat up foliage on ash trees – their only food source. But it’s the larvae that eat up the inner bark of ash trees and prevent nutrients and water from circulating.

Once that happens, Littleton officials said the tree that’s been attacked becomes structurally unsound and will die within just a few years.

It’s believed that the insects were introduced to the U.S. from Asia after tagging along on solid wood packing material, the network said. They were first discovered in the U.S. near Detroit in 2002, and have since expanded to at least 35 states as well as at least five Canadian provinces. Ash trees will typically lose most of their canopy within two years of an infestation and die within three to four years, the National Invasive Species Information Center says.

A mice experiment shows that genes from the father make an unborn child manipulate their mother’s metabolism so that the fetus could have more and more nutrition.

A new mice study from the University of Cambridge (UC) reveals that during pregnancy, a fetus tries to suck in as many nutrients as possible from its mother, and unique “greedy genes” from the father helps the fetus do so.

Continue reading “Study finds, ‘greedy’ genes from father encourage unborn babies to steal their mother’s food” »

Jobs at high-risk of being replaced by AI include construction, transportation and farming, according to a new report.

Tiger Toilets run on poop-eating worms and cost less than traditional sewage systems. All they leave behind is water, CO₂, and a little fertilizer.

Notpla has been announced as the winner of Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, in the category of ‘Build a Waste-Free World’!

https://www.notpla.com/

Continue reading “Seaweed to Replace Plastic | Edible & Biodegradable Packaging | Notpla” »

In January 6 2023, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration approved Leqembi (lecanemab-irmb) via the Accelerated Approval pathway for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Leqembi is the second of a new category of medications approved for Alzheimer’s disease that target the fundamental pathophysiology of the disease. These medications represent an important advancement in the ongoing fight to effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease.

Recently it has been granted full approval. Leqembi, developed jointly by Japan’s Eisai and Biogen of the United States, was shown in a clinical trial to modestly reduce cognitive decline among patients in the early stages of the disease.

But the study also raised concerns about side effects including brain bleeds and swelling.

Continue reading “FDA Grants Accelerated Approval for Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment” »

We are finally figuring out the subtle ways that farm and zoo animals reveal their emotional states, from anxiety to optimism and even joy. The insights are also revealing some surprising ways we can improve their lives.

By Sam Wong

“It tastes like chicken.” That’s a common review of UPSIDE Foods’ new trial product. Perhaps that’s not surprising: it is, after all, chicken — at the cellular level. But the fillets are not from a slaughterhouse. They are grown in bioreactors in an urban factory in California.

Alittle over a decade ago, only a handful of researchers were investigating the potential of laboratory-made meat. The world’s first cultured beef burger, which reportedly cost US$325,000, was made by Maastricht University biomedical engineer Mark Post, who ate it at a press conference in 2013. Such products are now much closer to market: more than 150 companies around the world are working on cultured meat (from ground beef to steaks, chicken, pork and fish), milk or related ‘cellular agriculture’ products, including leather.

Companies making cultured meat are attracting billions of dollars of investment. Here are their biggest challenges.