Lifeboat Foundation

Tardigrades, tiny aquatic creatures found in habitats from backyard ponds to Antarctic glaciers, are tough enough to survive the radiation-fraught perils of space. But for a long time, scientists couldn’t agree on why the animals—also known as water bears—are so hardy. Now, researchers have identified a gene that protects the tardigrades’ DNA from radiation, BBC reports. The gene, called Dsup, showed its importance when researchers inserted it into human DNA strands and blasted them with x-rays. The modified genetic material suffered significantly less damage, they report today in. Scientists hope this finding will help them one day protect another animal—us—against radiation.

As you relax and let your mind drift aimlessly, you might remember a pleasant vacation, an angry confrontation in traffic or maybe the loss of a loved one.

And now a team of researchers at Duke University say they can see those various emotional states flickering across the human brain.

“It’s getting to be a bit like mind-reading,” said Kevin LaBar, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke. “Earlier studies have shown that functional MRI can identify whether a person is thinking about a face or a house. Our study is the first to show that specific emotions like fear and anger can be decoded from these scans as well.”

Continue reading “MRI scanner sees emotions flickering across an idle mind” »

Elon Musk has recently hinted that he may be working on a “neural lace,” a mesh of electronics that will allow AI and the brain to work together. This could help human brains keep up with future enhancements in AI.

There’s no doubt that Elon Musk is one busy individual. When not playing on the Tesla factory floor, he may be bringing electric roofs to electric vehicles, or dreaming up the Hyperloop, or toying with the future of AI.

Continue reading “Elon Musk is Looking to Kickstart Transhuman Evolution With ‘Brain Hacking’ Tech” »

A Spanish publishing house has finally been given permission to make exact copies of the Voynich Manuscript — a 15th century book written in a mysterious coded language that no one has cracked.

For centuries, scientists have been trying to decipher the text. Some of the world’s best cryptographers have dedicated their lives to solving the puzzle — but no one’s even gotten close. Now, with almost 900 copies about to go into circulation, we might finally get some answers.

“The Voynich Manuscript has led some of the smartest people down rabbit holes for centuries,” Bill Sherman from the Folger Shakespeare Library told The Washington Post in 2014, when he was about to open an exhibit on the text.

Continue reading “The first ever copies of the ‘world’s most mysterious book’ are about to be released” »

Hmmm; a walk on the bizarre side.

Home / knowledge / world truth / quantum physics proves that death is an illusion.

Continue reading “Quantum Physics Proves That Death Is An Illusion” »

European and American scientists discover a star that may possibly be orbited by alien megastructures.

© Flickr/ encouragement.

Continue reading “Star Possibly Housing a ‘Dyson Sphere’ Discovered” »

Realtors are taking home sales beyond glossy pictures and into virtual reality.

Realtors are taking home sales beyond glossy pictures and into virtual reality: http://cnnmon.ie/2bSdIjt

Cannot wait for this material so that I can finally enjoy my run in the park near my US home in August.

WASHINGTON — Engineers have created clothing for a warming world — a fabric that allows your body heat to escape far better than other materials do.

It hasn’t been worn or tested by humans, so outside experts caution this is far from a sure thing, but a team at Stanford University engineered a fabric using nano technology that not only allows moisture to leave the body better, but helps infrared radiation escape better. As a result, they say in Thursday’s journal Science, the body should feel around 4.8 degrees (2.7 degrees Celsius) cooler than cotton and 3.8 degrees (2.1 degrees Celsius) chillier than commercially available synthetics.

Continue reading “Engineers give new meaning to the phrase ‘cool clothes’” »

The imminent arrival of the self-driving car will change how people move around city streets, but they could do so much more.

The Tridika is a conceptual driverless electric vehicle I created to change how we use cars in our ever-growing cities, where space is expensive and limited. Inspired by Thyssenkrupp’s Willy Wonka-esque Multi elevator, the Tridika works like a self-driving car you can literally park next to your apartment and use as an additional room.