Lifeboat Foundation

Microbial life may have resided within the first four kilometers of Mars’s porous crust.

Four billion years ago, the solar system was still young. Almost fully formed, its planets were starting to experience asteroid strikes a little less frequently. Our own planet could have become habitable as long as 3.9 billion years ago, but its primitive biosphere was much different than it is today. Life had not yet invented photosynthesis, which some 500 million years later would become its main source of energy. The primordial microbes — the common ancestors to all current life forms on Earth — in our planet’s oceans, therefore, had to survive on another source of energy.

Some of the oldest life forms in our biosphere were microorganisms known as “hydrogenotrophic methanogens” that particularly benefited from the atmospheric composition of the time. Feeding on the CO₂ (carbon dioxide) and H2 (dihydrogen) that abounded in the atmosphere (with H2 representing between 0.01 and 0.1% of the atmospheric composition, compared to the current approximate of 0.00005%), they harnessed enough energy to colonize the surface of our planet’s oceans.

Continue reading “Mars shows how even the simplest life forms can destroy their own planet” »

The micro-robots consist of a special kind of bacteria.

Scientists have conceived of a new way to deliver cancer-killing compounds, called enterotoxins, to tumors using bionic bacteria that are steered by a magnetic field, according to a report by Inverse.

“Cancer is such a complex disease, it’s hard to combat it with one weapon,” said Simone Schürle-Finke, a micro-roboticist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, Switzerland, and one of the authors of the new study.

Continue reading “Scientists use magnets to deliver cancer-killing ‘micro-robots’ into the body” »

The stadiums include a quiet room for those with cognitive disabilities.

The FIFA World Cup to be held in Qatar this year is leading the way in accessibility for specially-abled people, according to a report by Euronews.

The technologically advanced stadiums aren’t only wheelchair accessible, other amenities have also been included, such as a quiet room for those suffering from autism and other cognitive disabilities. The room is meant to give a safe haven for those overwhelmed by the World Cup’s loud crowds.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the world. Emerging technologies on a daily basis in AI capabilities have lead to a number of innovations including autonomous vehicles, self-driving flights, robotics, etc. Some of the AI technologies feature predictions on future and accurate decision-making. AI is the best friend to technology leaders who want to make the world a better place with unfolding inventions.

Whether humans agree or not, AI developments are slowly impacting all aspects of the society including the economy. However, some technologies might even bring challenges and risks to the working environment. To keep a track on AI development, good leaders head the AI world to ensure trust, reliability, safety and accuracy.

Intelligent behaviour has long been considered a uniquely human attribute. But when computer science and IT networks started evolving, artificial intelligence and people who stood by them were on the spotlight. AI in today’s world is both developing and under control. Without a transformation here, AI will never fully deliver the problems and dilemmas of business only with data and algorithms. Wise leaders do not only create and capture vital economic values, rather build a more sustainable and legitimate organisation. Leaders in AI sectors have eyes to see AI decisions and ears to hear employees perspective.

Summary: The epigenetic clocks of those who indulged in unhealthy behaviors as teens were 1.7 to 3.3 years older than individuals who reported more healthy lifestyles as teens.

Source: eLife.

Biological aging results from damage to cells and tissues in the body that accumulates over time. The results of the study could lead to new ways of identifying young people at risk of developing unhealthy habits that are associated with accelerated biological aging and suggest interventions to prevent poor health outcomes later on.

“You can think of curiosity as a kind of reward which the agent generates internally on its own, so that it can go explore more about its world,” Agrawal said. This internally generated reward signal is known in cognitive psychology as “intrinsic motivation.” The feeling you may have vicariously experienced while reading the game-play description above — an urge to reveal more of whatever’s waiting just out of sight, or just beyond your reach, just to see what happens — that’s intrinsic motivation.

Humans also respond to extrinsic motivations, which originate in the environment. Examples of these include everything from the salary you receive at work to a demand delivered at gunpoint. Computer scientists apply a similar approach called reinforcement learning to train their algorithms: The software gets “points” when it performs a desired task, while penalties follow unwanted behavior.

There may be renewed hope for people with untreatable cancers. According to a report published by the BBC on Friday, patients have had their immune system…

Vaccine rates for COVID-19 show that the majority of adults accept immunization for themselves while hesitant for their children. Why?

In an unprecedented experiment, two teams of scientists on either sides of the Atlantic have replicated a material that was previously not produced anywhere on Earth.

As NPR reports, the replication of this powerful compound could have huge implications not just for the manufacturing of high-end machinery, but also for international relations to boot.

Called tetrataenite, the primarily iron-and-nickel compound is normally able to cool for millions of years as it tumbles around in asteroids. As a press release out of the University of Cambridge notes, the researchers who worked in tandem with Boston’s Northeastern University found that if they add phosphorous to the mix, they were able to make synthetic tetrataenite.