Lifeboat Foundation

A new study published in Ecology and Evolution by Henrik Svensmark of DTU Space has shown that the explosion of stars, also known as supernovae, has greatly impacted the diversity of marine life over the past 500 million years.

The fossil record has been extensively studied, revealing significant variations in the diversity of life forms throughout geological history. A fundamental question in evolutionary biology is identifying the processes responsible for these fluctuations.

The new research uncovers a surprising finding: the fluctuation in the number of nearby supernovae closely corresponds to changes in biodiversity of marine genera over the last 500 million years. This correlation becomes apparent when the marine diversity curve is adjusted to account for changes in shallow coastal marine regions, which are significant as they provide habitat for most marine life and offer new opportunities for evolution as they expand or shrink. Thus, alterations in available shallow marine regions play a role in shaping biodiversity.

And it could fly to orbit, in only one launch, by the early 2030s.

European aerospace giant Airbus has just revealed a new concept space habitat called LOOP. The 26-foot-wide (8 meters) multi-purpose orbital module will feature three customizable decks, all of which will be connected by a tunnel overlooking a space greenhouse.

In a press statement, Airbus said its new space station design could accommodate up to eight crew members, and it could be deployed to orbit, in only one launch, by the early 2030s.

Continue reading “Meet LOOP: Airbus’ new space station includes sci-fi-like centrifuge” »

Sky City was an ambitious leap, an entire mini-city contained within a single building. At some 1.05 million square meters and.

The story of China’s Sky City, a prefabricated megastructure that hoped to cut the cost of housing, and why Sky City failed.

The world’s wealthiest billionaires are drawing battle lines when it comes to who will control AI, according to Elon Musk in an interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News, which aired this week.

Musk explained that he cofounded ChatGPT-maker OpenAI in reaction to Google cofounder Larry Page’s lack of concern over the danger of AI outsmarting humans.

He said the two were once close friends and that he would often stay at Page’s house in Palo Alto where they would talk late into the night about the technology. Page was such a fan of Musk’s that in Jan. 2015, Google invested $1 billion in SpaceX for a 10% stake with Fidelity Investments. “He wants to go to Mars. That’s a worthy goal,” Page said in a March 2014 TED Talk.

See why history may hang in the balance on this critical launch attempt.

Inspire your kids to love science!
SAVE 20% OFF New Science Kits Using Code: NEWKITSSAVE20 At Steve Spangler Science dot com! Great Educational Products For Kids! SHOP NOW! https://www.pntra.com/t/SENKTExNSUhDR05OSUxJQ0dPRkxGRw.

Continue reading “Starship Launch Set 8am 17 Apr 23 Historic Launch Attempt” »

Four small rooms, a gym and a lot of red sand—NASA unveiled on Tuesday its new Mars-simulation habitat, in which volunteers will live for a year at a time to test what life will be like on future missions to Earth’s neighbor.

The facility, created for three planned experiments called the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA), is located at the US space agency’s massive research base in Houston, Texas.

Four volunteers will begin the first trial this summer, during which NASA plans to monitor their physical and mental health to better understand humans’ fortitude for such a long isolation.

The AI race has just gone global.

Chinese e-commerce and technology giant, Alibaba, unveiled its generative artificial intelligence (AI) model Tongyi Qianwen, a ChatGPT-like service, earlier today. The service can work in English and Chinese and will be rolled out across Alibaba products, ranging from Slack-like communication apps to smart home speakers.

Interest in the area of large language models has increased in the recent past after ChatGPT took the world by storm.

Continue reading “AI race: Chinese giant Alibaba enters the fray with its bilingual AI model” »

People around the globe are so dependent on the internet to exercise socioeconomic human rights such as education, health care, work, and housing that online access must now be considered a basic human right, a new study reveals.

Particularly in developing countries, internet access can make the difference between people receiving an education, staying healthy, finding a home, and securing employment—or not.

Even if people have offline opportunities, such as accessing social security schemes or finding housing, they are at a comparative disadvantage to those with Internet access.

Looking ahead: Automatic Construction is in the process of building a concrete house for one customer in New York and has contracts signed with two others, according to Bell. It’s also inked a deal with a “large commercial contractor” for a structure.

It’s not clear how large those will be, but the prototypes the company has built so far are better described as tiny houses than starter homes — they might be large enough for one person, but they aren’t likely to accommodate a family.

Continue reading “Startup builds ‘inflatable’ concrete houses in just hours” »