Lifeboat Foundation

The robot can walk on four legs, roll on four wheels, and also stand up and balance on its rear wheels.

Warhead modernization activities ensure the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile continues to meet military requirements while enhancing safety and security.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) successfully completed the B61-12 Life Extension Program (LEP) First Production Unit (FPU) on November 23, 2021.

The B61-12 LEP helps modernize America’s nuclear weapons stockpile and sustain the Nation’s air delivered nuclear deterrent capability. The nuclear security enterprise, in close coordination with the U.S. Air Force, worked together to deliver the B61-12 FPU after more than nine years of design, development, qualification, and component production.

Right after the Big Bang, in the Planck epoch, the Universe occupied a space region with a radius of 1.4 × 10^-13 cm – remarkably, equal to the fundamental length characterizing elementary particles. Analogue to the way nearly all cells contain the DNA information required to build the entire organism, every region the size of an elementary particle had then the energy necessary for the Universe’s creation.

As the Universe cooled down, electrons and quarks were the first to appear, the latter forming protons and neutrons, combining into nuclei in a mere matter of minutes. During its expansion, processes started happening slower and slower: it took 380,000 years for electrons to start orbiting around the nuclei, and 100 million years for hydrogen and helium to form the first stars. Even more, it wasn’t until 4.5 billion years ago that our young Earth was born, with its oceans emerging shortly after, and the first microbes to call them home for the first time. Life took over our planet in what seems, on the scale of the Universe, a sheer instant, and turned this world into its playground. There came butterflies and tricked the non-existence of natural blue pigment by creating Christmas tree-shaped nanometric structures in their wings to reflect blue’s wavelength only; fireflies and lanternfish which use the chemical reaction between oxygen and luciferin for bioluminescence; and it all goes all the way up to the butterfly effect leading to the unpredictability of the weather forecasts, commonly known as the reason why a pair of wings flapping in Brazil can lead to a typhoon in Texas. The world as we know it now developed slowly, and with the help of continuous evolution and natural selection, the first humans came to life.

Without any doubt, we are the earthly species never ceasing to surprise. We developed rationality, logic, strategic and critical thinking, yet human nature cannot be essentially defined without bringing into the equation our remarkable appetite for art and beauty. In the intricate puzzle human existence represents, this particular piece has given it valences no other known being possesses. Not all beauty is art, but many artworks both in the past, as well as today, embody some understanding of beauty.

To define is to limit, as Oscar Wilde stated, and even though we cannot establish clear definitions of art and beauty. Yet, great works of art manage to establish a strong thread between the creator and receptor. In contrast to this byproduct of human self-expression that encapsulates unique creative behaviour, beauty has existed long before our emergence as a species and isn’t bound to it in any way. It is omnipresent, a metaphorical Higgs field that can be observed by the ones who wish to open their eyes thoroughly. From the formation of Earth’s oceans and butterflies’ blue wings to Euler’s identity and rococo architecture, beauty is a subjective ubiquity. Though a question remains – why does it evoke such pleasure in our minds? What happens in our brains when we see something beautiful? The question is the subject of an entire field, named neuroaesthetics, which identified an intricate whole-brain response to artistic stimuli. As such, our puzzling reactions to art can be explained by these responses similar to “mind wandering”, involving “thoughts about the self, memory, and future”– in other words, art seems to evoke our past experiences, present conscious self, and imagination about the future. There needs to be noted that critics of the field draw attention to the superficiality and oversimplification that may characterize our attempts to view art through the lenses of neuroscience.

Continue reading “Continuity. An evolutionary perspective on art — Denisa Lepădatu” »

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧

𝘼𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚.

𝐏𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲:

Continue reading “The Placebo Effect and God May Live in the Same Brain Region” »

Very technical and it’s from the usually secretive Calico.

Jacob Kimmel of Calico Labs discusses how cells can be reprogrammed to restore youthful expression through transient suppression of cell identity at Lifespan.io’s 2021 EARD conference.

Continue reading “Reversing Cell Age, Suppressing Cell Identity, Can Ontogeny Be Reversed? — Jacob Kimmel Lifespan.IO” »

Analysts report that the growth of these platforms has increased since Facebook announced its change to Meta.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=FmznwhHlCP8

Following last week’s surprise update, Google is back again with the December Feature Drop for Pixel owners. This time around, Google is bringing some Pixel 6-exclusive features to Pixel 4a 5G “or newer” Pixel devices. https://youtu.be/FmznwhHlCP8 These include the all-new Quick Tap to Snap, making it possible for you to quickly access and send Snaps through Snapchat right from the Lock Screen. Going along with the Quick Tap to Snap functionality, Google has introduced an all-new Pixel-exclusive lens called “Pixel Face”. The company claims that “more Pixel-exclusive Lenses” will arrive in future Feature Drops. In addition to the Feature Drop, this update includes the December Android Security Patch, and includes the following versions for these devices: Pixel 3a (XL): SQ1A.211205.008 Pixel 4 (XL): SQ1A.211205.008 Pixel 4a: SQ1A.211205.008 Pixel 4a (5G): SQ1A.211205.008 Pixel 5: SQ1A.211205.008 Pixel 5a (5G): SQ1A.211205.008 Owners of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro will begin receiving their December updates “next week”. With last week’s update, Google announced compatibility with the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro to enable a digital car key with select BMW models. After being set up, you can simply place your Pixel on the key reader and press the engine start button. But now, Google is activating the Ultra-Wideband chip found in the Pixel 6 Pro to improve functionality. Not only will this make it easier to use your Pixel 6 Pro as a digital car key, but Google also states this will offer improved Nearby Share compatibility. Another new feature arriving for Pixel devices comes via the Sound Amplifier app. With this Feature Drop, Google is adding a new “Conversation Mode” to Pixel devices. This uses on-device Machine Learning to “help anyone who has a hard time hearing in loud environments by tuning out competing noise.” It works by pointing your phone at the person you want to have a conversation with, pinning the person, and then being able to actually enjoy hearing what they have to say. Google states this is a “sneak peek” version of the feature, but we could end up seeing it arrive for more devices in the future. Now Playing is getting an updated experience, as you’ll not only be able to identify the song with your Pixel but there’s a new music note icon next to the track information. When tapping on the music note, you’ll be able to save it as a favorite, while being able to view and search your history, along with the list of favorite songs. Keeping with the music trend, Google is bringing enhanced bass-level controls to the Pixel Buds A-Series. After the update has arrived, you’ll be able to adjust the slider between-1 and +4, which is “twice the bass range you currently have”. As we’ve seen with previous events, Google is adding a few new wallpapers to celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. In celebration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we collaborated with Dana Kearly, a disabled multidisciplinary artist from Vancouver B.C., to create three beautiful new wallpapers for the Curated Culture collection. Last, but certainly not least, Google is bringing car crash detection support to owners of the Pixel 3 or newer in Taiwan, Italy, and France. With this feature, your phone will check with you in the event that you are in a car accident. If you do not respond within the pre-determined amount of time, your Pixel will contact emergency responders and will provide your location.

Being paid for performance.

The unusual way the Tesla CEO gets paid. Invest in iconic artworks with Masterworks using my custom link: masterworks.art/newsthink. See bottom of description for more details about Masterworks.

Continue reading “Why Elon Musk Has the Boldest Pay Plan in Corporate History” »

Looking for science fiction books to read? Here are my reviews of some excellent science fiction novels (more to come as well). I encourage you to utilize my reviews to help inform your decisions about your next literary adventure!

PDF version: Science Fiction Book Reviews – Logan Thrasher Collins

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel: 98/100. Much of the essence of art is to reflect what makes us human, helping us better explain to ourselves what makes us tick. Station Eleven is a science fiction novel about a deadly flu pandemic which brings about the end of the world. Notably, it was written several years prior to the emergence of COVID-19. Emily St. John Mandel wields the premise masterfully to touch our souls and help us come to terms with human kindness, cruelty, hope, and vulnerability. Through its deep tragedy and heartfelt characters, the book manages to link questions of the individual and the global. We take a hard look at how the meaning of civilization connects to the meaning of life. Emily St. John Mandel’s prose puts billions to death. Those who survive must find purpose against the backdrop of the visceral viciousness of the apocalypse.

Continue reading “Science Fiction Book Reviews” »