Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

It’s a real moon of Saturn. Credit NASA

You may have heard of the expression, May the 4th be with you. If you don’t already know, May the 4th is unofficially Star Wars Day. The date was chosen for the play on words on the classic catchphrase from the movies. “May the Force be with you” and “May the Fourth be with you”.

The pop culture fan base for Star Wars embraced the May 4th date and popularized it. Lucasfilm and later Disney could not have a better day to advertise Star Wars stuff. This is a testament to the many Star Wars fans across the world who have chosen to celebrate the holiday. Lucasfilm and parent company Disney now also wisely have embraced the date as an annual celebration of Star Wars.

So you might be a die-hard Star Wars fan, or maybe you enjoy the movie. If you don’t like Star Wars, well, not sure why you are reading. Maybe you have a loved one and you are trying to figure out what to do with them on this very important day to them. So we are going to go on the assumption that you know at least a little something about Star Wars.

Continue reading “Star Wars and Space — May the 4th be with you” | >

Key ingreduent of Madagascar “Miracle Cure” Artemisia Annua to be tested for COVID-19.

The Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam (Germany) will collaborate with ArtemiLife Inc., a US based company and medical researchers in Denmark and Germany to test Artemisia annua plant extract and artemisinin derivatives in laboratory cell studies against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Currently, there are no effective treatments against COVID-19. Medications commonly used against malaria or Ebola, as well as antiviral drugs, are being considered for repurposing. Herbal treatments used in Traditional Chinese Medicine were explored to treat coronavirus infections during the SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV outbreaks. Initial studies in China showed the alcoholic extract of sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua) was the second most potent herbal medicine used on the 2005 SARS-CoV.

“I am excited about the international collaboration of academic and private sector scientists to conduct cell study testing of Artemisia annua against coronavirus.” said Professor Peter H. Seeberger, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam.

Continue reading “Artemisia annua to be tested against COVID-19” | >

This can be good to purify the oceans and lakes.

Grow algae to reclaim water! Algae feed on the nutrients in wastewater, effectively purifying the water and producing oxygen during the process. Sunlight and LED lighting help the organisms to feed and grow, therefore our algae generators stand in the daylight filled Third Climate Zone. Water slowly recirculates through the six algae tubes, each of which has a steel base containing zeolite, a mineral that acts as a microbial filter, absorbing microorganisms that are not otherwise digested by the algae. The algae generators at Green Solution House are an important element of our on-site biological water purification system. The entire system can process 500 liters of water a day, which is used for irrigating the green wall and gardens and has the potential to be used for flushing public toilets in the building. The water cleaned by the algae is separated and further purified by UV light to reach drinking water quality.

Who’s behind it: Rambøll.

Where you’ll find it: In the Third Climate Zone.

Continue reading “Algae Water Purification” | >

German researchers have identified a strain of bacterium that not only breaks down toxic plastic, but also uses it as food to fuel the process, according to The Guardian.

The scientists discovered the strain of bacteria, known as pseudomonas bacteria, at a dump site loaded with plastic waste, where they noticed that it was attacking polyurethane. Polyurethane’s are ubiquitous in plastic products because they are pliable and durable. However, when they reach the end of their usefulness and end up in landfills, they decompose slowly and slowly release toxic chemicals into the soil as they degrade. They are also notoriously difficult to recycle, according to Courthouse News.

Read more | >

O,.o I used vitamin c and a probiotic it seemed to work well. I also had a flu shot for the year. Besides eating well and staying healthy not much is needed. It is sorta like the flu as much as I can see. I am no doctor but that worked for me.

Korean scientists claim that a lactic acid bacteria from sea buckthorn berries, could potentially inhibit the proliferation of SARS-CoV-2 by repressing purine activation.

Lactobacillus species in the gut microbiota have been found to block pro-inflammatory cytokines to inhibit harmful bacteria like Helicobacter pylori. While studying similar mechanisms against bladder inflammation (cystitis) causing E. coli, a team led by Professor Hana Yoon of Ewha Womans University Medical Center in Seoul, found abundant amounts of Lactobacillus gasseri present in the fermented extracts of sea buckthorn berries.

The probiotic has now been found to repress the activation of purine thereby preventing the SARS-CoV-2 from proliferating. Purine is an important compound required for nucleotide formation. Recent studies have found that the new coronavirus attacks purines in order to form its spike proteins and invade normal cells. The Korean team also found that the berries had several antioxidants, minerals, amino acids, and two other bacteria, Streptococcus thermophilus, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus that use the same binding site as that of SARS-CoV-2.

Continue reading “Purine Repressing Probiotic Might Halt COVID-19, says Korean Researchers” | >

Non-thermal (or cold) plasma has been around for years. A version of this technology is incorporated into power plants to stop particles being released into the atmosphere. It can also be used to decontaminate food.

Now, researchers have developed an exciting new use for the stuff – the eradication of potentially dangerous viruses floating in the air.

Indeed, cold plasma is so good at its job, it can kill 99.9 percent of airborne viruses, researchers at the University of Michigan found. Their research is published in the Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics.

Read more | >