Lifeboat Foundation

Today, we want to highlight a recent study in which a team of researchers from UT Southwestern demonstrates how adjusting the gut microbiome in mice lowers the occurrence of cancer.

What is the gut microbiome?

The microbiome describes a varied community of bacteria, archaea, eukarya, and viruses that inhabit our gut. The four bacterial phyla of Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria make up around 98% of the intestinal microbiome.

A biocompatible and battery-less pill can noninvasively and accurately sample gut microbiome as it passes through the gastrointestinal tract.

A group of security researchers has found that some cameras are vulnerable to ransomware attacks via Wi-Fi or hijacked computers (using the USB connection) that can render a camera and its photos entirely usage until a sum of money is paid to the hackers.

Check Point Software Technologies has shown (as seen in the video above) that Canon DSLRs (it’s not clear if other cameras are also affected) are susceptible to ransomware attacks, an increasingly common exploitation in which a hacker disables a device until the owner pays a ransom to regain control. As more and more electronics gain internet connectivity, these attacks are becoming more common, particularly since manufacturers typically don’t put the same sort of effort into fortifying the network security of small electronics as they do into computers. Canon released a statement in which they offered some barebones tips to avoid being susceptible to these attacks and noted that there have been no known instances of such an attack occurring. They did not indicate whether they plan to fix the vulnerabilities through firmware updates, so it probably doesn’t hurt to be a bit more careful to protect your photos.

This week we have the first episode in this years Summer Series podcast where we feature three compelling talks from other creators.

In this weeks Summer Series podcast episode we hear from George Sowers who talked about “Mining the Moon for Fun and Profit.” Dr. Sowers is a Professor of Practice at the Colorado School of Mines who works on the world’s first and only graduate program in Space Resources.

This talk was featured in the mid-June Future In-Space Operations weekly teleconference. The slides are available below.

The few available range-extended electric car models give drivers added flexibility by using gasoline engines as onboard backup generators.

But using the range extender too often may consume a significant quantity of gasoline, somewhat offsetting the purpose of owning an electric car for some buyers.

Electric-car advocate Tom Moloughney faced that dilemma about two years ago, when he decided to buy one of the first BMW i3 electric cars in the U.S.

Imagine making the 2,710-mile trip from Philadelphia to Los Angeles using just one gallon of gas.

You might look silly doing it, but students from Université Laval, in Quebec, have theoretically made that outlandish trip possible with their prototype gasoline-powered car that gets 2,713.1 miles per gallon.

The Laval team took home the big prize at this year’s Shell Eco-marathon Americas, a competition in which university students design a prototype car using various fuels, from gasoline to hydrogen fuel cells, in an attempt to maximize efficiency on a Detroit, Michigan test track.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says that the automaker is working on a new battery pack to come out next year which will last 1 million miles.

When talking about the economics of Tesla’s future fleet of robotaxis at the Tesla Autonomy Event yesterday, Musk emphasized that the vehicles need to be durable in order for the economics to work:

Continue reading “Tesla is working on new battery that lasts 1 million miles to come out next year, says Elon Musk” »

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Earthquakes that struck California last month caused more than $5 billion in damage to Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, a sprawling desert facility where some of the military’s most advanced weapons are tested, according to an estimate made public Wednesday.

A survey of nearly 3,600 buildings conducted over 13 days found that repairing or replacing damaged base buildings alone will cost about $2.2 billion, including hangars, repair facilities, offices, a laboratory, 22 ammunition magazines, an air traffic control tower and even a gym and pool, according to an overview presented to potential contractors at an Aug. 1 forum. It was posted Wednesday on the webpage of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest.

The base’s total repair and replacement cost of $5.2 billion includes buildings as well as furniture, tools, communications and other specialized equipment.

The prospect of reliving a past moment from Earth’s amazing history or skipping ahead of the future is a tantalising idea widely present in science fiction. But physicists who spend their days pondering the mysteries of time and space believe time travel might be within the realm of possibility. This does not mean scientists will develop TARDIS-like time travel machines straight out of Dr Who any time soon. Instead, the theoretical and physical frameworks are there to show moving forward in time can be achieved – with a small catch.