Lifeboat Foundation

This op-ed originally appeared in the June 10, 2019 issue of SpaceNews magazine.

If humanity is to ever settle new planets, we will need radically new technologies; this much is obvious. But we may already have the perfect material to step up and fill the role: graphene. It is easily transported, easily manipulated, and an abundance of carbon in the galaxy could bode well for graphene, which is a carbon-based material. Its strength and versatility could well become a crucial component in colonization. For instance, spacecraft filled with advanced, massive 3D printers could ferry intrepid settlers to new corners of the galaxy, supplying a near-endless supply of material and equipment, perhaps even being used to construct homes that can withstand the conditions of other worlds.

Graphene’s discovery in 2004 sparked the flame of endless possibility within the science and technology communities due to its astounding properties. Only a single atomic layer thick and constructed in a lattice, honeycomb-like formation, graphene is nearly 200 times stronger than steel and better at conducting electricity and heat than any other conductor. It’s flexible, allows 97 percent of white light to pass through it (making it perfect for solar energy), and the list of properties continues.

In the most detailed and highest-resolution black hole simulation to date, an international team of researchers showed the Bardeen-Petterson effect for the first time.

A UK reporter’s harrowing story of losing sight in his right eye is sure to terrify anyone who’s been lax about contact lens hygiene. He contracted a rare parasitic infection, likely as a result of showering with his contacts in. The costly mistake required over 18 months of intensive treatments, and there’s a chance he may never see out of his right eye again.

Nick Humphreys, a 29-year-old senior reporter at the local Shropshire Star, told his tale in a column for the outlet this week. According to Humphreys, the trouble began in January 2018. His right eye, which had been noticeably dry for a week, became incredibly sensitive to light and filled with pain. After over-the-counter eye drops failed to do anything, he visited an eye doctor, where an ulcer was discovered. A visit to the hospital afterward eventually revealed the culprit of his symptoms: an infection of the cornea caused by a protozoan called Acanthamoeba.

Too often the surgical removal of cancer or its elimination through chemo or radiotherapy isn’t the end of the story, but where do the relapses come from? Part of the explanation may lay in what are known as cancer stem cells, which could be thought of as little seedlings that hide away in the body’s tissues until they feel the time is right to return to action. A newly discovered molecule has raised hopes of cutting these crafty critters off at the source, with early experiments demonstrating how it can latch onto cancer stem cells and starve them of what they need to survive.

(45 minute VIDEO) — 25 year CHIPSA breast cancer survivor shares what helped her heal!

Here is the first patient video from our Celebration of Life event, that occurred in September of 2018!

Ann Fonfa is a 25 year past CHIPSA, Breast Cancer Survivor who healed her disease through various integrative treatments. She was diagnosed in 1993 and had no idea how this would go on to change her life. Ann’s story is one of inspiration and perseverance.

Shelters support biodiversity while also capturing dust to improve air quality and storing rainwater.

A new study, led by Dr. Dan Knights from the University of Minnesota (USA), has found that the gut microbiome responds more to particular foods than to combinations of nutrients and that microbiome responses to diet are personalized.

The researchers studied the impact of habitual diet on the gut microbiome in 34 subjects for 17 consecutive days. Both the fecal microbiome and the participants’ diet were sampled every day through shotgun metagenomic sequencing and daily 24-hour dietary records, respectively.

Although the relative abundance of gut microbial species showed a high variation within and between individuals, functional traits tended to remain stable across individuals. In contrast, a specific group of functions related to stress response, the conversion of nitrate to nitrogen and the conversion of formate to methane showed a high interindividual variability that did not correlate with nutrient and food intake.

The science of tissue engineering has been constructed on a foundation of a very simple concept; take out the patient’s own cells, grow them in a sterile environment similar to that of a human body and infuse them on a scaffolding material to provide 3-dimensional support. With this recipe, you may have your own laboratory-grown organ ready! It is interesting to note that quite a few patients have experienced the benefits of this fastest growing technology. Could change be on the horizon?

Introduction

Various scientific investigations have been frequently hailed as putting forth a novel yet a breakthrough treatment to change the meaning of lives of many patients, who have been suffering from degenerative diseases since long. However, it should be noted that researchers have to travel a really long road to turn a laboratory invention into viable clinical modalities. In this regard, current medical issues associated with gastrointestinal functioning are marred with various challenges; new solutions to take over the control are sorely needed.

Japan’s Hayabusa2 probe made a “perfect” touchdown Thursday on a distant asteroid, collecting samples from beneath the surface in an unprecedented mission that could shed light on the origins of the solar system.

“We’ve collected a part of the solar system’s history,” project manager Yuichi Tsuda said at a jubilant press conference hours after the successful landing was confirmed.

“We have never gathered sub-surface material from a celestial body further away than the Moon,” he added.