Lifeboat Foundation

Scientists at the University of Helsinki working in collaboration with the University of Oxford have deciphered for the first time how a virus genome is condensed inside the capsid of a virus.

“The motivation of the study was to increase our basic understanding of viral replication, but in the long term this may contribute to tackling viral disease,” says the director of the of the project, Associate Professor Juha Huiskonen from the Helsinki Institute of Life Science, HiLIFE.

The breakthrough results were achieved using cryogenic electron microscopy, a method that has in recent years revolutionised structural biology—a field of biology that aims to understand how molecules of life work at the atomic level.

Continue reading “Unveiling how the genome has condensed itself inside the virus” »

We found that eating one cup of blueberries per day resulted in sustained improvements in vascular function and arterial stiffness—making enough of a difference to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by between 12 and 15 percent.

Eating a cup of blueberries a day reduces risk factors for cardiovascular disease—according to new research led by the University of East Anglia, in collaboration with colleagues from Harvard and across the UK.

New findings published today in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition show that eating 150g of blueberries daily reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by up to 15 percent.

Continue reading “Eating blueberries every day improves heart health” »

Energy drinks are causing potentially fatal heart disorders that are not explained by their high caffeine content, a study has found.

Experts have warned people with congenital heart conditions and high blood pressure to limit their use of the drinks after the largest study yet found they caused substantial interference in the electric signals that govern the organ.

A trial of participants between the ages of 18 and 40 revealed the speed at which the heart reset itself after beating was altered at least four hours after consuming an energy drink.

Continue reading “Energy drinks risking potentially fatal heart rhythm disruption — but it’s not the caffeine, scientists find” »

https://youtube.com/watch?v=8MTM-ANa7FI

The full-scale test will last more than 2 minutes.

A Mad Scientist conference in Austin, Texas, recently addressed robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomy, the future of space, planetary habitability, and the legal and ethical dilemmas surrounding disruptive technologies.

This post by Prof. Kevin Warwick originally appeared at OpenMind.

Article from the book There’s a Future: Visions for a Better World

Continue reading “The Future of Artificial Intelligence and Cybernetics” »

May 29 (UPI) — Geologists have found a possible early signature of massive earthquakes. New research suggests the telltale seismic pattern shows up between 10 seconds and 15 seconds into a seismic event.

Scientists discovered the warning sign after analyzing GPS records of peak ground displacement during dozens of earthquakes. The analysis of several GPS databases revealed a point in time when the beginnings of an earthquake takes the form of a “slip pulse,” the mechanical functions of which scale with magnitude.

The discovery, published this week in the journal Science Advances, allowed scientists to differentiate between small- to medium-sized earthquakes and large to extra-large quakes.

Continue reading “Seismologists find possible early warning sign of a pending megaquake” »

The quotation marks had the force of tradition—and the tradition of force—behind them.

When Nebraska’s Herman Batelaan and colleagues recently submitted a research paper that makes the case for the existence of a non-Newtonian, quantum force, the journal asked that they place “force” firmly within quotes. The team understood and agreed to the request.

After all, the word has long belonged to classical Newtonian physics: equal-and-opposite reactions, electromagnetism, gravity and other laws that explain the apple-dropping, head-bonking phenomena of everyday experience.

Continue reading “Study points to non-Newtonian force affecting particles’ flight” »

A team from NASA and MIT has created a new type of airplane wing — and it could make air travel far more efficient.

In a paper published in the journal Smart Materials and Structures on Monday, the researchers describe how they built an airplane wing from hundreds of identical, lightweight cube-like structures, all bolted together and then covered with a thin polymer material.

The design allows the wing to change shape automatically, adjusting itself to whatever configuration is optimal for the current phase of flight — with one configuration for take-off, for example, and another for landing.

Continue reading “NASA and MIT Debut Shape-Shifting Airplane Wing” »