Lifeboat Foundation

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According to two papers published in Cell on January 11, 2018, the making of memories and the processes of learning resemble, of all things, a viral infection. It works like this: The shells that transport information between neurons are assembled by a gene called Arc. Experiments conducted by two research teams revealed that the Arc protein that forms a shell, functions much like a Gag, a gene that transports a virus’s genetic material between cells during an infection. For example, the retrovirus HIV uses a Gag in exactly this manner.

Scientific American:

Continue reading “By Far the Strangest Scientific Discovery of 2018: Your Memories Are a Viral Infection” »

A mathematician in England just solved a decades-old Diophantine equation for the number 33. Now, only 42 remains.

DAILY DOSE | A new cutting-edge cancer treatment has been developed in one of the innovation capitals of the world — Israel. How does it work and why is some of the medical community eagerly awaiting to use it? Accelerated Evolution Biotechnologies CEO Ilan Morad discusses with host Ayman Sikseck.

Story:

Continue reading “Israeli Company’s New Cutting-Edge Cancer Treatment” »

For the first time scientists have found an organism that can produce chlorophyll but does not engage in photosynthesis.

The peculiar organism is dubbed ‘corallicolid’ because it is found in 70 per cent of corals around the world and may provide clues as to how to protect coral reefs in the future.

“This is the second most abundant cohabitant of coral on the planet and it hasn’t been seen until now,” says Patrick Keeling, a University of British Columbia botanist and senior researcher overseeing the study published in Nature. “This organism poses completely new biochemical questions. It looks like a parasite, and it’s definitely not photosynthetic. But it still makes chlorophyll.”

Continue reading “Scientists discover first organism with chlorophyll genes that doesn’t photosynthesize” »

Ever since Avi Loeb’s controversial paper about the object, dubbed ‘Oumuamua, he’s become a spokesman for the possibilities of extraterrestrial life.

They’ve captured our imaginations for decades, but we’ve never actually photographed a black hole before – until now.

Next Wednesday, at several press briefings around the world, scientists will apparently unveil humanity’s first-ever photo of a black hole, the European Space Agency said in a statement. Specifically, the photo will be of “Sagittarius A,” the supermassive black hole that’s at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

But aren’t black holes, well, black, and thus invisible, so none of our telescopes can “see” them? Yes – therefore the image we’re likely to see will be of the “event horizon,” the edge of the black hole where light can’t escape.

Continue reading “‘Something no human has seen before’: The first-ever photograph of a black hole will likely be unveiled next week” »

Gravity Falls

This wasn’t the first time Gravity has wowed observers with its Iron Man-esque Jet Suit, which features jets mounted to each of a wearer’s arms. The company even let a CNBC journalist take it for a test flight last year.

Continue reading “UK Military Could Deploy Iron Man-Style Jet Suit in Combat” »

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a bacterium that causes infection in various parts of the body, is often called a “superbug” thanks to its ability to dodge many common antibiotics. Although most MRSA infections aren’t serious, some can be life-threatening, sometimes resulting in amputation of the infected appendage.

Rather than rolling the dice with a multi-drug combination or wasting precious time trying to determine which medicine to prescribe, doctors could soon use a new method for disarming the superbugs: light therapy.

Researchers at Purdue University and Boston University have discovered that exposing the bug to blue light can render it defenseless against antiseptics as mild as hydrogen peroxide. The findings were published in the journal Advanced Science.

Whether we like it or not, our society has become completely reliant on plastic. From food preservation to water transportation, computer technology to healthcare and medicine, plastic can be found in nearly every facet of the human experience.

But as we well know, plastic is a double-edged sword, with massive amounts of plastic waste not only piling up in landfills, but floating in the most remote depths of our oceans and water supplies. And despite our knowledge of plastic’s harmful effects on the environment, we’ve become so reliant on plastic that there seems to be no end in sight. In fact, plastic production is growing on a yearly basis–and posing a potentially mortal threat to us all.

Continue reading “Scientists Found an Edible Mushroom That Eats Plastic, and It Could Clean Our Landfills” »