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Dec 15, 2020

DARPA okays Blue Canyon’s satellites for Blackjack program

Posted by in categories: military, satellites

The satellites Blue Canyon developed for DARPA’s Blackjack program — based on the company’s commercial X-SAT bus — passed a critical design review.


WASHINGTON — Small satellite manufacturer Blue Canyon Technologies has been cleared to produce its first two satellites for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Blackjack program, the company announced Dec. 14.

DARPA plans to deploy up to 20 spacecraft in low-Earth orbit that will be connected by optical inter-satellite links and provide communications, missile tracking and navigation services.

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Dec 15, 2020

Samples from far-distant asteroid leave Japan scientists ‘speechless’

Posted by in category: alien life

Researchers hope the material from Ryugu, an asteroid around 300 million kilometres away, will shed light on the formation of the universe and perhaps offer clues about how life began on Earth.

Dec 15, 2020

Aging, diet-induced obesity, and metabolic disease link explored in new research

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

Might want to dig deeper.


Unraveling the links among obesity, aging, telomere lengths and metabolic diseases is the subject of the study published today in Nature Metabolism by a collaborative research team at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

Telomeres act as protective caps at the end of chromosomes to prevent them from replication errors during cell divisions. Every time a chromosome replicates itself, telomeres shorten. When the telomeres become too short, the cell can no longer replicate its chromosomes safely and becomes arrested, or senescent. That shortening has been linked to the and development of degenerative diseases.

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Dec 15, 2020

Technologist Jim O’Neill Makes the Case for Dramatic Anti-Aging Medicine

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, education, health

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYvvid3jWRs

In this important conversation on health, David Gornoski sits down with Jim O’Neill, CEO of the SENS Research Foundation and former managing director of Thiel Capital. How do we effectively fight viruses such as COVID-19? O’Neill brings attention to the urgency of strengthening our immune systems. Why should we look into anti-aging? Anti-aging research, O’Neill says, looks into the possibility of targeting senescent cells where many diseases take hold. How soon can we see the results of this research? Given our societal norms, is overcoming death through scientific means something that we should look into? How does Christian teaching relate to the idea of overcoming death in time and space?

Visit SENS Research Foundation here:
https://www.sens.org/
Follow Jim O’Neill on Twitter here:
https://twitter.com/regardthefrost/

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Dec 15, 2020

1st Patients To Get CRISPR Gene-Editing Treatment Continue To Thrive

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

As the first patient to receive an experimental treatment that relied on the gene-editing technique CRISPR continues to do well 17 months later, more patients seem to be benefiting, too.

Dec 15, 2020

FDA Approves Gene-Hacked Pigs for Human Consumption

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, health

I think I want non-gene hacked pigs for my supper. 😃


For the second time ever, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a gene-hacked animal for human consumption.

In this case, it’s the GalSafe pig, CNN reports, a genetically modified swine that’s safe even for people with allergies to eat. All in all, it’s a fresh sign that genetically-altered animals and sophisticated gene-hacking technology are now becoming commercially viable and entering the mainstream.

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Dec 15, 2020

Scientists Say Pee-Drinking Machine Could Save Lives

Posted by in categories: space, sustainability

“While astronauts in space need to get creative with their water supply, that’s not to suggest that people ought to start drinking pee to access clean water. Rather, Aquaporin, the company behind the new system, suggests that the same kind of technology could be used to clean up other types of wastewater or filter existing drinking water supplies to the point that they could be used.”


As Above

Roughly 2 billion people don’t have access to clean drinking water, according to CNN, and a system like Aquaporin could help remove pollution and plastics from the supply.

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Dec 15, 2020

Camera Uses Laser Beams to Take 3D Images From 1 Kilometer Away

Posted by in categories: electronics, nanotechnology

Circa 2008


Using superconducting nanowires and lasers, a new camera system can produce high-resolution 3D images of objects from up to a kilometer away.

Dec 15, 2020

Russian FSB hit squad poisoned Alexei Navalny, report says

Posted by in category: futurism

Telecoms and travel data shows activist was shadowed on multiple trips before his poisoning in August, Bellingcat reports.

Dec 15, 2020

People With ADHD Can Actually Focus So Hard it’s Scary

Posted by in categories: health, neuroscience

Is ADHD actually a superpower that goes out of control from time to time? Can it be turned into an advantage?


Unclench. Mary is just an urban legend—a case example of how people with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder can hyperfocus on a task for hours, losing all awareness of their surroundings. Hers is a story that people in the ADHD community tell themselves so we will feel less alone.

“We all hate the name ADHD,” says Elaine Taylor-Klaus, cofounder of Atlanta consultancy group ImpactADHD. Because the word “deficit” is in the name, many incorrectly assume having ADHD means you can’t pay attention. Instead, ADHDers often pay more attention to certain tasks than we should. It’s called hyperfocus.

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