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Jan 23, 2020

đŸșA while before the Sun was born

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks, particle physics

Fyodor R.

Scientists recently identified the oldest material on Earth: stardust that’s 7 billion years old, tucked away in a massive, rocky meteorite that struck our planet half a century ago.

đŸșStardust

Continue reading “🏺A while before the Sun was born” »

Jan 23, 2020

Helium-3 mining on the lunar surface

Posted by in categories: nuclear energy, space travel

The idea of harvesting a clean and efficient form of energy from the Moon has stimulated science fiction and fact in recent decades. Unlike Earth, which is protected by its magnetic field, the Moon has been bombarded with large quantities of Helium-3 by the solar wind. It is thought that this isotope could provide safer nuclear energy in a fusion reactor, since it is not radioactive and would not produce dangerous waste products.

The Apollo programme’s own geologist, Harrison Schmidt, has repeatedly made the argument for Helium-3 mining, whilst Gerald Kulcinski at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is another leading proponent. He has created a small reactor at the Fusion Technology Institute, but so far it has not been possible to create the helium fusion reaction with a net power output.

This has not stopped the search for Helium-3 from being a motivating factor in space exploration, however. Apart from the traditional space-faring nations, the India has previously indicated its interest in mining the lunar surface. The use of Moon resources was also part of Newt Gingrich’s unsuccessful candidacy for the Republican party’s nomination for the US presidency in 2012.

Jan 23, 2020

Stimulating Blood Vessel Growth Using FGF1 May Hold Promise for PD, Company Says

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Stimulating the growth of blood vessels in the brain through the use of fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1) may hold promise as a strategy for treating Parkinson’s disease, according to a white paper released by Zhittya Genesis Medicine (ZGM). Clinical trials testing this theory are being planned.

The white paper is titled “Parkinson’s Disease: Therapeutic Angiogenesis as a Disease Modifying, Breakthrough Therapy?”

Jan 23, 2020

Noisy signals strengthen human brainwaves

Posted by in category: neuroscience

‘Stochastic resonance’ seen in the brain’s information processing area.

Jan 23, 2020

Tesla destroys recent China FUD

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

It’s pretty difficult to believe it at this point, but there are still groups of Tesla critics who insist that Gigafactory 3 is not really fully operational. A central part of this thesis is the allegation that Gigafactory 3 does not have a stamping press, which means that Tesla’s China team is only assembling cars in the Shanghai-based factory using pre-stamped panels from Fremont.

A recently released video from Tesla China has just decimated these allegations in a subtle but definitive manner. The clip was short, less than 30 seconds long, but it showed a busy stamping press operating in Gigafactory 3. The video was released in China, and shared on Twitter by Tesla enthusiast @JayinShanghai.

Jan 23, 2020

Fighting Poverty With Early Childhood Education: James Heckman-JAPAN On Demand

Posted by in categories: education, neuroscience

Nobel laureate James Heckman demonstrated a connection between developing non-cognitive skills in early childhood and success in life. He advocates supporting parents, to lift children from poverty.

Jan 23, 2020

U.S. Agency for International Development

Posted by in category: sustainability

In September 2015, as the Millennium Development Goals expired and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (link is external) was being adopted, USAID put forward an ambitious Vision for Ending Extreme Poverty.

Jan 23, 2020

Spot the Robot Dog Trots Into the Big, Bad World

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Boston Dynamics’ creation is starting to sniff out its role in the workforce: as a helpful canine that still sometimes needs you to hold its paw.

Jan 23, 2020

Switzerland’s drone delivery program to resume after crashes

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, drones

Swiss Post and Matternet will once again resume using drones to deliver lab samples between hospital facilities and labs after being suspending in August 2019 after two crashes. Flights will resume on January 27th.

Jan 23, 2020

Artificial intelligence reveals how light flows around nanoparticles

Posted by in categories: nanotechnology, robotics/AI

New technique could be used to design a wide range of optical devices.