Lifeboat Foundation

In a step towards creating a new class of electronics that look and feel like soft, natural organisms, mechanical engineers at Carnegie Mellon University are developing a fluidic transistor out of a metal alloy of indium and gallium that is liquid at room temperature. From biocompatible disease monitors to shape-shifting robots, the potential applications for such squishy computers are intriguing.

Until recently, the only example of liquid electronics were microswitches made up of tiny glass tubes with a bead of mercury inside that closes the switch when it rolls between two wires. Essentially, the fluidic transistor is a much more sophisticated switch that’s made of a liquid metal alloy that is non-toxic, so it can be infused into rubber to create soft, stretchable circuits.

Unlike the mercury switch, where tilting the vial closes the circuit, the fluidic transistor works by opening and closing the connection between metal droplets using the direction of the voltage. When it flows in one direction, the droplets combine and the circuit closes. If it flows the other way, the droplet splits and the circuit opens.

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“Room temperature quantum sensors can be mounted directly on the scalp of any subject. This will give us a projected four-fold increase in sensitivity for adults, but the sensitivity could potentially be up to a 15 or 20 fold increase for children or babies.”

A £1.6 million collaborative project between scientists at the University of Nottingham and University College London (UCL) is looking to improve the way we map the human brain. Focusing on the development of magnetoencephalography (MEG), researchers have 3D printed a prototype helmet that may yield quadruple the sensitivity of current MEG devices.

Reading at room temperature

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In addition, a small number of posters will be selected for oral presentation. Poster topics should lie within the scope of the conference: Research contributing to the eventual postponement of age-related decline in health, with an emphasis on measures that repair damage rather than slowing its creation. Poster submissions are due on January 15, 2018.

To submit your poster go to.

Undoing Aging will include poster sessions on the first two evenings. If you wish to present a poster, please submit the details on this page. A small number of posters will be selected for oral presentation; those selected should also prepare a poster.

Continue reading “Abstracts: Call for Poster Submissions will include poster sessions” »

A right for all people and a service providing the highest standard of care — can universal health care do both or will politics stand in the way? CNBC’s Tom Chitty explains.

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Run Hide Fight

◾ How to survive an Active Shooter Situation according to the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center.

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Popular astrophysicist Professor Brian Cox believes we could be mining in space very soon.

Lockheed Martin has been awarded an Air Force Research Laboratory contract to develop and produce high-energy fiber laser weapons for tactical fighter aircraft.

Following a $200 million investment this summer — the largest agriculture-tech funding round in history — vertical farming startup Plenty is expanding beyond its Bay Area roots.

The company is opening a second farm in the greater Seattle area, Plenty CEO Matt Barnard told Business Insider. Located in Kent, Washington, the 100,000-square-foot warehouse facility will grow 4.5 million pounds of greens annually, which is enough to feed around 183,600 Americans, according to the USDA.

The new farm will officially start production in spring 2018. Instead of growing outdoors, Plenty grows its crops on glowing, LED-lit 20-foot-tall towers inside a former electronics distribution center in South San Francisco. The towers do not require soil, pesticides, or even natural sunlight.

Continue reading “A new Jeff Bezos-backed warehouse farm will grow enough produce to feed over 180,000 people per year” »

Tech folks are a little antsy about the whole death thing. They’re putting money behind DNA ‘hacking,’ organ printing and tiny robots that might kill what ails you.