Lifeboat Foundation

A new proof by SFI Professor David Wolpert sends a humbling message to would-be super intelligences: you can’t know everything all the time.

The proof starts by mathematically formalizing the way an “inference device,” say, a scientist armed with a supercomputer, fabulous experimental equipment, etc., can have knowledge about the state of the universe around them. Whether that scientist’s knowledge is acquired by observing their universe, controlling it, predicting what will happen next, or inferring what happened in the past, there’s a mathematical structure that restricts that knowledge. The key is that the inference device, their knowledge, and the physical variable that they (may) know something about, are all subsystems of the same universe. That coupling restricts what the device can know. In particular, Wolpert proves that there is always something that the inference device cannot predict, and something that they cannot remember, and something that they cannot observe.

“In some ways this formalism can be viewed as many different extensions of [Donald MacKay’s] statement that ‘a prediction concerning the narrator’s future cannot account for the effect of the narrator’s learning that prediction,’” Wolpert explains. “Perhaps the simplest extension is that, when we formalize [inference devices] mathematically, we notice that the same impossibility results that hold for predictions of the future—MacKay’s concern—also hold for memories of the past. Time is an arbitrary variable—it plays no role in terms of differing states of the universe.”

Continue reading “New proof reveals fundamental limits of scientific knowledge” »

If space is an ocean, the International Space Station is a raft tethered to the shore. The moon is a nearby island that we’ve visited briefly. To go any further or stay any longer, humanity needs more power.

Now, NASA may have the source: A tiny nuclear reactor called KRUSTY, for Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology. (If you’re wondering if this is may be a reference to a popular animated series, its predecessor was known as DUFF).

The reactor uses nuclear fission—the energy released by splitting uranium-235 in a reactor core about the size of a paper towel— to produce 10 kilowatts of power for about ten years, which NASA says is enough energy to power several houses. Four of the reactors could power an outpost on the lunar surface.

Continue reading “NASA successfully tested KRUSTY, a nuclear reactor that works in space and could power missions to the Moon or Mars” »

Believe it or not, a time crystal might actually exist, and its likeliest hiding place is within a child’s toy.

Fans of the Marvel cinematic universe might be shocked to know that a ‘time crystal’ does indeed have a basis in reality, but perhaps not so much as to be able to distort time itself.

Rather, the real-life time crystal is a form of matter that ‘ticks’ when exposed to an electromagnetic pulse, differing it from standard crystals.

Continue reading “Scientists find hint of ‘time crystal’ in the unlikeliest of places” »

One of the greatest obstacles to producing energy via fusion on Eearth is the formation and growth of small magnetic field imperfections in the core of experimental fusion reactors. These reactors, called tokamaks, confine hot ionized gas, or plasma. If the imperfections persist, they let the energy stored in the confined plasma leak out; if allowed to grow, they can lead to sudden termination of the plasma discharge. Recent simulations of tokamak discharges with fast, energetic ions have shown that the structure of the magnetic field can either stabilize or destabilize these magnetic imperfections, or “tearing” instabilities. The result depends on the helical structure of the field as it winds around the tokamak.

Energetic ions, ubiquitous in fusion plasmas, can be a strong stabilizing or destabilizing force. The choice depends on the magnetic shear in the plasma. Understanding the physics driving the onset of the instabilities can lead to their avoidance, a “zero tolerance” approach, vital for ITER’s stable operation. ITER is a key step between today’s fusion research and tomorrow’s fusion power plants. Also, the results explain many experimental observations of tearing instabilities that limit the maximum heat energy that can be contained.

Advanced tokamaks achieve high-thermal-energy plasmas by injecting beams of hot ions that collide with, and thereby heat, the background plasma. Burning plasma experiments that create energy from fusion reactions, such as ITER, will also have a significant population of hot alpha particles, the byproduct of fusion. The effects that energetic ions have on the benign instabilities, such as the sawtooth instability, which causes the temperature near the plasma core to flatten, and the toroidal Alfvén eigenmode, which intuitively is a “vibration” (wobble) of the magnetic field lines, have been known for some time.

Continue reading “Eliminating small instabilities in tokamaks before they become disruptions” »

While most surveys suggest that the public generally supports wind and solar power, opposition from local communities and residents sometimes blocks or delays specific new projects.

Consider the ill-fated Cape Wind offshore project, which was slated to be powering Cape Cod by now. Although Massachusetts has some of the nation’s strongest renewable energy policies, a group of coastal homeowners in that state objected vociferously soon after Cape Wind Associates, the developer, first proposed building it in 2001. They ultimately filed more than a dozen lawsuits over 14 years, creating hassles and delays that along with opposition from other parties doomed it.

As renewable energy researchers witnessing similar storylines play out across the country, we wanted to see how much local opposition there is to existing wind farms. With funding from the Energy Department and help from our colleagues, we teamed up to undertake the largest scientific study to date on how people who live near U.S. wind farms perceive them.

A human study of the mitochondrial antioxidant MitoQ shows promise in addressing some aspects of vascular aging.

Antioxidant-based therapeutics to forestall the effects of aging have had a long history, ever since the elaboration of the free radical theory of aging by Denham Harmon in 1956. However, this long history has also had mixed results, with studies alternately showing efficacy, a lack of efficacy, or even negative health effects for some applications of antioxidants. Many of these studies analyzed the results of taking high doses of naturally occurring antioxidants. In general, high doses are necessary due to the poor bioavailability of many of these naturally occurring compounds.

The poor bioavailability of Coenzyme Q10, a naturally occurring antioxidant that is found in cells and decreases with age, spurred scientists to develop a synthetic form. This form, dubbed MitoQ, is very similar in structure to the naturally occurring form, only it has a triphenylphosphonium moiety that allows this derivative to be two to three orders of magnitude more permeable to membranes, particularly the membranes of mitochondria. It is within mitochondria that MitoQ appears to be doing most of its work by soaking up reactive molecules, generated as byproducts of respiration, that can oxidize and damage lipids and proteins.

Continue reading “Antioxidant MitoQ Combats Vascular Aging in Human Study” »

We are delighted to announce our first US conference in NYC. An action-packed day of research and investment and the first of the events we have planned this year.

At the Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, Cooper Union in New York City, we will be hosting a special one-day conference focused on aging research and biotech investment. Developing therapies from initial concepts, through clinical testing, and ultimately to market takes a pipeline, and right now, that pipeline is being built to support the next step in medicine: rejuvenation biotechnology. Join us for this exciting event, where industry experts will be sharing their insights on the advances and investment prospects in an industry poised to revolutionize medicine forever.

I’ll be the 1st spacecraft to travel from the West Coast of the U.S. to another planet. My rocket can do that—we’ve got the power. 🚀 More on launch:

Pilots programs are underway in Canada and rural Kenya. India — with a population of more than 1.3 billion residents — is considering establishing a universal basic income as well. Finland’s trial with a universal basic income, in which payments were given to 2,000 unemployed people, will come to an end this year.

Longtime basic income advocates say we’re closer than ever to adopting the program, as fears of automation mount.