Lifeboat Foundation

The first full temperature map of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa has revealed one spot that seems colder than anywhere else on the surface — but we have no clue why.

Streaming music doesn’t have to mean compromised sound. These hi-fi amps can help you find cloud-connected aural ecstasy.

1. Naim Audio Uniti Star

Best for: Streamcurious audiophiles.

Continue reading “Achieve Audiophile Superiority With These Streaming Amps” »

This video is the first in a two-part series discussing 5G. In this video, we’ll be discussing the many many aspects of current generation mobile networks that 5G is set to improve.

As well as the technologies and communication techniques that will be required to enable these upgrades in speed, latency, bandwidth, energy consumption and more!

[0:35–8:15] First we’ll take a look at the core technologies that 5G is composed of, how they work together and the benefits they will each bring.

Continue reading “How Fast Is 5G?” »

“Lego block” artificial cells that can kill bacteria have been created by researchers at the University of California, Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering. The work is reported Aug. 29 in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

“We engineered artificial cells from the bottom-up – like Lego blocks – to destroy bacteria,” said Assistant Professor Cheemeng Tan, who led the work. The cells are built from liposomes, or bubbles with a cell-like lipid membrane, and purified cellular components including proteins, DNA and metabolites.

“We demonstrated that artificial cells can sense, react and interact with bacteria, as well as function as systems that both detect and kill bacteria with little dependence on their environment,” Tan said.

Continue reading “Artificial cells are tiny bacteria fighters” »

Swine fever has made its way into China, home to half the world’s pigs. Farmers in Estonia are already counting the cost.

Nanoporous metals are superior catalysts for chemical reactions due to their large surface area and high electrical conductivity, making them perfect candidates for applications such as electrochemical reactors, sensors and actuators.

In a study published today in the journal Science Advances, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers, along with their counterparts at Harvard University, report on the hierarchical 3D printing of nanoporous gold, a proof of concept that researchers say could revolutionize the design of chemical reactors.

“If you consider traditional machining processes, it’s time consuming and you waste a lot of materials—also, you don’t have the capability to create complex structures,” said LLNL postdoctoral researcher Zhen Qi, a co-author on the paper. “By using 3D printing we can realize macroporous structures with application-specific flow patterns. By creating hierarchical structures, we provide pathways for fast mass transport to take full advantage of the large surface area of nanoporous materials. It’s also a way to save materials, especially precious metals.”

Continue reading “Hierarchical 3D printing of nanoporous gold could ‘revolutionize’ electrochemical reactor design” »

Close to 800,000 records from about a dozen plant collections or “herbaria” are being digitized, allowing researchers broad access to data on plant species collected and preserved in past centuries.

A far better approach, then, is the middle course. Rather than prejudge the products of biotechnology, regulators should screen new plants and single out those that might need special monitoring or restrictions. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration does something similar on a voluntary basis for foods made from plants with engineered proteins. Companies submit data about their new products, and if the FDA decides it has no further questions, they can claim their foods are “generally recognized as safe.”

Europe and the U.S. should avoid an all-or-nothing approach to regulating plants made with Crispr.

The ocean cleanup starts in 5 days.

Develops advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. Full-scale deployment will remove 50% of the North Pacific gyre debris in 5 years.