Out of Nowhere, a Global Magnetic Anomaly
Earth's quiet magnetic field was unexpectedly disturbed by a wave of magnetism that rippled around the globe for more than 30 minutes. There was no solar storm or geomagnetic storm to cause the disturbance.
Dolphins learn from their peers to use empty shells to catch fish (cell.com)
• Network-based diffusion analysis revealed that “shelling” spreads among associates
• Dolphin foraging innovations can spread socially outside of the mother-calf bond
• First quantification of a non-vertically learned foraging tactic in toothed whales
There Are At Least 36 Intelligent Alien Civilizations In Our Galaxy, Say Scientists
Published today in The Astrophysical Journal, the new paper examines the likely number of Communicating Extra-Terrestrial Intelligent (CETI) civilizations in the Milky Way. It assumes that intelligent life comes to occur on other planets much as it has done on our own planet. A key assumption is that it takes around five billion years for intelligent life to form on other planets, as it does on Earth. Another is that a technological civilization will last at least 100 years—as ours has, thus far. After all, it took 4.5 billion years of evolution before a technological civilization arose on Earth, and was capable of communicating.
Kurt Blome - a comic book biological warfare villain
Kurt Blome (1894, 1969) was a high-ranking Nazi scientist before and during World War II. He was the Deputy Reich Health Leader (Reichsgesundheitsführer) and Plenipotentiary for Cancer Research in the Reich Research Council. In his autobiography Arzt im Kampf (A Physician's Struggle), he equated medical and military power in their battle for life and death. Blome was tried at the Doctors' Trial in 1947 on charges of practicing euthanasia and conducting experiments on humans. In 1951, he was hired by the U.S. Army Chemical Corps under Project 63, one of the successors to Operation Paperclip, to work on chemical warfare. His file neglected to mention Nuremberg.
Led By Asia, Global Plant-Based Meat Market To Hit US$21 Billion By 2025
A new report says that the global vegan meat market will grow to US$21 billion by as soon as 2025. The study finds that the majority of the growth will come from the Asian market, citing preference for tofu and tempeh plant proteins as a key reason, as well as the steadily increasing demand for environmentally friendly alternatives.
Millions of periodical cicadas to emerge in parts of US (BBC)
After spending 17 years underground, millions of cicadas will be emerging in parts of the United States. Periodical cicadas are expected to come out in early summer across southwest Virginia, parts of North Carolina, and in West Virginia. The last time the cicadas emerged in many of those regions was in 2003 and 2004, though some areas saw an emergence in 2013. As many as 1.5 million of the insects can emerge per acre of land. While they are some of the longest-lived insects in the world, periodical cicadas spend almost their entire lives underground as what entomologists call "nymphs".
Use of genetically modified viruses and genetically engineered virus-vector vaccines: environmental effects (2006)
DNA and mRNA vaccines involve the introduction of foreign and engineered genetic material into a person’s cells and past studies have found that such vaccines ‘possess significant unpredictability and a number of inherent harmful potential hazards’ and that ‘there is inadequate knowledge to define either the probability of unintended events or the consequences of genetic modifications.’”
Malaria 'completely stopped' by microbe (BBC)
Scientists have discovered a microbe that completely protects mosquitoes from being infected with malaria. The team in Kenya and the UK say the finding has "enormous potential" to control the disease. Malaria is spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes, so protecting them could in turn protect people. The researchers are now investigating whether they can release infected mosquitoes into the wild, or use spores to suppress the disease.
America's Government Approves Release of Genetically-Engineered Mosquitoes (bloomberg)
The EPA on Friday granted permission for genetically engineered mosquitoes to be released into the Florida Keys and around Houston to see if they can help limit the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses. British biotech company Oxitec Ltd was granted an experimental use permit to release a genetically engineered type of the mosquito species Aedes aegypti, which is a known vector of Zika virus and viruses that cause yellow fever and dengue fever, the Environmental Protection Agency office of Chemical Safety and Pollution announced.
#Biotech #Biology #FFHCI #ALife
Famous Martian Meteorite Contains 4-Billion-Year-Old Organic Compounds (newsweek)
Scientists have identified 4-billion-year-old nitrogen-containing organic molecules in a Martian meteorite, a discovery that may shed light on whether or not the Red Planet once hosted life. According to a study published in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers found the organic molecules, those that contain carbon atoms, in a famous Martian meteorite dubbed Allan Hills 84001, which was uncovered in Antarctica in 1984. This object once formed part of the Red Planet's surface, but it was blasted into space by a meteor impact around 15 million years ago before eventually falling to Earth.
Scientists Create Glowing Plants Using Mushroom Genes (Guardian)
Emitting an eerie green glow, they look like foliage from a retro computer game, but in fact they are light-emitting plants produced in a laboratory. Researchers say the glowing greenery could not only add an unusual dimension to home decor but also open up a fresh way for scientists to explore the inner workings of plants.
French researchers to test nicotine patches on coronavirus patients
Study – which stresses serious health risks of smoking – suggest substance in tobacco may lower risk of getting coronavirus
Microsoft exec says coronavirus could spark big shift for AI in health care (techexplorer)
Microsoft chief technology officer Kevin Scott grew up fascinated by the 1960s Apollo space program and then-President John F. Kennedy's vision of a moon shot. Now, he envisions just as ambitious a project taking shape as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. Just as the U.S. government significantly invested to put Neil Armstrong and others on the moon by 1969—$200 billion in today's dollars by his estimate—Scott said similar funding in artificial intelligence technology could be a difference-maker for our nation's battered health care system.
Microsoft Patents New Cryptocurrency System Using Body Activity Data
Microsoft has patented a cryptocurrency mining system that leverages human activities, including brain waves and body heat, when performing online tasks such as using search engines, chatbots, and reading ads. “A user can solve the computationally difficult problem unconsciously,” the patent reads.
#Technology #Health #Biology #Military #Crypto #Economics #Cryptocracy
In other news Stanford has made a toilet that identifies you based on your butthole (Nature)
Here, we describe easily deployable hardware and software for the long-term analysis of a user's excreta through data collection and models of human health. The 'smart' toilet, which is self-contained and operates autonomously by leveraging pressure and motion sensors, analyses the user's urine using a standard-of-care colorimetric assay that traces red -- green -- blue values from images of urinalysis strips, calculates the flow rate and volume of urine using computer vision as a uroflowmeter, and classifies stool according to the Bristol stool form scale using deep learning [...] Each user of the toilet is identified through their fingerprint and the distinctive features of their anoderm, and the data are securely stored and analysed in an encrypted cloud server. The toilet may find uses in the screening, diagnosis and longitudinal monitoring of specific patient populations.
Tuberculosis (WHO)
Tuberculosis (TB) is a global disease, found in every country in the world. It is the LEADING infectious cause of death worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.8 billion people—close to one quarter of the world's population—are infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb), the bacteria that causes TB. Last year, 10 million fell ill from TB and 1.5 million died. Tuberculosis kills five thousand people every day. TB is an airborne disease that can be spread by coughing or sneezing and is the leading cause of infectious disease worldwide.
A Google Plan to Wipe Out Mosquitoes Appears to Be Working (Bloomberg)
Alphabet unit Verily, which is also running coronavirus test sites, reports major progress in Debug project.
