Lifeboat News: The Blog

Many plastic products are designed to be used only once, yet the material itself lasts for years. But a new strategy is addressing this problem by creating products that self-destruct on command, known as living plastics. These materials incorporate activatable, plastic-degrading microbes alongside the polymers. One team reporting in ACS Applied Polymer Materials used two […]

In October 2024, the US Department of Energy (DOE) — under the Joe Biden administration — opened applications for funding to support the initial domestic deployment of Generation III+ small modular reactor (SMR) technologies, with up to USD800 million to go to two “first-mover” teams, with an additional USD100 million to address so-called gaps that […]

Can we have higher yields and better taste? Using a natural extract from the fungus Pseudozyma aphidis, this method improves the firmness and natural sugar content of crops like tomatoes and melons while significantly boosting production. This discovery offers a practical path to meeting global food demands without compromising the health of the planet or […]

It is hypothesized that environmental contamination by per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) defines a separate planetary boundary and that this boundary has been exceeded. This hypothesis is tested by comparing the levels of four selected perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) (i.e., perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluoro…

Researchers at the São Carlos Institute of Physics at the University of São Paulo (IFSC-USP) in Brazil, led by Paulo Augusto Raymundo-Pereira, have created biodegradable, “wearable” sensors for plants to monitor their health, including the presence of pesticides. The sensors are made from carbon ink and are screen-printed onto transparent cellulose acetate bioplastics. The study […]

Breakthrough in brain medicine: a new way to deliver CBD! Cannabidiol (CBD) has incredible potential to fight brain inflammation, but it has always faced a major roadblock: it struggles to dissolve and cross the blood-brain barrier. Researchers have just developed an ingenious solution using glucose-coated nanoparticles to get CBD exactly where it needs to go. […]

Not all pulmonary emboli are thrombotic. NTPE spans septic, tumor, fat, air, and iatrogenic causes, often mimicking PE but requiring different management. Recognizing key imaging clues + clinical context is critical for timely, lifesaving diagnosis. Nonthrombotic pulmonary artery embolism (NTPE) involves occlusion of pulmonary arteries by nonthrombotic material, such as septic emboli, tumor cells…

Weather forecasting is another aspect of modern life that artificial intelligence is transforming. Models like GraphCast, Pangu-Weather, and Fuxi are already better than traditional physics-based climate models at predicting some daily weather conditions. However, they are far from perfect. A new study published in the journal Science Advances reports that AI often fails to predict […]

From smartphone charging to hydrogen production, the fundamental principles of energy technology have been revealed. Korean researchers have, for the first time, identified how molecular structures change within the ultra-small space called the “electric double layer.” The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, opens a new path to simultaneously improve efficiency and performance …

Ultimately, QIML proves that we don’t need a fully fault-tolerant quantum computer to see results. By using quantum processors to learn the complex “rules” of chaos, we can give classical computers the boost they need to make reliable, long-term predictions about the most turbulent environments in the natural world. Modeling high-dimensional dynamical systems remains one […]

Ghareeb, A.E., Chang, B., Mitchener, L. et al. A multi-agent system for automating scientific discovery. Nature (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10652-y. Download citation.

Incidental findings: common, often benign–but not always. This review updates ACR guidance, highlights gaps, and challenges prior recommendations across organs. A must-read to refine management and avoid unnecessary workup.

“The flight test’s primary goal will be to demonstrate each of these new pieces in the flight environment for the first time,” a post to SpaceX’s website explained. “As this is the first flight test of a significantly redesigned vehicle, the booster will not attempt a return to the launch site for catch.” A live […]

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft completed its close approach of Mars on May 15, coming within 2,864 miles (4,609 kilometers) of the planet’s surface. This flyby used

A few hours ago, the Smile satellite was launched from the Kourou Spaceport in French Guiana atop a Vega-C rocket. After about 56 minutes, the Smile satellite separated from the rocket’s last stage and began maneuvers that are scheduled to last approximately 25 days. Eleven burns of the spacecraft’s engines will lengthen its orbit, initially […]

Matthew Weinzierl and Brendan Rosseau, authors of Space to Grow, explain the commercial space economy and the role of NASA, Artemis, commercial space stations, space-based data centers, Starlink, GPS, China’s space program, national security, and space governance. The conversation covers how governments, private companies, and investors build, fund, regulate, and compete in space, from microgravi…

An extremely interesting new technology which combines bacterial retrons with CRISPR-Cas for localized generation of single-stranded DNA inserts and subsequent targeted genome editing. I remember reading about retrons as an obscure biological phenomenon years ago in a monograph called Mobile DNA III, so it’s awesome to see them leveraged in this way! A metagenomic screen […]

The causes of male infertility can be hard to diagnose, with many tests failing to detect genetic defects. Sometimes, infertility doesn’t even involve the genes themselves. It can arise from improper folding of the father’s DNA in the sperm. If a couple conceives, this mispackaged DNA can damage the lifelong health of the child. “Paternal […]

In 1985, the Innovative Design Fund placed an ad in Scientific American offering up to $10,000 to support clever prototypes for clothing, home decor, and textiles. William Freeman PhD ’92, then an electrical engineer at Polaroid and now an MIT professor, saw it and submitted a novel idea: a three-sided zipper. Instead of fastening pants, […]

Studying the great books, sharing my learnings through lectures & interviews. Click to read Johnathan Bi, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.