Alzheimer’s is a disease with a number of potential causes and therefore a number of potential targets for prevention. One of those centers on a protein call tau, which can gather in long tangles that kill off neurons in the brain. Scientists have developed what they describe as a vaccine to keep the brain clear of these dangerous clumps, and found that treating mice in this way helped stave off the kind of memory decline associated with the disease. read more
NASA has announced a plan to allow tourists to fly on the International Space Station starting next year.
Up to two private astronaut missions will be allowed per year, each lasting 30 days at most.
But, a trip to space won’t come cheap – with life support systems and all necessary supplies considered, it will cost an eye-watering $35,000 per night at minimum.
The announcement came as NASA unveiled its new business model on Friday, revealing a plan to incorporate more commercial and marketing opportunities ‘both in low-Earth orbit and around the moon.’
‘Today is a very remarkable day,’ NASA’s Chief Financial Officer Jeff DeWitt said in a press conference Friday morning.
‘NASA is opening the International Space Station to commercial opportunities and marketing these opportunities as we’ve never done before.’
The Department of Defense’s research and development wing, DARPA, is working on technology to read and write to the human brain. The focus isn’t on mind control but rather machine control, allowing the human brain to directly send instructions to machines. The goal of the process is to streamline thought control of machines to the point where humans could control them with a simple helmet or head-mounted device, making operating such systems easier. read more
Skai made big waves last month with the launch of its long-range hydrogen-powered eVTOL air taxi prototype. In an interview with New Atlas, Skai’s CTO tells us these flying commuter vehicles will cost about the same per mile as an Uber ride, and that he expects to be able to land them just about anywhere. read more
The National Park Service removed signs put up by the Obama administration telling visitors that the glaciers would “all be gone” by the year 2020.
The National Park Service has quietly removed all the signs put up by the Obama administration that told visitors that the glaciers would “all be gone” by the year 2020 due to global warming… because… it’s 2019 and the glaciers are all still there. read more
Almost 50 years to the day since Neil Armstrong uttered the immortal words “the Eagle has landed” Lego will launch its Creator Expert set of the Eagle Lunar Module to celebrate the anniversary. Developed in cooperation with NASA, the set comes with mini astronaut figures and a Moon-surface diorama stage complete with craters, footprints, a flag and even a replica of the plaque Armstrong and Aldrin left behind on the surface. read more
April 12, 1999. It’s 12:30 in the afternoon and Brigadier General Dan Leaf, flying in the cockpit of an F-16, is trying to stop a massacre unfolding thousands of feet below.
He’s the Commander of the 315th Air Expeditionary Wing, operating from Aviano Air Base in Italy during Operation Allied Force. The military campaign against Yugoslavia began on March 24, 1999, with British and U.S. using airstrikes attempting to curb an ethnic cleansing campaign by the Yugoslavian government. read more
Two fascinating new studies are shedding light on the association between the gut, the brain, and autism. The new research reveals how gastrointestinal problems can be triggered by the same gene mutations associated with autism, and a striking mouse study has demonstrated how a fecal transplant from humans with autism can promote autism-like behaviors in the animals. read more
Fieldwork Robotics – a spinout company from the University of Plymouth in the UK – has announced the successful completion of early field trials of a raspberry-harvesting robot. If commercialized, the system could help make up for a shortage of human fruit pickers in the country. read more
