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“You’d think we’d get at least a mention in a song about Africa. But nooooo.” Photo by Mariola Grobelska on Unsplash
The rains must be blessed down in Africa. I love Toto’s song ‘Africa’ — which turns 40 next year! — and I’m not the only one. It is the first song on my 80s yacht rock playlist. This article from a few years ago tries to explain just how and why ‘Africa’ is such a beloved song. How ‘Africa’ by Toto Became the Internet’s Favorite Song
“‘Africa’ is a peak 80s tune. It’s so completely of its time,” said Ben Lunt, Executive Digital Director at BMB, an ad agency in London. Lunt is old enough to remember “Africa” being “extremely unfashionable” when he was a kid in the late 80s, but now he views it as a guilty pleasure. “‘Africa’ crosses generations. There's a genuine nostalgia of people of my age, and a borrowed nostalgia of younger people,” said Lunt. He suggests young people may like the song because it sounds like the music their parents played when they were kids. “It has that tie-back to your childhood and that makes you feel safe.”
I definitely find ‘Africa’ soothing, and it does evoke a sense of longing for a not-quite-defined something that’s just out of sight, but soon to appear. So maybe that’s it. Do you enjoy ‘Africa’? Of course you do! Read the article for more about the background and enduring popularity of this classic tune.
Warp Speed! Well, at this point, it’s only a small warp. But you’ve got to start somewhere. DARPA Funded Researchers Accidentally Discover The World’s First Warp Bubble
Warp drive pioneer and former NASA warp drive specialist Dr. Harold G “Sonny” White has reported the discovery of an actual, real-world “Warp Bubble.” And, according to White, this first of its kind breakthrough by his Limitless Space Institute (LSI) team sets a new starting point for those trying to manufacture a full-sized, warp-capable spacecraft.
Wait? Warp drive might be real? Sounds crazy, until you remember that we all have personal communicators just like Captain Kirk had. (Or, if you go for the Bluetooth earpiece, Captain Picard.) So how does this work?
In an interview, White added that “our detailed numerical analysis of our custom Casimir cavities helped us identify a real and manufacturable nano/microstructure that is predicted to generate a negative vacuum energy density such that it would manifest a real nanoscale warp bubble, not an analog, but the real thing.” In other words, a warp bubble structure will manifest under these specific conditions.
Ahhh … yeah, that sounds good. Could you elaborate?
“Specifically,” said White during the AIAA presentation, “a toy model consisting of a 1-micron diameter sphere centrally located in a 4-micron diameter cylinder was analyzed to show a three-dimensional Casimir energy density that correlates well with the Alcubierre warp metric requirements.”
Well, obviously. Read the article for much more detail on warp drives, which, again actual scientist are working to make a real thing.
Looking younger every day. Japan Team Develops Vaccine to Remove Cells behind Aging. This is huge if it pans out.
A Japanese team has said it developed a vaccine to remove "zombie" cells that accumulate with age and damage nearby cells, causing aging-related diseases including arterial stiffening.
Look, no one wants zombie cells! That can only lead to more zombies. And, of course, death.
The team, including Juntendo University professor Toru Minamino, confirmed that mice administered with the vaccine showed decreases in the zombie cells, or senescent cells in a medical term, and in areas affected by arterial stiffening.
Once again, mice get all the good stuff first.
It’s a brief item, but one we’ll follow up on. Senescent cells — cells that don’t die, but eventually fail to stop dividing — are linking to any number of age-related conditions (like arterial stiffening) and to what we broadly think of as aging. They’re bad news. So a treatment that can reduce or eliminate them in the body can relieve a lot of suffering, save a lot of medical costs. and help us all live longer, healthier lives. If, of course, this pans out. Stay tuned!
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